Jin Bosun enjoys her life on the Raven's Rest station above Jotunheim. Her Terran mother, Myka, encouraged her to go out and meet new people. She has the perfect partners, Terran descended elementals like herself, so they opened a bar together. Elymyntyl. When the lord of Jotunheim puts a price on their bodies and their bar, Jin is worried. When folks start arriving to claim that price, she is caught off guard. Rescued by Ragnar, a fire giant from the planet below, Jin finds herself in protective custody and things are getting hot.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Liquid Heat Copyright © Viola Grace ISBN: 978-1-55487-680-8 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com
Liquid Heat Book 1 Elymyntyls By Viola Grace
Introduction Welcome to the Elymyntyls miniseries. The first book of the Gaia Group, daughters of the Terran Times. Three women, Djihntalia, Solial and Fehniel have opened the bar Elymyntyl and use their talents on a day-to-day basis on the space station Raven’s Rest. Djihntalia Bosun is half-Dremarai, half-Terran and full water elemental. Her partners, Solial Kellan embodies air and Fehniel, of Aleyn by Baileez of Hickom, fire. Jin works the bar, pours the drinks and waters down the customers when they get out of hand and their clientele is prone to getting out of hand. Sol is their bouncer, an air elemental with a penchant for lightly suffocating troublemakers and blasting them out the door. She watches the floor and keeps the patrons’ hands off the waitresses. Fen loves numbers, an odd thing for a fire elemental, but she manages the books and keeps them operating in the black. Together they are an incomplete set of elements, but they like it that way.
With the full spectrum of alien, magical and mundane creatures wandering through their doors, these women are more than capable of manning their facility and keeping it safe. Thosnas, lord of Jotunheim, the world beneath the station, wants their bodies and most importantly, their bar, but they don’t know why. He has been steadily buying businesses on the station and is determined to have their cooperation. They have been dealing with lesser creatures and emissaries for weeks when two fire giants walk in to the bar. Two fire giants walk into a bar… Give me a joke to go with it and you will win a copy of either of the sequels—Eryth and Ayr on Halloween, Frost and Fyr for Christmas.
Chapter One wo fire giants walked into the bar and Jin went on high alert. Representatives of Jotunheim were not good news. She was pulling pints for a trio of troll-like Skogar and the burn across her senses warned her of the newcomers’ approach. She finished serving the trolls and turned to the men who stood at her bar. Giants they were, six and a half feet tall, both of them. One had the glint of anger in his eyes, the other had a calm interest. “Gentlemen, what can I get for you?” “Vodka straight.” “Flaming Orgasm.” The twitch to his lips and expectant look in his eyes made her smile. She was proud of her mastery of the Terran drinks of her mother’s land and the alcohol was an import that Elymyntyl was the sole proprietor of. “Coming up.” She turned and gave the first giant his vodka with a smile, assembled the Orgasm, the beer standing ready as she poured the rum into a glass and flamed it. At her nod, he lifted the rum and dropped the entire glass into
T
1
Viola Grace the beer before slamming the whole thing back. “Now, gentlemen. Why are you here in this fine establishment?” The area around her bar was remarkably quiet. A sound-deadening unit that she and her partners had paid dearly for when they opened Elymyntyl worked wonders. Jin needed quiet—her watery nature sent sound reverberating through her. These giants were not here because they wanted a fun evening flirting with alien ladies. They were here on business. “Our lord, Thosnas, has sent us to negotiate for the purchase of this establishment.” Mr. Grumpyface was all business. “It is not for sale.” Across the dance floor, she met the gaze of Sol, one of her partners and the air elemental who acted as security and bouncer. The bright blue eyes of her partner indicated she was standing by. “You don’t know yet what he is offering, lady.” The scowl didn’t flex an iota as he tried to glare her down. His hair was charcoal black, his eyes the dull grey of ash. The only features that the two had in common were the red-grey skin and their height. The smiling giant had red hair with black streaks and eyes of burning orange. “I do know that none of my fellow partners have an interest in selling to a creature who would use the goodwill we have sponsored here for 2
Liquid heat personal gain.” “If you continue your refusals, our sponsor has authorized us to take whatever means we see fit.” The air around him was crackling hotly. Jin scowled at him. She didn’t want the fire suppression systems to kick in. “Refusals will continue. In light of your starting to smoulder your chair, I will ask you now to leave.” She knew what he would do, what his kind of bully always did. He rose from the barstool and summoned his power. Jin raised her hand and nailed him with a stream of water from the seltzer hose. The cloud of steam that erupted alarmed a few patrons nearby and they scattered. “Well, if steam won’t do it…” A nod to Sol and the air elemental came forward. A column of water froze the fire giant in place. He locked into a snarling attack stance and Sol summoned wind to lift him and together, they shoved him out the door. They tapped their heels on the doorstep and when the giant in the outer hall recovered, he charged straight into a DNA block. “You have been banned. Now go back to explain to Thosnas that you lack manners!” Jin high-fived Sol and returned inside. A smattering of polite applause greeted the ladies as they resumed their posts. Sol took up her 3
Viola Grace position near the sound system and stood with her eyes half-closed against the pulsing beats. Jin returned to her bar and resumed service. “I do apologise for his manners, but I don’t think Usul was born with any.” She jumped when the voice of the other giant sounded within a few inches of her ear. How he had snuck up on her, she didn’t know, but he was right there. She stilled her racing pulse with difficulty before turning to face the centre of his chest. “Please remain on the other side of the bar. This is not a place for unauthorized personnel.” He grinned down at her and nodded politely. “Of course. Do pardon me.” There was a fluttering in her stomach that should not have been there. He was affecting her hormones and it was unacceptable, so she shoved him back with words. “Who are you and why aren’t you pressing the same suit as your companion?” “Do pardon me, lady Djihntalia. The sight of you has struck me dumb with admiration. My name is Ragnar and I was once a prince amongst the giants. Now, I am merely relegated to the position of courier and negotiator for a singleminded overlord.” “Poor you. You owe me five credits for your drink and the one for your little friend there.” She 4
