Viking Unbound (7 page)

“Tecky.” Captain Travis gestured for her to sit beside him. “I’ve already told our guest that I am willing to answer any questions he has. He insisted that you were present for his debriefing.” He fixed her with a compelling stare. “I expect you to follow my lead and only answer when I give you permission to speak. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Captain.” Frey took a seat.

Being so close to the Viking meant she could finally study the intricate leatherwork of his jerkin and the tattoos that encircled his wrist and moved up his left arm disappearing within his sleeve. Runes marked the sides of his shaved scalp and his crow-colored hair was woven and plaited together into one single braid. Her fingers curled and uncurled. Did he ever untie his hair? How would it look flowing freely over his shoulders?

“Tecky…”

She jumped and returned her attention to Travis.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Pay attention.”

“Yes, Sir.” It was proving hard to do that when all she wanted to do was leap over the table and grab any part of the Viking she could get her hands on and lick him…

“
I would like it if you did that. You could start with my cock.”

His thought floated over to her, and she realized he was staring at her mouth. She licked her lips, and he straightened in his seat. This was ridiculous. Her career was on the line and she was simpering like a teenager at the local bad boy.

“What is your name?” Travis asked.

“Einarr Bloodaxe.”

“What is the last thing you remember, Einarr?”

“Before waking up here?”

At Travis’s nod, the Viking leaned back in his chair, which creaked ominously.

“I was with my brother. We were attempting to evade our enemies.”

“And what happened?”

“I’m not sure.” Einarr shrugged, the motion as powerful as a panther’s. “One moment we were running, the next…we were caught within the ice.”

Frey stared hard at him, aware that although he was telling the truth, he wasn’t revealing everything. He didn’t look directly at her but she knew he was as aware of her as she was of him. She’d heard stories about how it felt to “meet your mate,” but she hadn’t imagined it would be so…powerful and primitive. If it were up to her, she’d drag him off to her cabin, get him naked and keep him there forever.

His knee bumped against hers under the table and she jumped. Travis shot an irritated glance at her and she realized he’d been speaking.

“Anything to add, Science Officer?”

“Only that I have informed FREN and Alpha Base Three about your present condition, Einarr, and have asked for information about the other ship. Due to interference from the eclipse and the current positions of the planets Thor and Odin, I haven’t received a reply yet.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Travis cleared his throat. “Do you wish me to explain where you are now?”

“That would be helpful.”

Einarr looked and sounded far more relaxed than he felt. Frey had a sudden image of a caged feline pacing back and forth waiting to strike. Should she warn the captain?

“
I won’t hurt them unless I have to, Frey
.”

His thought came through clearly to her. It was disconcerting to have someone reading her mind so easily.

“You are currently on a space ship bound for Alpha Base Three a research lab on one of Odin’s moons.”

Einarr’s smile was dismissive. “I do not understand most of your words. I also do not understand how we appear to be sailing through the night sky. I thought at first that I was dreaming—perhaps I still am.”

“You were encased in ice for a very long time.” Travis said carefully. “Things have changed. Technology has advanced our understanding of our world and the universe around it.”

A slight crease appeared between Einarr’s brows. “How long was I asleep for?”

Travis took a deep breath. “About four thousand Earth years.”

“Four
thousand
? When most men are dead at five and forty?” Einarr shook his head. “This is
impossible
. It must be the work of the Gods.”

“I assure you that it is not only possible, but true. You are living proof of that. When we get to Alpha Three, there will be a team of experts available to help you adjust to your new life. No one expected you to wake up at this point. We still don’t understand why you did.”

Einarr half-smiled, the shock still reverberating in his eyes. “The Gods called me.” He nodded at Frey. “
She
called me with her blood.”

Travis shot her a look. “Are you suggesting Science Officer Frey somehow brought you out of the ice?”

“Aye. Otherwise why else would I be here?”

Silence filled the small space as Captain Travis swung his attention back to Frey.

“Would you care to elaborate on this, Tecky?”

