Secured Mail (5 page)

Sven cursed as he headed down the stairs to the waiting vehicle. Why had he turned her down? She’d been willing to take him into her bed and by Thor, he’d wanted to be there. What had stopped him?

He stared at the glass door in front of him as if the force of his frustration might smash it open it for him. He’d needed her to acknowledge that she wanted him and him 24

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alone. Once she was in his bed, she was his forever. That possessive instinct had almost overwhelmed him and he hadn’t expected it. The queen had suggested he date an Earth woman not instantly decide to make her his mate. Perhaps the queen was right and he had done without sex for too long. Was Thea really so special to him or was he merely overreacting?

Constantly seeing the king making love with the queen had reawakened his old instincts to find and possess a woman of his own. Being allowed to touch and not have the queen had become difficult for him recently. He sensed that both the king and queen noticed it and were unsure how to deal with him. His smoothed a hand over his swollen cock. What he needed was a long cold shower and some privacy to relieve the ache in his balls.

“Mr. Magnusson?”

The driver was standing on the step below him holding a pair of blue gloves.

“I think Ms. Cooper left these in the car.”

Blindly, Sven held out his hand and the driver dropped the leather gloves in his palm. He stared at them for a long moment.

The driver cleared his throat. “I’ll wait if you want to take them up to her, sir.”

Sven smiled at the man. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

He slowly retraced his steps to the door of Thea’s apartment. All was quiet. He leaned his forehead against the door and prayed to the gods. This was probably not a good idea. She was bound to be mad at him.

He knocked quietly; half-hoping she wouldn’t answer. “Thea?”

To his amazement the door opened an inch. He held out the gloves.

“You left these in the vehicle.”

“Oh.” She sounded out of breath. He waited as she stuck her hand through the narrow gap. “Thank you.”

He inhaled the sharp scent of her arousal and before he could think further he grabbed her wrist and brought her fingers to his lips. With a groan he carefully sucked each finger into his mouth and tasted her cream. His cock throbbed and hardened with each subtle taste of her desire.

“I have denied you release. I have denied you your woman’s pleasure.” He pushed at the door and it opened easily. Thea sat on the floor. His heated gaze fell to her pants which were unzipped and he groaned.

“Oh damn, you weren’t supposed to see that.” Thea’s fingers fumbled with her zipper but Sven caught her other hand.

“I was right, anchovies do taste like a woman.”

Before she could speak, he had her on her back, shoving down her already open pants. His large hand pressed over her silk-covered pussy and her thick cream soaked through her panties and pooled in his palm. He struggled to breathe.

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“Let me do this for you. Let me give you pleasure.”

Thea closed her eyes as Sven adjusted his hand and stroked her clit, his movements restricted by her silk panties. She looked down and saw how intently he gazed at her.

With a sigh, she relaxed her legs as far as her pants would let her. He gave an approving murmur and drew the blue fabric down to her knees to give him more access to her wet panties and pussy.

“You are beautiful, my lady. I am honored that your body welcomes my touch.”

His gently rubbing fingers made her want to lift her hips and ask for more. She arched her back trying to get him to slide his fingers deep inside her. With a growl he obliged, filling her with two thick fingers. Her pussy clenched hard around him and he groaned.

“Your channel is tight and yet you welcome me.” Thea bit her lip as he kept his fingers still and deep. He studied her flushed face, his eyes full of lust.

“If you allow me to pull your panties down, I will be able to service you better.”

She nodded, trembling, as his hand slid over her buttocks pulling the scrap of silk away, exposing her to his gaze. His fingers remained embedded inside her and his thumb toyed with her clit bringing her closer to a climax. She reached down and grabbed his thick wrist.

“Please.’’

He crouched over her and kissed her mouth. “If that is your wish, my lady.”

