Claimed by Her Viking Wolf (6 page)

“
Just
your boss?” he asked. He knew his voice held the deep growl of his wolf.

His
kona
flinched,
and her heart rate kicked up, as he held himself perfectly still, crowding her
in, drinking in the scent of aroused woman, laced with fear and annoyance. He
didn’t want her to be frightened of him, but he couldn’t rein in his wolf
either.

“
That’s
none of your business,” she said. Kim tried to push him away. His wolf growled
a warning at that. Kim closed her eyes and shook her head, even as her body
instinctively molded against him, while her hands fisted in his t-shirt.

“
It
is,
minn
kona
,
”
he said.
Asger
pulled back slightly to study her
face. Flushed and trembling, she made him want to take care of her, to never
let her go.

“
I’m
not yours,” she said. When she opened her eyes, the shimmer of tears he caught
before she blinked them away, made him release her. She hugged herself, looking
so utterly miserable,
Asger
wanted to break
something. “I can’t be. You have to go back, and my life is here. You don’t
belong in this time.”

Asger
grumbled his
agreement with that assessment, and she offered him a sad smile.

“
So,
there’s no point in…” She waved her hand to encompass the two of them, and
shook her head again. “In us, this … I won’t sleep with you, and then have you
disappear, and I can’t come with you, because—”

“
What
if you could?” Her eyes grew wide when he interrupted her.
Asger
rushed on to explain. “My village, my pack, we’re different. We always have
been. The night before I arrived here, I visited our ancient one. He gave me a
prophecy … I would travel through space and time to meet my
válað
,
my destiny.” He smiled grimly at her gasp in response. “I did not believe him.
It had been many years since one such as you traveled to us. Yet, the next day
I found myself here. One minute I was fighting the neighboring clan, the next I
woke up injured in these strange lands. Then I scented you…” He let his words
trail off and left the rest unsaid.

“
I
can’t be … I mean, there are others, like me, I mean in your time? How?” she
asked and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She stilled when he growled at
her.
Asger
used his thumb to pull the exposed flesh
away from danger.

“
Only
Odin
knows how.”

She nodded, and he could almost see the wheels
turning in her head.

“
Do
they ever go back?” She blanched when he shook his head.

“
Neinn
,
minn
kona
.
”

“
So,
does that mean you can’t go back either?” He winced as her voice rose in her
agitation.
Asger
shrugged his shoulders.

“
I
don’t know. The texts don’t say, at least not yet. I will have to study them
further.”

A reluctant smile kicked up the corners of his
mouth when she gave him a shove and frowned at him.

“
Well,
then, what are you waiting for? You have to find out, and I have to go to bed
anyway…”
 
Heat rose in her cheeks, when
he adjusted his dick at the erotic images that instantly bombarded his brain at
the thought of her in a bed. He knew just what she would look like asleep. He’d
watched her often enough, when his restless animal needed to shift and
couldn’t. Being close to her was the only thing that calmed his wolf down.

“
Alone,”
she added, and he laughed.

“
Bed
notches, I get it. Though I’m still not entirely sure what that has to do with
me sinking my cock into your cunt.”

Kimberly made a strangled sound at the back of her
throat while she stepped away from him. He matched her retreat easily enough.
When the wall stopped her, he pounced. Catching her gasp in his mouth he
claimed her lips, like he wanted to claim her body. His wolf strutted when she
gave in immediately and opened to the insistent strokes of his tongue.
Asger
grunted his approval as her flavor exploded on his
taste buds. He took the kiss deeper, devouring her, making her his. The very
real need to brand her in some way consumed him. When he was finally forced to
release her to draw much needed oxygen into his lungs, they both gulped for
air. It only served to further drive this woman’s scent into his very soul, and
he knew his beast had never been closer to erupting out of his skin then right
now.

“
Run,
and remember you’re mine. If that
boss
of yours lays a finger on you
tomorrow, I’ll kill him—slowly.”

