HerEternalWarrior (7 page)

She walked into the en suite and closed the door behind her.
Kenna used the toilet, then washed her hands. She caught her reflection in the
mirror above the sink. Was she making a mistake telling Tor? She hoped not.

Back out in the main room, Kenna saw Tor standing at the end
of the bed with his back toward her. He was just pulling his jeans on over his
hips. She sighed to herself. The man had a great ass. He also was someone who
didn’t like underwear. He hadn’t worn any on the days she’d been with him. Not
that she complained about it. It was a turn on to think she just had to open
his pants and his cock would be there with nothing else keeping her from it.

Kenna closed the distance between them and placed a kiss on
Tor’s wide back. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. “What
would you like to eat?”

She walked around to his side and picked up some of her
clothes. Tor turned so he faced her. “I don’t know,” she said. “Nothing big.
Since you cooked for me yesterday, I hoped you’d let me cook for you in your
fancy kitchen.”

“It’s your kitchen now as well. You agreeing to live with me
makes it so.”

She smiled. “I guess it does. Then while we’re down there I
should see what you have in the fridge and pantry to make sure all the
ingredients I’ll need to make us dinner are there.”

“Well, I did some shopping earlier today and stocked up.
What are you thinking of making?”

Kenna finished getting dressed. “I haven’t quite decided.
I’ll wait until I see what you have.”

“Since you’re going to be the chef for tonight, why don’t
you go downstairs and look around in the fridge? I’m just going to use the
bathroom and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“All right.”

She left the bedroom as Tor headed for the en suite. Kenna
had just reached the foyer when the doorbell rang. She looked up the stairs,
but knew Tor wouldn’t be able to get down here that fast. Since she was already
halfway there, Kenna decided she’d answer the door.

Pulling it open, she found a large man who looked as if he’d
seen better days standing on the other side. “Hi,” she said, giving him a leery
look.

He grabbed her by the throat and pushed her farther into the
foyer as he kicked the door shut. “Hi back. He said you were a pretty thing.
I’m going to enjoy this.”

Kenna screamed as the man roughly pushed her against the
wall and groped her. She tried to fight back, but he was stronger than she. The
sound of a loud growl had her looking toward the stairs. What she saw had her
heart leaping up into her throat, and a rush of memories she hadn’t remembered
slamming back into her head.

Chapter Seven

Tor felt the pull of evil at the same time he heard Kenna’s
scream coming from the lower level. Having finished in the bathroom, he ran out
of the bedroom to the top of the stairs. Seeing a strange man holding Kenna by
the throat, tugging at her clothes, sent Tor into a rage. How dare the evildoer
touch his mate?

The stench of evil filled Tor’s nose as he rushed down the
stairs. For the first time he looked forward to the pain of a shift as the
change took him over. By the time he reached the foyer he was in his half-human
and half-jackal form. He set his sights on his prey and rushed him, pulling him
away from Kenna. The man ended up slamming into the front door headfirst.

Tor grabbed the evildoer again. This time the mortal decided
to fight. He swung a punch at Tor, which Tor easily deflected. Tor pushed his
prey back against the door harder than was necessary before he brutally tore
into the man’s mind. He saw all the mortal’s evil deeds. One memory in
particular had Tor growling in outrage. It was one of the demon who hunted him
having a conversation with the evildoer. It was the demon who had sent the man
to Tor’s house to attack Kenna. The creature hadn’t revealed himself, but kept
to the shadows so Tor had no idea what he looked like, but he recognized the
voice.

Somehow the demon had to be watching Tor to have learned
about Kenna and where Tor lived to be able to send the evildoer here. It was
time he and the demon had a face-to-face. Tor wouldn’t let the creature use his
mate against him.

With a snarl, Tor growled, “Guilty. Time to pay for all your
evil deeds.”

Tor willed his gold dagger into his hand and shoved it into
the man’s stomach. The evildoer bellowed in pain before he slowly lost solidity
until he completely disappeared.

The sound of a whimper had Tor turning around as he willed
the dagger away. Kenna stood with her back pressed against the wall, her face
set in a mask of horror and fear. She looked at him the same way she had before
he’d wiped her memory of him.

He sucked in a sharp breath at the pain that tore through
his body as he shifted back to his human form. He went to take a step toward
Kenna, but she held up her hands as if to ward him off, tears spilling down her
cheeks. Tor stayed where he was.

“It’s all right,” he said in a quiet and even tone. “You’re
safe, Kenna.”

She wildly shook her head. “No. I remember everything. I
remember what happened in the parking lot at the Luxor, why I feel uneasy
there. It was you.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you. I saved you that
night from an evildoer.”

“Yes, but you did something to make me forget. I’ve had a
nightmare about you in that…that other form. Using your gold dagger, making
another man disappear after you cut him with it. It scared the crap out of me.
I thought it was a figment of my imagination, but now I know it was real. I’ve
been sleeping with a murderer.”

