Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (7 page)

Litr was so cute and loyal, but matchmaking mothers with troll daughters were exactly what Eirik needed. I had to bite my tongue to stop from laughing.

“You know I can’t go against Baldur and the goddess’ wishes.”

“Then go with him, Miss Celestia. You should see them. Some are as old as my grandmother and uglier than a
Dökkálfr
.”

I had no idea what a
Dökkálfr
was, but Litr didn’t think highly of it. He continued to berate their guests as he led the way to Eirik’s quarters, and I tried not to grin. Eirik hated to be told what to do, so he must be pissed.

“Some are barely weaned from their mama’s milk. Shameless mamas and papas sneaking around, asking servants questions.” He stopped outside Eirik’s door and glanced at me. “Get him out of this, Miss Celestia,” he begged. “Please.”

I stared after the Dwarf. He was crazy if he thought I’d dare advise Eirik to disobey his mother. Goddess Hel scared the crap out of me. Baldur was much nicer, and I liked his plan better. I had no interest in attending a ball in this realm. Represent Midgard, my butt. Trudy had known, the faker.

Okay, I needed to focus. I hadn’t seen Eirik in four months, and maybe he didn’t want to see me after I kicked him out of my hospital room. I wouldn’t blame him. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. On the other hand, he shouldn’t have listened to me. I had just been attacked and was hurting. Any moron would have known I wasn’t myself.

I stared at his door and tried for calm. Instead, my heartbeat hiked with anticipation and my mouth went dry.
Do it and get it over with
. I blew out air and knocked.

There was no response. Was he asleep?

I turned the handle and peered into the room. He was fast asleep on top of the bed, one arm under his pillow and the other flung across the covers. He wore sweatpants and a black T-shirt that hugged his muscular upper arms and rode up to reveal serious abs. He must still be working out like a maniac.

Heart pounding, I entered the room, closed the door behind me, and walked to the edge of the bed. Nothing had changed in the room, but Eirik… Wow!

The man I’d known was gone. In his place was a buff guy with an angular face that wasn’t relaxed even in sleep. He was a little less pretty boy and harder around the edges, which sent tingling feelings to my stomach. His head shifted restlessly, his hand fisting. He was definitely having a bad dream.

An innate urge to calm him caught me off guard, and I crawled on the bed, reached out, and stroked the back of his hand.

A growl rumbled through his chest and scales appeared on his fingers and knuckles. Fear slammed through me, followed by the instinct to hop off the bed and run. I even leaned back, but other feelings took over. Fascination. Exhilaration. A need to touch him.

Could this be the effect of the dragon bond? I knew it made one loyal and devoted to the dragon. What if there was more? I was supposed to hate everything scaly and slitty-eyed, yet here I was drawn to him, a dragon shifter. Fascinated by him. In total awe of what he was.

The scales had appeared like the runes, lifting to the surface fully formed. They were made of different shades of brown—from beige to gold—and shimmered as they caught the light from the crystals. More scales raced up the arm I’d touched.

My next action made no sense either, unless the damn dragon bond was making me stupid. Maybe I wanted to overcome my fear of scales, or maybe I just liked studying him without him smirking at me. Whatever the case, I ran my fingertips across his scaly arm. Another rumble rolled through his chest. It was louder, yet calmer. It sounded more like a purr.

I grinned and did it again. The surfaces of the scales were smooth, and they appeared to move as the muscles under them flexed. I touched the tip of his nails. They had hardened into claws. They were long and sharp. I wasn’t sure how long I knelt there and played with his scales before sounds from the hallway reminded me of why I was there.

“Eirik.”

EIRIK

I was dreaming about Celestia again. Her voice, soft and sweet, called to me. And the effect on me was the same. Need coiled deep in my gut. She hadn’t called out to me since the first month when she would cry in her sleep. My dragon half had known she needed me, and he’d needed her. Once I made it to her place, settled next to her, and held her, she’d calm down. She must never know how often I’d sneaked into her bedroom and comforted her, or seen her cry at school and used runes to calm her down. I hated using runes on her, but watching her cry had damn near broken me.

I closed my eyes tighter, hoping to slip back into a dream state. Celestia tolerated me in her dreams, so that was where I wanted to be. Going near her while she was awake wasn’t even an option. She hated my guts. I didn’t blame her. She’d gotten hurt because of me. But the nightmares were gone now, so I only visited her when my dragon side refused to be appeased.

I still didn’t understand the need to shift whenever she was distressed or how my dragon side often knew when she was hurting. A bond I didn’t understand existed between us. As soon as I found my sister and fixed my family, I was going to Earth to see what that bond meant.

Damn it, there was no way I could go back to sleep now. My dragon senses were off the charts. Two weeks had passed since my last visit. If I sneaked out to see her after refusing to attend that damn party, my mother might start resenting Celestia. Up until now, she’d tolerated what she saw as my occasional need to see the Witch girl. Of course, she assumed that my relationship with Celestia was intimate. If only she knew.

