Chapter 4
Gunnolf
“ I am so ready to go home and get some sleep,” Callie yawns, stretching her arms over her head.
“Me too. We seem to have gone nowhere since Val’s last revelation. Maybe a full night of sleep will do us all some good,” Kato says, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket.
Val. I’d been so close to her in those moments, but I haven’t been that close to her since. Even though a primal part of me wants nothing more than to take her again and to hold her softly, which somehow feels far more dangerous.
“Alright, I’m going to head to my hotel room,” I say before I get any crazy ideas like driving off to Val’s. I rub my neck, trying to shake off the restless energy gnawing at my insides.
“Goodnight,” Bruce says, turning toward Hati, “Are you up for a nightcap?”
And then, out of nowhere, the world explodes.
A blinding flash of light erupts down the block, cutting through the dark like lightning. A loud earth-shaking boom roars through the air, immediately following the light. The shockwave slams into me, harsh and violent, knocking me back a step. Heat rolls over us as though the ground had split open to hell.
In the distance, what used to be a restaurant where I’d had lunch only the day before, is now being consumed by fire and smoke. The windows burst outward. Shards of glass flung in every direction, along with tables, chairs, and debris from the building, flung out into the street. Car alarms sound wildly from the cars that were hit.
This is nothing like the blast at SableTech. This building has practically been flattened while SableTech was left standing. However, this is much more like the bomb that brought us here in the first place. My mind whirs, what does this mean?
My ears ring from the sheer force of the explosion. The chaos is so loud it drowns out everything else. I can barely make out Bruce’s voice as he shouts something. I can’t bring myself to look away from the scene ahead of us. What are the odds that we are here for a front-row view?
“Holy shit,” I mutter, taking in the full scope of the destruction. I don’t even realize that I’m moving forward until I’m standing in front of what used to be a restaurant. There is little more than a smoking crater left.
Callie grabs my arm, her face pale as she stares at the devastation. I pull away, already moving closer toward the scene, even as the heat from the blast singes the hair on my arms. Moving on instinct, my wolf senses sharpen, pushing me forward through the haze of smoke and dust. Every nerve in my body is on high alert.
My heart pounds in my chest. There’s no way that anyone survived that blast. A lump rises in my throat. As the sirens grow louder, my eyes well with tears, “We need to figure out if this restaurant had a connection to the hunters.” I say to Kato as he steps beside me.
“My thoughts exactly,” he says, nodding.
We spend the next few hours combing through the wreckage. At first, everything was too hot to comb through, even after the fire department had put out the hellish flames. The smell is horrible. Something that they never can show you in the movies.
My mind is a mess of half-formed thoughts. The same type of bomb as the others, with calculated destruction, and this was absolutely a statement. As though the bomber is letting us know that they won’t stop just because we are in town investigating.
“It turns out this place was not only owned by paranormal hunters but was also a hotspot for them,” Hati says, stepping up beside me out of nowhere.
“Hm,” I click my tongue. “I figured it would be something like that. I wonder if this establishment was involved in the leak from SableTech?”
“That would be a good question for you to check in with Val about.” Hati gives me a look that speaks volumes. He knows more than he’ll say now, but it’s still not a good idea to argue with him. That might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and causes him to call me out.
Kato steps beside us grim-faced with a sweat-slicked forehead. “We need to figure this out fast. These bombs are escalating.”
“Agreed,” I mutter, not bothering to hide the edge in my voice. I need to stay present, but once again, my thoughts have drifted back to Val, and Hati just gave me the perfect excuse to see her again.
Kato shoots me a sideways glance, picking up on the shift in my tone. “You think Val’s breach is connected to this?”
“I think we will find time and time again that she’s wrapped up in this whether we want her to be or not,” I say, my chest tightening.
“There’s been no trace of the bomber. No security cameras in the vicinity picked anything up, and there are no witnesses. Whoever is doing this knows exactly where to strike and how to disappear.”
I grunt in agreement. I don’t like what that implies for Val’s safety or anyone who gets in the way of whatever sick agenda this bomber has. My blood simmers just beneath the surface of my skin. My wolf snarls at the idea of anything happening to Val. As much as I want to protect her from this, there’s no pulling her back now. We need her.
“Let’s wrap this up,” Kato says, “Forensics will continue sorting through the debris and we can go over the evidence tomorrow. For now, we need to get back to our hotel rooms and get some rest.”
There were no survivors. Not today. Only charred body parts among the building’s remains. I decide to walk instead of catching a ride with anyone from the team. The cool air helping to clear my mind.
My feet and instincts carry me to Val’s building before I even realize where I am going. By the time I’m standing outside of her door my hand is frozen in mid-air, about to knock, my heart pounding in my chest.
Just walk away. You can talk to her in the morning at a reasonable hour. No one expects you to talk to her now. I take a deep breath gathering myself. I’ll drop by SableTech tomorrow.
Before I drop my hand and turn to walk away the door swings open and there she is. Her hair is loose around her shoulders with little pieces framing her face. She’s wearing a pale pink silk robe that’s slightly off one shoulder. Her nipples poke through the thin fabric as the cool night air welcomes her.
