Chapter 13

13

T hor woke again at midday with a raging hunger to feed and fuck. Nicola was asleep with her head in the crook of his shoulder and her arm and leg splayed over him. His hunger suddenly made sense. He wanted nothing more than to slip back between her thighs and feast on the most perfect pussy he had ever tasted. Every part of her was so beautiful, he could have wept at his good fortune.

Thor took some deep breaths, and her scent calmed the raging inside. He didn't want to frighten her away, so he willed his hard-on to go down without much success. She was so warm and soft. Her color had returned to her cheeks, and he was no longer panicking that her wounds were taking too long to heal.

He thought of her ferocity in the fight the night before. How she tore out her abuser's throat and challenged the rest. The gods couldn't have chosen a more perfect woman for him. Now, he just had to keep her. Thor had never wanted to keep a lover before and didn't really know what to do.

Courting can come later. Kill your enemies first. Make her safe . Thor knew before he and Nicola could fully explore the mating bond, he had to deal with the ones trying to destroy them first. The need to protect her outweighed any hunger that was clawing at his insides. He didn't want her to wake up with him drooling all over her, so Thor reluctantly slipped out from under her grasp. He needed blood and a plan.

Thor took some clean clothes from his dresser and quickly showered off the battle from the night before. He had hoped that the shower would help with his aching dick, but he could smell Nicola's scent in the shower too.

Turning the water to cold didn't do much either. He needed to be inside of her. He wanted to work her cunt until she was slick and soft and could take his knot. He would fill her so full of his seed that every creature in Inferno would smell his scent stamped on her.

With a frustrated growl, he turned the shower off, got dressed, and combed the knots out of his thick hair. When he was calmer, he stepped out into the bedroom, and it all went to shit again. Nicola was sitting up in bed, drowsily rubbing her face.

"Hel, Nicola. You are killing me right now," Thor grumbled.

Nicola gave him a confused smile and then realized her perfect full breasts were bare and lifted the blanket over them.

"Sorry. What time is it?" she asked.

"Around 1 p.m., and never apologize to me for flashing your gorgeous body. It's very distracting, and we must go see Galen today and not lie in bed. But, make no mistake, if I could, I would already be between your thighs," Thor said, making Nicola's cheeks flush red. He couldn't resist running his fingers over her heated skin, his mouth watering at what her blood would taste like. It would be better than all the mead in Valhalla, just like the honey that had dripped from her cunt the night before.

"I'll go to the kitchen and see about breakfast," Thor said gruffly. "Find me when you're ready."

Nicola placed her hand over his. "Are you okay? You seem off this morning."

"I'm...hungry. You look and smell good enough to eat," Thor said, not wanting to lie to her. If she was going to accept him as her mate fully, she needed to know that his vampire side was a reality.

Nicola kissed his palm. "Go. I'll find you when I've cleaned up. And Thor? See if you have any coffee. I'm going to need some to get through today."

"I will," he said and hurried out of the room before he lost all control. His fingers flexed, the press of her lips like a burn against his skin. It was an affectionate gesture he wasn't sure how to respond to. His heart thumped hard in his chest as emotions he had never felt punched him. Already something was melting inside of him that he thought would never come back again. This was what having a mate would do. Nothing was going to be about him anymore.

"Dark Hel, what is happening to me?" Thor whispered. The goddess didn't bother to reply, but it didn't matter. He already knew that this must be what falling in love felt like.

Thor headed through the hall and to the kitchens. They rarely used the hearth fire to cook on. Instead, this part of the hall was like a modern restaurant kitchen. Astrid and Bjorn were already there, drinking warmed blood from large mugs. Astrid huffed out a laugh and then poured some out for Thor.

"You look like someone has punched you in the balls. Did Nicola get a bit rough with you?" Bjorn asked with a shit-eating grin.

"No. This mating bond is messing with me," Thor replied and drained half the blood in one gulp. It calmed the gnawing hunger in his guts but didn't do much to help his hurting heart.

"You are the first to go through this. It is natural to feel unsteady," Astrid replied. She topped up his mug. "Do you want to talk about your feelings?"

"Fuck you," Thor said, unable to help the laughter bubbling out of him.

"You should like your own mate, Thor. We like her too, and I'm sure when the others meet her, they will enjoy her company just as much. She was feral in the fight last night. She is going to fit in just fine." Bjorn's deep voice rumbled. He wasn't lying to Thor just to make him feel better either. If Bjorn didn't like someone, he made it known whether it would hurt anyone’s feelings or not. The bears were all the same that way.

"Nicola needs coffee," Thor said, fighting not to grin like a fool. He entered the large pantry, and Astrid caught him by the back of the shirt.

"Don't you dare! I have just got it in order the way I like it, and if you mess it up, I will hex you so you never get an erection again. Drink your breakfast. I will find the coffee for the princess," she said, pushing him out of the way.

Astrid had made coffee and was cooking a growing pile of bacon when Nicola came into the kitchen. She smiled at the scene before her. "Something smells good," she said.

Thor pulled out the stool beside him at the breakfast bar, and she slid into it. One of her hands moved to his knee and stayed there. It was such an easy touch like she didn't know she was doing it. It made the soft feeling in Thor return. He would do anything to protect her and keep her feeling safe with him.

When Nicola was settled with coffee and food, she asked, "What happened with the wolves last night? Any sign of them this morning?"

"We put the dead bodies on the border with a sign about what their crimes were," Bjorn said and added honey to his mug of blood. "It will be good for other wolves to know what Kaleb is planning because he will drag them all down with him."

"And I insisted on booby trapping the bodies to explode if anyone tried to move them or the sign," Astrid said.

Nicola choked. "Really? That's diabolical."

Astrid grinned wickedly. "If you play games with Vikings, you should expect to win Viking prizes."

Nicola burst out laughing, the warm sound filling the kitchen. "I don't know if I should be horrified or impressed."

"That explains everyone's reaction to Astrid," Bjorn teased, and Thor laughed along with them.

Under the bar, he wrapped his fingers around Nicola's, hoping she would always feel so happy in his house.