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  My hair was braided tightly and coiled into a crown around my head. Here’s a tip for all you wanna-be hunters. When you fight monsters, don’t give them a leash to grab. I hate it when I watch those tough-chick movies and the woman has her long hair in a braid. A real fighter would never give her opponent such an easy handhold. Make it as tight to the head as possible or tuck that braid down the back of your shirt.

  My eyes were done smoky and I’d made sure to matte my face with powder but I skipped the lipstick. I wasn’t so vain that I was about to paint a bull’s-eye on my face. I checked the pins in my hair to make sure they were secure, then headed out. I was actually a little excited, isn’t that sick? It just shows you how bored I’d been.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  I parked at the usual place but Jimmy wasn’t on, it was Keoki. He waved excitedly when he saw me. He knew a big tip when it drove in. I let him take the car and took off without my ticket as usual. My purse was already in the hidden compartment.

  Waikiki was always busy. They say New York never sleeps but I think Waikiki really wants second place because at most, it takes power naps. It was ten o’clock and the bars were blaring their music into the night. The night had just begun. In all my black I must have looked Goth, or is it Emo now? Ridiculous. Back in school, I was Goth before there was Goth, they just called us weird. Now everything had labels and whole lifestyles to go along with the looks. Well, my look wasn't Goth or Emo, it was Godhunter and I'm pretty sure my lifestyle was a little too hardcore for the Emotionals. I fit right in with the club crowds though, except for my sword, which was blurred under its protection spell anyway.

  I wandered into a Starbucks and grabbed a drink before sitting at one of the wrought iron tables outside. I was trying for casual club-hopper. I needed to blend in a little and still keep an eye out. The kills had all been in this area. Blue obviously wanted me to know where to find him, so this was the place to start. The Starbucks was close enough to clubs and alleys to make a good vantage point. They also had a restroom in case I had to drink a lot of coffee while I waited. It was perfect.

  A six-pack of Marines stumbled up the street and I tried desperately not to make eye contact. They didn’t seem to need encouragement though. The simple fact that I was sitting alone was enough for them. They wandered over together and I couldn’t stop my annoyed groan.

  “Hey, cutie,” the more loquacious of the bunch started. “We’re headed to The Red Lion, wanna come?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  “But a woman like you shouldn’t be sitting alone,” another one puffed out his chest. “Haven’t you watched the news lately?”

  “My boyfriend will be here any minute,” I looked away, trying to scan the alleys and thought I saw a flash of movement.

  “We’ll just wait with you then,” the first one slid into a seat next to mine, knowing a lie when he smelled it. Even if the scent of beer rolling off him was strong enough to mask any odor.

  I frowned at him for a second before I caught the tail end of a scream on the breeze. “Shit,” I jumped up. “Gotta go, boys.”

  I threw the cup into a trash can as I ran by. The confused shuffling of the Hooah boys came from behind me but I didn’t give them much thought as I headed down the alley, pulling my kodachi as I ran.

  Sure enough, a woman was lying beneath a feeding vampire while another waited for his turn. I didn’t wait for introductions, I ran up swinging and the vamp in line lost his head. It bounced off the wall and hit the ground with a wet thud.

  “Holy shit!”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw the Marines at my back.

  “Get out of here!” I shouted as I spun back around. It was all the distraction vamp #2 needed. He was on me in a blur and my sword went flying. I had to start a spell as I struggled to keep his fangs off me.

  I didn’t struggle for long though. Our countries first line of defense had come to mine. The vampire was hauled off me and I got free long enough to release the knives from my gloves.

  “Shit, woman, who the fuck are you?” The Marine holding the vampire stared at my gloves with a mixture of jealousy and lust.

  “Drop him and back away fast, honey,” I kept my eyes on the vampire who was suddenly staring at me like he’d found the prize in a box of Cocoa Pebbles.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got him,” the Marine smirked at me and the vampire lunged back, dropping the Marine like a bag of bad blood.

