Page 14 of Thorulf
Chapter Five
JADE DID HER best notto stew or show anger as she sat on Vicar’s lap and telepathically followed the conversation being had across the way. What happened outside had fired her up enough, now this. Not only was everyone conspiring against her being with Vicar, but had kept information from her that should have been hers from the beginning. Information that eerily coincided with her nightmare now that she thought about it.
Her childhood memories were actually running around Thorulf’s lair? Here, over a thousand years in the past, halfway around the world?
No wonder they shared a connection.
“If you really want to make my brother jealous, come to my chamber,” Vicar murmured in her ear. “You know it will be good.” He nipped her earlobe. “As good as our kiss,ja?”
She had to hand it to the guy for being so perceptive. For several things, actually. Not just his loyal following, including male dragons and simpering females that seemed eager to join in the fun, but for his seemingly relaxed manner at the moment. One she knew didn’t come naturally. No, he was a solid wall of tattooed pent-up muscle desperate to let hell loose on the battlefield.
Like Thorulf, Vicar was clearly a born warrior. The difference? He craved fighting like she craved men. Tirelessly and without pause. Or at least she had. Still did. Or so she hoped. Because the beast of male perfection whose lap she sat on wasn’t stirring things up like he should. Nor were any of the drool-worthy men just waiting for her to break Leviathan’s rules and bring them to bed. Or anywhere, for that matter. She eyed the lot of them with approval. Definitelywhereverwith this crowd.
She suspected many did it right here in this hall with everyone watching. Nowthatdid a little something for her. Her traitorous gaze wandered to Thorulf, her equally traitorous dragon just imagining the possibilities. He might have been able to turn away from her out in the courtyard when she kissed his brother but could he do the same if she stripped down and straddled Vicar here and now? If he was forced to watch just how good she could make a man feel?
“Ah, so not my chamber then,” Vicar whispered, surprising her when he caught her thoughts. He tilted her chin until their lips were a breath apart. “While I like the way you think, testing Thorulf to such a degree would be unwise.” He traced the pad of his thumb along her jaw, his gaze intelligent. Perceptive. “But that doesn’t matter, does it, little dragon?” He searched her eyes, amused. “Anything to have your payback.”
“How do you know that?” She frowned. “How do you know what I’m thinking when no one else does?”
“No one but Thorulf,” he corrected, surprising her again. He arched a brow. “You realize he knows you hover in his mind, yes? Knows you are out for revenge?”
He did? Seriously?
“Of course, I knew,” she lied, not about to admit she’d had no idea. She shrugged it off like she couldn't care less. “I've known all along.”
Clearly not buying it, Vicar eyed her for another moment before he tossed his head back and laughed, the sound full-bodied and booming, drawing the eyes of many. Most especially, the fiercer-looking female dragons. Múspellsheimr dragons, she imagined. Females who put him above all others. Craved him more than other males. Who could blame them? Despite being Leviathan’s protégé, Vicar had this whole tough guy king-of-the-castle thing going on. A demeanor that, quite frankly,shouldhave had her in his bed by now, but no.
Instead, she was devising new ways to make Thorulf’s life miserable.
And—she gave herself a mental kick in the ass—keeping up the current charade whether it did anything for her or not. She brushed her lips across Vicar’s, still not feeling the fireworks she should, and trailed her finger languidly over the top of a large triangular tattoo on his chest. A man like him clearly saw right through any sort of deception, so perhaps a touch of playful honesty might get her further.
“What do you think of that, anyway?” she purred, trying to get a better read on Thorulf. “What do you think of me using you to make your brother jealous? Will it work on him?”
Because if it wouldn't, then this was pointless, and she needed a new plan of attack.
Vicar considered her for a moment, his gaze still amused before, just like that, his expression fell flat, and he dug his hand into her hair roughly. In the blink of an eye, his appealing dark side got a whole lot darker.