Oh boy.
“Apollo—”
“And your climax was very long.”
Yes. I was blushing.
“Ap—”
His arms gave me a squeeze and he continued while his hand drifted up my back to cup my head and press my face in his throat. “We will explore this.”
Oh boy!
“Deeply,” he decreed.
Oh my.
He pulled me even closer and tangled his heavy legs with mine, murmuring, “I will enjoy taking you on your knees, seeing your arse red from my hand.”
God.
I was no longer blushing, but I was exhausted, mortified and still, he was totally turning me on.
“Now we sleep,” he announced.
Thank God.
I burrowed in closer and set about faking falling asleep fast so he couldn’t do or say anything more to freak me out.
This mission failed.
And it did when he whispered, his voice gruff, on another squeeze of his arms, this one fierce, “You are a lioness.”
I closed my eyes tight and said nothing.
He did.
“This pleases me.”
I pressed closer and sighed.
Oh boy.
Chapter Fourteen
Heart Too Soft for a Soldier
Apollo sat on the side of the bed, shifted the weight of Maddie’s auburn mane from her neck and curled his hand there.
He bent close and urged gently, “Wake, Madeleine.”
She didn’t, until he carefully pressed his fingers into her neck. Then her eyes slowly fluttered open and she turned her head on the pillow, focusing sleepily on him.
“Hey,” she murmured.
He felt his gut tighten.
How could a single syllable be so sweet?
“You do not need to rouse,” he whispered. “I just wished to inform you that I’m away to breakfast with my children.”
“Okay, honey,” she replied.
He’d heard this endearment used by the other women of her world with their men. It never occurred to him he would one day have it.
And if it did, he could not have known how much he would like it.
“I’ll likely be busy throughout the day but I’ll take dinner with you,” he told her.
“All right,” she agreed drowsily.
“Go back to sleep, dove,” he finished.
“Right, baby,” she murmured.
And this endearment, he had no idea why, he felt in his cock. Every time. Even when she gave it to him while he was searching a dead man’s pockets.
On this thought, his whole body stilled when she turned her head and touched her lips to the inside of his wrist, sweet, light, loving.
He had not recovered from her brief touch before she turned her face away and nuzzled into the pillows, mumbling, “Later.”
He didn’t move even as he sensed her slipping back to sleep. Instead, he sat there, staring at her, wondering what could move a man to strike her.
Cow her.
Make her live in fear.
Make her endure a life running.
Hurt her in any way.
Ever.
He could not allow himself to think of the other him raising his hand and killing the Christophe of that world while he grew inside his Madeleine.
He would think about that later, when he next saw Valentine. And then he would give her another Sjofn diamond, or a chest of them, to see to doing what needed to be done to the Apollo of the other world.
That was not for now.
For now, there was much to be done.
With reluctance, for he would much prefer to remove his clothes and return to her warm softness in the bed, he instead left her and the house. He went to the dower house’s small four-stall stable and saddled the horse he’d ridden there. He mounted the gelding and headed home.
The short ride to the main house of Karsvall should have been taken up with his thoughts of the many things he needed to do. And if not those, then of his children.
But they were not.
They were taken with Madeleine.
His Madeleine who rushed to avenge his children. His Madeleine whose shrieks of fury he heard as he ran to the gardener’s shed the night before. His Madeleine who he saw sink a blade in a man and heard threaten another, all in defense of his children.
His Madeleine who reared into his cock, whimpered and moaned as she did as he bid, climaxing so strongly, her sex convulsed around his shaft, milking him and prolonging his climax in a way he’d never experienced.
A way he liked very much.
Keeping the horse at a sedate walk, his thoughts turned troubled as they moved to Ilsa.
His wife had not been adventurous during play. He did not mind, her appetites were strong and healthy, regardless that they were conservative. She had aroused him greatly, and sated him almost nightly throughout their marriage.
However, it was not lost on him that there was often more that he wanted, desires he introduced to his marriage bed that were not spurned, but they were gently denied.
He had more than once considered suggesting adela tea to Ilsa when she was alive. In the end it was only time, and the fact that he’d run out of it, that disallowed that discussion.
With only two sessions, Madeleine had gone further with him than the years he’d had with Ilsa.
The first time—when she’d taken his shaft so deep he could feel the tip graze the back of her throat and when she’d taken his thumb in her arse, moaning and bucking into it violently—he could attribute to the adela tea.
Last night, no.
Last night, with no tea, she’d given herself with equal abandon. He had gone to her wrought with emotion for all she’d done, burning with need and taken her in the throes of it.
But she was not frightened or repulsed. She met his passion and even bested it.
And during their play, he did not need to be cautious, to curb his desires, to do or be anything but himself and take what he wished with Maddie giving it to him.
Gladly.
He was very aware that as they became attuned to each other, learned about each other, got used to each other, he would make comparisons between what he was building with Madeleine and what he had had with Ilsa. This would happen even if she did not look like Ilsa.
