Struck: (Phoebe Meadows Book 1) (25 page)

“Yes,” he said simply, rolling me over, removing his shorts and shirt. He gazed down at me, his arms braced on either side of my head. “Phoebe, once I have you, I’ll never have another.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a demigod thing?” I ran my hands along his bare chest, my fingers tracing the hard contours. His skin was silky soft, his muscles firm, yet quivering, beneath my touch.

He flashed me a dazzling smile. “No, it’s a
me
thing. Never once in my many years has a woman ever come close to capturing my heart. I never expected to give it to anyone. This is something I do not take lightly, so you’re stuck with me, shieldmaiden.”

“Trust me, I’m not giving you back.” My hands slid to his neck.

He bent his head, and I arched up. The kiss was searing. I felt it all the way to my toes. The energy transfer was building with each kiss, and I knew it would culminate in something mind-blowing.

My body ached for it.

He slipped a hand between us, reaching for my core, and I called out. “I have to feel you,” I said, not recognizing my own bold voice as I slid my hand down, finding the enormous length of him and stroking it lightly. His entire body pulsed with power. My hand vibrated with it as I discovered him for the first time. New senses came alive in my body, and they sought him like a drug.

I craved every inch of him.

Leaning up, I ran my tongue slowly across his broad chest, and where my wetness hit his skin, power exploded in my mouth in short sparks. It was like licking invisible Pop Rocks.

I ran my hands over him faster.

“Don’t,” Fen bit out. “Valkyrie, I cannot…hold on for long when you touch me there.”

I let go of him reluctantly, prodding him to turn over. If I couldn’t touch him there, I would explore him elsewhere.

Once he was on the bottom, I straddled him.

My tongue slid over one of his nipples. I pressed it between my teeth and pulled gently as I sucked. Fen let out a guttural sound, which pleased me. I’d never had a chance to play the temptress before.

I liked it.

I lost myself in his beautiful body, toying with it, licking every inch, enjoying the texture, and drinking in his power.

“Gods!” Fen roared. “I don’t know why the fates have blessed me after so long, but you are absolutely stunning.” He ran his hands up my sides, caressing me, tangling in my hair. He leaned up to capture my mouth. After a long, intense kiss, he said, “I give you my power willingly.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

Fen scooped me up, settling me firmly on his lap, crushing me with a kiss so deep I couldn’t breathe. His hands jutted through my hair, his hardness pressed firmly between us.

I squirmed against him, my legs locking around his waist. “
Yes
,” I moaned.

“Valkyrie,” Fen groaned, “your wish is my command.” His powerful arms threaded under my thighs, lifting me off his lap. Then, very slowly, he slid me back down onto the length of him. As his tip broke through, I yelled his name, grabbing on to his shoulders, wiggling my hips down. “Easy,” Fen ground out hoarsely. I gave an impatient cry, my body flaming to be full of him. “
Gods
, you’re so
tight
.” He tossed his head back, his long hair falling behind his shoulders. He guided me with his hands at my hips, pumping his shaft slowly into me.

“More,” I breathed as my body blossomed, opened, expanding for him. My hands gripped him fiercely with each rock of my hips. “Yes.
Yes
.” The feeling as I slid down on him was so intense, sparks of light fired behind my eyelids.

Power swirled between us, gathering strength.

There was no way to stop it, even if I wanted to. I was too greedy for him. Fen held me in his arms, our bodies slick with sweat, sparks jumping between us like live wires.

If this is what heaven feels like, I want it all the time.

My core was on fire, hot and tight around him. “Fen!” I gasped. “I can’t stop.” A small bolt of lightning shot out of me as I began to rock on him harder. With strong, quick motions, I rode him, the tingling reaching new heights with each thrust of my hips.

“You’re…glowing…” Fen ground out, “…can’t wait…anymore.” He grabbed on to my hips, plunging deeply as I quivered around him, my body alight. I was one hairsbreadth away from release. “I need to be in control now, Valkyrie.” He turned quickly, spreading me on the bed, grabbing me tightly with both hands as he thrust into me again and again.

“
Oh
!” I thrashed my head from side to side. My body was aflame for him, his power and energy entering me from all over.

“I will…not finish…before you.” He lifted my thighs higher, hooking them over his forearms, arching his body over mine. He pumped harder and harder, and my mind was lost to him. He growled, “Come for me, Phoebe.”

As the spasms hit me, I shouted his name. A boom of thunder filled the room as wave after wave of sensation washed over me, drowning me completely.

So good
.

“Phoebe!” Fen yelled as he released. As he filled me, another orgasm crashed over me, right on the heels of the last. My body vibrated with this new, potent energy, consuming it greedily, sparks crackling above our heads.

“
Fen
.” I held him with both hands, connecting us completely. My body ached for everything he could give me. My head spun.

So much power.

He grasped the back of my neck and took my mouth hungrily, feasting on me as he ground his hips against mine, spending himself dry.

Once the last drop of his luscious energy was gone, Fen lay on the bed, gathering me in his arms. I was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. “That was…incredible,” I whispered as I beamed up at him.

Fen ran a forearm over his mouth, his breath coming in short bursts. “That was more than incredible. It was indescribably good, and you’re still glowing.”

I lifted my hands in front of my face to see.

They’d taken on a definite sheen, though nothing like the full shimmer when I went through the tree the first time. But I felt rejuvenated for the first time in too long. “I think my leg is healed!” I exclaimed, lifting it up to inspect it. “I can’t feel any aching.” Happiness threatened to burst through me. “The scar is completely gone. That’s incredible. You are a potent demigod.” I turned to him, grinning.

I hadn’t had much experience with relationships, but Fen was everything I could’ve hoped for. In this new world I would be forced to navigate, I needed a best friend and ally and couldn’t believe I’d gotten both in one man.

