Rune put his hand in hers and allowed her to pull him into a standing position.
Then, without warning, he pulled her in for a fierce hug and a fiery kiss.
When he released her mouth, her green and gold eyes stared at him with a strange combination of amusement and irritation. “You ass,” she whispered. “You got me all wet.”
“My job here is done,” he murmured back, smiling at her.
Instead of punching him in the gut, she kissed him again.
ChapterTwenty
An hour later, Astra was in a pair of her mother’s sweatpants and one of her old t-shirts from college. Rune was taking a shower to wash the blood and dirt off his body while his pants, socks, and underwear were being washed and dried.
Astra wandered from the living room into the study, finding her father kicked back in his favorite chair with a glass of whiskey in one hand.
“Hey, Dad,” she said, sitting in the chair next to his and putting her feet up.
“Hey, darlin’,” he replied. He studied her for a moment. “You still mad at me?” he asked.
She smiled at him, suddenly so tired that she was ready to take a nap. “No. Not anymore.” Astra paused before she asked, “So, are you satisfied that Rune is worthy of me because of a five-minute sparring session?”
“No,” her father grumbled.
Astra sat up straighter and opened her mouth to blast him.
Her father stopped her with a raised hand. “Wait a minute and let me explain before you start bitching at me.”
She closed her mouth and stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Her father chuckled softly and sipped his whiskey. “Your mother looks at me like that sometimes, too.”
Astra’s eyes narrowed further.
Arvid sighed. “You can stop trying to glare holes in me, child. I do think the vampire is worthy of you, but not because of how he fought.” He stopped speaking and laughed. “Though he fought much better than I expected from a man who spends most of his days behind his desk.”
Astra smiled a little. “I think he’s done his share of fighting. He just doesn’t talk about it much.”
“Yeah, he’s a sneaky bastard. Quick and strong. I wouldn’t want to have to fight him in a real battle. He’d run circles around me if he wasn’t playing fair.”
Astra’s brows rose in surprise. Her father never liked to admit it when someone could get the better of him in a fight.
“Anyway,” he continued. “His fighting skills aren’t what make him worthy of you.”
When he didn’t continue, Astra prodded him with one finger. “Then what makes him worthy?”
Her father finally answered, “The way he looks at you. That boy looks at you like you’re his entire world. As though he would take on the Devil himself to keep you safe. Or make you happy.”
Astra couldn’t respond, so she just patted his forearm. Her father’s free hand came to cover hers.
“Your mother’s issues are her own. The fact that he’s one of her favorite authors will go a long way in getting her to accept him because she’s always going on and on about his brilliance when she’s reading one of his books.”
Astra smiled. “I wonder if it would help if Rune let her beta read for him.”
“Lord, child. Don’t bring that up until you know if he’s okay with it or not. It would break her heart if he said no.”
She laughed. “I won’t.”
“Does he make you happy?” her father suddenly asked.