What he would not have imagined, after the loss he suffered when he lost Ilsa, was that Madeleine, it would seem, in a very short time was beginning to surpass all the beauty, intelligence and strength that had been his wife.
Fifteen years ago, his eyes fell on Ilsa, he quickly became smitten and not long after fell deeply in love.
With Madeleine, it was something else.
He could not turn his mind from her. Her smiles felt like gifts. Her laughter, a triumph. Every “honey” a treasure. Every “baby” sent a pulse through his cock.
He was not smitten.
He was growing consumed.
And he was troubled by it.
Not that it was happening. Not that some part of him felt this swift response to Madeleine was a betrayal of Ilsa.
No, because if his world could turn dark at the loss of Ilsa and these feelings he had for Madeleine grew, what would become of him if he lost her?
The horse reached the clearing of the trees and Apollo’s attention was taken away from Maddie when he saw Achilles and Draven on the front steps of Karsvall, a horse at the foot, Derrik packing it.
All that needed to be done last night was done with the swiftness it required. Therefore, he had little time to speak to any of his men as he did it, other than to give orders. And he’d gone directly to Maddie, so there was no time after it was done.
Regardless, he would not have been able to talk to Derrik for, after they extracted the information from the assassin, Derrik had absented himself completely.
At the time, Apollo had neither the time nor the desire to search him out and share gratitude for his efforts at keeping Christophe, Élan and Karsvall safe.
Now, he would take that time and hope what had elapsed since he’d last seen his friend had helped to cool his ire.
He kicked his horse to a trot and reined in when he was close to Derrik’s mount, seeing it packed for a journey.
Apollo home, clearly Derrik was returning to the Lazarus seat.
Perhaps his ire had not cooled.
His eyes slid through Achilles and Draven.
Draven looked annoyed. Achilles looked thoughtful. This told him nothing.
Although Draven was not often annoyed, it was known he could get that way on occasion.
Achilles was much like any Ulfr. In most cases, he kept his emotions to himself. Achilles, however, was a master of this.
Apollo dismounted and approached the men. They all watched but only Derrik did so with cold eyes.
“Morning, Lo,” Achilles called.
Apollo raised a hand to Achilles and Draven and turned his attention to Derrik when he stopped three feet from him.
“You journey to Lazarus?” he asked quietly.
“I journey to Specter Isle,” Derrik announced, voice not quiet but still cold, his words sparking Apollo’s ire.
He narrowed his eyes on Derrik, his voice no longer quiet but impatient when he returned, “Don’t be foolish.”
Specter Isle, they’d learned last night, if the conspirator was to be believed, was where Minerva, Baldur, and the two Valearian witches they were conspiring with, Edith and Helda, were hiding.
Seeing Derrik’s jaw set, Apollo kept speaking.
“Last night, I spent half the night writing missives to—”
“And the second half you spent fucking Maddie,” Derrik interrupted him to bite out.
Apollo clenched his teeth.
He didn’t fully understand every word but he didn’t need to in order to understand his meaning.
This was proved when Draven growled, “Careful, Rik.”
Derrik didn’t tear his eyes from Apollo and he knew him well, so he read him.
This made him tip his head to the side in mock curiosity. “Has she not shared that with you? Her world’s word of fuck? It has many uses, brother. When she has a few ales, a few glasses of wine, her tongue loosens.” He threw out an arm to indicate Achilles and Draven. “She shared with all of us the curse words of the other world. That was my particular favorite.”
“Fascinating,” Apollo returned, his word dry.
“Though, I would guess, if you got a few ales in her, with her tongue loose, you’d find other uses for it.”
At that, Apollo growled, Draven did it again, and both of them moved.
Achilles moved as well, but he could only stop Draven.
He didn’t stop Apollo and thus Apollo’s fist connected powerfully with Derrik’s jaw. With satisfaction, he saw his friend’s head flash to the side, blood spraying from his mouth into the snow. After this, Derrik instantly took a step back but lifted his fists, body loose.
Ready.
Apollo didn’t lift his fists. Eyes locked to Derrik, he didn’t give him even that. His friend knew from years of sparring for sport who would be bested in the end. And it would not be Apollo.
Achilles moved between them, arms lifted and he clipped, “Think, brothers.”
He would not think.
He would warn.
“One more word from your mouth like that about Madeleine, you’ll be picking your teeth from the snow.”
“By the gods, you speak of Maddie,” Draven put in angrily. “One more word like that and half the men will be sending your teeth into the snow.”
Derrik dropped his fists and crossed his arms on his chest but said nothing. Through these exchanges, he didn’t take his eyes from Apollo.
Achilles took a tentative step from between the men but he stayed close and suggested, “Let’s move on from this. We should be discussing your journey, Rik. Obviously, Lo agrees with what Draven and I have been trying to impress on you all morning. It’s more than foolhardy.”
Derrik tore his eyes from Apollo to look at Achilles. “I simply go to scout.”
Achilles eyebrows went up. “Alone, without a single man at your back or a witch for protection?” He shook his head. “You know this is reckless. It hardly helps the cause, losing a good man and it definitely wouldn’t help, losing a brother.”
