Heimdallr kissed the blade—though it’d already absorbed my blood as far as I could tell. Then he leaned forward to lay the sword at my feet. As soon as he released it, the brilliant streamers sank back into the sword. Even though the overhead light was still on, the room seemed dark without the rainbows dancing on the walls. “You honor me, Your Majesty.”
Even on his knees, he was almost taller than me. This massive, elegant god with powers I barely understood. On his knees. For me.
Lightly, I cupped his cheek. “You honor me, God of Bifröst.”
His lips curved at the subtle reminder I wanted him to use my given name, not my title. “What am I allowed to do, Helayna, my queen?”
My head tipped. “Whate?—”
He pressed his fingers across my lips. “Before you say whatever I want, please consider that my nine divine mothers created me with great deliberation and magics, giving me enough power to devastate a fellow god. I’ve lived thousands of years with unchecked magic, traveling across the known universes without effort. I’ve stood guard at the very gates of Ásgarðr and defended against legendary attacks of jötnar and creatures your world has forgotten with nothing but the powerin my blood and this sword. I will never harm a single hair on your head, yet I would rather deny myself than cause you a moment of alarm or doubt.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I said as he dropped his fingers.
“That’s good, but also, you should be wary. Your power is great, Helayna, my queen, or you wouldn’t have been able to Call me. Yet I’m strong enough I could bind you, for a time, at least. I could make you feel powerless. Helpless. Trapped. I could drive you to strike back with all your strength and cause damage to this house, your world, or even your humans, accidentally. You were trapped in fear and despair before. I would rather leave you now than make you feel a shade of that fear again.”
I draped my arms over his shoulders and linked my hands behind his head. “I would love to be crushed beneath your body, Heimdallr, while we fill the entire room with rainbows again.”
He didn’t immediately sweep me up into his arms. Studying me, his head tipped sideways, he searched my eyes. “Is blood play allowed?”
“I’m a vampire queen. I revel in blood.”
He turned his attention to where Dörr still stood. “Alpha, I ask you to intervene if at any time you feel the need to issue me a warning. I will heed you immediately.”
Dörr’s deep voice vibrated the floor, lightly rattling the sword against the marble. “You may trust her Darkest to always intervene to ensure her safety and pleasure.”
HEIMDALLR
Her lackof fear and concern about bedding me spoke of the purity of her heart, despite the torture she’d endured inside Jörmungandr.
Gods like me were created to break and destroy. Crack open the foundations of the earth and allow molten lava to explode to the heavens. Crush mountains to rubble. Level entire cities. Burn the world and everything in it, so it could be remade once more.
Not to stroke such silken skin or treasure such a delicate feminine body.
With a thought, I willed our clothes away as I stood, cradling her against me. I watched the flare of her stunning eyes as she felt the heated sensation of flesh against flesh without any fabric to distract. Enough green in her eyes to remind me of her parentage—balanced by the darkness she carried.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
I strode to the bed and knelt on the mattress, allowing her to slide down in front of me to her knees as well. “You likely can too. You have enough magic to manipulate the world around you. Though I admit it takes concentration to hold the illusion of clothes, especially when a god is minding his own business and a lovely queen suddenly calls for assistance so sweetly he can’t resist answering.”
She smoothed her palms across my chest. “Your hair is still bound.”
I released the golden cord holding the coils together down my back and shook my head, letting some of them slide forward over my shoulders. She picked up one of the dreadlocks and lifted it to her face. Breathing deeply, she let out a soft sigh, stabbing a vicious blade of lust through my midsection. “You smell like magic.”
I huffed out a laugh. “What does magic smell like, exactly?”
Eyes slumberous, she released the coil and lay back onto the mattress, opening her thighs so my knees were between her legs. “Rainbows. Sparkling, dancing lights. Crystals and gold and prisms.”
“Those are objects which have no odor.”
She gazed up at me, running her gaze down my body. I still had enough self-control to let her look her fill, though my cock strenuously objected to my efforts at restraint. “I’ve never seen a more beautifully put together man. Did you really have nine mothers?”
“I did,” I said, keeping my voice light despite the heavy ache spreading through me. “They each gave me a special part of themselves to craft the perfect guardian for Ásgarðr. I hear what no other living man or god can hear. I see what no other can see. I walk across the worlds with a single step. To be completely honest, my queen, I’m sure Odin is furious that I’ve abandoned my sacred duty to walk at your side. Yet I know what even AllFather does not.”
“What’s that?”
“The battle for the Nine Worlds lies with you, Helayna Ironheart. Loki was correct. You are well named. You will be at the heart of it, because your iron heart bleeds for Yggdrasil.” I lifted my forearm to my mouth and carefully opened a small wound so I could allow a few drops of blood to splatter on her stomach. “Now, I bleed for you.”
Her eyes flared. Through the bond she’d forged, I felt the flare of each drop on her skin. My blood burned with all the magic of the Bifröst. While she’d enjoyed drinking my blood on the way to this house, she had yet to feel the full power of what my blood could do for her.
