Secured Mail (6 page)

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The queen squealed and ran straight into the king’s arms, which locked around her.

Oblivious to the other men, he picked her up and kissed her with an intensity that demanded privacy.

Eventually, the king caught Sven’s gaze. “Can you take care of my son for a little while?”

Sven winked at the baby as his parent’s disappeared into the bedroom without a backward glance. “You’ll get used to them doing that. After five days apart, the king is probably desperate to spill his seed.”

Bron laughed. His blond hair gleamed in the light as he ran his fingers through it.

He was the youngest of the queen’s three servers. He looked as if he’d just woken up from a refreshing nap rather than spent the day traveling with an irritable king.

“Aye, that’s the truth. He’s been a bear for the last two days. I was glad to return.”

He hugged Harlan and came across to smile down at the babe. He wrinkled his nose at the smell.

“How is our young prince? Still keeping everyone awake at night?”

Sven snorted. “You’ve only been gone a few days, nothing has changed.”

Harlan cleared his throat. “Apart from the fact that Sven has found himself a woman.”

Bron stopped smiling at the baby to stare at Sven.

“You have a woman?”

“I do not. Harlan is trying to be amusing and failing as usual.”

Bron continued to stare at him. “And what does the queen think about that? You have always been her favorite.”

Abruptly, Sven passed the baby to Bron. “I have to attend a security meeting about the perimeter wall. You and Harlan will have to look after the young prince.” He glanced at the bedroom door. “I doubt the king will let the queen out of bed for a long while. Be prepared to call the nanny woman if the baby needs anything.”

Harlan’s soft laugh stopped him at the door. “Are you running away from us, Sven or are you so enamored of Ms. Cooper that you can’t bear to be from her side?

Sven clenched his fists. “I am going to meet with Mr. Matt Logan to discuss increasing the security patrols around the wall.” He held Harlan’s gaze. “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”

Harlan closed his mouth and shook his head. Bron followed suit.

“Good, then I will see you both later. Let me know when the king emerges. I need to speak to him.”

He resisted the temptation to slam the door and moved swiftly down the corridor.

His steps slowed when he reached the main hallway. He did have a meeting with Matt Logan but it wasn’t for another half an hour. Should he seek out Ms. Cooper and try to make things right with her?

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Kate Pearce

His feet took him out of the house and into the extensive gardens behind the property. Fingers of white fog drifted over the high wall, wrapping themselves around the treetops and diluting the weak power of the sun. Sven shivered in his thin cotton shirt. He missed Valhalla’s hot dry air, the shimmering purple desert sand and the two suns. The San Francisco fog, which moved with a speed that surprised him, was not to his taste at all.

If he found Ms. Cooper he would probably just make things worse. He wasn’t used to sharing his feelings with anyone, let alone a woman. The queen insisted it was important but he had yet to be convinced. Showing an enemy that you were vulnerable could never be a good thing.

He spotted a secluded stone bench under an arch covered with fragrant yellow flowers and headed for it. Intellectually, he knew women weren’t the enemy but he had protected his heart for many years and somehow they had come to seem like that. He buried his head in his hands. The sweet scent of the early blooming flowers reminded him of the lushness of a Valhalla evening, the welcoming scent of a woman’s body. Ms.

Cooper deserved to be loved and cherished as did all women. What chance would a man like him have with her anyway? He wasn’t even sure if he was capable of sustaining a loving relationship.

The trouble was, he wanted her badly. Just thinking of the taste of her sex made him hard again. He sat back and absently rubbed his palm over his erect shaft, enjoying the caress of his leather pants and zipper on his rapidly hardening flesh. Would Ms.

Cooper like his cock? She’d seemed impressed when she’d touched him last night.

Sven groaned and cast a quick glance around him. The garden was deserted and he knew that none of the security cameras were aimed at this part of the property. He couldn’t go to his meeting with a hard-on. With more haste than grace, he unzipped his pants, grunting as the metal teeth grazed his skin. He closed his fist around the base of his shaft and pumped hard. Pre-cum soon made his movements easier as it coated his working fingers. He imagined Thea Cooper’s mouth closing around his cock, her teeth nibbling at his heated flesh.

