She'd often thought so herself. Luckily for them, she had no interest in garnering a man's attention.

"And you could no' be bonnier."

In fact, she could be. Her hair was drenched. Her clothes were boring - a serviceable pair of shorts and a plain T-shirt. She wore no makeup or jewelry, but then, she never did. Not since she'd started wearing the bow.

"Are you fey or Valkyrie?"

I'm an Archer. A celibate in plain clothes. A shadow in the background. "Guess." At least he got points for not mistaking her for a nymph. Unfortunately, the two species resembled each other with their elven features. That was where all similarities ended.

"With the bow and the pointed ears, I'd normally say fey. But you've wee fangs and claws, so I fear it will no' be so easy as that."

"Easy? What are you talking about?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it, slanting his head at her in an appraising way. She sensed that whatever he'd been about to tell her, he decided against it, instead saying: "Seduction. Valkyrie are notoriously difficult to seduce."

He wanted to seduce her? No talk of a date, of courting, just sex. Men! "Difficult, you say? If you've made a go at one of us in your current state - unshaven, bloody, half-dressed, and covered in mud - I just can't imagine why. Not to mention that you smell of mash and distillery. Be still my heart."

He scrubbed a palm over his face, seeming surprised to find stubble there. "Today is no' a good day for me."

"Then you should go back and enjoy your groupies. I've always heard that nothing brightens one's outlook like an orgy with nymphs." Why this sharp tone? As if she were jealous. A spark of disquiet arose in her.

"Doona want them." He drew closer. "Even before I saw you." He gazed deeply into her eyes, as if he could see through her chaste, ascetic shell and recognize how wild she truly was. As if he knew her façade was a shaky house of cards that could be felled with a touch.

You have a darkness in you, Lucia, Skathi had warned her eons ago. You must constantly be vigilant against it.

Yes, vigilant. Lucia needed to get home, away from this rumbling-voiced werewolf. A face like his had been her undoing once, a handsome face that had concealed a monster.

Just as this one's did.

"The attraction isn't mutual," she said crisply. "So be on your way." With that, she turned to dispose of her kill, intending to throw the pieces into the water for the animals there to feed on. When she bent for the kobold's head, the Lykae picked up the body, as if he were being gentlemanly, retrieving a dropped handkerchief. So surreal. They lobbed the pieces into the murky water.

Her task done, she brushed off her hands and turned for home.

He followed.

She stopped, glaring briefly at the sky before telling him, "Werewolf, save yourself both time and effort. Whatever is the opposite of a sure thing, that's me."

"Because I'm a Lykae?"

Because you're a man. "You were right earlier - I am a Valkyrie. And my kind considers yours little better than animals." They did. Though Lykae weren't formal enemies like the vampires, older Valkyrie had battled them in the past, during bygone Accessions - faction-wide wars in the Lore. They'd said it was rare to see one fully turned unless you threatened their mate or offspring, but that even a hint of the beast that resided inside them was harrowing....

So where was the conviction in Lucia's tone?

"Aye, mayhap they do, but what do you consider me?" He narrowed his eyes. "Surely you doona agree with them or you would no' want me to mate you now."

Her lips parted. "Mate me? I've met arrogant males in my day, but you are the king of them."

A shadow passed over his face. "The king, then? What a way of putting it." But he quickly recovered. "Then give me a boon for taking the prize. Tell me your name."

She exhaled, then grudgingly said, "I'm called Lucia the Huntress."

"Lousha," he repeated.

Everyone she'd ever known had pronounced her name Loo-see-ah. With his thick Scottish accent, the werewolf pronounced it Lousha. She just stopped herself from shivering.

"Well, then, Lousha the Huntress" - a roguish grin curled his lips - "you've snared me."

Tingles danced over her body, but just as swiftly foreboding filled her. She had no business responding to him. He'd just left the nymphs and a guaranteed orgy. He would expect sex from a female this night.

Which she could never give - even if she wanted to - without disaster.

So why was her gaze descending along his damp chest? Her eyes followed the trail of hair from his navel down to the low-slung waist of his worn jeans, then lower... she almost gasped to see the bulge there.

She realized he must have been doing the same perusal of her - because the bulge grew. She quickly glanced up, found the Lykae's gaze was riveted to her breasts. Her nipples were straining against the wet material of her shirt, and he was staring hard at them as if he wanted to remove her top - with his mind.

When their eyes met once more, his flickered blue again, reminding her anew of why interacting with him was unwise. "Run along, wolf. Or I'll make you wish you had."

