Page 12 of The Stolen Bride (Kings of Fury #2)

Chapter

Twelve

Lip-Lock and Conquer: Bringing Your Berserker To His Knees With a Single Kiss

–HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BERSERKER

By Elizabeth “Elle” Darcy-Bruce

H ours passed as I awaited Viktor. I tried to be a good little shelter bunny, obedient to the warrior who’d oh so graciously agreed to rescue my precious sister from homicidal bird shifters. I played the violin. Paced and mulled over his confession, my reoccurring dream, and a million other things. Searched the sheltered. Swirled around my finger the ring he’d given to Bodi, who’d tucked it inside the pack, as if he’d wanted me to have it.

After a while, my mood soured. If I’d been forgotten again, I would do murder! Viktor claimed he didn’t want me bottling. Well. We’d find out if he changed his mind when I finally let loose .

I twisted the metal band with more force, hoping and praying Juniper or even Deco would contact me. If the hologram projecting jewelry was dangerous, or some kind of GPS device, the king wouldn’t have demanded it be brought with us, so, I had no qualms about keeping it.

Over the course of the day, outside noises filtered into the tent in waves. Sawing. Hammering. Grunting. What were they doing out there, exactly? Oh, I got that they were building traps and defenses. But what kind of traps? What kind of defenses? And how many weapons were out there, being ignored, ready to be pilfered?

Finally, curiosity got the better of me, and I marched to the exit to peer out at the campsite. When I spotted the soldiers, I performed a double take. A shirtless, sweaty Viktor worked alongside several of his shirtless, sweaty men, each sharpening long tree branches into spears they then anchored into the ground and pointed up to the sky.

My gaze returned to the king. Droplets slid over glorious mounds of muscle. White locks stuck to his brow and curled adorably at the ends. He muttered to himself, and though I didn’t hear him, I knew what he said. The shape of his gorgeous lips formed three clear words. Find. Destroy. Happy.

I still didn’t know what, exactly, he meant. He’d never confirmed or denied my suspicions. Maybe I’d nailed it, and he searched for the key, hoped to destroy the shifters, and could then gain happiness. Maybe I was a hundred percent wrong. Either way, his strain had worsened.

With Viktor’s promise that I could keep any weapons I stole front and center, I looked over the selection. Some of the men sat before a firepit, sharpening swords, daggers, and arrows.

“Clover?”

Hearing my own voice but not being the one to speak threw me. Then realization dawned, and I jerked backward, raising the hand with the ring. And there she was. A small, holographic image of my twin. She suffered no injuries that I could see. Bore no chains or restrictions, either.

“Juniper.” Love overwhelmed me. Heart racing, I rushed to the pallet to hide myself from anyone who entered. “You are okay?”

“I am. For now.” Worry glazed her expression. “Deco has given me five minutes to convince you to sneak away from your king and meet him at a location of his choosing.”

So he already knew of Viktor’s survival. How many spies did Deco have positioned nearby?

“Four minutes and twenty-two seconds remain,” the shifter king called from somewhere near my sister.

Juniper scowled at the sound of his smug, condescending voice. “He is literally the worst.”

“What happens when I refuse to sneak away?” I asked, understanding his game. Imprison or kill us both, sending Viktor into a wild rage.

“Deco will probably spend another couple of hours describing all the terrible things he hopes to do to me when the time is right, trying to scare me but failing.” The picture of stubbornness, she made an obscene gesture at someone beyond the hologram.

Inside I cheered. That’s my twin! I adored her so much already, but the need to be with her sharpened. “I’m coming for you,” I vowed. “On my terms, not Deco’s. Nothing will stop me.”

“Be careful,” she warned, worried again. “He’s got traps everywhere. All he’s done is brag about them. I’ve never, in all my days, met anyone more annoying.”

“Tell her about the one with the bugs,” Deco called, not the least bit upset by Juniper’s revelation. “They eat everything in their path, even flesh.”

Disgust and horror delivered a one, two punch.

“Tell her I’ve thought of everything,” he added. “Tell her there’s nothing she and her band of merry sentinels can do to win.”

Oh, how I despised this shifter. “I’m very much looking forward to meeting the two of you in person, but for vastly different reasons.”

The barest hint of a smile teased a corner of my sister’s mouth. “I’m excited to meet you, too. I didn’t know I had a sister, much less a twin. I just knew…” She trailed off, her cheeks pinkening with embarrassment.

“Something was missing,” I finished for her.

An enthusiastic nod met my words. “Did you have any idea berserkers and shifters existed?”

“No!” Not in real life. “Did you?”