Liquid heat felt the shudder of the walls as the giant outside went on the attack. “You are forcing me to pay for that ingrate?” “If you want to remain here and not get the same exit invitation, yes. Everyone here pays their own way. One way or another.” She gave him a look under her brows. It was an effective look, one that had cowed lower dhemons in its time, but he merely gave her a good-natured grin in response. She drummed her fingers on the bar and used water ropes to serve the refills to the Skagars. They didn’t mind the extra moisture on the glass and paid after every round. When Fen counted the money at the end of the night, she didn’t care how much water was in the bottom of the till. She merely flared on her talent and gently toasted the credits dry. “Elementals working together is an unusual occurrence. What drew you three to each other?” Ragnar was a curious fellow. “Magnets. Really big ones.” She crossed her arms and frowned at him. Jin turned and left him holding up the corner of the bar. Business was steady and that was the way she and the others liked it. Wine, beer and spirits flowed, three fights were stopped by Sol’s quick action and nobody stiffed their waitress. It was a good night. 5
Viola Grace Fen made her appearance at precisely one thirty to take the evening’s money to the back for security purposes. “Why is there a man of flame in the corner?” Jin whirled around, water balls at the ready and found her target in the gently smouldering Ragnar. “Why are you still here? We closed down half an hour ago.” He rose to his considerable height and walked toward her. She didn’t back down, just compressed the water in her palms for a more effective charge. He bowed low, “Ladies, I have been sent to tender a fair financial offer for your business and barring that, I will make sure you all make it to your quarters safely.” “We have no need of your escort. Please leave.” Fen wrapped her power around her in bands of flame, but Ragnar did not look away from Jin, so she put a wall of standing water between them and pushed him backward out the door. Steam filled the air and his orange eyes kept a lock on her green ones as she moved him out into the hall and locked Elymyntyl’s doors in his face. She turned and leaned back against the locked doors to be faced by her partners. Fen smiled, “Who was that?” “Thosnas’s new negotiator. His name is Ragnar.” 6
Liquid heat Sol chipped in with her own observations. “He seemed a little fixated on you and you didn’t eject him with his companion, so I am thinking there is a little mutual action there.” Jin scowled, “Zip it, Sol.” “You have really mastered our mothers’ language. You do the slang better than any of us.” Fen smiled and her dark brown eyes showed her amusement. “You would not believe some of the things she taught me during deliveries. Her Dremarai words were calm, but her Terran terms could singe your ears.” Jin felt the smile on her face as she thought of her mother. She had inherited not only Myka’s love of caretaking, but also her blonde hair and green-blue eyes. Her mother had lobbied long and hard to get her daughter the right to leave and go into business with other members of the Gaia Group, a community comprised of the daughters and some sons of the original Terran Volunteers. With six brothers and sisters, her mother’s line had been secured and Djihntalia Bosun had been allowed to go as far as Raven’s Rest station and Sol and Fen had received the same authorization. Together, they opened Elymyntyl and had been engaging in successful business on the station until now. Over the last four months, Thosnas had become 7
Viola Grace more aggressive, seeking not only their business, but also their DNA. He wanted to own the Terran descendants and he made no secret of it in his communications and his couriers had not been shy about the proposals. At first, the ladies had laughed at his offer to keep them as concubines, but after the third attack on their business, they had to believe that he was serious about taking over. That was when they had made a few calls. “My mother would not curse, simply elbow my father when she needed his attention or hold our shoulders and glare us into submission.” Fen grinned. “Not all of our mothers were Minders, Fen.”Jin smiled. “The evening’s receipts are totalled and ready for you. Shall we head for the drop?” “Give me a minute.” Fen wandered over to the credit chits and receipts and rapidly checked the numbers. Sol bumped her hip into Jin’s. “You liked him, didn’t you?” She sighed. “I did. He woke something inside me and it scared the hell out of me.” “He’s fire.” She groaned and put her face in her hands. “I know. My father would never understand.” Jin felt Sol’s arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay. He isn’t here and even if he was, if you were 8
Liquid heat with that fire giant, the steam would be enough to hide you.” Her friend jumped away before Jin could swat her. Fen scowled at Sol and nodded to Jin. “Okay. Let’s go and make the drop. Powers up.” Together, they powered up and exited their establishment. They were keeping to central time on the planet below. They used to be open constantly, but the attacks on their business meant that they needed to protect it personally. Jin kept defensive water in her hands. Only a few shoppers were left on the decks of the entertainment level, but they had been attacked during the credit drop before. They now took no chances. Sol carried the bag, Fen kept her hands hot and Jin was ready with a water jet at a moment’s notice. The drop was made and recorded by the station’s systems without any interference. They rode in the lift back to the private level and parted ways. Jin was so relieved, she let her guard down when she was on her level near her private quarters. The pain that ripped through her body and mind when the stunner hit her blinded her. She woke on the floor. Usul’s grin as he reached for her was a promise of pain and humiliation and she couldn’t move an inch to stop him. 9
Viola Grace
Chapter Two ball of fire struck Usul in the chest, a snarl in the hall denoting another fire elemental. Jin hoped with all her might that it was Fen. Usul retaliated and Jin could only watch helplessly from her position on the floor, lying on her side, facing the wall. Fire broke and shattered in the halls, the air waved with heat and she was distinctly uncomfortable as the embers that broke on Usul rained down on her. The flaming bits hissed as they struck her shirt and skin. The heavy canvas scorched on impact while her skin blistered. On the floor, she waited and when the fire suppression system went off, she rolled to her feet in the mist that clouded the halls and ran for it. The heat almost blinded her, but she made it to her door and palmed the lock. When the door hissed open, she dove through it, landing heavily on her stomach. As a masculine body landed on top of hers, she oofed in surprise. A roar of a fireball deafened her for a moment and then her door hissed shut and locked.
