Page 32 of Valkyrie Restored

“We thought you might enjoy the show.” Arran winked as he posed, hands on hips with his chest puffed out. It was like telling me lifted the weight of his secret off him, allowing his normal personality to shine through. It made me happy.

A small chuckle escaped, making his smile beam at the sound. I pretended to fan my face as my gaze roamed over him. It didn’t matter that it was below zero Celsius. His body didn’t suffer one millimetre of shrinkage. I winked. “Thank you for being so considerate.”

“Any time.” He wiggled his ass as he walked out onto the ice. My eyebrows rose. What in the world could he and Hurrit be? Why was he headed out to the water? It wasn’t like the water was warm, no one in their right mind—unless doing a polar bear dip which meant having warming implements on hand which we didn’t have—would jump into Hudson Bay in October. Could he be a polar bear? Is that why they were able to provide a better adventure trip? Did one of them strip down and change into one and then reveal thebearto their guests.

“Are you okay if I join him? Or do you want me here with you as you see him for the first time?”

I pulled my gaze from Arran and looked at Hurrit who stood next to me, naked as the day he was. Or was he? Was he even born in that body or was he born in whatever form he was that didn’t make him human? Not that it really mattered as his rapidly growing dick drew all my attention. I ran my gloved covered fingers over it, smiling as it jumped. “How about we just head into the hot tub. You, me, and Arran. We can do all the other stuff later.”

His fingers encircled my wrist, stilling my movements. “Can you hold that thought? I really want to, want you, but this is important. We want you to know the most important thing about us before we take that next step.”

At least I finally had an answer to one of my questions. They wanted me to know the true them before we experienced a threesome. It was both flattering and a little upsetting. If they never told others, including the other women they slept with, then why did they want to wait for me until after they told/showed me? What made us different?

But despite my questions, I nodded. Something I noticed I’d done a lot of over the past couple of months. So much for my independence. Sometimes I wondered if I’d been snatched by alien body snatchers. And up until a few minutes ago, it had always been a far-fetched idea. Now, I wondered if it could be real.

“Then I’m going to join Arran so we can get this part over with and move on to other more enjoyable activities.” He released my wrist and with a swagger that I associated more with Arran than him, walked out onto the ice and to Arran who watched us.

“Whatever happens, stay on shore. We’ll be perfectly fine, but you wouldn’t survive for long if you fell in.”

“I promise, Hurrit. Now hurry. I want to see what the two of you are.” A smile of encouragement covered my face.What in the world is wrong with me? I’m not anxious to see what they are, I’m freaking out. Or I should be. Fuck.

Taking my words at face value, Arran and Hurrit stepped forward and disappeared. Only the sound of a splash told me that they went into the water. I had to force my body to stay in place. My natural inclination having been one to run out onto the ice to try to save them. Not that running out would have been the answer. The previous winter I’d watched a documentary about people who fell through the ice on various lakes and the one thing everyone stressed was that you needed to walk slowly, testing for the strength of the ice. Then when the ice became too thin, you were supposed to lay down, and slowly ease forward.

The ice in front of me shifted… almost like magic.Wait. Was magic real? Spells and that type of stuff?But the pure white horse’s head that popped out from the water pushed thoughts of magic from my mind.Holy shit. A water horse.

I didn’t need to ask who the horse was. There was something in the way he looked at me, at the way he held his mouth, almost as if he was thinking something funny and naughty at the same time. It had to be Arran.

I ran through what I knew of Celtic folklore. It wasn’t much, but I did remember something about a water horse. I believed they called them kelpies and there was something about them kidnapping unsuspecting women and dragging them down to their homes at the bottom of lakes. Was that what he was going to do to me?

He trotted onto the shore and gave his mane a shake, flinging water everywhere. He bent his front legs as if he was bowing to me. I held out my hand, surprised when it remained strong and steady. “Can I touch you?”

He nodded, giving me the courage to take a step forward.

I pulled my gloves off and stroked my fingers over him, feeling the soft velvet of the skin/hair, whatever they called it that covered his face and body. I expected it to feel wet even after he shook the water off, but it felt dry. And surprisingly warm.

“Wow. Are you a kelpie?” My fingers continued to travel over him, learning all there was. I threaded them through his mane, surprised at the silky texture unlike the hair on my head or the mane on a normal horse.

And then he stood before me. From one blink to the next, he changed from his horse shape to his human body. “I am a kelpie. But don’t believe all the stories you’ve read. We don’t drown women or kidnap them.”

I pressed my body against his. “Are you sure about that?”

He brushed the hair back from my face, sliding his finger around my ear. All tension dropped from my muscles at his touch. Gone was the distance I’d been feeling earlier. A distance that I now realized came from his fear of my rejection. “I’m sure. But I am willing to kidnap and tie you up.”

My breath hitched. “I-I might like that.”

22

Elin

A whinnyand the sound of splashing water grabbed my attention. Arran shifted, putting his body behind me before wrapping his arms around my waist. The cold air didn’t appear to bother him despite his lack of clothing and his earlier swim.

A pitch-black horse emerged with a regal bearing. Every line of muscle spoke of majesty, of royalty, of something god-like. Looking at him, even if I hadn’t known he wasn’t of this normal human world, I would have thought this horse would make the myths about the gods true.

“Y-you’re gorgeous.”

He shook out his mane but stayed standing where he’d emerged from the water. What was left of the sinking sun, spread golden rays around him, highlighting the minute differences between him and Arran. The kelpie looked almost fluid like, insubstantial, ghost-like despite its solid form. If you’d put a horn on the brow, it would have easily been mistaken for a unicorn. It had been ethereal. But this horse—whatever Hurrit was—was more like a normal horse, just more. He was otherworldly.

“Go to him. He’s a spirit who controls the Elk dogs.” Arran released his hold on me, giving me a little push.

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