Page 5 of Berserker Devotion

He shot her the smile he reserved for gorgeous women. The one so bright and charming they couldn't help smiling back.

The woman's stoic expression didn't change. She just kept calmly looking at him.

Ulf's smile faltered a little, but he rallied and threw her a wink. "You might have to help a little to get me out of these bonds, Fireling. I need to visit the little boys' room before we continue our play. Maybe I can tie you up this time?"

The woman cocked her head. Her gaze never faltering. She looked at him as if he was a curiosity she'd never encountered before. As if he was a specimen to be studied.

It bothered him.

How could she be this composed if they’d had wild sex the night before?

A small chill of worry slid down his spine. Had he not satisfied her?

Not possible. He always made sure the women he took to bed enjoyed their time with him. He pulled on the ties around his wrists. They held steady. When he tried to scoot up, he noticed his legs were also tied together.

He frowned.That seemed less like a fun-sex-games position, and more like a not-fun-interrogation position.

He tugged harder on the ropes that imprisoned his hands. They didn't budge. "Seriously," he said to the woman. "I can't feel my hands. You need to untie me."

She sat up, and the blanket that had covered her slid down her shoulders. Defined biceps bulged underneath the short sleeves of her t-shirt as she leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice husky.

What the fuck did she mean? Didn't she bring him here?

Ulf looked around the abode as far as he could turn his head, which hurt like hell. They seemed to be in a one-room cabin. A fire crackled in a wood stove. Fat snowflakes fell outside the one small window he could see. It all came back to him in a rush—the trip from Washington State, the car getting stuck. The fucking carving he was supposed to buy.

And a rust-colored wolf...with a scar across its muzzle...like the woman had. "What do you mean?" he asked her while furiously pulling on the ropes. Why wouldn’t they budge? He had superhuman strength. He should be able to undo all human bindings.

"What are you?" she asked instead of answering his question. Not who are you. What.

That got her his attention.

Not that she hadn't had it before.

Her presence would demand attention no matter where she was or how many other beautiful women she shared that space with.

"What are you?" he asked back. The scar across her face so similar to the wolf’s he remembered couldn’t be a coincidence.

"I'm in charge." She smiled, and he lost the power of speech because of the radiance lighting up her face. If he'd thought her attractive before, her smile made her unearthly.He shook his head.

When had he turned into a fucking poet?

"Since you're in charge, kindly untie my hands." He tried his special smile again, but it had no effect this time either.

The woman stood and sauntered across the room with the grace of a...well, a wolf. She was tall, close to six feet. She sat down on the edge of the bed, by his hips. Up close, she was even more stunning. He needed to focus and not keep getting distracted by this woman's beauty. He'd never lost his cool over a pretty face.

Mine, the berserker whispered in his mind, startling Ulf. His inner warrior spirit communicated with him of sorts, but through impressions and emotions. It had never actually spoken to him before. This whole thing freaked him out.

Who was this woman? What was this woman? What kind of power had she spun around him while he was unconscious?

She leaned in. Her face close to his, and bared her teeth as if in a growl. "Why are you here?" Her eyes looked feral, as if something wild watched him through them.

He bit off the curse he wanted to vent and instead gave her the truth."I'm here to buy a Norse woodcarving from Karl Bretagne."

She leaned back and pressed her lips together for a long moment. "Where is he?" she finally asked.

If he could have, Ulf would have thrown his hands up. But they were already elevated, and he couldn't feel them now. "How am I supposed to know?" He looked around the room. "Is this is his cabin? I was on my way here to get a fucking bear carving from him because he just won't sell them on the internet like a normal person."

Her lips quirked, but it happened so quickly he almost missed it. "Karl hates the internet." So, she knew the woodcarver.

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