This time Tor closed the distance between him and Kenna. He
didn’t touch her. “No, I’m not. They’re alive when I start them on their
journey to the underworld. It’s my job to send mortals who are full of evil to
Anubis to be judged. The god decides what their fate will be.”

Kenna took a step to the side so he wasn’t directly in front
of her. “You talk about Anubis as if he’s truly alive. A freaking ancient
Egyptian god.”

“Because he is. I’m one of his warriors. The first one. When
I lay dying on a battlefield in Egypt, having fought for my pharaoh, Djoser, in
a military expedition to Sinai Peninsula, Anubis answered my call when I
pleaded to one of my gods to save me. In return for restoring my life and
giving me immortality, I took a vow to serve as a warrior of Anubis for all
eternity.”

She rapidly shook her head. “That can’t be. If your pharaoh
was Djoser that would mean you’ve been alive since the twenty-seventh-century
BC. I did a project in school on the step pyramid he had built in Saqqara for
his tomb. I remember it. You’d have to be thousands of years old. It’s not
possible.”

“I am, and it is. I watched the Pyramid of Djoser being
built, as I watched the pyramids at Giza. I stayed in the land of my birth for
thousands of years before I came to the New World. I eventually ended up here
in Las Vegas.”

Kenna laughed, the sound borderline hysterical, as her tears
continued to flow. “And here I thought I was some kind of freak. But now that I
think about it, you had to be the cause of it. I want you to take it back.”

Tor furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

“My ability to heal in seconds,” she yelled. “I didn’t have
it until I met you. You had to have done something to change me. Whatever you
did, reverse it.”

He sighed, knowing what he had to say next Kenna would not
want to hear. “I can’t. And it’s more than just your ability to heal rapidly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re my mate, Kenna. When I bit you yesterday, I claimed
you as mine. You are as immortal as I am. Our life forces are now joined. It
can’t be undone.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Kenna breathed so fast Tor
was afraid she would hyperventilate. “Mate? You actually did this to me without
giving me a choice? Did I even have any say in it?”

Tor ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I was to give
you the choice. I didn’t want to bite you before you knew what I truly was.
Somehow a demon who has escaped the underworld managed to work a spell that
allowed him to take control of me. I knew you were my mate the first time we
were intimate, because my eyeteeth dropped and I had the urge to bite you. I
fought it, but when the demon took over, I couldn’t stop myself. Anubis wanted
me to ease you into my world before I claimed you. The demon took that option
away from me.”

“A demon? Ease me into your world? From what I’ve seen of it
so far, I don’t want to be in it. Right now all I want to do is get as far away
from you as I can get.”

She sidestepped a few more paces in the direction of the
door. Tor stopped her. “You can’t leave. You have to stay with me. Only I can
protect you from the creature who has set his sights on me. The demon is the
one who sent the evildoer to my home to attack you. He must know you’re my
mate. If he gets the chance again, he will try to use you against me.”

Kenna fisted her hands at her sides. “I can’t stay here with
you. Do you have any idea how afraid I am of you at this moment?”

Unable to not touch her any longer, feeling as if he was
losing her by the second, Tor cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me, Kenna.
Really look at me. Have I ever done anything to hurt you?”

“No.”

“And I never will. I love you. I’ve been alone for
centuries. You’re my mate, someone I’ll always cherish and protect. I don’t
want to go back to my old life. I know this is all so very hard for you to
understand and accept. I might shift into something you’re afraid of, but the
man is still inside there. It’s still my heart that beats in that chest. I’m
still the same person. I just look different. And believe me, I didn’t want you
to find out what I was this way.”

Kenna’s bottom lip trembled. “I don’t know if I can accept
all of this. And now you’re telling me there’s no going back. I would have
wanted the choice.”

Tor pulled her close. She pushed at his chest, but after a
few seconds Kenna relaxed against him, her tears wetting his skin. He let her
cry herself out before he leaned back and lifted her chin so she looked up at
him. Her eyes were red and puffy.

“Stay with me, Kenna. Please. I realize you’re going to need
time, and I’m willing to give you that. We have an eternity, after all. You
said you loved me once. I can make you feel that way again.”

“And if I can’t?”

“I’m not giving up on you. We’ll make this work.” He kissed
her forehead, and when Kenna didn’t pull away, he took that as a good sign. “I
need to go talk to Anubis. I’d like you to come with me. It might help if you
hear his voice.”

She stepped out of his embrace and wrapped her arms around
her middle. “What exactly would I have to do? I don’t have to cut myself, do
I?”

Tor could still hear the fear in Kenna’s voice, but it
wasn’t nearly as bad as it’d been a few minutes ago. He smiled to reassure her.
“No, you don’t have to cut yourself. We just have to go upstairs to the small
temple I have set up in one of the spare bedrooms. You should be able to hear
Anubis since a bond has formed between us.”