"That will no' be happening, Valkyrie."

"Why?" At his determined look, a suspicion arose in her, one so ridiculous it hardly warranted another thought. But she couldn't shake it. "I'm not... your mate, or anything, right?" She couldn't be.

"Nay. Though I might wish it otherwise."

Thank the gods for that. "Then - leave."

When he instead drew nearer, she yanked free her bow and nocked an arrow, drawing the string without thought. She aimed straight for his heart, which wouldn't kill an immortal like him but would put him down for a good while. "Stop right where you are, or I'll shoot."

He didn't stop right where he was. "You would no'. When I mean you no harm?"

"This isn't an idle threat," she said in a steely tone. His expression turned impatient, as if he couldn't understand where her caution was coming from. "I will shoot you if you come closer."

He came closer. So she shot him in the heart. Or four inches to the right, having decided at the last second to vary her aim by a degree.

The arrow landed in his solid chest, drilling through his muscles until only the flights were visible. "Bluidy hell, woman!" he bellowed, scowling down at his chest.

In a placid tone, she reminded him, "I told you not to come closer."

He fisted the flights, trying to draw the arrow free, but those barbs made it impossible. Reaching around awkwardly, he grated, "Help me get this thing loose!"

She blinked up at him. "I put the arrows in. I don't take them out."

His chin jutted. "You do with me."

The corners of her lips quirked, surprising her. What a wild, mad Lykae. She schooled her features. "Why would I ever?"

"Because, Valkyrie" - he started for her again, apparently planning to ignore the arrow in his chest - "by the close of this night we'll be sharing a bed, and you'll feel foolish to have shot up your bedmate."

With a sigh, she let sail another arrow. "Oh, dear, how foolish of me. You were saying?"

He continued closer. "When I set to kissing those pouting lips of yours - "

Another arrow sunk into his chest.

Now three wounds marred his gorgeous body, three trails of blood tracking over the rises and falls of rock-hard muscle. Gritting his teeth, he said, "This hurts like hell, lass, but it's heartening."

"How do you figure?"

"At fifty times the distance, you dispatched that kobold with three arrows to the neck. I've earned a trio to the chest. Seems you slapped him while you're tickling me. You doona want to kill me, which is a good sign. Maybe this is your way of flirting?"

She sobered once more, reality washing over her. "I'm not flirting - trust me, you'd know." Because disaster would be imminent. Damn it, he kept coming for her.

"If you're truly a hunter, you will no' leave a wolf to suffer. I'll bet you usually shoot to kill - no' merely to torment."

He had a point. It wasn't in her nature to torture a being. Unless they had it coming. "Oh, very well. If I help you remove them, will you leave me alone?"

"Leave you alone? I'd rather bluidy wear them, Valkyrie."

With that, he slammed his fist against the end of the first arrow, sending the shaft jutting farther out his back. He reached behind him, now able to just snag the tip. Clenching his jaw, he threaded the arrow through his chest, the flights disappearing beneath the surface of his skin as he pulled it out from his back.

While she gaped at his resilience, he cast the bloody arrow aside, then started on the next, repeating the process. With each one, the muscles in his body went tense; once the arrow was freed, he groaned and relaxed - somewhat. Almost as if he'd taken sexual release but wasn't sated.

A part of her was flattered that he'd rather go through this than receive her help. She could've snapped the ends, allowing him to pull them forward, but instead he withstood this pain - because he didn't want to leave her alone?

His strength amazed her, his fortitude imposing. That awareness returned, and her skin pricked in the clammy night air.

When he began removing the last arrow, he advanced on her once more, tearing it free as he stalked closer, barely giving a wince, that determined mien never faltering.

She took a step back, debated using her one remaining arrow to put him down. She couldn't kill him, but she could slow him with a shot between the eyes.

"I believe I've earned the right to stay - as well as a kiss from you."

She made a sound of frustration. "As if you'd be happy with a kiss? You expect to have sex with me and it simply will not happen - "

"But you want it to, do you no'?"

To have him take her here, hot and sweaty in the swamp? She swallowed. He was a Lykae - he'd want her on her hands and knees... Her heart sped up at the thought, but she shook her head stubbornly. "Of course not! Understand me, MacRieve, I'm a Valkyrie. I'm not bound by your... animalistic needs."

His voice a low rasp, he said, "After one night with me, Lousha, you will be."