A
10
Liquid heat “Get off me.” She tried to struggle out from under the burden on her back. Without a doubt, she knew it was Ragnar. She knew it with every inch of her that was pressed against him. He groaned and rolled away. His skin was smouldering from his fight and his orange eyes were half-closed. “What were you doing outside my quarters?” She asked the question before she offered any kind of aid—her focus would be gone once she touched him. “I was waiting for Usul to go on the attack. He is not one to take a quiet no for an answer. He was planning your abduction before we even landed on the station.” She scowled at him and used a heavy mist under her hands to put out the surface flares that were still sparking his clothing. “You could have warned me.” “I could have, but didn’t. I didn’t think you would believe that I had your best interests at heart.” He arched under her hands and she made contact as he squirmed. “Hold still. I don’t want to steam your skin.” His tunic was basically intact—a practical assembly of thick-wrapped leather belted with metal and his trousers were the same dark leather that matched his boots. With all the fires out, she sat back on her heels. 11
Viola Grace She struck him on the shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking?” He sat up with a groan, towering over her even when seated. “I was thinking to keep Usul from trying to bring you to the surface to face Thosnas. He has placed a bounty on the heads of you and your partners for your living delivery to the surface.” Jin blinked. That was news to her. “How much?” “Thirty thousand credits per head.” She whistled softly. As a Terran descendant, she had none of the protection that her mother enjoyed. She and her brothers and sisters were Dremarai and nothing else in the eyes of the Alliance. “I need to make a call.” He nodded and patted her butt as she stood. When she whirled to glare at him, he smiled innocently, “Ember—had to put it out.” He shifted to a kneeling position and watched her as she went to her com unit. She kept sending him suspicious looks as she keyed in the code for one of her partners. “Fen? Are you all right?” “Of course, Jin. Why?” “I was just attacked by one of the cranky fire giants on my way home.” “Stars, are you okay?” “I am. I had a knight in smouldering armour 12
Liquid heat come to my rescue. Ragnar, our late patron was trying to warn me of this. We have prices on our heads right now. Warn Sol, please. I am going to find somewhere safe to hide until I can get some Alliance interference on this.” Fen nodded in the com display. “You are the rarest of us out here, so they will be far more likely to come to your assistance than mine.” Jin nodded. Fen wasn’t going to ask, but they had a plan in place for this sort of thing. She would send a message as soon as she could and hopefully not have it traced back to her hiding place. She smiled and waved at the screen. “Love you, love Sol. See you soon.” “Back atcha, Jin.” Fen’s screen went dark and Jin took in a deep breath before walking past the giant on the floor and into her room. “Where will you go?” He followed her and was leaning in the doorway, his frame filling it almost completely. “None of your concern, sir. I will simply disappear and reappear somewhere safe.” She stuffed her keepsakes into her bag with several sets of clothing and sealed her duffel. Jin went into the en suite bathroom and took her toiletries and a towel. Her rooms were paid for a year and she was hoping to be back long before then. “May I offer a suggestion?” 13
Viola Grace Jin walked up to Ragnar and scowled up into his glowing orange gaze. “What?” He put his hands on her shoulders with a smooth and gentle motion. “Come with me. I have a home that is off the beaten path and on the planet below. No one will know that you are there and I swear on my honour to your safety.” Jin laughed. “Are you serious? How do I know that you won’t simply turn me in for the reward? This could be part of your plan to turn me over to Thosnas.” “I am not working for him. He may be the current ruler, but that will not last forever. I have reason to avoid him myself. He is not kindly disposed to my family.” She crossed her arms and scowled, “You said he sent you.” “Yes, but I never said I did his bidding by choice.” His fingers flexed into her shoulders and a frown flitted over his face. “I will need to use a com.” “We will make arrangements for a coded signal. Will you trust me?” She looked up at him and thought of her home, of the Elite magicians and shifters and the training her family had tried to give her. The only thing she had ever been really good at was assessing personalities and her instincts were telling her that she was facing a good man, an honest man and a 14
Liquid heat man that wanted to see her naked. The last was proved by the extension of his erection against his trousers. The touch on her abdomen was light, but the heat was exquisite. She swallowed and took a step back. “Fine. Your shuttle or mine?” “Usul will be watching for us, so we will take yours. My shuttle has a signature that they will be watching for.” His smile was slow and he reached out for her hand, not flinching as the hiss of her faintly blue skin sizzled against his. A small puff of steam came out of the place where their skin touched. He led her to the door and watched as she set her quarters for a sporadic cleaning cycle. Ragnar took the lead and took a guard attitude while they walked down the hall. Usul was nowhere to be seen, but trails of scorching lined the halls for several meters. Something on fire had run down this path. “He must have been in a hurry.” She smiled slightly as the enormity of the leap of faith she was taking. In the lift, she tried to ignore the enticing scent of her companion as they rode vertically and then horizontally through the station. She used her priority clearance to make their car an express and they arrived in less than half the time it would usually have taken. 15
Viola Grace “That was fast.” Ragnar’s voice was disappointed. “I have an express pass. I used it.” The shuttle bay looked like a dozen others around the galaxies. The dock master on duty came forward and smiled. “Miss Jil, how can I help you?” “I need my shuttle prepped immediately and as quietly as you can, Rosko.” He picked up a pad and started keying in a request for the bots. “You haven’t shifted out of here since you arrived. Why the sudden bugging out?” Jin mentally gritted her teeth and snuggled up against Ragnar, much to his surprise. She put a giggle into her tone by sheer will. “Oh, you know. I met someone at long last and we want to explore our possibilities together.” Ragnar’s arms came around her and they waited in that embrace until her shuttle was queued up and ready. A light cloud of vapour misted and coalesced around them and shattered as they took the steps to the shuttle. His chuckle came to her and sent a shiver down her spine. “Pity. I was enjoying that.” Usul was nowhere to be seen when they boarded and locked the ship down. Ragnar took the captain’s chair as they were shifted into launch position. “You do know that 16
Liquid heat Usul is probably waiting for us to leave the station, right?” “I am fairly sure of it. This shuttle is outfitted with armament, but only I can fire it.” “Then by all means, please prepare for anything.” She had to reach past him, into the console, to remove the halo that was the control for the weaponry. It was keyed to her mind and hers alone in the Raucous Phoenix, a ship named after her mother. The ship exited the station in a burst from light to dark. Ragnar’s hands were steady on the shuttle controls. The planet beneath her was a patchwork of different landscapes smashed together in a random pattern. The shuttle went to full speed and arced around, away from the cities to the unsettled wild lands of Jotunheim. Nothing pursued them, so Jin used the weapons to do a clear scan of her hull. The tracker was found under one of the ailerons. “We have a tracker on us. Don’t head to your destination until I get rid of it.” “Understood.” The ship peeled around and headed due north. She turned the atmospheric gun toward the tracker unit and blasted it into tiny bits. Her instincts told her to keep looking and she found two more tracking devices in place. They didn’t 17