He’d been rough with her last night and she’d taken everything without complaint.

With a moan, he flexed his shoulders where the small burn from her embedded fingernails still lingered. What would she do to him in the throes of her pleasure when his cock was buried deep inside her? Draw blood, he imagined, mark him permanently as her own, let him bite and take in return.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement in one of the second-floor windows in the security center. Thea’s startled face appeared briefly and then disappeared. Sven smiled. Sometimes the gods were kind. He hadn’t anticipated an audience but he was more than willing to perform. He angled his body toward the window and started to move his fingers again. Slower this time, showing her the full extent of his cock and how aroused he was. Would she stay and enjoy the show? He hoped it excited her as much as it did him.

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He cupped his balls in his left palm and wrapped his fingers around his shaft. With his right hand, he played roughly with the crown of his cock, enjoying the pleasure that bordered on pain, turned on by the thought of Thea watching him touch himself.

Would she be wet for him now? Her panties soaked with cream, her clit swelling and begging for his mouth?

By Thor, he wanted to go to her office, spread her legs wide and shove himself inside her in one strong mighty thrust. He knew she’d take him like that. Hard and fast without mercy. Her body so wet for him that he’d slide inside and fill her until she climaxed again and again. He started to pant and stare up at her window, willing her to see his desire, to know that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Oh. My. God.

Thea took another surreptitious peep out of the hall window. She hadn’t been mistaken. It was Sven sitting in the garden. And he wasn’t just sitting. He was…playing with himself. She licked her lips as her panties were swamped with moisture. His cock was everything she had imagined. Wide enough to make her wonder if he’d fit and long enough to make her desperate for a chance to try him on for size. Did he know she could see him? Did he realize that other people might be able to see him as well?

His fist moved fast, his movements rough as he worked his swollen cock. He kept his attention on her window, as if he wanted her to see all of him, to know that all she had to do was ask and that raw rough masculinity could be hers. She felt her face heat up and her body react. If he came to her now, she’d let him take her on her desk, she knew it.

A sound behind her made her jump. Dammit, she was at work! She couldn’t behave like this in front of her colleagues. She’d made a fool of herself with Mark and she couldn’t make that mistake again. She forced herself to pause and consider the consequences. If someone complained, Sven could face charges of indecent exposure.

Rather than yelling out of the window and attracting attention, perhaps it would be best if she went down and told him to cover himself up. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the stairs.

His wristband beeped a five minute warning and Sven increased the tempo of his fingers. He had to finish now and get to the meeting with Matt. Seeing Thea, the object of his fantasies, had raised his level of excitement beyond his ability to simply stop. He groaned as his cum spurted through his fingers and searched for a handkerchief in his pocket. Not much time to set himself to rights and get to the meeting room. He grimaced as the tender flesh of his shaft rubbed against the now wet leather.

When he reached the meeting room, he paused to smooth down his hair and check he was presentable. With a calm smile, he opened the door and found Matt already waiting for him.

“Morning, Magnusson. How’s it hanging?”

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Kate Pearce

Sven immediately fought an urge to clutch at his groin. Was something amiss?

He nodded. “It is hanging well, thank you. How is yours hanging?”

Matt grinned. “None of your business.”

Sven tried not to let his confusion show as he took a chair and sat at the table. He frowned at Matt. “Did I misspeak?”

“Not really. It’s my fault actually. I forget you don’t use the same expressions on Valhalla as we do on Earth.”

“Ah, so when you asked me how ‘it’ was hanging, it was a rhetorical question.”

“Well, I just meant how you were doing. These days, that qualifies as a rhetorical question. Nobody really want to know, right?”

“Why not?” Sven rested his hands on the table in front of him. He still wasn’t sure if he trusted Matt Logan. The man smiled too much and seemed much too close to Thea.

“Why don’t your citizens care about each other?”