With one last look at his face, Kimberly took off
as though the hounds of hell were after her.
Asger
smiled grimly when he heard her lock her door. There was a scraping sound as
though she had dragged something in front of it, and he shook his head. Did she
really think that would stop him?

The urge to go after her was almost too much to
bear, but, instead, he forced himself back to the abandoned ledger. The answers
he sought had to be in there.

Chapter Six

“
And
then I stripped them naked and fucked them six ways from Sunday while tied to
the tree. Never did have such fun with tourists.”

Kimberly made a noncommittal sound as she slid into
the passenger seat of Richard’s Land Rover. His amused laugh did make her wonder
what exactly he’d just said. Something about tourists…

“
Yes,
well, they weren’t a bad bunch, I reckon,” she said. In truth they hadn’t been.
At least hers had been somewhat competent walkers, so the day had flown by. Out
in the open, Kim had managed to almost forget about her stern faced Viking
waiting for her at home. Her stomach clenched, and she wiped her clammy hands
on her jeans, as she recalled his growled threat of the night before. He didn’t
really mean that, did he?

Kim had successfully avoided him this morning.
After a night’s worth of tossing and turning, she’d hightailed it out of her
cottage while
Asger
had been in the shower. She’d met
an astonished looking Richard at the bottom of her lane.

She hadn’t wanted to risk
Asger
and Rich meeting, because Richard was a hugger—always had been—and she could
just imagine what the uber-possessive
Asger
would
make of that. Not that the blasted Viking had any right to that possessive
streak. She couldn’t be his destiny. What they shared was just a healthy dose
of lust, that’s all. Kim had managed to keep thoughts of
Asger
and their situation at bay during the laughter filled breakfast she’d shared
with Rich. For the most part anyway. If she seemed distant, she knew he would
put it down to her being in the middle of a story. Too keep him appeased, she’d
told him of her
idea
of a time traveling Viking clan. Richard had come
up with some interesting plot twists that would work well, if this was just a
story. Little did he know that she had been talking of
herself.
That she was even now wondering how on earth she was going to keep Rich away
from
Asger
. He would insist on walking her right up
to her cottage, especially as it was getting late, and….

“
So,
you fucked some tourists, too, then, did you, my sweet? Didn’t think you had it
in you.” Richard’s amused voice shook her out of her internal musings. Finally,
the words registered.

“
You
what?” she asked. Her father’s friend laughed as he started the car.

“
Ah,
back with me I see. What on earth is going on with you, girl? You’re as jumpy
as a cat on a hot tin roof, and even more distracted than you were this
morning. Tell me the truth now. There is more to your behavior than just being
caught up in a story, isn’t there?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, when
Richard grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. It was the concern in his
lined face that did her in, and she blinked back tears. She couldn’t lie to
him.

“
Jesus,
girl, you’re getting me worried here. You haven’t cried since we lost your
father. What in all that is holy is going on? You better tell me all, and if
you think I’m taking you back to that cottage, when you’re this upset, then
you’ve got another think comi
ng
.
You’re coming home with me, where Susan can fuss over you. It’s been ages since
you came over for dinner, after all—”

“
No,
you can’t.” His eyebrows rose as she interrupted him. Kim hurried on to
explain. “I mean, thanks, but there’s no need. I’ll come and visit Susan soon,
but I’ve got to get home. You need to drop me off at the bottom of my lane,
because … well…”

Kim flinched when Richard crunched the gears,
before he pulled up abruptly by the side of the road. The car that had been
following theirs, swerved to avoid them. The driver stood on his horn and
flipped them the finger. Richard ignored them, and Kim hunched in on herself,
when Richard glared at her.

“
Now,
listen here, young lady. Susan and I consider you the daughter we never had, so
if you think for one minute that I’m going to let this go, after the way you’ve
been acting and what you just said, you better think again. What’s wrong? And
do not try and fob me off. I’ve known you since knee high. I know when you’re
lying. What or who is waiting for you back at the cottage, and do I need to get
the shotgun out of my boot when I drop you off?”