  His friends rushed forward but the vampire was nearly on me. I did a roundhouse kick and slashed his neck open, splattering the oncoming cavalry and dropping him to his knees. The Marines started yelling but whether it was in horror or appreciation I’d never know. They were cut short by the arrival of five more vamps.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I swore as I scooped up my sword and chopped the wounded vamp’s head off, then ran to help my saviors.

  They were trying to fight the monsters like humans, dirty but still like humans, and they were no match. I couldn’t cover them with a protection spell because they were already hand to hand with the vamps and the spell wouldn’t distinguish vamp from human. I had to go in.

  I started a stun spell as I approached, so I was able to lop off the head of one vamp while striking out with the spell towards another. I beheaded the stunned vampire easily. Two down, only three to go.

  I raked my claws down the back of one of them, separating muscle from spine, and he screamed as he turned to me. “You may be his little witch but for that, you die!”

  Okay, now I was certain this was about me. “Bring it on, fangster!”

  The rest of the Marines weren’t faring so well but they were still alive and they were keeping the other two vamps busy for me, so I silently thanked them. One vamp I could handle, even two, but I hadn't counted on fighting seven. Before the vamp I was still engaged with could close in though, a bolt of lightning hit him and he fell to the ground writhing and screaming.

  “Mother fucker!” I leaped back.

  A haze of magic sealed the entrance to the alley as five forms shimmered into view. Ull, Brahma, Horus, Pan and Finn came running toward us. I was never so happy to see gods in all my life. I started to race in to help them but a large hand pulled me back.

  “You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you?” I'd know that rumble anywhere. Hell, the lightning really should’ve given him away.

  “Thor,” I whispered his name as I turned and the sounds of battle seemed to fade. I heard a few grunts and the soft tingle of magic crept up my back but my eyes were all for him.

  “Come on,” he started pulling me away but I stopped him.

  “Thor, wait, I…”

  “I don’t have time for your protests, Vervain,” He bent and swung me over his shoulder. “Sheath your blades. Now!”

  I yanked the latches to sheath the claws as he traced us to Bilskinir. When we were there, he dropped me none too gently on his bed.

  “What did you think you were doing out there tonight?” He glared at me and I wasn’t surprised to see the lightning flashing in his eyes. I almost welcomed it.

  “We’re still on that?” I snorted. “You don’t give up do you?”

  “Damn you, Vervain!” He yelled and the whole place shook.

  I smiled and laughed with relief. If he was this mad at me, it could only mean one thing… he still cared.

  “What the fuck are you laughing about?” He stomped over, the floors shivering under his feet, and loomed over me. The better to glare at you, my dear.

  “Wow, you're really angry,” my smile never wavered.

  “I asked you what you were laughing at.” The vibrations from his voice started to last longer than the actual sound.

  “You know, Thor,” I kicked off my boots. “There’s a lot I find funny about this situation.”

  He took a step back and frowned, following the arc of my footwear to the floor before returning his narrowed stare to me. “What the hell are you doing now?”

  “It’s ra
ther funny that the very mess Blue had intended to bring me back to him, has only landed me back here. In your bedroom.” I unbuckled my gloves and threw them over by the boots.

  Thor’s eyes widened and his voice lost its thunder. “Vervain, what are you doing?”

  “It’s also funny that I got a little overdressed to kill vampires but I’m glad I did, since you showed up.”

  “You are?” His voice was just the barest breath.

  “And it’s really funny that I’m so much of an ass, it took a bunch of vampires to get me to admit how much I've missed you.” I undid my hair and shook it out so that it fell down to my waist in soft waves.

  “You are,” his voice came out a little choked, “I mean, you do?”

  “Even with them out there, killing in my city, I can’t stop feeling happy just to see you.” I stood up and stepped in close.

  “You can’t?” He shuddered as I ran my hands up his chest. I stood on tiptoe and pulled his head down to mine.

  “Forgive me, baby?” I whispered against his lips and he groaned.

  “Vervain,” he pulled me off my feet and kissed me for all he was worth… and he was worth a mint.