“Nothing will be lost. I’m skilled at it,” Derrik returned and Apollo knew he was not wrong. If they needed a scout, Derrik always led the party. He wasn’t skilled at it. He excelled at it.
But they were talking about a she-god and two witches that were known to wield nearly as much power as Minerva. He’d not even turn his eyes to Specter Isle without being detected.
And dispatched.
“The birds were sent to Houllebec last night,” Apollo told him. “Frey may have some men in the village and it’s only a three days’ ride—”
“Hard ride,” Derrik cut in. “And, do you think, brother, that we have three days before we face something further after what happened last night?”
“It was a play, Rik,” Achilles stated and Derrik looked to him. “You heard the man. They were sent to assassinate Lo, Maddie, and the children as a warning to the others to concede without a fight. They didn’t even use magic.”
“It was a first strike,” Derrik contradicted. “We’re at war.”
Unfortunately, he was not wrong.
“A first strike where we prevailed,” Achilles reminded him.
“And what? We sit and wait for the second?” Derrik asked derisively.
“A war fought on many fronts weakens the enemy,” Apollo said low and Derrik looked to him. “You know that. If Frey, Lahn, Tor and I were to amass in one place, Minerva would have to conjure and send one set of creatures. With us separate, she has to create at least two armies and send them to two locations, depending on where the other men are now. Her magic has already been weakened after what she sent at Tor in the other world and you know magic does not renew quickly. If she were to need to do this, it would cost her.”
“And clearly this strategy was decided by you and you alone last night,” Derrik returned. “For just days ago, you were off to Bellebryn to meet the others.”
“And was I not brought on by Frey and Queen Aurora to do just that?” Apollo shot back. “Provide strategy?”
Derrik clamped his mouth shut for he knew he was.
“With this foe, it has always been the plan to seek information, strategize, prepare and not attack until they do and thus they’re weakened,” Apollo decreed.
“Then we withstand whatever they throw at us in the meantime?” Derrik pushed. “Alone. And the others withstand whatever may be happening to them, and they be damned?”
“We are constrained by slow communication, brother. And it takes a bird in flight or a man and horse much less time to travel the distance than it does a man escorting a woman in a sleigh. If the others disagree and feel there is safety in numbers, this will be discussed. But I took on three men with swords, armed only with my knives. They were quite skilled and I do not like to think how that would have gone if Maddie wasn’t there to assist me.” His eyes grew sharp on Derrik. “Nor do I wish to think what would have become of her had I fallen and they turned to her.”
Derrik’s jaw again went hard and Apollo knew his point was made.
So he continued.
“And my children were threatened,” he said with deadly quiet. “I will not leave them. I will stay and protect my family and my home. This is my decision and it is strategic, but it is also the decision of a man, a husband and a father. So it is not ‘the others be damned’ for I know with no doubts that Frey, Lahn and Tor would do precisely the same thing.”
“So, you wed her along the way,” Derrik replied.
Apollo took in an irritated breath at being back on the subject of Maddie. “No.”
“Then you are not her husband.”
“Not yet.”
“But it’s your intention to take her to wife
,” Derrik went on.
Apollo held his eyes for long moments before he said, “Yes.”
Something shifted in Derrik’s gaze that Apollo, in all their years of knowing each other, and there had been many, had never seen.
Then he said softly, “So she is Maddie to you, but who are you to her, brother?”
“Is this drivel necessary?” Draven cut in to ask.
But Derrik didn’t look away from Apollo and he kept speaking.
“Has it occurred to you that when she gazes up at you while you take her, she sees the husband of the other world that she felt wrong in loving, the husband of the other world she wished she had, not you?”
Apollo stayed perfectly still because if he didn’t, he would not be responsible for what he did do.
And also because that had not occurred to him.
Not once.
She called the other him “Pol.” She’d never slipped and even started to call him that name.
So this couldn’t be.
Could it?
“I’ve had four months with her and she told me much about this man,” Derrik stated.
At that, uncharacteristically, Achilles lost his temper and he did it clipping out, “She told you much and she did it because she trusted you. Do not betray that now, Rik.”
Derrik’s mask slipped, remorse shining through as he glanced at Achilles then he looked back at Apollo, opening his mouth to speak.
“And right now you taste the blood Lo put in your mouth, Rik,” Draven stated before Derrik could say a word. He moved to stand close to Apollo and finished, “But if more comes out of that mouth about Maddie, you won’t be picking your teeth out of the snow. You’ll be coughing them up from your gut.”
Through this, Apollo remained still and silent.
And through it, Derrik glared at Apollo. When he got nothing he transferred his glare to Draven, then Achilles and finally he moved to his horse, muttering, “I’m away to Specter Isle.”
“Do you wish to be buried on Lazarus land, or Ulfr?” Draven asked after him as he mounted.
Derrik looked down at them all.
“If that decision needs to be made, I’ll be dead so do I care?”
After that, he clicked his teeth, sent his heels into his steed and burst through the snow.