“I reckon it’s because our planet has gotten so crowded that we all resent anyone who invades our personal space. And getting to know someone means you allow them into your space and then you have to care about them.”

“But it is good to care about people.”

Matt smiled. “I’m not disagreeing with you, Sven, but it can be hard sometimes.”

He sat down across the table. “Take Ms. Cooper for example. She hasn’t dated a guy in five years.”

Sven crossed his arms and tipped his chair back. “Perhaps she is too busy.”

“Perhaps she just hasn’t found a guy brave enough to invade her personal space.”

Sven studied Matt. He had heard rumors that Thea and Matt were close friends.

“She is a fine woman and would make any man a formidable mate.”

Matt winked. “Well, I haven’t thought about her in terms of mating before but I can definitely see what you are getting at. She needs a strong guy to match her strength.”

“A man like me?” Sven held Matt’s gaze. “Are you a member of her tribe or family?”

“I’m not sure I understand you.”

“It seems as if you are offering her to me.”

Matt held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not doing that. What do you think I am, her pimp?”

Sven frowned. “Now I do not understand you at all.”

Matt sighed. “How about we start this conversation over? It’s getting way too complicated. Let’s just stick to the security issues, okay?”

The door burst open and Thea fell in. Her distracted gaze flew straight to Sven. She was breathing hard, her color high. Sven stood up. He could see her tight nipples through the thin fabric of her blouse.

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“Is there something wrong, my lady?”

She flapped a hand at him as she struggled to catch her breath. “Don’t call me that. I saw you…in the garden…I went to find you.”

Sven gave a slow satisfied smile. “You saw me? Did I please you?”

Thea’s gaze shifted to Matt who was watching them with extreme interest. “No! I just thought you should know you were going to be late for your meeting.”

“But I was
coming
. You must have realized that.”

Sven fought a smile as she straightened and glared at him. “You are a jerk.”

He bowed. “I aim to please, my lady.”

“Don’t call me that!”

Matt cleared his throat. “I have no idea what’s going on here, but are you staying, Thea? If so, pull up a chair, otherwise get out.”

Thea said something over her breath, turned around and shut the door with an audible click behind her.

Matt studied Sven. “Well, it seems we are both in the doghouse now.”

“The doghouse?”

Matt groaned. “Let me explain…”

35

Kate Pearce

It was five o’clock and there was no sign of Sven. Restlessly, Thea got up and headed for the door of her office. Perhaps it was better if she didn’t see him this evening. She was still far too aware of his magnificent body, the size of his cock and what she’d like him to do to her.

If he couldn’t be bothered to leave her a message she would simply assume he wasn’t interested in liaising with her anymore. Possibly having sampled her charms, he’d decided she wasn’t worth his attention. Her stomach knotted. It served her right for turning him down. If she’d let him stay last night all her worries would’ve been over by today.

In her agitation, she headed up the stairs to the large gymnasium on the ground floor. Why should she even care what Sven thought? It wasn’t as if they were dating or anything. She stared at the door to the women’s changing room. Lifting weights and thumping a few machines around suddenly seemed like a great idea. She opened the door and inhaled the steamy scent of the showers, deodorant and sweaty bodies. Inside her locker, she was glad to find a clean set of workout gear. She slid into the one piece pink leotard and laced her shoes.

At this hour, the gym was almost deserted. Thea was delighted. With the mood she was in, she doubted anyone would find her good company. She started with stretches, having learned the painful lesson of launching into something too quickly several years before. After Mark walked out on her, she’d used the gym to channel her anger and emotions into something positive and it was a habit she’d kept up. Although her main job was to liaise these days, she was as fit as the male bodyguards.

She eyed the first machine and pictured Sven’s face. Yeah, that felt good. She soon found a regular rhythm, her arms pumping hard, her breathing steady. She only realized that someone had entered the room because of the swirl of cold air over her shoulders. She didn’t bother to glance up. Most of the other guys knew her well enough not to try to distract her when she was working out.