Page 2 of Stolen By the Berserker

“You remember me.” He was ridiculously pleased that she remembered him and hit her with a lazy smile. The one that worked well on mortal women when he wanted to spend the night with them.

She winked. “With that height and that accent, you’re kind of hard to forget.” She leaned back, holding the coffeepot suspended in the air. “Did you know we can’t cultivate huckleberries because they grow only at certain altitudes and under very specific conditions? All the berries have to be picked in the wild by hand. That’s why they’re my favorite berry. I like their refusal to be tamed.”

“Well, I do like wild things.” Sten turned up his smile to full wattage and let his gaze linger on hers. Last time, the diner had been busy, and he hadn’t had time for flirting. He intended to remedy that right away. “I would never try to tame you.”

She froze and then put the coffeepot down on the table a little harder than necessary, as if she’d been about to drop it, knockinghis phone off the table. “I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching down to retrieve it and put it back on the table. She brushed her hair out of her face, cocked an eyebrow, and tilted her head. “That line is so cheesy it had me all flustered, but I guess I set myself up for it. Where’s your accent from?”

The question about his pronunciation didn’t surprise him. Even after fifty years in America, his origins colored his speech. “Sweden,” he said, leaning forward so his hair better framed his face and sent that subtle badass Viking vibe that worked so well on mortal women.

Sten kept his hair shoulder-length because it symbolized a warrior’s strength, but also because it highlighted his Nordic heritage. The women of Midgard liked his heritage, so why not highlight it when it worked so well to his advantage? He stroked the trimmed beard that covered his chin.

Despite her joking tone, a faint blush crept across Cassie’s cheeks. “We don’t get many Swedes around here. White Spruce is not exactly a tourist hot spot.” The older man on the other side of the diner gestured for his check, and she looked away to smile at him. “Bringing it right over,” she shouted.

Sten frowned over how easily the other man distracted her. Maybe he was out of practice. It had been a while since he’d cruised the clubs and bars with his battle brothers.

His phone buzzed again, and he reluctantly tore his gaze from Cassie’s delicious behind as she walked away from him. Once again, that irritating, loose t-shirt covered her curves. Although he could still recall its fine shape in his mind. He wondered how they would feel in his hands.

Kung Leif

Change of plans. New meet is at the municipal airport tomorrow. Same time.

He knew better than to ask King Leif why the meeting place and day had changed. The king didn’t expect his warriors to follow orders blindly, but he didn’t want whining or questions just for questions’ sake.

As one of the younger warriors, in terms of how many years he’d spent back in the human realm, Sten still felt he had to earn his place in the band of immortal warriors. So, there was no reason to bug the king with queries about things he didn’t need to know in order to do his job. Whatever the reason for the changed meeting, he’d still have to go.

Plus, recently he’d almost gotten his battle brother killed and still needed to make up for that screw up. When a mission got hot, the two had separated and Per ended up kidnapped and poisoned. He’d almost died before their healer had developed an antidote with the help of the queen’s genetically modified blood.

Besides, weapons deals often changed locations, even when executed by semi-legitimate dealers like Brick Johnson. Although it was a lucrative business, it sometimes brought out shady customers, which made the sellers extra cautious. This was also the reason all communications went through the king and why Johnson wouldn’t give Sten his cell phone number.

Well, it looked like he would have to spend the night. Time to hit the motel at the edge of town. Maybe he’d come back for dinner before the end of the server’s shift and see if she’d be up for some wild things.

He tossed enough money on the table to cover the pie and the coffee, leaving a generous tip. The bell over the door jingled as he exited, but the server only gave him a distracted wave and continued talking with the older man, who still hadn’t paid his bill. Hopefully, she’d be more attentive when he came back later.

Sten opened the door of his black Cadillac Escalade with more force than necessary and shoved the key into the ignition. Why Cassie’s inattentiveness bothered him so much, he didn’t know, but he needed to get his head on straight for the upcoming deal.

Even though he now had to spend an extra night on this mission, he needed to focus on getting the guns and then head back home to Pine Rapids. While Sten was a healthy warrior who definitely liked the company of women, his duty to his king and queen—and the gods—always came first. Odin and Freya had honored him–and his warrior brothers and sisters–by sending them from Valhalla to protect the mortal humans of Midgard from Loki and his minions. With a slightly tarnished reputation in his tribe at the moment, he would not get distracted from this mission. No matter how tempting the woman.

He couldn’t afford another screw up.

His battle brothers and sisters depended on him, and he would not disappoint them again.

CHAPTER 2

Cassie maneuvered her old truck around the potholes, littering the unpaved road that led from the diner to her home. The engine made a funny coughing sound, and she sent a quick prayer that it wouldn’t stall to any higher power that cared to listen. The truck was older than Cassie. She had inherited both her cottage and the vehicle when her grandmother passed away almost a year ago. Neither was likely to last much longer, but at least she had an offer on the home and would head off to college with a little cash in her pocket. The truck would stay behind if it made it that long.

That’s why she was on this shortcut on this crap road. She could have chosen a smoother, asphalted drive, but it took longer and gave the truck more opportunity to break down. As much as she complained about it, the vehicle also reminded her of her grandmother, and she missed her so much. The older woman had opened up her home to ten-year-old Cassie when her mom took off for California with a new boyfriend.

She had no idea who or where her father was, neither did her mom, whom she hadn’t heard from since she left twelve years ago.

Cassie cursed under her breath when the engine hiccupped again. Her server paycheck wasn’t big enough to cover a car payment, so the truck would just have to suck it up and not break down. She barely had enough money left over for groceries once she’d paid her regular bills off each month.

She shouldn’t really complain. At least she had a place to live and a job. That was more than some folks. Plus, with only a high school diploma, higher-paying positions were scarce.

That’s what happened when your career plan was to become the high school star quarterback’s trophy wife when he turned professional. Unfortunately, her ex decided to trade up from his hometown sweetheart once the professional team’s offer arrived. Something about “image” and “branding” that her humble background didn’t live up to. Heartbroken and humiliated, Cassie had moved back in with her grandmother. And she’d stayed away from flashy, charming men since then.

Her thoughts automatically went to the tall Swedish customer she’d served earlier in the day. She wouldn’t call him flashy, but he’d known how to work those smoky gray eyes, his brilliant white smile, and that dark blond hair. Just thinking about their flirtation about wild and untamed things made her warm and tingly in all the right places. So yeah, he’d absolutely been a charmer and, therefore, on her list of things to avoid. The sexy Swede reminded her too much of the things that had made her hook up with her ex.

A pothole Cassie hadn’t seen because she’d been too busy thinking about her former boyfriend, also known as Jerkface, rattled the truck so hard she bit her tongue. She added the injury to the long list of atrocities committed by him, but then she sighed.

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