  I yanked his shirt from his jeans and felt his heart speed up under my hands. Then my mouth was on his, a soft sound escaping my lips as I felt the thick muscles of his chest clench beneath my fingers. My fingertips traveled on a path so well known to them that they needed no direction. It was automatic and effortless, the map of his body memorized in my very bones.

  His hands were at the zipper of my vest and then my breasts were spilling free, the leather thrown on the ever growing pile of clothing. He pulled away and looked down at me with those lightning-filled eyes. Pupils dilating, framing the lightning. Nostrils flaring slightly with his rapid breaths. Skin glowing gold beneath my fingertips. I couldn’t believe I’d passed this up because of some stupid fight... because of my stupid pride.

  “Why wouldn't you let me come to you?” his hands slid over both of my breasts as he spoke.

  “What?” I stilled his hands with my own.

  “I've lived only for my dreams with you,” his hands drifted up to my face. “My days were spent anxiously waiting for night, when I could see you, touch you again.”

  “That really was you?” I was horrified, embarrassed, and oddly relieved.

  “I tried to tell you, darling,” he smiled gently.

  “Yeah, you did,” I felt my breath catch, constricting my throat, as I realized everything that had happened between us had been real. He'd said those things because he wanted to, not because I wanted him to. “Then you really...?”

  “Love you?” He smiled wider. “Yes, I love you, you stubborn, obtuse woman.”

  “I love you too, you patient, overprotective god.”

  I glimpsed an expression of fierce joy before he swooped down and kissed me. Static electricity crackled along my skin and tingled where our mouths met. He tasted of ozone and rain, his tongue hot, his breath cool. A breeze swirled around us, playing in my hair and raising shivers on my skin. Then his hands followed, hot and sure, making me lean into his warmth like he was both shelter and storm.

  I swallowed past the desert in my throat and undid his jeans with shaky hands. He pushed them down before kicking them across the room with barely restrained annoyance. I laughed a little until he knelt and covered a breast with his mouth. The laughter turned into a sharp gasp and I arched against him as he lavished attention on me with his tongue. Liquid fire melted my bones and I went limp. He used his free hand to support my weight and I grabbed big handfuls of his hair to hold him against me. By the time he turned his attention to the other breast I was writhing in need, little snakes of desire twisting in my belly.

  “Enough,” I groaned as he kissed his way down.

  He unbuttoned the leather pants and I sighed as they slithered down my legs. “Never enough,” he bit at the front of the red lace g-string that was the only thing remaining between him and I. My heart jumped at his choice of words and the tenderness in them.

  I looked down into the oceans his eyes had become and shook my head. “I’ve been such an idiot.”

  “At least you’ve come to your senses,” he gave me a big Cheshire cat grin and pulled my panties down. I stepped out of them and he flung them away like they'd been trying to keep us apart. He looked up at me, flashing lightning and hot desire. Warm, magic-filled hands slid reverently up my calves, over my thighs, and finally rested at my waist. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Look who’s talking,” I tugged on his hand to bring him to his feet.

  “Men are not beautiful,” he chided as he scooped me up and laid me in bed.

  I struggled with the comforter and finally kicked it off, as he laughed. The silk sheets beneath slid against me with a cool, welcoming caress. I leaned back on my elbows and enjoyed the show as he crawled over me.

  “I don’t know about men,” I licked my lips, “but baby, you are a thing of beauty.”

  “Call me baby again,” he smiled against my mouth.

  “Baby,” I whispered and pulled his mass of red-gold hair around me. It smelled of storms on the sea. It smelled like home.

  “Mmmmm,” he licked my lips and kissed his way to my ear. “I like the taste of that word on your lips. Try my name now.”

  “Thor,” I smiled as his lips returned to press gently to mine.

  He breathed in my breath and when he exhaled, he drew it down my body, painting me with sparks of blue. His lips brushed my skin, sending deeper thrills into me before pulling back to continue the lighter attention of his breath. Then there were his hands. Little sparks tingled from the tips of his fingers to play along my skin, bringing my flesh to life as if it had been dead without him. By the time he'd covered me completely, I was a shaking shell of my former self.