I inhaled and sighed. Her scent was strong, much more than it usually was in my dreams. I savored it. It was definitely time to visit Windfall, Louisiana and appease the beast in me.

“Eirik!”

My eyes flew open and met the familiar baby blues. She was leaning over me, eyes flashing with impatience. My chest squeezed and breathing became difficult. Was I dreaming? She never scowled in my dreams. She was always in my arms, nestled under my chin where she belonged. A growl worked its way up my chest.

This is my dream and I refuse to shift in it.

She wore white ripped jeans, a conservative purple and white top, and a leather jacket. Even though her brown hair fell on her shoulders in soft curls and her makeup enhanced her gorgeous eyes and added luster to her lips, she didn’t need makeup or fancy hairstyles. She was perfect the way she was, until she opened her mouth. I always made sure she didn’t talk in my dreams. It was a lot more fun making out than being reminded to stay away from her.

A dimple appeared on her cheek as a grin chased away the frown. My heart stopped and then started to pound. That smile. I wanted to capture it with a kiss. The need to shift became almost uncontrollable, but I managed to keep it in check. If this was a dream, it was mine, which meant no dragon. My dragon side was too damn possessive of her.

I stretched my hand toward her. “Come here, Dimples.”

“No,” she said, straightening. “You have a party to attend. A ball in your honor.”

I didn’t like this dream one little bit. I wanted her close. I needed to breathe her in. She always smelled nice. I ran a finger along a ripped section of her jeans. Her skin was warm and silky.

“Come to me, Dimples,” I whispered, sliding a finger under the ripped fabric and tugging.

“Cut that out.” She moved her knee and swatted my hand.

She was never mean in my dreams. “You’re supposed to be sweet and nice.”

“Not after the cold and the magic screwing with my head. I still can’t believe they hauled me here to be bait.”

Okay, this was a bizarre dream.

“Your father wants you to stop fighting your mother, so please get up, get dressed, and go play the dutiful son. She’ll be humiliated if you don’t show up.”

Maybe I wasn’t dreaming. I scoffed at the idea of my mother being humiliated by anything or anyone. The only opinion she cared about was my father’s. And sometimes, even his didn’t matter when she wanted to get her way.

“She’ll get over it. Besides, they are here because of her. And you are here because of me. Always for me.” I caught her hand and threaded our fingers.

“Not willingly. As for your mother, she would have never opened her home to people for the first time in centuries just for her. No, these people have come from all over the realm to meet and honor you. Instead, they’ll go back to their homes and tell everyone that Goddess Hel’s son couldn’t be bothered to meet with them. That the future Alfadir is so full of himself he ignored his future subjects. Worse, you’ll turn your mother into a laughingstock.”

I wanted to kiss her to shut her up. Every time Mother and I knocked heads, I often heard Celestia yapping in the back of my mind like Jiminy Cricket. Usually, I ignored her. This lecture sounded too real.

“You are really here, aren’t you, Jiminy? This is not a nightmare?”

She lifted her chin, obviously hating my new nickname for her. “What do you think?”

“Damn.” I closed my eyes, but my grip tightened on her hand. “Can’t you just crawl into my arms, and I’ll pretend I’m dreaming? You are much nicer in my dreams.”

She laughed and yanked her hand from mine. “Funny, you don’t appear in mine.”

“Then go away.”

“Sorry, not happening. Not until you get up. I refuse to play dress up just because your family is clueless about how to deal with your stubbornness. I’m not your maid or your conscience, and I resent being hauled from my friends, dragged across a portal, almost seduced by the magic in this place, and damn near frozen to death just so I could sweet talk you into attending a stupid ball. So get up and get moving, pal.”

That was the Celestia I knew. Blunt. Snarky. Mouthy. Yep, she was definitely back. And I still wanted to kiss her, damn it. I opened my eyes and sat up.

“Man, I’d forgotten how much you talk and how annoying you get.”

She grinned. “And I’d forgotten how self-absorbed and arrogant you are.”

A regular girl would have been hurt by my words. Another reason I loved having her around. She was full of surprises.

“Welcome back, Dimples.”

She crossed her arms and scowled. “Did I mention I’m here against my will?”

“I missed you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I was at a club, minding my own business when they appeared.”

“You know you missed me.”

“Nope.”

“Did you astral project here?”

She shuddered. “I used the cave portal. Echo and Dread—uh, Syn came for me at a club where I was with Hayden, Zack, and a bunch of friends from school.”

Echo. I might no longer hate the Grimnir, but only one person would dare send him to get Celestia. My mother. My father would have sent Rhys.

I leaned toward Celestia. This was she in the flesh, not her soul.

“Okay, Dimples. Convince me to go to the damn ball because you and I know I’m good at ignoring you when you talk too much. Go for less talk and more action.”

Blue fire leaped in her eyes.

Grinning, I went for the kill. “Kiss me and I’ll go.”

She threw me an annoyed glance and scrambled off the bed. “That’s never going to happen. Get up and get dressed or I’ll drag you there myself using magic. Then you’d be humiliated and your mother would take it out on me.”