One beautiful, incredible man. Life without him now seemed unimaginable.

“Rest now, Phoebe,” he chuckled, gathering me in his arms.

I went willingly, feeling content and sleepy. “I love it when you say my name,” I murmured into his warm chest.

His chest rose and fell as he laughed. “Then I’ll have to use it more often. Sleep now. We will be on the move shortly.”

“You said we needed to talk.” Sleep filled my voice. “About stuff you think I kept from you.”

“In due time.” He kissed the top of my head. “Neither of us is going anywhere.”

24

__________________________

____________

C
AW-CAW. CAW-CAW.

I bolted upright, the sheets falling around me. It was still dark. I felt like I’d been asleep for only a moment. I tugged the blankets, bracing them in place with my forearm.

Fen was already up, arms crossed, a scowl on his face. He didn’t seem nearly as surprised as I was to see Huggie perched on my bedpost. “Odin’s agent, what brings you here so early?” Fen’s tone was blunt.

The raven cocked his head, like he was gathering pertinent information about the situation. I could only imagine what the bird was thinking. Phoebe and the wolf in bed together. Oy. Once he was done, he clacked his beak.

“Um,” I stammered, pulling the covers up to my chin. “What are you doing here? Are we in trouble? Is Ingrid with you?” I realized now it had been stupid of us to stay in my apartment. We’d both been carried away, and I’d been so, so tired.

The shieldmaiden is at the Valkyrie stronghold. I have sent word
.

I glanced over at Fen to see if he’d heard the bird. “Can you hear the raven?” I asked.

He shook his head, his face stoic. “I can only hear him if he so chooses, and as of right now he has not deemed me worthy.”

I didn’t really want to be the intermediary here, because Huggie would likely reveal important information that we both needed to hear. “Huggie, you’re going to have to include Fen in our conversation. If we’re in trouble, he has to know about it, even more so than I do.”

The bird clacked his beak.
If I talk to the wolf, the information will find its way back to Odin. It is safer this way. You are in danger. You must leave this location as soon as possible
.

“And go where?” I asked. I turned to Fen and said, “The raven said if he talks to you Odin will find out, so it’s better he doesn’t communicate directly.”

Fen leaned forward. He was naked and beautiful, his hair tumbling forward, his gaze intense. “You would keep my location from Odin himself? I don’t believe you, raven. You have always been his agent, his eyes and ears to the world. Your purpose is to take information back to your master, not protect his wolf prisoner. You will betray me, it’s only a matter of time.”

I placed my hand on Fen’s arm. In response, he opened his arms and gathered me close, tucking me firmly against his chest. It was a dominant gesture meant to let the raven know where we stood.

I went along with it willingly. “Ingrid told me Huggie does his own thing,” I addressed Fen. “She said the raven is tied to Odin, but because he’s so old, he has gained his own power. Maybe he’s exercising that independence to help me?”

Fen turned to gaze down on me. “And why would he do that? What does the bird owe you? You claimed to have no ties to Asgard. Why would Odin’s henchman, a very powerful creature in his own right, choose to help you of his own accord?”

“Um.” I shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t even know who I was until a few days ago.”

“Who are you?” It was a bold question, directed right at me.

The raven became agitated, flapping his wings.
I caution you to not tell the wolf you are Odin’s daughter. He will not react to the news well
.

My mouth opened and closed.

I didn’t know what to do. Fen waited for my answer. “A Valkyrie?” I hated not confessing, but my bottom line was fear. I was scared of losing, especially after what we’d just shared together. The news could create a huge rift between us that would be too hard to repair. My chest ached.

I wished with all my heart that I had no ties to Odin, the god Fen was slated to kill at Ragnarok. It was all so confusing.

Fen shook his head. “Even after being intimate, you still choose not to trust me?” He disentangled himself from me and slid off the bed, heading toward the bathroom. His backside was incredible from this vantage point. “I am going to shower, shieldmaiden. When I return, I expect you to give me the truth. I expect nothing less.” He paused in the doorway, his arms splayed between the two jambs, piercing me with heated eyes. “Without truth we have nothing.” He shut the door. The shower turned on a second later.

I slumped back on the bed, crossing my arms. I huffed at the raven, “He’s right. Without honesty, we have nothing. I’m going to have to tell him what I know and accept the consequences. Why are you here?”

You are in danger, and your safety is my priority
.

I said internally,
Fen’s right. Why do you care about me at all? I should mean next to nothing to you, even if I am Odin’s daughter. I need to know why you’re helping me.

I made a pledge to your mother.

I sat up straight, clutching the sheets as they threatened to drop. “You know my mother?”

I do. It was to her I made my oath to look out for your safety, not Odin. It was her last wish before she was taken away. When you came of age, I chose to honor it. She is a valiant shieldmaiden, worthy of much respect.
The bird flapped his wings, readjusting himself on the post.

I had no idea what to do with that information. I wanted to meet my real mother. “In order to honor her request, are you keeping my whereabouts from Odin?”

In a way
.

“In
what
way?”

I have stayed away from Asgard, but I am due to return any day. When I arrive, I will not lie to Odin. He knows you are a Valkyrie. It was he who sent the bolt of lightning that struck you. He wishes you to stay alive.

Tricky bird.

“Will you tell him about Fen?” I asked.

If he asks, I will tell what I know. He knows the wolf has escaped. He will not know all the details.

“How did you find me in Muspelheim?”

I was waiting in the tree for your signature
.

“You can wait in the tree indefinitely?”

I can
.

I answered internally,
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now. Odin kept me a secret, threw my mom in a dark realm, and hoodwinked the Norns for over twenty years. Now that my secret is out, everyone is trying to kill me. How do I make it all stop?