To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (139 page)

And when his fingers found the pointed tip of my breast, tweaking it before pulling hard, I bucked against his body, that one touch making me want to take off all my clothes because I wanted us to be skin to skin.

“Varthan,” I whispered.

He stopped kissing me.

I opened my eyes slowly. “Varthan?” Had I done something wrong? Had I stupidly said my feelings out loud – whatever they were – without being aware of it?

His eyes locked on mine. “They’re here.”

There was no time to think.

          One moment I was in the throes of passion, the next moment I was in the throes of fear. Screams and terrified cries ravaged the club as a squad of men burst inside from the exit door and released a series of shots in the air.

          “Varth---aaah!” I found myself almost tumbling out of the booth as something under me swelled. When I looked at him, I almost gagged, the shock of seeing – and, well, smelling – Varthan’s zombie form still something I hadn’t yet fully adjusted to.

          “HOLD ON TO ME.”

          I did so quickly, trying not to be too obvious with the way I wrinkled my nose and did my best to breathe through my mouth. As I settled on him from the front, like he preferred, my eyes came into contact with one of the gunmen.

          Evil stared back at me.

          Shit.

          They really were goblins.

          And then he threw a dagger at us.

          “Varthan, behind you!” I screamed.

          He turned around with astounding speed, fast enough to catch the dagger and strong enough to reverse its direction with a twist. It caught its target and the goblin fell to the ground, the knife stuck in his forehead.

          Varthan turned away again and ran towards the other side of the wall. I felt him raise his hand.

          There was one heavy pounding sound, like a giant hammer hitting the wall. When I looked around, I caught sight of a huge portion of the wall falling away, giving us an exit. Varthan slipped through it.

          “Hold tightly!”

          I wrapped my arms more tightly around his neck, doing my best to ignore the scales and bumps that scraped against my skin.

          And then we were running, Varthan heading to the darkened streets of the city, away from prying eyes. But still many caught sight of us and I quickly hid my face on his shoulder, not wanting a single camera to capture my face. As long as nobody could see me, nobody would recognize Varthan and no one would believe there really were zombies – or goblins.

          “Why are they after us?” I demanded as he continued running.

          “They must have found a use for your powers.”

          “Like what? Make me rob a bank?”

          Instead of answering, Varthan suddenly stopped running and made a right turn. “Quick.” He lowered me to my feet and when I turned around, I realized why. He had found a hiding place for me.

          With another heavy pounding of his fists, the thin metal gates fell to the ground, revealing an armored truck with the label of a private security company printed on its sides. Varthan opened the back and helped me up. “Stay here.”

          “But I don’t want---”

          “I can’t fight if I am worrying about you.” He slammed the door shut on my face.

         
Not on your life.
I took out my phone from my pocket, using its flashlight function to check the contents of the armored truck. There was a tire jack lying on the floor and I snatched it.

          Then I kicked the door open.

          Varthan and the horde of goblins turned towards me almost in synchrony.

          With a battle cry, I launched myself at my enemies.

          It was time to put my so-called powers to use.

          The goblins scattered away from my reach, making me feel triumphant for a second. Ha! Who’s their mama now? They all obviously knew I could make their worst nightmares come to life.

          There was a sound of air whipping into a circle from behind, distracting me. I turned just in time to see someone angling to capture me as he tossed a chain towards my direction.

          Oh, shit!

          I forgot about that part.

          I tried to move away even though I knew I was moving too slowly. But nothing happened, with Varthan easily catching hold of the chain and using it to yank the goblin towards him before smashing his giant fist against the goblin’s face.

          “Yeah!”

          Varthan growled at me.

          I shrunk a little at the fury underlining his roar. “I just wanted to help!”

          “GO!”

          “No!” I shook my head stubbornly. “We’ll do this together!”

          Before Varthan could say anything, I was running towards the goblins again. This time, Varthan and I found a rhythm as we fought against our opponents. I ran towards them, forcing them to run into dead-ended places until they had no choice but to face the nightmares I brought with me. Varthan guarded me from behind, making sure to slash and smash anyone who tried to capture me.