I dropped back onto my bed, but my eyes followed her. My day just got better. “Never is such a long time. I could make you eat those words right now.”

Pink tinted her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. From her expression, she was getting pissed and probably thinking up ways to make me hurt. Too bad. I needed to reconnect with her, desperately. Maybe I shouldn’t wait to explore this bond between her and my animalistic side. Since the flamboyant nitwit was a part of me, I had to know if I was part of whatever special thing they had going on.

Celestia sighed. “Eirik, please, stop being stubborn.”

She could make me agree to anything when she looked at me with those soft eyes and spoke in that breathless tone. I couldn’t believe she was in my home. After months of sneaking into hers and watching her from afar, she was actually here. Best part, she didn’t appear to hate me. This felt like old times.

“Okay, forget the kiss. I’ll settle for a hug,” I said.

“Seriously? We don’t have time for these silly games.”

“This is not a game. We always had time to cuddle. A hug or Mommy Dearest will be humiliated and it will be your fault, Jiminy Cricket.”

“You are such an ass.”

“And you’re scared you might like it too much and stop hating me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Prove it.” I extended my arms and gave her my most charming smile. “My arms have missed you.”

“That’s so corny.”

She was wavering. “That’s because I know you can’t resist me for long. I mean, I know I’m charming, but I’ve been working out, so it’s okay if you want to cop a feel too.”

She laughed. “In your dreams.”

She had done that and much more in my dreams.

“And I saved your life from my power-hungry grandmother. That alone should give me a hero’s…” She stopped smiling and a haunted look flashed in her eyes. Damn, I shouldn’t have brought up my grandmother. “Come here, Dimples.”

She swallowed and looked at my hand, but she still didn’t move. This was demoralizing. Before, she had no problem hugging me. Now I had to beg her for it.

“Chicken. If I shift and start roaring and snarling with disappointment, guess who will be running out of here, screaming because they hate dragons?”

“I’m not worried about your dragon side. He’s my hero. Your human side, on the other hand, is an egotistical opportunist. If you so much as
cop a feel
, as you so eloquently put it, you’ll need to shift to escape my wrath. And FYI, I’m only doing this so I don’t have to dress up like some debutante and attend the stupid ball with you. First, they lure me here under false pretense, and now I have to deal with you. Why me? What did I do wrong to deserve this?”

Man, could she talk. The moment she crawled onto the bed and slipped into my arms, everything ceased to matter. I didn’t even care that she talked too much. She could yap all she wanted now. But the best part was her reaction. She trembled, telling me she was affected by our close proximity. I felt invincible.

I wrapped my arms around her, and tucked her under my chin. I didn’t care what reason she gave, I was finally holding her while she was awake. I could feel her warmth. Hear her breathe. Inhale her scent. This was worth all the begging in the world. I buried my face in her hair and a sigh of contentment rose from deep inside me. It came out as a purr.

Whatever special connection Celestia shared with my dragon form, it extended to me. I felt it in every cell in my body. Felt it when she released a shaky breath. When our bodies touched and she trembled. She might fight me, but she belonged in my arms. In my home. In my realm.

“Dimples?”

“Hmmm.”

“Welcome home.”

I expected her to say this wasn’t her home. Instead, she nestled and sighed, her breath brushing my skin. Heat shot through me. The hug wasn’t enough. I needed more.

“Say something,” I said.

“You complain that I talk too much.”

Not when her breath warmed my skin like that. That I liked.

“I love the sound of your voice, not the things you say. Big difference. So yap away.”

“So you can hear me without really listening to me?”

“I knew you’d understand.”

She laughed silently. Suddenly, I was aware of her chest pressed against mine. My heartbeat spiked, and the need to kiss her shot up with it. I wanted to touch her, but her jacket was in the way. I looked down and noticed it had ridden up and left a thin layer of skin bare. My hand found her skin despite the high-wasted jeans and her top. I stroked it.

She grabbed my hand and moved it, squeezing it hard, but not before I heard the tiny catch in her breath and felt the shiver. I loved it when she reacted to my touch. Sure, it often happened while she was asleep, but it was nice to know she couldn’t control it while awake too.

“Don’t push it, mister,” she warned, but her voice lacked heat.

“So what’s this about you attending the ball with me?”

“Your mother expects to use me as bait. Obviously, she hasn’t changed.”

She lifted her head so she could look at me. It was something I’d noticed she liked to do. She couldn’t just converse while facing any direction. She had to stare into my eyes. Not that I was complaining. I liked those baby blues locked with mine. Besides, it was endearing.

“She’s still moving people like chess pieces and expecting them to stay put until she moves them again. Thank goodness your father is the voice of reason. He asked me to talk to you instead.”

Now, she was talking faster, her voice slightly unsteady. I liked to think it was our closeness throwing her off, but I could never tell with her.

“He’s really worried about the tension between you and your mom. And before you say you don’t care about making her happy, watch for the nose, Pinocchio. You do.” She started to wiggle, and my arms tightened.