  He brought me over the edge of desire over and over again before we even joined together. It all became a blur of pleasure for me after that. Sweat, lightning, shaking legs, clutching hands, and his beautiful face. It became my whole world for the hours I spent wrapped around him. I don't even know how long it was before we finally pulled back to catch our breaths. I just remember the moment of panic his first words to me brought.

  “I would remove his mark from you,” he drew his tongue over the scars Blue had left on my neck. “Will you let me trade his for mine?”

  “You can do that?” I twisted my head and met his intense stare.

  “Yes, if you’ll let me.”

  “Yes,” I bent my head to the side, offering my neck. “Do it.”

  He covered the marks with his mouth and I felt his magic gather in great tingling waves. His tongue seemed to spark against me and a sharp jolt shot from it into my skin. I screamed from the mix of pleasure and pain as he leaned further over me, one hand going to the bed to hold himself up and the other wrapping around my waist to hold me still.

  Thunder rumbled through the sky outside, loud enough to shake all of Asgard, and lightning lit up the room. Shadows spun excitedly on the walls as ancient magic whirled in the air, perfect partners in a dance of desire. He raised his face from my skin, giving me one final lick before he straightened up and grabbed my hips. As Bilskinir trembled around us, he filled me with magic and flesh, bringing me back into the flow of ecstasy so easily.

  Then his whole body began to shake and he shouted my name, a rush of power flowing from him to me as he came. It filled my blood, my bones, my very cells with magic and then burst forth from me in a savage cry of pleasure. We both shook with it until we collapsed together in exhaustion. He rolled to the side and pulled me across his chest, where I could hear his heartbeat slowing along with mine. The storm continued to rage outside but in his arms I felt calm and safe.

  “Thank you for this,” he brushed my hair away and stroked his fingers over the spot he’d claimed.

  “I’m as happy to be rid of those scars as you are to see them go.” I burrowed into him and felt his arms settle around me.
r />   “Now all will know you’re mine,” he kissed the top of my head and I quelled the sudden anxiety his statement brought. What was with these guys and their possessiveness? Was it a god thing? “You’re upset? You gave me permission, Vervain.”

  “I know,” I raised my head so he could see I had no regrets. “I just need to get used to a possessive god for a boyfriend.”

  He smiled a little but then his eyes got serious again. “We have both been fools,” he held my face and kissed me gently. “I should never have let you walk out.”

  “You mean you should never have kicked me out,” I smiled to soften my words. He grimaced and I chuckled. “I’m sorry I said such horrible things to you, I didn’t mean them.”

  “I know, darling,” he ran a finger over my lips. “It’s all better now.”

  “Better. What a grossly inadequate word,” I fell asleep to the sound of thunder and Thor’s laughter, unsure which was which.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “Oh God,” I groaned as I rubbed my eyes

  “Yes?” Thor’s voice was low and sultry. He sounded sexier than ever.

  “You had to go there?” I swatted him as he pulled me closer under the covers, the early morning chill caressing my face and making his heat all the more sweet. His naked body slid across mine, held up by his forearms so the weight of him was comforting instead of crushing. He was pulsing hard against my thigh. “And good morning,” I purred.

  “Yes, definitely,” he buried his face into my hair and breathed deep, sending tremors skittering through my ribcage. “Do you know what you smell like?”

  “I know what you smell like… breakfast.”

  He chuckled, still buried in my hair. “You smell like sex and magic.”

  “Hmmm, sex and magic,” I pushed him over, straddling him and dislodging the blankets as I went. “Yes, please.”

  He could hardly say no to such a nicely worded request. We spent most of the morning reinforcing the reunion we'd had the night before, well at least in my mind it was reinforcement. It all had a certain dreamlike quality for me, especially when you added in the sparks of lightning and the way he took away Blue's scars. I needed to know it was all real, to have him again in the light of day. I think he knew it as well and made every effort to affirm our new status. Then he carried me to the bathroom and bathed me. Yes, bathed me. Unbelievable. I’d never felt so pampered in all my life. He even washed my hair.