He began to move his fingers, widening them within her, withdrawing at the end of almost every hard stroke, the palm of his hand slamming into her sex. Thea concentrated on the slick wet sound of his fingers, the slap of his flesh against hers. He moved lower and she almost screamed when his mouth joined the torment, licking and sucking at her clit until she came with a violence that made her shake and dig her nails into his shoulder. How had he known that she fantasized about sex just like this? Hard and fast, taking everything she had to give without offering her a chance to resist.

He continued to lick at her as she recovered her senses, the brush of his unshaven cheek a continuous burn against her lax inner thighs. He knelt back and stared at her.

“Thank you, my lady. Let me help you to bed.”

Before she could answer him, he swept her up in his arms and headed toward the back of her apartment. The door of her bedroom was open and he carefully laid her down on the bed. From her position she could clearly see his enormous erection straining the front of his leather pants.

She reached out to touch him and he shivered.

“Sven, you don’t have to go, stay with me, please.”

He smiled down at her, his expression regretful. “I have to go. With Bron away, I must share night time duties with Harlan to protect the queen and prince.”

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Thea rolled onto her side and grabbed hold of the sheet, pleating it between her fingers.

“That’s just an excuse. You don’t want to stay, do you?”

He knelt by the side of the bed and took her hand. “My lady, if I stay with you, I will never let you go, is that what you want?”

She stared into his intent eyes. God, he was serious. That was the last thing she wanted to discuss right now. She sighed. “Perhaps it’s better if you leave. We can talk about this mess in the morning.”

Was that a flash of disappointment in his eyes? Before she could ask, he lowered his head and kissed her slowly on the mouth. She tasted the scent of her own arousal and imagined his big muscled body moving over hers, his cock filling her pussy. It took all her resolve to end the kiss and release him.

“Goodnight, Sven.”

“Goodnight, my lady.”

She waited until she heard the front door close behind him before rolling over onto her stomach. In five minutes, Sven had given her the best sexual experience of her life.

What would he be like for a whole night? She shivered at the delicious thought. It was definitely time to follow her own advice, get out of her clothes, have a shower and stop thinking about what might have been until the morning.

27

Kate Pearce

“So, how was it, then?”

Thea sat up so quickly that she almost fell off her office chair.

“It wasn’t, we didn’t do anything. It was…oh crap.”

Thea tried to stare Matt down as his evil grin appeared.

“Methinks the lady protests too much. What exactly didn’t you do?”

She struggled to gather her thoughts. “Sven and I had a nice dinner together and agreed to meet up at the end of each day and work on the list for the away team and the accompanying press.”

He winked as he settled on the edge of her desk. “So its
Sven
now, is it?”

Thea raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who asked me to get to know him.”

“So how was he?”

“In what way?”

“In any way.”

“It depends. Are you asking me this as a friend or as my boss?”

Matt’s smile deepened. “As your friend, of course, spill.”

Thea sat back in her chair. “He was surprisingly nice. Despite the fact that every woman in the place, and a few of the guys, tried to flirt with him, he kept his attention on me. It was quite refreshing.”

“Well, Valhallan men are supposed to be attentive to their women. Remember, they can’t afford to lose them too easily.”

“Not like the guys on Earth then who think its okay to hit and run.”

“And it’s not just the guys.”

Thea frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re not exactly renowned for your ability to stick around either.”

She fixed him with an accusatory stare. “I learned from a master—you.”

Matt retreated toward the door. “I didn’t expect you to take my lessons quite so much to heart. You haven’t had a proper relationship for five years.”

“And you have?”

He sighed. “At least I’m looking. You never give a guy a chance.”

“That’s not fair, Matt. Since Mark humiliated me so publicly, it’s been hard to trust anyone again.”

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“I know that, sweetheart, but you’re twenty-eight now and Mark’s been married for four years. Don’t you think it’s time you gave yourself a break?”

A familiar burning sensation rolled around in her stomach. “So what are you saying? I should get it on with Sven? That would work out great for you wouldn’t it?”

He paused in the doorway, one hand braced on the frame. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I get close to Sven and you get kudos from the higher-ups.”

All traces of humor disappeared from his face. “You really think I’d use you like that?”