Viola Grace last long. “Shuttle is clear. Feel free to take us to our destination.” She sat back and used the shuttle’s systems to analyze the geography of the surface. Mountains filled with ice, pits of fire and terrain with nothing but rocks, trees and streams. All different, all stuck together as if dropped onto this world by a hand trying to save space. “I am taking you to my summer house. It is far removed from any flying lanes and there is no shuttle traffic. The thermal geography is too unstable for many landing areas.” He checked their altitude and the turbulence began. Jin’s teeth rattled in her head as they got closer and closer to geysers of flame and water filling the air with steam that provided a cloak of roiling fog for their landing. The Raucous Phoenix rolled forward and came to a halt inside a cavern. “Welcome to my home.” The pride in his voice was palpable. “Thank you for your offer of safe haven.” She unbuckled her harness and grabbed her duffel from the storage bay. “It is more than an offer.” He opened the shuttle hatch and led her into the warm, dry air with hints of geysers wafting through it. “It is a reality.” Ragnar took her duffel from her and placed one 18
Liquid heat arm around her waist. “It will help my staff to see that you are here in a romantic capacity. They won’t think anything of it.” “That many women coming and going?” She raised an eyebrow to him and he merely grinned down at her. The halls were carved smooth stone. She could hear the occasional footstep out of her line of sight, but nothing was visible. “How many staff do you have on hand?” “Five. Two cooks, two maids and a butler. That is all that I have ever needed here.” Wide balconies and halls caught and funnelled every breeze. Ragnar led her through some well-appointed rooms and when he finally pushed two large doors open, she was exhausted. The heat coupled with the stresses and a long day with no rest made her head spin. “Welcome to my bedchamber and while you are here, yours as well.” He bowed formally and opened his arms to take in the elegant room, large bed with light bedding and several pillows, desks and a com unit. Jin listened to him describe the location of the bathroom, but all she could think about was the bed. She staggered forward and dropped onto the firm surface, burying her face in a pillow that smelled of Ragnar. She blacked out in seconds. 19
Viola Grace
Chapter Three er mouth was dry, her skin sore and her soul called out for water. Jin struggled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. The large tub was a surprise, but she opted for the shower out of desperate need for water. She shed her clothes out of convention and stepped under the water. Jin could almost hear her skin sigh happily as the water sluiced over her and was absorbed. The down side to being an elemental was that she could not only manipulate the element, but she was dependant on it. Without water, she would die in very short order. The burns on her bluish skin were healing as the water coursed over it and she groaned and stretched her sore limbs while basking in the fluid that kept her whole. She kept herself under the water until she reached her saturation point. With a reluctant sigh, she turned it off and exited the shower. Slow applause turned her skin a hot pinkish
H
20
Liquid heat purple. Ragnar was in the open doorway. “You are truly stunning.” “Why are you watching?” “You seemed disoriented, so I came to see if you were all right. If we weren’t above a hot spring, you would have just used water for a month in these lands.” She pulled her hair forward to cover her breasts and turned so that he was getting a side view only. Jin winced at the tangles in her hair, but she couldn’t do anything about it until he left. He disappeared for a moment and she started breathing again. Her damp skin was drying rapidly in the heat of the fire-giant realm, but there was enough moisture in it that she was not uncomfortable. Her senses told her that there was indeed a spring nearby. Ragnar reappeared and she yelped. “Quiet, Jin. You packed it, so you obviously need it. My people simply heat off the water.” He wrapped her towel around her and she blushed furiously. Her hands were now pinned to her sides by the fabric, so he took advantage of her confinement to press his lips to hers in a kiss that set her blood on fire. She didn’t need to look down to know that her own body was now heating off the surface moisture. She could see the steam rising. He nibbled at her lower lip, laving it with his tongue before using her gasp to gain entrance to 21
Viola Grace her mouth. He groaned when he tasted her and she shook in his arms as he held her tightly against him. Ragnar slid his thigh between hers and pulled her forward until she straddled it. With his mouth pillaging hers, he worked her against his thigh until a spiralling heat emanated from deep in her belly. Her cry was swallowed by his lips and she shook at the steam coming off her flesh. It went on and on as he rocked her against him, until she whimpered and slumped in his arms. “What was that?” Her voice was husky and weak even to her. “Have you never had a climax before?” She blushed, “Um. No. Dremarai aren’t really into that kind of thing. My mom tried to explain it once, but my dad chased her out of the room and told me that I would figure it out when it was time.” She blushed again as she realised exactly what the noises from her parents’ bedroom, studies and offices were. She had always suspected, but her older sister had simply shooed her away from the doors, telling her that her mother was simply getting a backrub after a long delivery. It had seemed feasible to a child’s mind. His hands were rubbing up and down her spine, warming her with friction and giving her a secure feeling when her life had just spun out of 22
Liquid heat control. Sighing, she rubbed up against him, the prod of his erection through his clothing finally did what nothing else had managed to—it snapped her out of her sensual haze and sent her stumbling backward. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to…” “Mean to what? Drive me insane with lust? I have wanted you since the moment I saw you. You are uncomfortable now, but accept my hospitality with the sincerity it is offered.” She blushed yet again. Hospitality had another meaning on her world. It not only extended to bed and board, but pleasure if needed. The need that had just reared its head would fade and she would forget all about it in time, she was sure. She hoped they would fade. She needed them to fade. “I accept your offer of hospitality.” She inclined her head and he looked at her with curiosity in his gaze. “Why did that sound so formal?” “Dremarai are formal. It’s in our genes.” She nodded and passed him, returning to the bedroom. Lamps gave off a glow that pushed back the cool night’s darkness. Two pillows were dented. He had joined her in her little nap. There was a sofa and from now on that was her bed. She dug into her duffel and found that all the clothing was gone. “Where are my clothes?” 23
Viola Grace “In the wardrobe. I really like the formal robes, by the way. The colour would go wonderfully with your eyes.” “They were a going-away present from my parents. They wanted me to always remember where I came from.” She smiled and grabbed a hairbrush, starting to work at her tangles. Ragnar crossed the room and sat on the edge of the sofa, putting himself within her line of sight. It was deliberate and they both knew it. “Why did you leave?” She cocked her head before speaking, her arm continued steady brush strokes through the tangles until her hair hung heavily. “My parents had a lot of children. Children who were perfect blends of Dremarai and Terran. I was the odd man out. My mother did research and found others like me. Elementals who were born to a Terran and a member of another race. We became pen pals, then chatted on the com and when we were adults, we agreed to join forces and open a bar on a space station. Our parents didn’t like it, but they accepted it and gave us financial backing.” “Backing?” “Yeah, Thosnas can’t extort the bar out from under us—we own it free and clear.” She smiled at his confused look. “How can you own a piece of the space station?” 24
