Young.

“It’s like I’ve got you cuffed. You can’t escape my clutches.” Her hand dipped to the waist of his trews, then inside. She gasped to find his cock erect and aching for her attention.

“Why would I ever want to escape?” he asked, hissing in a breath when she thumbed the crown in a mind-numbing circle.

She moaned, her nipples hardening against her shirt. He needed to touch her too! Battling his fear, he released the chain and rewarded his palms with plump flesh.

FORTY

I would kill to take you,” Rune murmured, nuzzling her ear. “I’d fuck you right here.”

He cupped Jo’s tits, getting so caught up he seemed to have forgotten all about the drop below. “You really would?” She shivered when he swept his thumbs across her nipples.

“Say the word. Though I wonder if I could last long enough to get you ready.” His brows drew together. “That’s another sentence I never thought I’d say.”

“Get me ready?” Next to his bowstring, his shirt opened into a V, revealing damp skin and that rune on his chest. She wanted to trace it with her tongue.

“You’re so tight, Josie. I’m going to do everything I can to keep you from hurting.”

She grasped his dick at the base. Couldn’t fit her fist around it. “I take your point. But you don’t have to worry about how tight I am”—she leaned in to kiss that rune—“because I won’t sleep with you unless we’re monogamous.” She darted her tongue to his skin. He tasted delicious, the salt of his clean sweat making her moan.

She wanted to keep kissing down his torso, to the rune around his navel. Then head lower to the hot, swollen part of him that pulsed in her palm. When she stroked him, he rocked to her grip.

“You’re a wicked little tease.” He tweaked her nipple, drawing a whimper from her. His other hand dipped down her front.

“Tease? You haven’t seen anything. What if I used telekinesis to stroke you?” She moved her hand on him. “You could be standing across the room, and no one would see I was jerking you off. You’d never know when to expect it.”

His eyes lit with excitement. “I want this!”

Then stick around. “Soon. It’s still kind of new to me. I just learned how to do it at your place.”

“Is that why you destroyed everything?” He started unbuttoning her jeans.

“Partly. Plus I was jealous.”

He unzipped her, then grazed his fingertips above her thong. “I knew it.”

“Is it so bad to want this”—she squeezed his dick—“all to myself?”

His nostrils flared.

“And then you could have me exclusively too.”

“I want . . .” he trailed off. “Damn it! Mortals approach.”

The mountain was teeming with them. With a last stroke that made him shudder, she drew her hand from his pants.

He cursed under his breath, then zipped her back up.

“Rain check?”

“The second time you’ve asked for that today,” Rune said. “Will mine or Desh’s be honored first?” Totally jealous!

He could deny it all he wanted to. Hell, he was even trying to deny her feelings. Schoolgirl crush? Bullshit.

She gazed up at his penetrating eyes—glowing magenta in the sunlight—and things grew clear. The facts: He’d pleasured her more than anyone ever had, and his expression promised more soon. He was the strongest male she’d ever met, the smartest, the most accomplished. Taking his blood made her feel connected as never before.

She knew from his memories that when Rune loved, he loved deeply.

Why wouldn’t she want him for her own?

He and Josephine sat on a bench, watching the sun begin to set, and even Rune could admit the sight was a spectacle. Maybe she was making him see the worlds anew.

Earlier, they’d reached the summit and explored, then cased the teahouse. He’d detected no sign of Nïx, no lingering Valkyrie scent. They’d beaten her here.

Most of the humans were dispersing—leaving a few couples and the occasional night climbers with headlamps on—so he and Josephine had found seats to soak up the last of the sun.

Both of them were lost in thought, but the silence was companionable.

Josephine was likely imagining her reunion with her brother. He feared she was building up their meeting so much that disappointment was sure to follow.

A troubling notion.

He ought to be plotting their next move, but his musings were fixed on the day-walker beside him.

He ran his hand over his chin, replaying their interaction. He really had expected her to deny his crush accusations, perhaps convincing him of her feelings.

What would happen if her infatuation waned? Wouldn’t that be ironic? Rune wanting a tart more than she wanted him.

He still couldn’t believe she’d possessed him. More unbelievable—he wouldn’t mind if she did it again, as long as she didn’t float him off a mountain. . . .

When a young vendor strolled by with a cart of wares for sale—food, gloves, even jackets—she asked Rune, “Will you buy something?”

She didn’t look cold and wouldn’t be interested in the food. “Ah, you want a souvenir, then. To go with your others,” he said, clearly delighting her. “What shall we get for the table in your motel room?”

Her entire visage seemed to glimmer. “It doesn’t matter what—so long as it’s from here.”