She stared into his eyes. “I did nothing that wasn’t authorized by FREN, sir. You can ask them to confirm that when we reestablish contact. Our guest is obviously disoriented and seeking solutions within his own understanding of his religion and culture.”

“I am not.” Einarr interrupted her. “I know what is right.”

“Captain…” Frey ignored him and tried to keep talking. “I did nothing wrong.”

“Except join your blood to mine when I was still trapped within the ice.”

“I did
not
! I—”

Travis held up his hand. “This is not an appropriate time to discuss the reasons why this happened. Our focus now is on getting Einarr safely to Alpha Three without further injury to him or this crew.” He turned to the Viking. “You will remain in the brig under the care of our medical team until we dock at Alpha Three.”

“I will not.” Einarr said.

Travis who was in the process of getting to his feet stiffened. “Then you want me to get the doc to knock you out for the remainder of this journey? I can do it, you know.”

“I
want
to stay with Frey.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Then I will not cooperate with you.” Einarr smiled and lifted his manacled hands. There was a flash of bright light and the metal rings flew off and clattered to the floor.

Weapons clicked and locked ready to fire, surrounding him.

“I am certain you do not wish to harm me, Captain. In truth, I suspect that your overlords wish very much for me to stay alive.” He glanced around the tense circle of armed men. “I wish to be given the freedom of the ship and access to Frey’s company and quarters. If you agree to this, I swear on my Gods that I will not harm your crew or damage your ship.”

Travis didn’t lower his weapon. “I cannot give one of my crew into your hands. I will not have my Science Officer held hostage to your demands.”

“She will not consider herself my hostage.” Einarr ripped the needle out from his arm, stood up and held out his hand. “Tell your captain that you come to me willingly, Frey.”

She took a step toward him, her expression troubled. Her slim fingers slid into his, and he squeezed them hard.

She faced the captain, her chin held high. “If it means the rest of the crew are safe, I’m willing to stay with him, sir.”

“Are you sure about this?” Travis asked again.

“Yes.”

Travis continued to ignore Einarr and spoke directly to the female. “If we receive fresh information or instructions from FREN, you must promise to obey any orders.”

“Of course, sir.”

“You are responsible for the good behavior of this man.”

“I understand.”

Travis stared into Einarr’s eyes. “And if you hurt her, you’re dead regardless of what Alpha Three or FREN think. You got that?”

“Yes, Captain. You have my word.” Einarr studied the other man for a long moment. “On my honor, after sleeping for four thousand years, I do not wish to die
just
yet.”

“Good.” Travis nodded brusquely. “Keep it that way.”

Einarr remained on his feet his hand, gripping Frey’s until the shackles were removed from his ankles and the room emptied. His own weapons had been taken from him earlier. He felt naked without his axe and dagger.

“Answer me, Frey.” Einarr asked. “How is it that your blood called to mine, and yet you deny it?”

She sat down at the table and he followed her, still grasping her wrist. She heaved a sigh and lowered her gaze.

“I suppose it depends on how you look at it.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Einarr frowned at her even though she was avoiding looking at him.

“I was given new codes to input in the probes FREN inserted in the ice. Somehow, I picked up a droplet of ice that looked like a ruby. I
thought
it might be rust or frozen blood from where the probe had touched your scalp, but I had no idea how it got out. I balanced it on my finger and it seemed somehow to prick my skin and I began to bleed.” She finally looked up at him her brown gaze worried. “I put my finger in my mouth to suck off the blood. That’s all I did, I swear it.”

“My blood to your blood. It was enough.” Einarr said firmly.

“But it doesn’t make sense.”

“It does to me.”

“How? How the
heeze
can
that
wake you from a four-thousand year sleep?”

He smiled down at her. “Because you are my female, and obviously it was Fated.”

“That we’d be on the same ship during an eclipse with planets named Thor and Odin and that one drop of our blood would mix?” She frowned at him. “You do know that is ludicrous, right? And, that the odds of it happening are too small to even calculate. Not that you could even calculate this…”

She drew a shaky breath. Before she could continue, Einarr put his finger over her lips. He’d noticed that she tended to talk a lot when she was nervous. The fact that he made her nervous amused him greatly considering he was the one facing an existence that made no sense.