Liquid heat She snorted and finished brushing her hair, winding it into a knot and placing one of her traditional spikes through it. “We managed to arrange it.” They managed it by buying the whole station, but that was a secret that the Gaia Group was going to maintain. The long talks as young women had turned into a larger network until they had over six hundred members, all daughters and some sons of Terran mothers and all eager to live quieter lives than their parents. Their group pooled financial resources and soon, small houses and businesses were started across the Alliance. If a member had a dream, the Gaia Group helped them achieve it and Elymyntyl had been their dream. Jin stood and walked to the wardrobe, withdrawing underwear, a wrap shirt and fitted trousers. Her boots were still in the bathroom. She gave Ragnar a squinted glare, but he wasn’t going anywhere. She scooted on her panties, turned her back and dropped the towel. Her breast band fought her, but she got it into place with only a few tugs and curses. She could feel the heat Ragnar was generating at her back, but she finished dressing before turning around. He was scowling. “Did you have to get dressed?” “If I am using a vid com, I did. And I definitely 25
Viola Grace need to get to a com today. I missed check in with my parents last night or this morning. May I use your unit?” “Madam, you can use my unit anytime.” He was chortling to himself as he approached the com. With quick motions, he flicked it on, typed in a code and set encryption on the outgoing message. “There you go. I will go and hunt down some food.” “Thank you.” She sat in the enormous chair that made her feel like a child playing at a parent’s desk. Jin waited until Ragnar had left her alone before rapidly skimming her hands over the switches until the relay codes had been entered and locked. The signal pulsed through the system at the speed of thought. “Djihntalia, where have you been?” The High Prefect D’hai Bosun scowled at his daughter through the com. “There is a price on my head and I have gone into hiding. I am safe and please let Mom know that I will keep in touch. Can you find out what is going on?” He turned an angry blue. “Someone has put a price on my daughter’s head? I will kill them.” “Father. Calm down. I am safe. A…friend has offered me the hospitality of his home and I am accepting it.” A circular ring of fire haloed his head for a 26
Liquid heat moment and the connection crackled. “He offered you Hospitality?” She smiled. “Not in the Dremarai sense. Simply the use of his home.” “He had better not mean it the way that Dremarai do.” “Father, he does not and even if he did, I am the same age as Mother was when she met you. If I take advantage of it, that is my business. I am an adult now.” She inclined her head respectfully. It was always better to be respectful with her father, his dragon side lurked shallowly beneath his surface. Her mother’s phoenix was no better. He drummed his fingers on the edge of the desk. “I will tell your mother not to worry and you will check in on regular intervals. I expect to hear from you in either 48 or 72 hours. If we do not hear from you in three days, a search party will be sent and we will find you.” “Yes, Father. Thank you.” She inclined her head again. “Take care, little one. We worry and now we will worry more.” He smiled and disconnected the call. She drummed her fingers and quickly called Fen. “So, my parents are alerted and all hell is going to break loose soon. What do you know?” “There is a price on our heads, sort of. It isn’t dead or alive, merely alive, so that is a good thing. 27
Viola Grace Sol wishes you well. How are you doing?” “I got some sleep and a shower, so feeling fine. I will check in within three days. The same deal I have with my dad. How are you doing?” “Business as usual. A new giant has landed and is sniffing around Sol, but he seems harmless aside from his planet of origin.” “I am getting a suspicion here. Is he a fire giant?” “No, one of the stone giants. Why?” “This is starting to feel like a setup.” She drummed her fingers on the table and closed her hand quickly as she realized that she had seen that same gesture on her father minutes earlier. “Keep me posted. If I have to run, I will forward the calls. Rest, prepare and get ready for anything.” “Aren’t I always?” She laughed and they shared one of the giggles that had brought them together. Worry slipped away in that one second and she let the smile stay on her face. It was still there when the door opened and Ragnar returned with a tray of food. His eyes heated from orange to white hot when he saw her face and a shivering in her belly started in that instant. The moisture her body was generating was not related to her elemental nature, but it was very elemental in nature. 28
Liquid heat
Chapter Four er business partner nodded and seemed amazed by the look on her face. “Fen, over and out. Whew.” With the com disconnected, Jin absently entered the codes that would scrub Ragnar’s system of the details of her data transfer. He didn’t say a word, simply entered the room, put the tray on a table and approached her. She watched the flex of his thighs and the light swing of his arms as he turned the chair and lifted her to her feet. His fingers went to the back of her head and withdrew the spike that held her hair. When the waves tumbled down her back, he slid his fingers into her locks and tugged her head back until she was facing him as he descended for a kiss. Her skin literally sizzled against the heat of his mouth and she moaned as he nipped her lips until she let him in. His tongue delved deep and gave her his taste as he took hers. He broke from her mouth and trailed hot kisses down her neck as he
H
29
Viola Grace used his grip on her hair to hold her for him. She moaned lightly as his tongue traced a line of liquid heat down her collarbone and across her sternum. He relaxed one hand off her hair and untied her shirt, parting it with a few deft flicks of his fingers. Her breast band tugged down with his insistent fingers and her left breast freed a moment before the heat of his mouth engulfed her nipple as he suckled at her, flicking the hardened tip of her flesh with his tongue, sending spikes of sensation between her breast and clit. Her right breast was freed in turn and when he started to suckle at her then, her knees buckled and only his hand at the base of her skull kept her upright. Ragnar used his grip to walk her backward as he bent to feed at her breast. Her body was giving her conflicting responses, but the wet heat between her thighs was unmistakable and his fingers trailing over her waistband loosened her tight trousers until they parted for him, exposing her last line of defence—the delicate panties. Like a cat being lifted by a parent, he used his grip on her neck to lift her into a seat on the edge of the bed and peeled her clothing from her without too much tugging. Ragnar released his grip on her neck and pushed Jin back onto the bedding, just enough to kneel in front of her with her thighs draped over his back. 30
Liquid heat She had heard of what he started to do, but it never occurred to her that she would be on the receiving end of the hot, wet touch of his tongue on the inside of her thighs, making them shake with tension as he approached the centre of the maelstrom in her body. With her eyes closed and her body arched, she took the first wet stroke of his tongue on her into her soul and a raw sound emanated from her throat in a harsh gasp to express her surprise. He parted her folds with his thumbs and lapped at her with dedication, her body’s response to him out of her control. Each stroke and slide over her folds and clit brought her higher and higher on the sensation meter. When Jin felt him slide his tongue into her and start a slow undulation, her hips answered until she was gasping and spinning into a whirlwind of release that left her breathless. He kept his tongue inside her, drinking her cream as she fluttered around him. As soon as her body quieted, he started again. This time, a finger was slid inside her as he fed ravenously at her clit, working her until she was writhing against him. His second finger slid into her and started a pounding, thrusting beat that kept her rising against him. She was heading for release rapidly this time and just as she was teetering on the brink, her 31