Chapter 4

Adrenaline and need coursed through Garreth, muting the pain of his wounds, until all he could feel was the growing pressure in his shaft and an overwhelming lust for the creature before him.

A Valkyrie. Again, he marveled that Fate had given him a shield maiden for his mate. Now he didn't know whether to laugh or howl. He'd likely have been damned happy about the fact if she'd stop resisting the fierce attraction between them.

Just earlier he'd wished for a more challenging female. Now he wondered why she was fighting this. She was aroused; the scent of his mate's desire was mouthwatering, making him want to go to his knees in thanks - and to taste her. Her nipples were so hard they had to be throbbing.

So why wouldn't she surrender to him? Aye, he regretted his wish. He dimly wondered whether she would fall into bed with him if he told her he was a king.

Then he frowned as a thought surfaced. "Does another male... have a claim on you?" He might be needing to make a kill this very night.

"A male's claim? On me? No one!"

Her heart had not been given. So it's mine to win. He found his lips curling.

"Nor will they ever," she vowed.

"Uh-huh. That so?"

His amused tone must have flustered her. "A-again, not interested. You couldn't find a more uninterested female."

"You forget I'm a Lykae. I can scent your interest." Gods, her scent was like a drug to him, her arousal so sweet.

Her face flushed, a light pink along high cheekbones. "Maybe I was interested in one of the other males on the field."

Jealousy seared him inside. Never had he felt its equal. He was upon her before she could raise her bow again, his callused palm wrapping around her delicate nape. "Take it back, female." He'd been able to rein in his aggression from the game. With more difficulty, he controlled the adrenaline pumping through his veins after finding her at last. But this jealousy was overwhelming.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll kiss you till you canna remember another." He would seduce her, using everything he'd ever learned about women to coax his way inside her. "Kiss you deeply, thoroughly. Till you're panting for more."

Lightning struck nearby, though she seemed not to notice. He could tell she wanted him to kiss her, was unconsciously rocking her hips to him, driving him wild. Why couldn't she let go?

She stared at his lips as if she were trying to imagine it just then. But then she muttered, almost scornfully, "You win the timing award, Lykae. That's for certain."

"Doona understand you, Valkyrie," MacRieve rasped. "When is it ever bad timing for a kiss?"

What would his be like? As if she had anything to compare with it. Playing a dangerous game here, Lucia.

He leaned in to nuzzle her hair, his breath hot against the pointed tip of her ear.

Not the ears! She was so sensitive there, and he grazed his lips right over the tip. That feels so good....

"Ah, my lass likes that?" he asked, nuzzling again. When she sagged into him, he took the opportunity to back her into an old oak.

He rested his hands against the tree on each side of her head, reminding her of his incredible strength. The Lykae were the most physically powerful beings in the Lore, could lift trains. He could have broken her like a doll, yet he'd been so gentle with her, even after the brutal contest earlier.

Even after I shot him.

He eased even closer, until their bodies were touching. When his gaze dipped to where her breasts met his battered chest, she felt his penis pulse harder in a rush, and a last ounce of sanity told her, Stop this!

She needed to get away from this werewolf, but she couldn't outrun him all the way back to Val Hall. Besides, fleeing from an enemy was something Valkyrie tended never to do.

Have to shoot him between the eyes if I must. From close range. Otherwise, with his speed he could dodge the shot. And put her in agony. "MacRieve, I'm giving you one last - "

He silenced her with a sizzling kiss to her neck, his tongue flicking against her chilled skin. Shivering with pleasure and surprise, she gazed up at the tree limbs above her, biting her lip.

Yet when he pressed his erection against her, she cried, "Let me go now!"

He didn't, so she gouged her thumb into one of his wounds. His dark claws dug into the tree, but he didn't release her. "Woman, that bluidy hurts."

"Then stop kissing me!"

"Nothing hurts that bad." His mouth descended to her neck once more. He seemed to be not only kissing her but tasting her... gentling her.

"I can make it hurt that bad," she said inanely, striving to keep her eyes open as his tongue darted.

"I feel only one ache in my body." He drew back, and the corner of his lips curled. "And you're soon to ease it."

So earthy and sexy. Lucia couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this much excitement with a male.... Her thoughts trailed off.

No, I can remember the last time. Vividly. Lucia was still paying for it. She attempted to pull away, but he clutched her to him. And Freya help her, she wanted him to. No! No more pretending that she was a normal woman about to have a clandestine affair with the most sexually attractive male she'd ever seen. "Never, MacRieve."

