The Valkyrie's Guardian Read Online Free Page B

did something unforgivable, such as licking her. He would drag the tip of his tongue along the rim of her cute little ear, and if she liked that, he would tease her neck with —
    Get a grip, MacGunn. He counted the damn yellow lines again, but he only made it to 128 before he caught his fingers stroking Cassie’s skin. Her sleeping mind made a sound like purring, and her lips pulled into a smile as she nuzzled his leg. A blue-black lock of hair draped over her face and the rest fanned across his lap, making him swallow hard. Lucky Greek genes for perfect hair, long and glossy with punky blue highlighted streaks — Cassie’s attempt at rebellion. He liked her this way: sweet, cuddly, and silent. As soon as she woke, she would berate him in her posh British-French-hybrid accent, reminding him she hated his guts.
    At first Jack smiled when she shifted on the bench and sighed like a little girl, still fast asleep. Then she rolled onto her back and parted her knees with a moan that could only mean one thing. He shouted, “Whoa!” and Cassie dug her nails into his thigh as she shot awake.
    He swerved from the edge of the left lane all the way into the gravel off the shoulder. The trailer fishtailed behind the truck and tilted onto two wheels as he corrected right, and for a few tense moments, Jack thought he would be lifting a boat, trailer, and a Ford F350 back onto the road. That was his idea of fun but difficult to explain to onlookers.
    The truck stopped in a cloud of dust, then Cassie freaked out. “ Jack! What on earth is going on? You could have killed us both! And then how would I put you back together?” His heart pounded, his head vibrated and his fists threatened to yank out the steering column.
    All he heard next from her was, “Blah, blah, bad driver, blah, blah wreck! ”and “Blah, Blah, touch me, blah, blah, blah, How dare you? ” He may have heard her promise to sic Kyros on him as well as castrate Jack herself. “What were you thinking?” she railed.
    He knew he was being a jerk when he answered in thick brogue, “Darlin’, I’m still feelin’ lucky we didna wreck my boat. Custom paint job, an’ all.” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and he thought she would rip his throat out.
    She snarled and tackled him, and proved him right about his throat. She had wicked claws too. And she was strong. But he had sparred with Cassie so often that he knew all her moves, since he had essentially taught her to fight in the first place. In the confines of the cab there wasn’t much either could do except bump their elbows and knees on the dash.
    She put up a sporting fight. It surprised him how long it took before he managed to restrain both of her wrists and pin down her knees with his own. They panted in synchronization, and he became aware of what their position looked like. Hell, he was painfully aware of what it felt like. Odd that Jack was calming Cassie when so often he was the one out of control.
    Her eyes widened as she gasped in panic. Cassie squirmed and yanked against his hold on her wrists. He smelled a sudden jolt of fear in her blood.
    â€œJack, no! Let me go!”she shrieked, thrashing like a feral cat in a sack.
    He had no idea if he could safely let her go, rabid creature. He released her anyway, and she scrambled to the other side of the cab. She nearly ripped the door from the frame to escape before she finally noticed he wasn’t being aggressive. She stared, and finally he understood.
    His eyes. They didn’t exactly glow in the dark, but the iridescent membrane behind his irises enabled his night vision. When provoked to violence a berserker’s eyes illuminated, the root of old legends. Supposedly, Jack only had moments before he lost control and morphed into some sort of raging sasquatch. Cassie waited for it.
    She released her breath in a rush. “You’re all right.” It came out as an