Viola Grace giant stood and placed the hot tip of his cock into her. He lifted her hips into position against him, the expanse of her torso open for his touch and as he thrust and withdrew his tip into her, waiting until her body shifted to accept him before he thrust into her in one stroke. Her shriek echoed off the stone of the chamber as she suddenly fought his possession. “Hush, love. This will heal you.” He shifted her body back on the bed while still impaling her and a steady stream of heat ran through his body and into his cock. She could feel it with every pulse of his flesh. The heat was relaxing, massaging and expanding him inside her. “How much more is there to you?” “Not much.” His grin looked frightening in the shadows. Only his red eyes and white teeth were illuminated in the darkness. “Just enough.” Jin ran her hands over his chest and ribs. His flesh and bone was pulsing with heat, and the ache in her body was rapidly fading. With slow deliberation, she raised her knees and lifted her hips, taking him as deeply as she could. It was as if she sent a signal that he had been waiting for. His withdrawal made her whimper, but when he thrust back into her, she moved toward his hips with her own. A steady pace of thrust and withdrawal sent her pulse racing and brought heat 32
Liquid heat and sweat to her skin. Jin heard the soft cries from her throat. She could no more stop them than she could stop her body rising to meet his with every surge. Her talent swirled in her mind and form. It sought an outlet. With her body rioting at the stroke of his flesh inside her, the hot touch of him over her and the new discoveries that her hormones were making, she soon screamed and arched into Ragnar, almost dislodging her giant. His hands anchored hers to the bed and he thrust as her body milked his with ferocity. His groan and the flare of heat inside her as he came, set off a second round of pleasurable shuddering in her body. He slumped onto her body, his forehead pressed into the pillow next to her, his chest was heaving and she smiled weakly up at the canopy of the bed. He was still inside her. She could feel his occasional twitch. Ragnar brought one of her palms to his lips and licked the sweat from her. “Are you all right?” She took a mental inventory and shifted under his weight. “I think so. The ache is mostly gone.” He nibbled at her hand, licking down her wrist slowly. “Would you care to try it again?” She wasn’t sure, but the small touches to her skin were sparking a reaction inside her and he 33
Viola Grace was swelling to fill the void. Before she could say yes or no, he slid his hands behind her and rolled so that she was straddling him. It pushed him deep inside when she sat straight and Jin pressed her palms to his abdomen to keep her balance. The slickness from their first coupling eased her as she lifted and fell slowly on him. His cock throbbed as it filled to its complete girth and depth. When the stroking inside her hit a certain spot, her arms buckled and she froze. The piercing sensation of pleasure locked her limbs and it was then that Ragnar took over. He held her hips, watching her with blazing eyes as he lifted and dropped her on his molten iron cock. His skin sizzled where she touched him and as he threw his head back and arched under her, the pressure on her clit sent her over the edge as well. Sparks flew behind her eyes, her body pulsed and twitched until she slumped onto him, exhausted. She just knew she was going to feel this later. Jin turned her head and she let herself have a little smile. It was worth every twinge. “Thank you for accepting my Hospitality.” His voice rumbled in his chest as he started chuckling. He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her up for a kiss. She smiled and traced his lips with her fingers. “You knew the whole time?” 34
Liquid heat “No. But one of the maids knew about it. She answered the question for why you would flinch when I mentioned it. Now I know.” He ran a hand down her spine and she squirmed against him. Her stomach growled, breaking the sensuality that they were basking in. He chuckled and sat up, taking her with him. “Let’s get you redressed and fed.” A slap on her thigh made her jump. She turned, lifted her hand and sent a coursing cable of water around both his wrists, pulling his hands behind his back. She left him tied and cursing as she sashayed back to the bathroom for a recharge and refreshment. His cursing followed her down the hall.
35
Viola Grace
Chapter Five in got dressed with Ragnar glaring at her the whole time. She had been forced to tie his ankles as well as his hands and a gag had been mandated when he had started spewing threats. They mostly involved paddling her behind, so she was not too worried. Her hair was back in place on her head and she grabbed some fruit on the way out of the bedroom. She was a hundred yards away and running for her life when she released the bindings on her giant. Skidding into the kitchen, she startled the women working there. They were also of the fire giant persuasion but only mildly taller than she was. “Miss, should you be down here?” “Call me, Jin. And you are…” “Faasha and that is Minsk. We are the private cooks for the Odinbjorn clan.” The woman had dark eyes that matched her hair. Minsk had a wealth of red hair that was braided tightly to flow
J
36
Liquid heat down her back. Both women looked quite startled to see her. “I was wondering if you could direct me to the nearest body of water, a fountain or pool?” Minsk looked up from kneading a loaf of bread. Her eyes were a hot violet that looked amazing next to her hair. “The geyser is out the main doors and half a kilometre into the third cave on the left.” Jin could feel Ragnar approaching. “Thank you.” She bolted out the door and headed for the main entry hall. It seemed he was following her scent, because the swirling heat was heading for the kitchen. As fast as her feet would carry her, she moved where the directions led her. The cave was lit by phosphorescence, but the humidity was welcomed and beckoned her. She needed it more than she could express. With a shriek of glee, she jumped into the pool. If she hadn’t been underwater, the heat would have taken her breath away. The moisture counteracted her body’s normal response to the heat and soon, she was doing what she did best, drawing her very breath from the liquid around her through her skin. Her mind drifted down the path of the water, seeking the heart of the planet she was on. What she found surprised her. A young planet just waking into its own consciousness greeted her 37
Viola Grace with enthusiasm. It laughed at her surprise. Everything in the universe starts somewhere, daughter. Your kind is not from this world. No. I am new here. My world does not yet speak to its people. What may I call you? Jotun. I named myself after the name this sphere was given. Pleased to meet you, Jotun. I am Djihntalia of Dremarai. Your man is looking for you. I can hear his fire. Jin looked up through the water. The interior of the cage was fiery orange flaring to blue-white. I suppose I had better go and douse him. Be gentle. This is not a safe world for you, not yet. Will it become safe? If you trust your man, it is possible. If you try to go it alone, you will be alone and possibly stay that way. Don’t do anything hasty. For a newly wakened planet, you have decided opinions. I have been awake for five hundred years. I have watched these people and know what they will do. If they want you, they will find a way to have you. Thank you, Jotun. I will take your advice to heart. Be safe, daughter, and come and visit soon. Jin steeled her nerves and sent a jet of water into the cavern. Controlling the water, she lifted herself on a pillar that put her in the center of the geyser pool. She stood on the solid water and 38
Liquid heat looked around. The heat remained, but Ragnar was gone. She frowned and walked across the expanse of the pool. Her skin dried on its own, part of her talent that she didn’t need to share with her guard. Halfway down the hall, arms grabbed her and she knew that something was wrong. These weren’t Ragnar’s arms. He would never try and burn her into submission. “Got you, bitch. Now Thosnas can have his pet and I can have the reward.” Usul. The voice was unmistakable. The roar that brought her head up before she could take action was terribly familiar. Ragnar was on the way and he was angry. Usul made things worse. “I have her now, cousin. Give in to the better man.” A blast of flame came from Usul’s right hand and an astonished Jin found herself looking at a sword of fire. Usul threw her behind him in the cavern and she stumbled, striking her head on the stone. Dazed, she watched Ragnar fire up a sword of his own and the fight was on. He didn’t look the worse for his confinement, but if she had been able to get to her feet, she would have been out of that cavern in seconds. She crawled down the cavern, back to the water. She could heal if she reached the water and 39