She shook her head. “Not even a blip. Although there were dreams… Then suddenly Malachi Cromwell showed up at my home. You know, that sporty movie star guy? He told me to ensure King Viktor joins Team Evil for the greater good, then knocked me out. I woke up in a strange forest, and within minutes, Deco had me in his custody.”

So the griffin king had known we were twins, and he’d sent us both to do the same job for this mysterious greater good of the berserker world. “He did the exact same thing to me.” Questions barreled over my tongue. “This may not be the time or place, but where do you live? What do you do for a living? Are you married? Have any kids? What kind of dreams?”

“Okay, let’s see if I can do this in order. Oklahoma. I’m a vet and divorced. No kids. And weird dreams about what I now know is a berserker. What about you? ”

That we’d both chosen a field with animals sparked a little laugh from me. “I live in Georgia, I own a pet grooming business, and I’ve never been married. I don’t have kids, either.” But I wanted them. One day. “My dreams feature a berserker, too. He has a sword…”

“Yes!” she cried.

Deco must have said something over the phone, because Juniper’s gaze jumped over me again. Her lips parted. “There’s another woman here,” she blurted and jutted her chin.

“You shouldn’t have done that, nyuszi,” he said and tsked.

He’d called her ‘bunny’. Seriously?

“Fine!” she spat. “As agreed, I’ll say nothing else about my cellmate. Whose name is Valkara.”

“The Valkara,” I automatically corrected in unison with Deco. So. The guardian of the Starfire was real. The woman who whispered in Viktor’s mind, advising him to kill me, was being held captive by the shifter king.

I needed to tell Viktor right away. But how would he react? Rage and rush to the shifter, risking an encounter with flesh-eating bugs?

“Do not trust the Val–” The connection cut off before I could finish my warning. I shouted a short, sharp denial. “Come back,” I pleaded, shaking the ring. “Juniper!”

A commotion drew my attention to the entrance of the “room.” Viktor burst inside a split second later, a dagger in each hand. Huffing and puffing his breaths, he scanned the space. Glowing golden rings filled his irises. Dirt streaked his sweat-glazed body, already double the usual size.

I had never seen a sexier view.

When he ceased his search and settled his gaze on me, I barely stopped myself from closing the distance and wrapping my arms around him to offer comfort.

He fisted his hands. “No trouble?” he demanded, confusion woven into his guttural tone.

My pulse kicked into an erratic sprint. He’d run to get to me, all because I’d made a noise of distress. Okay, that settled it. I seriously liked this man.

“No, no trouble.” I didn’t mean to, but I smiled as I stood. Maybe I exaggerated the roll of my hips a little on my walk over. “I’m good.” Mostly. He wasn’t, though, his breathing still labored. I flattened a palm against his damp sternum, between two of the world’s most amazing pecs. “All is well, baby. I mean Snarls. I mean Tor. I promise. My sister contacted me via the ring, and when she disappeared, I overreacted. My sincerest apologies. I shouldn’t have bellowed while living in a campground with a group of berserkers. Lesson learned.”

He clasped my fingers and lifted my hand, gazing at the ring in the light. “What else was said?” Though he growled the words, I sensed the danger had passed. The intensity in his eyes faded as his fingers entwined with mine. “She couldn’t have contacted you without Deco’s knowledge.”

“Oh, he knew.” I was going to tell Viktor all of it. I must. I’d promised to hide nothing from him. If he decided to hit the road before we had a plan to combat those bugs, I’d talk him out of it. “Look. Deco gloated about having more traps for us. You were right about that. One of them involves flesh-eating bugs. He also mentioned he, well…he has the Valkara in his custody.”

Tension gobbled up every molecule of air. “Did you see her?”

“No. But Juniper told me the Valkara is her cellmate, and there’s no way my sister would lie to me. ”

His eyes slitted. “How can you know that? You do not know her.”

“Because…just because! She’s my sister.” My other half. Bonded to me. “Also, I don’t like what you’re implying.”

“I take nothing back.” He offered no more on the subject, but I heard the words he kept to himself. You have spent no time with her. Have no idea about her character, her life, what she believes or loves or hopes for in the deepest recesses of her heart. She might be working with Deco .

And I got it. After all, he’d loved Deco like a brother, fought by his side, and risked his own life only for the royal to betray him. “Since you aren’t freaking out, I can only assume you believe the Valkara isn’t a prisoner.”

“Just because a woman claimed to be her doesn’t mean she is.”

“What if the Valkara is the one aiding Deco?” I asked, stepping away and severing contact.

“She isn’t.”