She could be as vicious as any of her sisters. Just be cause a Valkyrie's innate ferocity wasn't her first impulse in a conflict didn't mean she couldn't draw on it when she needed to. "Kiss me again, Lykae, and I'll make you regret it."

He kissed her again. So she kicked him between his legs, ducking from him. As he dropped to his knees, she hastened away. But she heard him grunt, "Still doona regret it."

Chapter 5

Stalking her through the bayou once more, he tracked her heady scent - with his bollocks aching from her kick and his chest wounds on fire.

"I can scent you, know you're near." Yes, she was close. He circled in place, his eyes narrowed. "Doona run from me! You will no' get away." And we crave the chase. Ah, gods, we crave it. "You've only got one arrow left."

"But I'm going to make this one count," she whispered above him.

Before he could swing his head up at the sound, she'd tackled him into a bed of moss, knees into his shoulders, her arrow pressed into his forehead.

In a slow, awed tone, he rasped, "I - like - you, lass!" So lovely, so wild. An avenging angel, with her bizarre bow seeming to glow above him.

When blood welled on his forehead and trickled down his temple, he said, "You canna release your arrow, Valkyrie. You feel something for me, too." She looked stunned, as if her hesitation baffled her. "I'll bet when you set a course of action, you doona falter."

At that, she gritted her teeth, like she was redoubling her resolve.

"But you canna do it." The instant she relaxed the tension on her bowstring, he tossed her on her back, covering her body with his. He groaned to feel all her lush curves pressed against him. Both of them were out of breath, her breasts rising and falling so temptingly.

She was a wee beauty, with her smooth golden skin and plump lips. Her hair had begun drying into a deep caramel color. It felt like silk and smelled like heaven. Like home. "You ken this feels right between us."

Ah, gods, it does. As if they'd done this before. As if she recognized his touch and remembered the breathless way she felt at this moment.

What was happening to her? He was right - when she set a course of action, she'd never once faltered. Yet she couldn't shoot him!

His mouth descended on hers. Just as she was about to shove him away, he groaned, as though the mere contact of their lips brought him so much pleasure he couldn't contain it. He deepened the kiss, pressing his firm lips harder, coaxing her with his tongue to respond.

The shock of being kissed after so long. The heat of his body over hers in the cold rain.

Lightning struck above them, and she knew it came from her. Her bow hand unclenched, her other palm clasping the back of his neck. When she parted her lips on a gasp, he stroked her mouth with his delicious tongue while she remained still, merely taking his attentions.

Breaking away, he stared down at her, giving her a look - a purely masculine expression of intent - that promised he was about to do wicked things to her. Oh, that look. Robbing her of thought...

"Your eyes are goin' silvery," he said, his accent growing thicker. "You want me, too." Before setting in again, he commanded, "Now kiss me back."

Over her long lifetime, many men had tried to seduce her, but she'd easily disregarded them. What was so different about this Lykae? It was as if he knew exactly how to tap into her need, into the wildness inside her.

That dark part of her she feared took over and ruled her. This won't be more than a kiss. I'd never let it be more than that....

In a rush, her body flooded with desire, her breasts growing heavy. The wildness within me. Can't fight it...

She was starved for this. And a bounty lay before her. Pleasure building... losing control... losing...

Lost. This felt so... right. With a moan, she surrendered.

The Instinct was screaming inside him.  - She needs you. Aches for her male.  -

At last, she offered her lips up to his, freely, letting him in. He delved with his tongue, tasting her, drinking her in. When she kissed him back with a tentative lick, he groaned against her, squeezing her tighter to him.

She's yielding to me. Garreth wanted to growl with pleasure. I'm bringing home my woman this night. Into my bed, into my life. Finally, after so long waiting for her.

For... Lucia.

With each shy lap of her tongue, she stoked his need. When their tongues began tangling in earnest, when they began sharing breaths, she gave a surprised moan into his mouth.

Then it was as if a dam had burst, as if she, like him, had been waiting centuries for this night. She seemed to share his unimaginable need - or even suffer from it more keenly.

He kissed her deeply, squeezing the flare of her hip and raising his other hand for one of her breasts. He hesitated just above her chest. But like a dream, she arched to his palm with a plaintive whimper, pressing her breast into his hand. Against her lips, he said, "Gods, you madden me, Lousha." He cupped her generous, soft breasts, one, then the other, learning them.