Viola Grace whoever won the battle would have to deal with her then. She slid silently into the water and hung there for a moment, face down and lifeless. The ringing in her head faded as her element healed her. She didn’t know how long she hung there, but when light flared around her, she felt a splash that preceded arms hauling her out of the water. Jin kept herself limp as she was dragged onto the floor of the cavern and she opened her eyes to Ragnar above her. “He is your cousin?” “Yes, he is less of a cousin now than he used to be. I took his hand.” Ragnar looked as if he wanted to be furious, his face changed colour several times. “How is it you are not dead?” “Water is my element. I needed it to heal after Usul threw me into the wall.” She sat up and he put a hand behind her back to support her. “Where is he?” “No doubt squealing all the way back to Thosnas. He will have to go for healing before he can be presented at court, so we have a few days.” “A few days for what?” “A few days for me to take you over my knee for tying me up and the scare you just gave me. Now, up we go and back to the house.” She mumbled but followed him back to his home. There was indeed a blood trail and a hand with no body in the hall. “You have regeneration here?” 40
Liquid heat “Yes, but it will cost him.” He put his arm over her shoulders and held her tightly to his body as they walked. Jin suspected it was to keep her from running. They passed the kitchen staff in a small garden out back and Jin gave them a bright smile. Their pitying looks changed her mind rather quickly. Ragnar didn’t speak as he took her clothing off when they arrived in his room, he didn’t say a word as he took manacles out of a box to Jin’s raised eyebrows and when he shackled her arms behind her to fasten her to a bolster on the bed, she started to get a little more wary. “This belt is designed for entertainment, but I think it will do to remind you to behave in a more polite manner.” He put a chain link around her waist and a second chain with some flatter, thicker sections was passed between her thighs and pulled tightly against her. It was a little uncomfortable but not too bad. She sighed, shifted until she was sitting on the bed and stretched her legs out in front of her, leaning on the post she was shackled to. A pulse shot between her thighs and she yelped. It had been centred over her clit and was a heavy zap of sensation. She was just settling back when it happened again. “I have some correspondence to catch up on, so I have set it to random. Later, when we have 41
Viola Grace dinner, I will show you some of the other functions that the remote allows.” She swallowed heavily and jumped as a longer buzz on her clit got her attention. This was going to be a long afternoon. Jin was mindless, sweating and had a problem focussing her eyes by the time Minsk brought a dinner tray. For the last hour, she had been shackled to the headboard so that Ragnar could watch her as she panted under the buzzing of the belt. “Please. I am sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise.” Her panting pleas didn’t even register on him. He was watching the trickle of cream snake from between the links of the chain down the crack of her ass. Bleary, she watched him stroke a small capsule under the index finger of his right hand. She arched with a groan as it took her to the edge of release and then stopped. She was beyond crying. It surged, stopped, surged, stopped and finally he stroked it until she came apart, arching off the bed with her shoulders and heels taking her weight. Her voice was hoarse and a soft groan was all she could manage. It was with tears staining her cheeks and an ache in every bone in her body when she slumped to the bed in exhaustion. Ragnar was hovering 42
Liquid heat over her, undoing her bonds and rubbing her shoulders with a frown still on his face. There was light in his eyes, a controlled lust that was banked while he did what he had to, to get his point across. “Will you run from me again?” “No.” “Will you tie me up again?” She sniffled. “No.” “Will you use your talents against me?” He lifted one eyebrow as she considered her options. He ran his hand down her hip and traced the chain with his palm. It was not a subtle reminder. “Not in a way that will put either of us in danger.” He tilted his head, considering. “I will accept that. Now, come and shower and I will help you select something appropriate to wear.” “I have my clothing.” “You denied my hospitality with that little bondage stunt. You will wear what is provided, what is appropriate to your station.” He tugged her off the bed and held her when her knees buckled. Sighing, he lifted her in his arms and carried her sweaty, limp form into the bathroom. He removed the chain between her thighs, she used the lav and then he simply stood her in the shower and turned on the water. The shock of icy water 43
Viola Grace on her skin brought her out of her stupor and she spluttered and tried to absorb as much as she could. She was already at saturation from the geyser, so she rinsed her throbbing clit and vaginal lips with the icy water. It had a soothing effect on her and soon she was looking up at Ragnar and the steely gaze he was focusing on her. He snapped the chain back between her thighs and gave her an admonition. “Leave the chain alone, Jin. It won’t come off with your print.” He towelled her off and gestured for her to follow him. Her clothing no longer hung in the wardrobe. Light, almost transparent, gauzes had taken their place. Ragnar selected a dark gold handful of fabric and he handed her the skirt. She pulled the skirt on and sighed in relief that the chains were not visible. The top was a simple breast band that somehow required four hands to apply. Her breasts were tightly bound, a swath of the ribbon of fabric behind her neck and crossing in front. “Brush your hair. Faasha will be here soon to help you with it.” “Am I going somewhere?” “Your call bore fruit. There has been a Dremarai contact for the first time in centuries. It is now known that you are in the possession of an 44
Liquid heat eldjotnar and we have been ordered to attend Thosnas’s court.” Her skin went cold. “You are joking.” “I am not. Your communication privileges have been cancelled by the way. No calling a strike down on my summer home.” “If I don’t call Fen soon, she will worry and call my parents, or worse, Sol’s.” The clothing that she was wearing let every tiny breeze slip up her skirt. It reminded her of the festival skirts that women wore when they watched the moons rise and for a happy few, their powers arrived. He dug some soft slippers out of a box in the wardrobe and she put them on. When she was up and he nodded in approval at her appearance, Faasha arrived to help her with her hair. As the woman combed through her locks and separated them into sections for elaborate layering with tiny gemstones connecting the locks of hair, Jin whispered, “Where am I going?” “You are going to see Ragnar’s grandfather. The high court is a formal place and your arriving in the garb of an eldjotnar lady will assert your status when you arrive.” “Eldjotnar means…” “Fire giant. In our area, there are also bergrisar, mountain giants and hrimbursar, frost giants. 45
Viola Grace Jotunheim is a melting pot of those who once raided the universe for plunder and fame.” “If you are all large, why are you called giants?” The creature that met her gaze in the mirror bore little resemblance to her normal nononsense looks. She looked feminine, sexy and a little wary. The dark gold of her clothes set off her skin and the blue-green gems matched her eyes. She looked splendid. “Other races named us.” Ragnar was watching her transformation from across the room. With a tiny gesture, Jin jumped. She had almost forgotten about the chain she was wearing. In the mirror, she caught the hint of his smirk and closed her eyes in frustration. It was going to be a long, formal meeting.
