Dreams of a Dark Warrior

FORTY-SIX

“God in heaven, woman.” Declan lifted her, laying her against his side. “That’ll change a man’s outlook on life real quick.”

The best way to bring a male back from the brink? Hot oral sex with a Valkyrie. And he finally understood what her little claws were all about!

As a light rain fell over their heated skin, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, groaning in satisfaction. Complete peace. For the first time in his life.

The strain was gone, and in its place was something like elation. Oh, aye, elation and excitement coursed through him. He finally believed he could look forward to more with her.

His woman. A future worth fighting for. All the things that had been missing from his life for so long.

More.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” she muttered.

“I’ll argue that point to my dyin’ breath. Do you deny you enjoyed that? You’re glowin’ bright as day, and you came hard enough. Twice.”

“Oh, please! I hadn’t rubbed one out in more than three weeks. Diaper play would’ve gotten me off at this point.”

“I’ll make a note.”

She stiffened beside him. “This doesn’t change anything.”

“Regin, it changes everything! You’re attracted to me.” And I can be what you need in bed. “Anything else I can fix.”

“Like your scathing hatred for my world?”

He pinched her chin, tipping her head back. “Then show it to me! Show me why I was wrong to hate it.”

“It’s too deep-seated in you, too ingrained.”

“Maybe it was before, but I must be shakin’ it. Hell, I don’t know up from down anymore. Nothing about me is fixed.”

She murmured, “You’re unfinished.”

“Aye, precisely.”

“I need to go.”

When she moved to get up, he shoved her against his side and slapped her arse to keep her there. “You stay with me.”

She snapped, “What do you want from me, Chase?”

He drew his head back in confusion. “I want everything. You’re mine, Regin.” He’d earned her by right of every miserable second of his life. “Let me tell you how this is goin’ to go down. I’ll get you and your friends off this island, and then you and I will figure out a place to put down roots.” Her lips worked soundlessly. “Speechless? Would’ve thought that an impossibility.” He nipped the tip of her ear. “I might have four or five decades of life left—a blink of an eye in your lifetime. I will have you till I die, so you’re just goin’ to have to suck it up.”

“What gives you the right to demand all this?”

“If your man Aidan actually hitched a ride with me, then I’m entitled to the use of his woman for a few years. And I want to seal this deal with you tonight.”

“No way, Chase. You can’t have sex with me.”

“You want me to.” He studied her expression. “Christ. You need me to.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

She hadn’t denied either! “Because of the curse.”

“Among other things.”

“Like what?” Then it dawned on him. “You’re worried I’ll get you pregnant?” His brows drew together. “Never thought about that before.” He remembered looking around the home he’d known for a decade, thinking how grim and silent it was. How soulless his entire existence was.

Now possibilities spread out before him, ones he’d never imagined for himself. I could be a … da? The corners of his lips curled.

It struck him then that his entire outlook must have shifted. Because the idea of a sprawling lightning-struck house filled with Valkyrie daughters and berserker sons felt exactly right. “Regin, I’ve got money saved up. I can take care of you and our bairns.”

“Okay, that wasn’t what I was talking about. Valkyrie aren’t fertile unless we eat for a few weeks.”

He’d had no idea. Fascinating.

“But since you brought it up … Dude. You’re a jobless, homeless drug addict. Great daddy material.”

Straight-talking Regin. “I’ll never touch the shite again. I don’t need to suppress my strength or get mindless again—I need to be strong and clear to protect what’s mine.” He squeezed her tighter, pressing his lips against her hair. “As for the job, I’ve money enough to keep you in Aston Martins, Valkyrie. And to buy a home. Or two.” When she raised a brow, he explained, “For twenty years I’ve had zero expenses. I haven’t spent a dime of my substantial salary. And many of my captures carried bounties. Now, what was your point?”

“What if you had a ‘freak’ child? It seems like that’d be your worst fear, to get a detrus pregnant.”

“Don’t ever use that word to describe yourself again. That was my mistake—not seeing that there are differences among the immortals. Good and evil, just like with humans.”

“Yeah, well, your realization came too late for me.” She shoved away from him, rising to her feet.

With a sigh, he let her go. His skin felt bare and cold without her. All these years avoiding touch, and now he wanted nothing more than to have her warm little body against him.

When she strode over to her clothes, the sight of that naked arse had him hard all over again. Voice rough, he said, “Stay with me.” Had that sounded like a command?

Her back stiffened, then she pulled on her knickers. “Forget it.”