“
No,
you can’t. He’ll kill you. He—”

Kim slammed her hand over her mouth to stop herself
from saying anymore, but the damage was done. Richard’s stare grew formidable.
He wordlessly put the car back into gear and drove. The fact that she had to
strain to hear his reply over the sound of the engine confirmed how utterly
furious he was. Richard rarely showed his anger, but when he did, it was with
quiet, deadly intent, just like he was doing now.

“
You
have until we get to your house to tell me what the fuck is going on and who
you’re afraid of, so you best start talking,”

He glanced at her, and his expression softened
slightly when he saw her reaction.

“
Whatever
mess you got into, we can sort it, girl. You know I always have your back, so—”

“
I’m
not in a mess.” He narrowed his eyes, when she interrupted him. Richard smiled
as though to encourage her to explain, before he turned his attention back to
the road.

“
Oh,
you’ll think I’m insane, but that story I’m writing…” Kim took a deep breath in.
When Richard reached across to squeeze her arm, she blurted out the truth.

“
It’s
not a story. You see, Lisa insisted we go on this camping trip, to impress her
new boyfriend. While that didn’t work too well, because they left after just
one night, I found
Asger
, or rather he found me,
and…”

Kim continued to spill the whole unbelievable tale
in a tumble of words. On the one hand it felt good to tell someone,
unbelievably freeing, in fact, but, on the other hand, she couldn’t help but
worry what Uncle Richard would make of this. She inwardly grimaced at falling
back onto the childhood endearment she had bestowed on him, even if she only
did so in her head, but he was too quiet and thoughtful. By the time they
reached the bottom of her lane, she’d filled him on everything. Richard slowed
down, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“
I’m
so glad you’re seeing this my way. I’ll get out here, so—”

“
No!”
Richard’s sharp denial made Kim jump. She threw him a worried glance when he
put his hand over hers to stop her from disengaging her seatbelt.

“
I’m
going to meet this
Asger
of yours, and I’m going to
make sure you’re okay. No, don’t even think about interrupting me. I can tell
he’s important to you, from the way you talk about him.” Again he shook his
head at her, when she made to interrupt him. “Kim, sweetheart, you can fool
yourself if it makes you feel better, but you can’t fool me.”

He grinned at her sharp intake of breath. Richard
proceeded to slowly drive up her lane.

“
In
fact, I think you and this
Asger
ought to come to
dinner tonight. I’ll ring Susan, though I’m sure she won’t mind, because she
always cooks far too much anyway. She’ll be fascinated by that ledger you
mentioned. You never know she might help him figure out how to get back.”

Kim stopped listening and screwing her eyes shut,
shook her head with an impending sense of doom. This was so not going to end
well.

Sure enough when Richard pulled up outside her
little cottage, the front door flew open. A furious looking
Asger
stood in the open doorway.
 
Head raised,
nostrils flaring he scented the air. Kim couldn’t move a muscle as his softly
glowing gaze pinned her in place.

Richard whistled under his breath.
Asger’s
gaze darted to him when he opened the door of the
Land Rover.

****

Parts of him wanted to leap across and tear that
fucker’s throat out for daring to touch his mate. She’d been crying. He could
still scent the salt of her tears, overshadowed as it was by the waves of worry
that poured off of her small frame. Worry for this
male.
 

The human, who now advanced toward him, held his
head high. His confidence spoke of his advanced years as much as the deep
laughter lines on his face, and the streaks of grey at his temples. This man
seemed to be silently assessing him, and his wolf growled low in his throat.

It was a warning, as much as a sign of respect for
the older man. One sniff of the man’s scent had been all it had taken to
reassure his animal. This man was mated to another female. Her scent
intermingled with his. While he had feelings for
Asger’s
kona
,
Asger
could only sense the need to protect. If his scent wasn’t so different
Asger
would have thought this was his
kona
’s
father. His tense muscles
unfurled, and he dipped his head in greeting, when the other man stopped inches
in front of him, offered him a fleeting smile, and then held out his hand.