“All right, I guess. I don’t know how much more freakiness I
can take without wanting to huddle in a corner and rock.”

“It’ll be fine. You’ll just hear Anubis in your head.”

Tor held his hand out to Kenna, but she gave a short shake
of her head. He dropped it at his side. He wasn’t going to push her. He turned
and walked toward the stairs. Kenna fell into step beside him. He took her to
the bedroom set up as a temple.

Inside, he headed for the altar where he’d already made his
offering of food and beer that morning. Tor glanced at Kenna to find her
looking around the room, taking it all in.

“Anubis, I have to talk to you,” he called to the god of the
underworld.

Yes, Tor?

Kenna let out a quiet gasp and took a half step closer so
her arm brushed up against his. She obviously heard Anubis as clearly as Tor
did.

“The demon who hunts me has made another move. He found out
about Kenna being my mate and sent an evildoer to my home to attack her. I need
a way to draw him out. I don’t want to risk him harming Kenna.”

I saw it in the evildoer’s memories when he arrived.
Challenge the demon, tonight.

“How should I do that?”

Call to the demon, he’ll hear you.

“I tried that once. He ignored me.”

Play upon the demon’s pride. He won’t be able to ignore
the insult. Just be prepared for him not to fight fair.

“All right. I have Kenna here with me, is there anything you
can do to protect her from the demon?”

I know she’s there. I can also feel her fear. There’s no
need to be afraid, Kenna. Tor needs you in his life to make it complete. He
loves you just as much as you love him, though you can’t see past your fear to
believe that you still do. I’ll fix that.
Anubis fell silent, and Kenna
stiffened beside Tor. It only lasted a matter of seconds, then the god spoke
again.
As for your request to protect Kenna from the demon, I can use a
spell that will shield her against an attack from demon-kind, but it won’t
extend to others with evil intent. As you know, my abilities aren’t as powerful
as some of the other gods.

“It’ll be enough,” Tor said. “I just want her protected from
the demon.”

It’s done.
Anubis’ presence faded away.

Tor turned to Kenna, expecting to see her fear still visible
on her face. What he wasn’t prepared for was for her to throw herself into his
arms and cling to him. He closed his eyes and tucked her head under his chin
and returned her embrace. He felt as if he could finally take a deep breath
since Kenna had seen him in his half-human and half-jackal form.

Kenna clung tightly to Tor. Her fear of him was gone, taken
away by Anubis. Without it threatening to take her over, she was able to think
clearly again. The god had also shown her how Tor had lived his life all these
millennia, starting with the day he’d taken his vow to become one of Anubis’
warriors. That had been particularly hard to see. Tor had been so close to
death. Seeing him bloody, barely clinging to life, had been gut-wrenching.

And Tor had been alone for so very long. Living among
mortals, keeping his distance since their lifespans were short compared to his.
Not once had he tried to form any attachments. That is until he’d stumbled
across her. She’d seen the night in the Luxor parking lot through his eyes. Had
seen how taken he’d been with her, and how he hadn’t wanted to wipe her memory,
but had known he hadn’t any choice. And also how Tor hadn’t been able to stay
away from her in the end.

The love she felt for him was as strong as ever now that her
fear no longer clouded it. She loved this ancient immortal warrior with all her
heart. Walking away from him wasn’t an option. Kenna also wanted the brief
flash of her future with Tor that Anubis had given her.

She pulled back in Tor’s arms and stared at him. “I can
accept all of this now.”

“You can?”

“As Anubis said, he fixed me. He took my fear away. If he
hadn’t, I don’t know if I would have been able to get past it.” She met his
gaze. “Then I would have missed out on the best thing that has ever happened to
me—you. I love you as much as I did before I found out what you were.”

Tor crushed her in his embrace and kissed her as if there
was no tomorrow. She returned it, pouring all the love she had for him into it.
He pulled away once he had her pussy wet and aching for him to fill it. His
cock was hard, pressed against her stomach.

“I need you again,” Tor said huskily. “And I promise you
I’ll do everything in my power to keep you happy. I’ll always love you. You do
make me complete.”

“And I want you. Make love to me.”

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He took his
time taking her clothes off, kissing every inch of skin he bared. By the time
he’d finished and stood as naked as she, Kenna was almost desperate for him,
but she stopped him when he would have lifted her onto the bed.

With gentle lips, she kissed where each of the wounds he’d
received on that battlefield had been. Last, she explored his chest, especially
where Anubis had placed his mark on Tor. Without it and all it stood for, Kenna
would never have met the man who now owned her heart.

“Let me love you,” she said as she took a step back.

In answer, Tor claimed her lips in a searing kiss before he
climbed onto the bed, then lay on his back in the center of it. Kenna followed
him and straddled his thighs. She lovingly ran her hands along his chest and
down to his six-pack abs. Once she reached his cock, she wrapped her hand
around it and pumped. Tor lifted his hips off the bed, pressing himself tighter
into her hold.