Here goes nothing. He exhaled and said, “I am … sorry.”

Regin froze. Without turning, she asked, “What did you say?”

He grated, “I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you repeatedly. And that I hurt … people you care about.”

“An apology?” She faced him. “That must’ve been difficult.”

“I thought I was doing my duty with you. With all immortals. I followed my commander’s orders blindly.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “We … went too far.”

That haunted look in his eyes. She was drawn to his pain, wanting to soothe it. Aidan had never needed her. This man before her needed Regin like a lifeline.

“Webb was your commander?” At his nod, she said, “You seemed close to him.”

“He was like my father and best friend rolled into one. He saved my life from a pack of Neoptera. That’s what did this to me.”

Those creatures were terror personified. She’d suspected, but to hear it confirmed … “How old were you?”

Instead of answering her, he held out his hand. “I’ll only talk about this if you sleep the rest of the night by my side.”

“You sound like Lothaire, making everything a transaction.”

“Maybe he’s right to.”

With a roll of her eyes, she sat down a couple feet from him, pulling her knees up to her bare chest. At once, he yanked her back to his side.

She exhaled, defeated. “How old?”

“I was seventeen.”

“That picture you showed me, it was of your parents.”

He tensed against her. “Aye.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a Neo attack.”

“Webb saved my life before they finished me.”

Finished him. Everything began to make sense. His family had been massacred, he’d been maimed. And the man who’d saved his life warred against immortals.

“He gave me a reason to keep going. Taught me everything I know.”

Meaning he’d been brainwashed, and at such a young age. Declan Chase had never had a chance. “What will happen with Webb now?”

“If he finds out that I lived and went AWOL, he’ll put a bounty on my head.” There was a thread of something like grief in Chase’s voice.

“That’s harsh.”

“I … I almost killed him.”

“What? Why?”

“He’s the one who ordered you vivisected. Hid it from me. He’d learned I was a berserker by then, so he would’ve known that you were mine.” Chase’s eyes glowed with menace. “Yet he still hurt you. When La Dorada arrived, I was squeezing the life out of him.” His hands fisted even now.

He’d harmed the man he looked upon as a father? Over her? She’d heard his outraged bellow that night. …

“I am done with the Order, done with Webb. Face it, Regin. You’re the only friend I have in the world.”

He thinks we’re friends? “When did you start to feel differently about me?”

“That night in my bathroom marked the beginning of the end for me. I actually considered runnin’ with you to bloody Belfast. Would you have gone with me then?”

So fast it would’ve made his head swim. But she didn’t need to encourage him. Instead of answering, she brushed his track marks. “What happened here?”

“I used to inject a drug to keep my rage and strength in check. It had an opiate in it as well.”

“How long have you been doing it? Some of the marks look old.”

“Over a decade.” He hesitated, then said, “Before that … I shot heroin. When I was younger in Belfast.”

Oh, gods. “Because you always felt sick inside?” His past lives competing with his present, the nightmares and memories. …

He shrugged, but he didn’t deny it.

Then she should have found him as a boy before he got so twisted. Instead of running from Aidan’s latest incarnation, she should have protected him. Guilt was like a lead weight over her chest.

How loyal am I? I abandoned Aidan to fate. Left a young Declan Chase at the mercy of the world.

As if sensing her turmoil, he said, “Come now, lass.” Whenever Aidan had wanted to look into her eyes, he’d gently cupped her face in his hands. Not so with Declan. He gathered her neck in the crook of his arm and held her steady as he gazed down. “Let’s no’ talk about that. You’re with me now.”

Even after everything that had happened, Regin found herself nodding against him, her arm gliding across his deep chest.

“But I want you to understand that I’m not tryin’ to replace Aidan. Know I can’t. You loved him too bloody much.”

I didn’t. Not irrevocably. The Valkyrie believed that one of their kind could recognize her eternal mate when he opened his arms and she realized she would forever run to get within them. Regin had been so close to running to Aidan, but she’d fought those feelings. “I … didn’t love him.” Hadn’t allowed myself to.

“What? Why didn’t you fall for him?”

“I needed him body and soul, but my heart was still my own.”

Chase stared up at the sky, and the corners of his lips curled. A thousand years ago, Aidan had evinced that same expression. Anticipation. “Then, Valkyrie, it’s still mine to win.”

In time, his breaths deepened, and he passed into sleep. As Regin watched, his eyes began to dart behind his lids, his arm tightening around her.

He’s dreaming. Her own eyes welled with tears as she whispered, “Shh, be at ease. …”