“Making sure he’s worthy of any of my daughters.”
Rune raised his eyebrows. “How do you do that?”
Hella Falk’s face changed. Though she wasn’t overly expressive, her eyes and mouth went flat. “I test their resolve. A male who loves my daughter enough would be willing to walk through Hell for her.”
Rune nodded. “That makes sense.” He paused. “I would be willing to do that for Astra.”
She studied him with narrowed eyes and Rune felt as though she could see into his soul. “Did Devorah and Claudia warn you what you might face before tonight?”
He nodded.
“Then, I think I believe you.”
As he’d said earlier, he repeated. “How can I convince you?”
She faced him, her gaze on his. “There is one thing you can do.”
“What’s that?”
* * *
“Father, don’t do this,” Astra said.
Rune unbuttoned his shirt. It was his favorite, and he didn’t want to get blood on it. He had no doubt that he was going to bleed. Probably profusely.
Thank God he was a vampire, and he would heal within seconds. Still, head and face wounds bled a lot, even if it was just for a few moments.
And the way Arvid was staring at him said that he intended to beat his face in for as long as he could get away with it.
Well, he wouldn’t die. Hopefully.
“Sorry, darlin’,” her father drawled. Though he was a Viking, his accent was pure Texas. “I would do this even if you’d already married him and brought him home as a surprise.”
Astra clenched her teeth so hard that Rune could hear them grinding from ten feet away.
“Astra, it’s fine,” he said.
She turned to glare at him. “No, it’s not. This is idiotic. You’re not a warrior.”
A spike of masculine pride arced through him. He knew it was ridiculous, but it didn’t matter. “I’ve been in my share of fights. I may not go to war for a living, but I can hold my own.”
She scowled at him, and he swore he heard her growl beneath her breath. “Thick-headed, proud, stupid,” she muttered.
“I can hear you,” he said.
“I want you to!” she yelled back. “You don’t have to fight my father for permission to date me. I’m forty-five years old. I can date anyone I want!”
He took a few steps toward her and put his hands on her shoulders, then slid them down her arms to her hands because she was looking at him like she wanted to be the one to punch him first. “If this will help them come to terms with the fact that I’m in love with you and we’re together, then I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you.”
Her hands relaxed in his and she sighed. Finally, she said, “If anyone other than you said that it would sound creepy as hell.”
He grinned at her. “Well, I do write thrillers, so my mind is pretty twisted anyway.”
She leaned in and kissed him lightly. Then, she turned a gimlet stare to her father. “Do not kill him and don’t hurt him too badly. He may heal quickly but he can still feel pain while he does.”
Her father shrugged as if to sayit is what it is.
“I mean it, Dad. I got you a really good Christmas present this year. It would be a shame if I had to return it.”