She trembled from his touch, crying out as he circled one of those stiff nipples with his thumb. When he bent down to close his mouth over one of her tight buds, she said, "What are you - "

He suckled her through her shirt, and her words died in her throat, replaced by a moan. When she completely relinquished her bow and clutched the back of his head to hold him to her breast, the world seemed to fade away until all he knew was his mate - her scent, the sight of only her, the feel of her sensuous body. As he sucked her, he reached down, unfastening her leather quiver, tossing it away.

Her arms laced around his neck, her moans growing more frantic, mingling with his groans as he explored her.

But then she whispered, "Not more than this. Mac-Rieve, only this..."

"Aye, only this." For now.

His assurance seemed to embolden her, melting any lingering resistance to him. She rolled over atop him, rocking her sex against his. He yearned to claim her, to mark her tender flesh so badly, but he'd never imagined a female in need of release like this. When she ground against his shaft, nearly robbing him of his seed, he hastily tucked her beneath him.

Aggression ruled them both - each trying to get the upper hand, rolling over again and again.

He was all for her riding him like a horse if she wanted - later. Right now he needed her hands pinned above her head, her thighs spread to cradle him, her eyes gazing up at his. So he shoved her beneath him, wedging his hips solidly between her legs.

At last, she surrendered to him, but not before those little claws scored down his back. He threw back his head, roaring with satisfaction. She made him wild, frenzied for her. With each of her cries, he fell deeper under her spell. How'd I ever live without this?

But then came a trickle of unease. Never had he been so crazed for a female. He comprehended his life would never be the same if he continued tonight. A daunting thought for any male. Yet when he gazed down at her, Garreth knew he had to have her no matter what.

With that in mind, he reached down, using his fore claw to slice the crotch of her shorts. As he shoved the material to her waist, he clumsily fumbled his jeans to his knees.

Her panties were black and sleek - sexy as hell. He hooked his fingers into the material, about to tear them off her, but she grabbed his wrist. "Don't!"

"Canna wait, waited so long..." My cock's about to go off. He wanted it to - inside her. Needed to pump his semen deep into her womb as he marked her as his own forever.

She shook her head, her expression growing panicked. "I can't! They... they stay on."

Confusion.  - Seduce her.  -

So he bent down between her legs and kissed her through the damp silk of her panties. She gasped, but her gasp turned to a moan when he licked, nipped, and nuzzled in bliss. Once she was helplessly undulating her hips to his mouth for more, he again tried to rid her of her panties.

"Wait!" she cried.

With a growl, he covered her body with his own, wrapping her hair around his fist. "Lousha, I have to have you. I'll bring you pleasure, make you come till you scream." He punctuated his words with a rock of his hips.

When his cock rubbed over her silk-covered sex, her eyes went wide. "Oh... oh!"

"You're about tae, are you no'?"

She nodded up at him. "I think.... I don't know - "

You'll know. He'd make her. He bucked against her.

"Ah! Don't stop that! Please...."

"This?"

"Yes, there! Ah, yes!" Her head thrashed on the ground. "Just don't stop!"

"Will no'. I may come atop you - but I will no' stop." He ground against her, struggling to hold his seed. He was on the verge, spasms already beginning in his swollen shaft, the head moist.

Lightning struck a tree directly beside them - she didn't notice and he forgot when he saw her lost expression, her silver eyes.... Ah, gods, she's coming. "Yes, Lousha!" Bucking furiously, pants at his knees, he grew desperate to shove into her, to feel her clenching around him. "Come hard for me...."

She screamed, her knees falling open as she pressed those big breasts into his chest. As his hips pumped over her, she dug her claws into his back, holding him tight to her.

Mine! Now you're mine.... He leaned down to her ear. "You've maddened me for you, have changed everything." Reaching between them, clutching her panties, he rasped, "So I'm going to fuck you long and hard, beauty, because if I'm to be enslaved by you - I want to be your master as well."

He yanked free her silk, and the head of his cock slipped against the slick folds, soaked from her orgasm. His eyes rolled back in his head just as she screamed, "No!"

She shoved against his chest. "No, don't!" It was as if he'd doused her with ice water, her passion evaporating in a rush. "I can't do this!"

"The hell you say!"

She continued scrambling from him. "Let me go!"

-  She knows fear.  - Though his cock was about to explode, throbbing so hard it felt like it'd been slammed in a door, he finally let her up. His bollocks were heavy, aching with seed.

"I don't want this... didn't want it."