She shrugged. “Why not?”

He grabbed the door handle. “Sometimes, Thea, you are such a bitch.”

She winced as he slammed the door behind him. With a groan, she buried her head in her hands. Why had she reacted so defensively? Matt hadn’t really told her anything she hadn’t worked out painfully for herself. So she liked rejecting men before they rejected her first. What was wrong with that? It was all Sven’s fault for muddling her senses last night. Everything had seemed perfectly clear right up until she’d let him lick and suck her to a climax.

She wiggled in her seat as memories of his head between her thighs surfaced to taunt her. How was she going to face him today? She closed her eyes and kept her head down. Perhaps by the end of the day she would’ve have figured out how to apologize to both men.

“So how was it then?”

Sven scowled at Harlan who sat behind him in the queen’s bathroom. He continued to shave, his attention on the dangerous curve of his chin and the sharpness of his blade.

“It was none of your business.”

Harlan grinned. “Sven, you spent half an Earth hour in the shower when you came back from dining with Ms. Cooper. Either you were cleaning off her scent or relieving your frustrations.” His deft fingers returned to braiding the black hair at his temple.

“From the sour look on your face, I assume it was the latter.”

Sven glanced at the queen’s bedroom door which remained closed. He put down his shaving blade.

“Last night I was sorely tempted to lie with another woman.”

Harlan followed his gaze. “But the queen said it was acceptable for you to do that.”

Sven shrugged. “She suggested I get a date. Not leap into bed with the first woman I go out with. And I gave my vow to the queen
and
the king. How do I tell the king that I have found a woman more desirable than his wife?”

“The king will understand.”

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“The king is within his rights to kill me.” Sven lowered his voice. “But what if I wish to keep my vows as well? I am fond of the queen.”

“We all are.” Harlan finished the first thin braid and started on the second. “In truth, the king offered you a position as his consort’s server, not his queen’s. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he doesn’t seem to need much help from us to satisfy her. In fact, he doesn’t need us at all when he is here.” He glanced up at Sven. “Don’t you want your own woman?”

Sven splashed water on his face and grimaced as he slapped on some aftershave.

“It’s been many years since I’ve lived with a female, I’m not sure.”

Harlan sighed. “I would like a wife. Seeing the king so happy with the queen makes me yearn for things I have never had.”

“Then go out and find someone. You have permission.”

Harlan finished his braiding and sat cross-legged on the carpet. “I’m waiting for her to find me.”

“You seem very certain.”

“I am. She is close now. She will be here soon. All I have to do is wait.” Harlan’s serene conviction made Sven uneasy. His friend had an uncanny ability to read the future. Harlan continued to talk, his thoughtful gaze fixed on Sven.

“It might be possible for you to gain release from your vows.” He smiled at Sven’s unconvinced expression. “We would have to ask Thorlan to consult the law and see what the proper procedure is.” He stood up. “This woman. Is she worth losing your position of trust with the king?”

Sven threw his towel to the ground and strode to the window, his back to Harlan.

“All I know is that when I’m with her, I want to possess her, not date her as the queen suggested.”

“Despite your doubts you wish to make her your wife?”

“How can I feel like this when I’ve only known her for a few weeks? Perhaps the queen is right and I am so desperate to have sex again that I’ve gone mad for the first woman I’ve seen.”

“Ms. Cooper is hardly the first woman you’ve seen. There are hundreds of available females here on Earth.”

Sven turned to stare at his friend with dawning respect. “That is true and she is the only one who interests me.”

Before he could continue, the door to the queen’s bedroom opened and Douglass emerged carrying her son in her arms. Sven hurried across to take the boy, wrinkling his nose at the sour smell.

“I’ll change him for you, My Queen. Harlan, attend the queen’s bath.”

Harlan bowed to the queen, his smile as tranquil as ever. Sven tensed as the outer door to the Royal suite burst open to reveal a smiling King Marcus and Bron.

“Marcus, you are back early!”