“Gunnolf, what are you doing here?” She eyes me warily but beneath the show she’s putting on I can sense her desire. It’s the same untamed desire I feel for her.
I don’t answer right away. My gaze takes in every inch of her lingering on the curve of her shoulder, the fullness of her breasts, the slit at the bottom of her robe exposing part of her bare thigh. Something primal stirs in my chest. I’ve never seen her so undone before, so beautiful.
“We need to talk,” I say finally, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. She steps back, crossing her arms as I shut the door behind me.
Her brows draw together. “I saw the news. I already checked. We had some security contracts with the owner of the building. The owner who was not present at the time of the bombing. You should get some guys to watch over him. He’s surely still a target.”
I pull out my phone firing off a text to the local agents we’ve been working with. When I look back up at Val her expressions hardened. There’s a war brewing inside her just as sure as there’s a war brewing within me.
Before I know what I’m doing my hands are on her hips, the silk smooth against my fingers. The heat of her hips is causing my cheeks to flush. She gasps but it’s not in protest instead her fingers dig into my arms, her eyes widening in surprise as I press her against the edge of her kitchen island.
“What are you—” Her words are cut off when my lips crash into hers.
Her lips receive mine without hesitation. My wolf surges forward, driven by the fire burning in my chest. The same fire I’ve been trying to ignore since we first met.
Val’s hands are in my hair, pulling me closer until our bodies are pressed firmly against one another. All I can think about is how much I need this. How much I need her.
I don’t let my lips leave hers, not even once. Even as we stumble toward her bedroom, the pathway is already mapped in my senses from our first night together. When we reach the room, she pushes me off her. Fear rumbles through me as I stand there, trembling. Please don’t make me leave.
Staring, I hold my breath. She steps back and slowly unties her robe, her eyes on mine, and the corner of her lips slightly upturned. The robe slinks to the ground, and my eyes break away from hers as I take in every bit of her perfectly naked flesh.
My eyes can’t seem to decide where to settle as my cock presses hard against my jeans. She steps closer, her nimble fingers working to undo my belt and unbutton my pants, and I pull my shirt over my head, tossing it carelessly to the side.
My cock springs forth, thru my pants and underwear, pulsing. Val’s proximity overrides every sense I have. I must have her right now.
It’s madness. It’s dangerous. And I don’t care.
I cup my hand underneath her jaw and tug her upward. She pushes up to her feet, hands gripping my hips. Oh, Goddess. My lips press into hers once more. The soft skin of her exposed breasts and belly press against me the tighter I wrap my arms around her waist.
Sucking on her full bottom lip, I give it a little nibble, and she gasps. It’s enough to send me over the edge. Inhaling a sharp breath of my own I spin her around. Pushing her against the wall, the bed can wait, and she arches her back giving me access to her.
The curves of her body are a work of art. I can’t help but feel like I am dreaming as I push my way into her, “Goddess, you are soaking wet.” I breathe against her ear, feeling her body shudder in response.
The way she feels is divine. Each time I pump into her, she moans, and electricity rolls through my body from head to toe. For a moment, I don’t remember where I am or even my own name; I am lost in the perfection and pleasure of experiencing the mystery of Val Hayes.
She cranes her neck to look back at me, her flushed cheek pressing against the wall. The look in her eyes sends me over the edge and I explode inside of her. She grins, a mischievous grin, that says ‘I’m not done with you yet.’
My legs are unsteady as she leads me to the bed and pushes me down. My cock hardens instantly as she climbs on top of me, the tip of her tongue licking its way down my jaw and collarbone.
The weight of her body grounding me in this moment. I’d live here forever if I could. I open my mouth to tell Val how beautiful she is but she presses her hand down over my mouth, positioning herself perfectly. She lowers herself onto me and my teeth sink into the palm of her hand.
She throws her bead back moaning so loudly I’m sure that the neighbors hear her. I don’t care if the whole damn neighborhood hears. I want to hear her moan like that again. I have never been ridden the way that Val rides me.
Her hips moving with the perfect balance of speed and slow undulations that cause my eyes to roll into the back of my head, my hips buck upward to press into her further. Pure ecstasy. As soon as I manage to regain my composure, my fingers find their way to Val’s clit working in perfect time with the movement of her hips.
I can feel the pressure mounting within her as her walls clamp down around me. She throws her head back once more exposing her throat toward me and releases heavy sensual pants that excite me. We cum at the same time. Both breathless.
When it’s over Val climbs off me. Her tendrils of damp dark brown hair clinging to her cheek. Goddess, she is gorgeous. As I try to stabilize my breathing, she climbs out of bed and picks her robe up off the floor, covering herself once more.
My heart sinks. How I long to hold her. To stay with her just as we were before, naked, pressed together. Once her robe is tied, she disappears into the ensuite returning a moment later with a towel.
“Clean yourself up and then you better be on your way. I have a big day tomorrow and my guess is your team will be needing more of my help.” The warmth that had been in her eyes before now replaced by a cold distance.
I freeze, my heart pounding. Her words hang in the air, sharp and heavy. I don’t want to go.