“It happened, Frey. I am here. You cannot doubt my presence.”

She nodded as he brushed his finger over her full lower lip and her mouth opened slightly He wanted to ease his finger between her lips and have her suck on it until he could persuade her to take his cock there instead.

Heat shot through him as she sighed a curse and leaned into him. “This is ridiculous, you know.”

“What is?”

“This whole situation.”

He pushed his chair back and stood up. “You don’t wish to help me?”

“I wish…” Her gaze devoured him making his cock harden in a sudden aching rush. She straightened her shoulders. “I’ll show you around the ship, okay?”

“I am at your disposal.” He bowed.

His woman was amusing. They both knew she would allow him; nay welcome him, into her bed, yet she held him at bay. She couldn’t fool him. The very air throbbed with the force of what was between them He only felt this way when he used his magic during a secret ritual or was in the presence of the Gods.

She’d called him back to life. He had yet to understand the Gods purpose in using her to do so, but he was more than willing to go along with their plans. He was also anxious to hear of Aki’s fate. Receiving that information rested on his ability to behave himself. He’d learned early in life that he could only control his own fate and that worrying about others did nothing useful. In his present circumstances, such hard earned patience was very necessary.

Any other man from his village finding himself suddenly aged four thousand years and traveling through the stars would probably have gone mad and hacked his way out of the place. It was only his belief in his Gods and his knowledge of the magical arts that kept him on an even keel. He could only hope that if Aki was awake, he had reacted in the same way.

But would Aki awaken without the lure of a female’s blood? Despite being twins, Aki’s temper was far worse than Einarr’s. He hoped with all his heart that his brother remained frozen.

Opening the now unlocked door, Frey stepped out into the passageway, nodding at Brown who had stationed himself outside. Einarr paused to appreciate the rear view of his woman in the strange blue garb that covered her like a second skin and displayed the length of her legs and nicely rounded arse. Her red hair was tied back at the neck, displaying the soft skin of her throat. He yearned to set his teeth in that soft hollow and hold onto her while he fucked her from behind…

Her skin flushed pink, and he fought a smile. Soon he would be inside her. He couldn’t wait… It was strange. Other things in his world might have changed beyond recognition, but the mating of a man and woman, the
need
to be fucked and touched, remained the same.

He followed her along to the place where he’d found food the previous night. Four new faces gawked at him as Frey introduced him and then offered him something to eat before they moved on.

One of the men came forward and gazed appreciatively up at Einarr.

“You’re a big guy. You ate all my bread, didn’t you?”

“Aye, it was very good.”

The man grinned. “Thanks, I made more. Would you like a sandwich?”

Einarr glanced at Frey who nodded. “You’d probably like it. Do you have any meat to put in the middle, Heald?”

“I have sliced pigcow.”

“Then we’ll take two of those.” Frey touched Einarr’s arm. “Come and sit down while Heald makes the sandwiches.”

He followed her to one of the tables set close to the clear rectangles showing the stars. While she took a seat, he walked over and placed his palm on the transparent surface. The distortion told him whatever the substance was, it was thick. Did it keep out the blackness much as a strongly made longboat kept out water? A wash of longing for the sea and the simple comforts of home came over him and he briefly closed his eyes.

“Are you okay, Einarr?”

“What is this?” Einarr shook off his melancholy.

“It’s like glass.” Frey came to stand next to him, her shoulder aligned with his. “You had glass, right?”

“Nothing like this.” He smoothed his hand over the surface, “What would happen if it cracked and let in the stars?”

“We’d all die. The ship has to be sealed tight because there isn’t any air in space.”

“We’d suffocate?”

“Yes, within seconds.”

He swiftly took his hand away. With his magical powers, he didn’t want to inadvertently kill everyone. The fragrant smell of roasting meat caught his attention and he turned back to the table where Heald was putting out two platters. Each contained a large round of bread with something on top of it and another round of bread atop that.