Page 20 of Valkyrie Restored

He pulled me off the wall with a chuckle and started on the trek to the kitchen again. “But first, we feed you… food.”

My ass landed on a soft armchair in the living room. Arran rested my leg on a plush footstool before setting a standing breakfast tray over my lap. “Coffee? Tea? Juice?”

“Mmmm. It smells divine.” And it did. The scent of bacon, eggs, butter, maple syrup, and fruit filled the air. I licked my lips. “Some juice and maybe some peppermint tea, if you have some?”

“We do. It’s a very special stock, too. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s from a company called Valkyrie Brew.” He winked as I chuckled. When I’d been looking for a name for my business, I decided to take inspiration from the local area and called everything Valkyrie. I’d even called the businessThe Forgotten Valkyrie.Daisy had loved it, telling me it would help with promotions and sales since this area of Manitoba promoted its Icelandic and Viking heritage.

Within minutes he returned carrying a tray loaded with food. A single stem of yarrow in a vase accompanied it, widening my smile while sending a shot of warmth through my heart. Yarrow wouldn’t have been a normal flower to give to someone, but it represented healing. Something I knew.

“Hurrit picked out the flower. Said you’d know what it meant.” Arran rolled his eyes a little but couldn’t keep the affection for his husband from his voice or from the softness in his eyes. With the tray on the coffee table, he proceeded to place a full plate in front of me along with cutlery, juice, and my tea. “Do you know?”

“I do. It means healing.”

“He’s being a sap for you.” Arran used my fork and knife to cut a piece of the beautiful French toast smothered in maple syrup. He held it to my lips. “I like it. Thank you for bringing this side out in him. Now open.”

“You know, I can feed myself. I’ve been doing it for years—”

“Only five to six that you know about.”

“Touché. But that still means that I know what I’m doing.”

“Just open up that mouth, lass,” he growled, sending those tingles through me and surprisingly, I found myself obeying. “That’s a good lass. Now how is it?”

“Mmmmm.” The cinnamon, the sweetness of the bread, the maple syrup, it all flowed over my tongue, sending my tastebuds into heaven. It could have been overly sweet, but there was something in it, something a little savoury that countered the sweetness, giving it the perfect balance.

The fire in his eyes turned up into a full flame. He used his thumb to wipe up the drop of syrup that coated my lips before popping it into his mouth and sucking it off. My core clenched watching him. “You’re right. It’s delicious. And I bet it tastes better because it came from your lips.”

I shifted in my seat. Fuck. What was I going to do with him. If he kept up with his innuendoes and dirty speech, I’d be jumping him right here in the living room. Food be damned.

He chuckled as he handed me my fork and knife. “Eat up. You’re going to need it later… for healing that leg.”

I growled, but he continued to laugh as he picked up his own plate before taking a seat on the couch.

With a full stomach, a comfy seat, and a light blanket that Arran draped over me after taking the lap tray from me, I couldn’t stop the yawns.

Arran stroked my hair as he perched on the arm of my chair. “Take a nap, lass. Your body needs sleep to heal. Your leg was already so much better this morning.”

Despite the exhaustion that nipped at my heals, I couldn’t resist one last piece of sass. “Ahh, but was it the sleep or the orgasms that were the miracle worker?”

“Take a nap. And then we can try the orgasms suggestion after.” He kissed my temple as he continued to stroke my hair, relaxing me until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.

14

Arran

Once Elin sleptdeep enough that she didn’t stir when I stopped touching her hair, I headed into the kitchen to clean and make lunch. A happiness, no, joyous contentment like I’d never felt before, filled me. This even though, in the back of mind, I worried about the strong connection she had with Hurrit. He tried last night, but he didn’t fool me. The minute her arousal started to climb under my hands, he woke up. Both mentally and physically. The more aroused she was, the higher the tenting of the sheet became. The moment her orgasm overtook her, he came, spilling himself all over his chest yet I could have sworn that his hands had fisted the bottom sheet instead of touching himself.

And while I may have taken advantage of the fact that she’d passed out after the orgasm, by using his cum to coat my cock before thrusting into his ready ass until I felt my own release, it didn’t stop the fear that he was her fated mate and I was just the sidekick. The steady companion, the one whom he had history with, so he wasn’t willing to just toss the last hundred plus years away because I was comfortable.

But having Elin sleep through Hurrit’s second eruption and his third in my mouth without stirring, helped to ease my fear that they’d already created that deeper bond. That and seeing her heated reaction to me, to my touch, to my words, well… maybe I wasn’t as outside as I thought. Yet the fear still niggled me.

Two hours later, I heard Elin stirring, bringing a smile to my face. As much as I loved the fact that she was sleeping under our roof—a sign of her softer side considering how independent she was, having watched her up on her house roof, fixing shingles without a care in the world—I wanted to spend some time alone with her while she was awake.

“Good afternoon, sleeping beauty.” I brushed her hair away from her face before cupping her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

She stretched, raising her hands over her head, and thrusting her chest out. All while not dislodging my hand. In fact, she may have even snuggled into it more. “Is it really the afternoon?”

I nodded. “But just barely,” I reassured her when she frowned. “Besides, your body obviously needed it otherwise you wouldn’t have slept.” I didn’t tell her that needing the extra rest was a side effect of the healing spells I placed on her yesterday. It wasn’t much, but I didn’t like seeing her hurt so anything I could have done, I would have done it.

---