“
You
must be
Asger
. My name is Richard, and if you harm
one hair on my girl’s body, you’ll regret it.”

Asger’s
wolf growled in
warning, but this Richard ignored him, and smiled.

“
It’s
customary in this time to shake a man’s hand when it’s held out to you, you
know.” After a moment’s hesitation
Asger
allowed the
older man to grasp his hand in a firm handshake.

Kim’s gasp behind Richard made him look over the
shorter man’s head and smile, before he turned his attention back to the man
studying him.

“
Asger
, son of
Liufr
.” He withdrew
his hand and raised an eyebrow at a still worried looking Kim.

“
You
should have told me this
boss
of yours was…” He smiled as he let his
gaze run all over the other man again. “Old.”

Richard laughed, but Kim bristled in outrage.

“
How
dare you. Richard isn’t old, and if I told you once I told you a thousand
times, my relationships with other men are none of your business, so now that
you two have met, perhaps …
umph
.”

Richard frowned and Kim paled when
Asger
spun her around and into the hallway where he
proceeded to crowd her against the wall. His wolf all but salivated, having her
curves molded against his body like this. Kim was all softness against the hard
planes of his body. They fit together perfectly. All, he’d have to do was grab
her ass cheeks to lift her up a few inches, and they would be in the perfect
position to fuck.

Mindful of their audience, however,
Asger
pulled back slightly. He studied an outraged looking
Kimberly.

“
You’re
mine,
kona
.
You will have no
relations
with other men, not unless you want me to kill them.”

Kim growled at him. That feminine, deep throated
sound shot straight to his balls.
Asger
dipped his
head and licked a path along her neck, before he bit down to leave a mark—just
enough for Kim to groan, for the scent of her feminine musk to lace the air
between them. He doubted the human watching their interaction with a certain
amount of quiet amusement would be able to smell it, but his wolf yipped his
satisfaction at his mate’s reaction to his show of dominance. Her body
responded to him even if her mind still struggled with the reality of their
situation as she tried to push him away.

“
Let
me go, you oaf. Of all the chauvinistic things to say. I’m not, nor will I ever
be, yours, you damn infuriating man. Let. Me. Go.”

She punctuated each growled word with another
attempted shove against his chest.
Asger
eventually
let her go with a smirk.

Richard cleared his throat and laughed, which made
Kim spin around and glare at her boss, too.

“
This
isn’t funny, Rich,” she said. The human male sobered.

“
Of
course not, sweetheart. Under the circumstances I must insist that you come
back to my place…”
Asger’s
wolf growled his
displeasure, and the human held his hands up in a defensive move. “You’re
invited too, Viking. For starters, my wife would have my hide if I didn’t
introduce you to her. She’s a historian with a particular interest in the
Northmen’s lives and how they impacted and shaped ancient Britain, so she’ll be
tickled pink to meet a real life one, as incongruous as that idea sounds.” He
paused when Kim huffed her annoyance, and smiled.

“
Besides,
if you think I let the girl I think of as my daughter be alone with you, after
what I have just witnessed…” His smile deepened when
Asger’s
wolf rumbled a warning. Kim rolled her eyes, and put her hands on her hips.

“
Really,
I don’t need your
protection.
This whole thing is ridiculous. We’re not
in the freaking dark ages, so—”

“
Humor
an old man, girl.” Richard’s amused response took the wind out her sails, while
Asger’s
respect for the other man grew. “You said
yourself it’s been too long since you’ve visited. Susan will want to see you.
She might even be able to help you two solve the mystery of how this Viking of
yours came to be in our time.”

“
He’s
not my Viking,” she said. Kim blanched when
Asger
turned his attention back to her.