He'd been a thrust away from claiming his mate... "You dinna want it?" He shot to his feet, dragging on his jeans. When he tried to zip them over his swollen shaft, lust turned to anger and frustration such as he'd never known. "Then why were you riding my crotch like a wanton as you sucked my tongue?"

She gasped, trying to put her clothes to rights, darting for her bow and quiver. Once she'd collected her weapons, both of their gazes fell on the black panties he'd ripped free. She reached forward, but he snatched them from her, stuffing them in his pocket.

She blinked in confusion, backing away.

"Doona walk away," he growled. "You think I will no' follow?"

"You don't understand!"

Her eyes are... haunted? "Then make me understand! Is it because of what I am?"

"If you try to follow me, I-I'll hate you forever."

Damn it! What was happening here? She looked like she was about to flee for her life.

Suddenly thoughts of his cousin Bowen's tragic history arose in his mind. Deadened Bowen was a cautionary tale to all Lykae males of what happened when a mate - who was other - ran.

Bowen's female had perished as she'd fled from him, dying gruesomely.

Cold fear suffused Garreth at the thought of Lucia hurt. He inhaled sharply, wrestling for control, even as he watched what he coveted most in the world slipping from his grasp.

Chapter 6

What just happened? How?

Lucia had almost been... unchaste, about to lose her purity - and therefore her abilities - right before the Accession!

One misstep had nearly cost Lucia her powers. Because Skathi hadn't gifted her with anything. Lucia's archery skills were on loan - and conditional.

How close she'd been. How close...

Yet even now her body was still thrumming for his touch - for more.

Lucia made it really simple for herself. The Accession meant Cruach. Succumbing to this Lykae meant no archery. She'd be defenseless if the Broken Bloody One escaped his prison and returned for her. Returned to make me pay...

Whatever MacRieve saw in her expression had him backing away with his palms raised. "There, lass. Doona be afraid. You've nothing to fear from me."

She knew her eyes were wild, her heart racing with dread. "I-I'm not afraid of you!" I'm afraid of him - afraid of being trapped back in his corpse-ridden lair. She put the back of her hand against her mouth as she retched.

Lucia, I gave you meat and wine....

"Now, Valkyrie, just wait. I dinna mean to upset you." MacRieve absently swiped a hand over his still-engorged shaft, as if it pained him - even now her body responded to the sight.

"If you're bent on leaving, then meet me here this weekend," he said tightly, as if this was a great concession. "Saturday at noon, we'll return. That'll give us both time to cool off, to think about this."

His offer did surprise her. "I... I don't know." He'd told her that she wasn't his mate, but she thought he'd lied since his reaction had been so fierce. Now she began to believe again, because otherwise he'd have been thumping his chest and snarling, "Mine!" as he slung her over his shoulder. "All right. I agree to it," she lied, feeling something she hadn't in a long time with a male. Five hundred years to be exact.

Terror.

There was no rain in the bayou Saturday night. Only quiet.

Garreth had been waiting here since quarter past ten this morning. He'd risen at dawn, too anxious to remain abed, and begun to get ready. He'd intended to take care with his dress, to present himself as a male of worth, like the leader that he was. Not like the hard-drinking, foulmouthed brawler Lucia likely thought him.

Then he'd realized he owned nothing but hole-ridden jeans, broken-in boots, and pullover shirts.

Hardly a fitting match for a lass with her delicate beauty. Hell, it hadn't mattered anyway. She's no' coming. What he didn't know was why. Yes, the Valkyrie hated the Lykae, considered them animals. But she'd responded to him.

Gods, how she'd responded. She'd taken her release and left him stranded and aching for his. He'd witnessed Lucia in the grip of passion, and she'd been like no female he'd ever imagined.

At the memory of her lust, his cock swelled in his worn jeans, and he rubbed the heel of his palm down his raging erection. All week, he'd been like this, randy as a lad in his first brothel, no matter how many times he took release. He'd hoped to be inside her this day, imagining it in a thousand different ways.

But she's no' meeting me. He checked the clock on his sat-phone. Ten at night. Clearly, he needed to call this. Lucia, it seemed, was in no way easy. He'd gotten his wish, and wished he hadn't.

As soon as she'd left him here that night, Garreth had dragged Munro and Uilleam out of the still-going game and told them, "We need to find out everything we can on our new neighbors, the Valkyrie. All of them." He'd been amazed at how little the Lykae knew about that faction of the Lore. And again he'd sworn his friends to secrecy. "Say nothing about this to anyone." If word got back to the clan elders that they were about to have a Valkyrie for a queen...