“You’re so certain she’s loyal to you. Has she told you she is or isn’t a prisoner?”

He worked his jaw. “Since I rejected her last attempt to speak to me, she has ceased all attempts at communication.”

Good! The woman wanted me dead.

“But she isn’t the prisoner. She’s too powerful to be captured. Deco sought to trick us, nothing more.” His gaze fastened on my lips and remained. Warm shivers intensified my desires as awareness thickened the air. Seconds…minutes passed and neither of us moved on.

If he didn’t do something soon, I’d…I’d…

He shot out his arm, clasped my wrist, and yanked me against him.

Air pffed from me. With my chest pressed against his, and our joined hands positioned behind my back, I was well and truly trapped. And I loved it.

He brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “I suspect the Valkara cannot speak to me because my head is filled with thoughts of kissing you.”

My heart tripped over itself. “Is that so?”

He continued to stare at my mouth. Glared, really. “It is.”

I glided my tongue over my bottom lip and leaned into him. “And you want me to do something about it, because you’re super into me?”

“Very much so,” he rumbled, low and soft and husky, dipping his head. His emerald gaze crackled with inner flames. “I’m absolutely into you, and you’re only making it worse.”

I swallowed, then swallowed again. With ten words, he’d snuck past every defense I’d thought I’d erected.

“Same, baby. Same.” With a mewl, I rose on my tiptoes and finally did it. I claimed his mouth with my own.

He groaned and opened for me. Then he took over, thrusting his tongue against mine. One stroked the other. The kiss intensified and sped up, as if he’d finally found a source of oxygen and couldn’t get enough. As if he’d waited his entire life for this moment. I could only thrill. The sweetness of his taste proved intoxicating, and the heat of his body melted my bones.

Dazed, I poured myself into him, kissing him back with all the passion contained in my body. More little mewling sounds slipped out as thoughts died, one after the other. There was only Viktor and this embrace. This world-rocking, life-changing exchange of breaths.

“Love. Don’t stop.” His grip on my fingers tightened. Bending his knees, he scooped me up with his free hand. As he straightened, lifting me off my feet, I slung my unbound arm around his shoulders, finding balance and pressing ever closer.

On and on we kissed, harder, faster, and it was good, so good. Intoxicating and addictive. Pure seduction. I never wished it to end. But mid-walk to the pallet, he stopped and wrenched his face away with a guttural growl.

For a stolen moment, he pressed his brow against mine. Then he released my hand and set me apart from him, forcing me to let go as well. Our labored exhalations filled the small space between us.

“My mantra,” he snapped. “It’s the prophecy Malachi mentioned.”

Wait. I struggled to understand what he was telling me, until I didn’t. “Are you kidding? That’s the first thing you think of after kissing me senseless?” I lightly pounded my fists against his chest. “That isn’t the way to secure a second kiss, your majesty.”

He smirked at me. “As if you aren’t already desperate to try again and do better.”

Do better? Do better! I sputtered to make intelligent words, and his eyes glittered. He must be teasing me. Because I’d told him to teach me how to kiss him properly while he slept. But, but, Viktor Endris, the mischief maker? Make it make sense. Except, dang him, he wasn’t wrong! I really was desperate to go again.

“Be serious.” Also, how and why was he sexier right now than two seconds ago? “At least give me a critique of my kiss before you launch into a chat about prophecies. Describe an area I should work on. Of course, I will then offer you the same courtesy.”

“As if I require improvement.” He claimed my hand again, linking our fingers.

Oh, really? “Well, then, give me another kiss and show me what I did wrong.” As coquettish as possible, I sidled closer while slipping one of his daggers from its sheath with my free hand and hiding the weapon in my pocket. The blade cut through the fabric just enough to catch on the sides of the hilt, letting the weapon dangle and rest against my thigh. To mask my actions, I made sure to pout up at him all the while.

Satisfaction lit his irises, and he couldn’t hide it. He lowered his head. “Perhaps one more.”

“Oh, never mind,” I said with a breezy tone, stepping back. “I’d rather get a tour of the campsite, so I’ll know where not to go. Then we should eat.”

His eyelids slitted. “You are a craftier opponent than I realized.”

I preened with genuine pleasure. “Thank you.”

He worked his jaw. “Before we go, there’s something you should know. The reason I stopped,” he said, giving me a squeeze. “The Valkara spoke a prophecy over each of the original kings. Everything she said has come to pass. Except mine.”

Okay. Subject switch accepted and encouraged. “I’m listening.”

He braced. “She told me my firebrand will betray and kill me unless I find her, destroy her, and let myself be happy with her sister.”