It was still difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that I was also Estrid.
I was a goddess in my past life, and my eyes had been the same color with a strangeness to them. Did they really reflect the light like they were dancing and swirling right now like Rune’s?
“Whatever you’re thinking,elskan mín, you need to come back to me,” Rune said, his voice was smooth and calm. His hand holding mine let me go to drag his rough fingers over my wrist and up my arm in soothing strokes before he fingered some of my wet hair and tucked it behind my ear.
Blinking, I didn’t realize I zoned out while staring at him. He furrowed his brows and frowned, not exactly happy with something I did. Raindrops clung to his dark eyelashes, and he didn’t show any sign that he cared. My stomach twisted with unease, though, from his visible displeasure.
Did I do something? Said something out loud I didn’t mean to?
I swallowed hard and tried to focus on something else. He wouldn’t be mad at me and if he was, he’d tell me. He’d let me know. I would hope anyway.
I glanced away for a moment before I drew my gaze back to him. Something about this moment with him standing in the storm with me, soaked to the bone, made me want to remember this too. To forever burn this moment and this perfect image of him into my memories. Just in case.
“I’m fine,” I finally said. The lie tasted like ash on my tongue.
“Right,” he said, not at all convinced.
He brought me closer to him and hooked his arm around me to rest his hand on my lower back. Even though I wore my armor and cape, his warmth still seeped into me like it was skin contact. My pulse thundered in my ears, and my nipples hardened into peaks.
I closed my eyes for a split second, enjoying the surge of lust that made me forget everything else. The numbness and the cold receded until it was a faded memory.
Warm lips brushed my ear, and Rune’s hand slipped down to my ass. He squeezed one of my ass cheeks, nipping my earlobe and catching my hand on his chest. My breath hitched, and I rubbed my thighs together to stop the throbbing that came back with a vengeance from when he left me hanging inside.
My face flushed, tingles spread through my body, and my mind centered on how to get my orgasm from him. Either that or excuse myself for a minute away from everyone to finish myself off behind a tree off to the side of us.
“Behave,” he rumbled and swatted my ass.
I yelped, but it ended in a soft moan, and my eyes fluttered open. My cheeks were on fire as I half-heartedly scowled at him.
“I didn’t do anything,” I huffed, sounding more husky than anything else. I rubbed my legs together, trying to stop the tingling. I glanced past him trying to see where I could sneak off to for a few minutes.
He smirked. “Beauty, did you already forget what I said about how I know when you’re turned on? You have that same look when I’m— ’’
I slapped my hand over his mouth, wincing at how hard I smacked when I only wanted to cover his lips. He laughed while he grabbed my wrist but made no move to pull my hand away.
“Stop it,” I scolded as I glanced around, thanking god the others had walked off a couple of feet. But with them not being human, they probably heard our conversation. Looking back at Rune, his eyes still danced with mirth, and I could feel his smile against my palm. “You have the filthiest mind that never leaves the gutter, Rune.” I meant for my voice to be stronger, more scolding than husky, to disprove his point of me being turned on.
He chuckled, his warm breath fanning against my palm, making me imagine his mouth somewhere else on me. He squeezed my wrist, his blue eyes still dancing with amusement when he moved my hand away, grinning like he’d just won the game.
“And you always turn the prettiest pink from all the dirty things on my mind.”
I jumped when thunder cracked and lightning streaked across the dark sky. The rain poured down harder as the wind blew furiously around us. I squinted, blinking faster from the raindrops and some of my hair now stinging my eyes.
Rune’s stare shifted to the side, and his grin faded. The look on his face sent chills through me while my heart hammered against my chest until my ribs twinged from a cramp. My stomach dipped, and I swallowed hard, staring wide-eyed at him, now wanting to know what wiped away his carefree smile.
Something caught his attention and made him scowl. And it was nothing like he’d ever done toward me in his frustration. This one showed so much irritation, and I wasn’t sure if it was hate. But there was something there too that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
I really was terrible at reading body language. But I knew Rune, and it went deeper than this lifetime. Someone or something was here, and Rune wasn’t pleased.
“Rune?” I whispered as I grabbed onto his leather armor over his chest. My nails dug into a strap, the pressure enough to leave impressions. I licked my bottom lip and swallowed to wet my suddenly dry mouth. “What is it?”
This reminded me all too much of when we were in the last realm and he stopped dead in his tracks with me in his arms. Where he was dragged away from me by a hellhound. That had to be what it was anyway because of how overgrown and scary looking it was with its glowing eyes.
Rune’s gaze snapped to mine and softened. He covered my hand on his chest with his and pried my fingers from him to rest on his neck instead, where his heat seeped through the contact into my palm. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose against mine. The simple gesture let me release a shaky breath. My nails now in his neck relaxed.
“It’s okay,elskan mín. Breathe with me,” he said in a steady tone.
He didn’t seem rushed, and I breathed with him, realizing now that I was breathing hard, bordering on hyperventilating, with tears stinging my eyes. I was on the brink of an attack after the memory of Rune barely missing the teeth of the hound. I could still see the fear in his blue eyes as they turned to me with sharp teeth snapping at his face. Rune’s lips twisted while he yelled at me to find the others.