          By the time it was over, we were both breathing heavily, a dozen goblin bodies littering the ground.

          I turned to Varthan to tell him we did a good job, but the smile brimming on my lips was wiped away by the fury on Varthan’s face in zombie form.

          I quickly backed away as he stomped towards me.

          “YOU RISKED YOUR LIFE!”

          “I had to!”

          “NO! YOU DID NOT!”

          His giant zombie body shook with rage, the smell of decomposing flesh becoming even more pungent.

          It was hard to stand my ground when he looked like he was close to eating me, but I lifted my chin and didn’t look away.

          “I am the only one meant to protect you---”

          “Bullshit!”

          He roared.

          I roared back, admittedly not as ferociously as he did but I gave it my best.

          “WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A STUPID THING?”

          “BECAUSE I THINK I’M BEGINNING TO FALL FOR YOU!”

          Oooooooooooooh…shit.

          Did I just say that?

****

“You really will not talk to me?” Varthan asked the moment I came out of the shower wearing the baggiest pair of pajamas I could find in my closet. I had no desire to look sexy or cute right now.

          “You’re one to talk,” I muttered under my breath as I sat on my side of the bed, sticking as closely to the edge as possible. He hadn’t said a word after my stupid confession either.

          When he didn’t say anything – again – I couldn’t help sneaking a look.

          But what I saw made me wish I hadn’t peeked in the first place.

          Varthan didn’t have a shirt on, leaving his chest entirely bare. His legs were completely covered by the silken sheet of the bed, making it impossible for me to tell if he was just as naked underneath.

          “Why aren’t you dressed?” I demanded, still not looking at him.

          “This is how I sleep.”

          “Well, it’s not appropriate since I’m sleeping here, too!”

          Silence.

          I felt utterly defensive. “And don’t you dare say it’s appropriate just because I said what I said!”

          “I didn’t even say anything,” he pointed out.

          “You were thinking it.”

          “Your powers now include being a clairvoyant?”

          “Shut up!” I threw a pillow at him.

          He caught it handily, and in the next moment, he also hauled me close. In one twist, he had me lying underneath him, breathing hard as I felt his body’s weight settle on top of me. I had my answer, too.

          “You’re naked!” It was a gasp, scream, and whimper in one.

          “And you…confuse me.” It came out accusing, as if I was at fault.

          “I confuse
you
?”

          “You almost let another man kiss you.”

          “You made me feel like I was no different from all the other
skat
you had sex with.”

          He flinched. “I am sorry for that.”

          A moment of silence passed, followed by another and another, and each moment only added to the tension crackling in the air. I said slowly, unevenly, “I still don’t understand the relationship between Draugar and skat, but…I don’t think it’s the reason why…”

          I squeezed my eyes shut.

          Was I really going to say this?

          I took a deep breath, and with my eyes still closed, I whispered, “I just don’t think it’s because you’re my Draugar warrior and I’m your chosen
skat
that I feel…something…for you.”

          He didn’t answer. And when I was about to lose hope of him ever answering, Varthan said slowly, “I am a Viking, woman.”

          Aaaaand?

          I opened my eyes when he didn’t speak again. His face was hard, his eyes dark with a disturbing mix of emotions. “Varthan?” I whispered.

          “I am not supposed to feel things like this. I was raised to claim a woman because it was my right. And when I became a Draugar, it had been tradition for the
skat
to seek the possession of her Draugar. None of them had ever thought of marrying me.”

          “Why?”

          “Because I was only good enough to be their lover. They did not want a companion for life who was capable of turning into something so horrifying.”

         
Bitch
, I thought, my heart aching for Varthan.
Bitches,
they all were!

          “I admit you scared the hell out of me at the start and you still do, but I don’t…I won’t ever hold it against you. It’s what let you save me from being killed and I’ll always remember that.”