46
Liquid heat
Chapter Six he light skimmer ride caused Jin to grit her teeth. The metal across her sex rubbed her with every surge of the engines. It wasn’t fair. “It’s not fair, Ragnar.” “What isn’t, Jin?” “The engine is affecting the chain. I am going nuts over here. Can’t you take it off until after the meeting or whatever?” She tried to keep her tone bland and inquiring. She knew that whining was the fastest way to get a man to shut down. “I am sorry, but there is no other way for me to let you know if you are stepping over the lines of Jotunheim society. Don’t think of it as a punishment, think of it as covert communications.” His lips twisted in a grin and she was swamped by the urge to punch or drown him. “You promised no attacks, Jin.” “Did you read my mind?” “No, just a guess.” Jin fought a smile despite her discomfort. When
T
47
Viola Grace they landed, she took his hand to free her from the shallow vehicle with relief. A guard snapped to attention next to their ship and stepped aside as they approached the large citadel. More guards opened two large double doors and she used all of the formal training her parents had drilled into her to keep her calm as they entered a great hall filled with a blend of giants. Feeling overwhelmed was not unexpected, but when she started to breathe faster, a light buzz over her clit brought her back to the moment with a scowl. Ragnar kept a completely straight face as they walked toward the large throne at the end of the room. Blue-toned skin glowed against the variety of greys that made up the giants. A feeling of joy welled up inside Jin and she tensed to go running to her family until another zap of the chain stopped her very effectively. They stopped at the foot of the steps and waited for the great giant with a white beard and braided hair to acknowledge them. When he finally stopped his conversation with the Dremarai contingent, he looked her over from head to toe, including the hand that was securely held in Ragnar’s. “Ragnar, my boy, introduce this lovely young woman to me.” His voice boomed out over the 48
Liquid heat gathering and silence fell. “Lord Thosnas, this is Djihntalia Bosun of Dremarai, water elemental and co-owner of the bar on the station that you are interested in.” “I have just been speaking with her brothers and they were sent here by a seer on their world.” “It seems that the seers get around, my lord.” Ragnar inclined his head formally. Thosnas kept his dark gaze on Jin as her brothers stepped forward to greet her. Ragnar didn’t release her hand, so she had to give them hugs with just her right side. “Jin, why are we not surprised that you are in trouble again.” D’hol smiled. “We are glad to see you are well. Shethan told us that you would need family soon, so we received clearance and here we are.” D’mel smiled. “We have spoken to Thosnas and though his methods were unorthodox, his plan was sound as you are here and based on the death grip you have on the giant next to you, you have chosen a mate.” D’nor scowled at Ragnar. “Did he have to be so high handed about it?” Each of her brothers bore the marks on their abdomens that depicted their alternate shape. Two eagles and a dragon were exposed by the open robes of their status as Elite. They were not men that most would cross and certainly not when they 49
Viola Grace outnumbered him. “It was necessary to remove her for her own safety. My cousin was after her and had no concern for her welfare.” Ragnar was stiff in response. Jin covered a smile with her free hand. He was not used to being questioned. Thosnas grinned, “Is that why you whacked off his hand? His mother called me.” Ragnar bowed. “It was unavoidable, Grandfather. He tried to kidnap my mate and I reacted in an appropriate manner.” “I would have to agree, but your grandmother had another idea.” A woman of truly impressive proportions appeared from behind the throne and slapped the ruler in the arm. “Quiet. I don’t like my grandchildren fighting.” Ragnar bowed to the woman who shared his black and red hair and blazing eyes. Her skin was a pearly silver where his was a darker pewter. “Then, madam, perhaps you should have had less children who reproduced so effectively.” The woman came forward and rushed to hug him, but he still didn’t release Jin’s hand. The Dremarai found it incredibly funny, but only twitches at the corner of their mouths betrayed their amusement. Despite their father being High Prefect, their mother firmly ruled the 50
Liquid heat home. When they returned, they would be treated to hugs as soon as Myka laid eyes on them and then they would be allowed to report to their father. “Madam, this is Djihntalia Bosun. Jin, this is my grandmother Khasna, wife of Thosnas.” Jin was seething with irritation. She had tried for rage and missed. “Khasna, pleased to meet you.” The giantess looked her over carefully. “She’s small, Ragnar. Are you sure you don’t want one of our women? They have been asking after you since you chose to leave court.” Jin tensed, but a sharp jolt from the chain and she calmed. She was going to give Ragnar hell the moment he took the damned thing off. “I was never destined to marry from Jotunheim. You know it better than most, madam.” His look into his grandmother’s eyes did not invite any additional comments. Jin watched the family dynamic with detached curiosity. Thosnas watched his wife with a twist of his lips that denoted amusement. Khasna sighed as her grandson refused to give in. “Fine. The seer did say that water would be your match. I just never expected it to be so short.” Jin scowled, but another zap kept her quiet. Her brothers were sending her worried looks. D’hol bowed to the leader. “Lord Thosnas, may I 51
Viola Grace request a private word with my sister?” “I think all of these matters would be better discussed if we retired to a private room. Come this way.” He rose out of his throne and stepped behind it. A long hallway extended into darkness and Jin could feel water behind it. With her hand still firmly in Ragnar’s, she walked behind Thosnas and Khasna. Her brothers followed closely and just the presence of other Dremarai was comforting to her. Lord Thosnas opened a door and led them into a room filled with couches and low tables. “Please be seated. There is much to be discussed.” Ragnar led her to one of the seats and sat next to her, wedging her against the arm of the couch. Thosnas sat with his wife and he kept a hand on her thigh. Jin’s brothers sat as near to her as they could. “Jin, what is wrong with you? You are never this quiet.” D’hol was concerned. A warning buzz made her jump. There was no disguising it in her current position. Thosnas and Khasna looked at each other and started laughing. “Your sister is currently being disciplined for something. Ragnar, let her answer freely and she will be able to set their minds at ease.” Jin looked up at Ragnar and he nodded. A relieved exhalation relaxed her. “D’hol, I am fine. 52
Liquid heat It is just giving me reminders of etiquette.” D’hol was looking horrified. “Are you in pain?” “No, just a little frustrated.” D’nor caught on and started smirking. “I am guessing it is under your clothing?” She blushed, “It is.” D’mel had a gleam in his eyes as well, holding back a laugh was Jin’s guess. “What were you being punished for?” She looked at Ragnar and he nodded again. She shrugged. “I sort of tied Ragnar up, ran out of the house, jumped in a scalding geyser, talked to the planet, got jumped by Usul, got thrown against a wall and had my head cracked, then floated in the water healing, but I looked dead when Ragnar found me. Enough?” Her brothers alternately paled and flushed in her speedy sentence. They were used to the way she talked when she was in trouble, but Thosnas was blinking as he absorbed her words. Khasna was amazed. “How did you bind him?” Jin smiled and held up the hand that was still not attached to Ragnar’s. A fountain of water jetted up from her hand and twisted into a spiralling figure eight. It lashed out and wrapped itself around Ragnar’s arm slowly spiralling up until it wrapped around his neck and slithered down his other hand. Across the floor and back up to her hand, the water jumped twisted and was 53
Viola Grace reabsorbed by her fingers. “Like that. I can hold water in place until I get a certain distance away from it and then it releases from whatever shape I had it held in.” She shrugged. Her brothers were whispering furiously in Dremarai and she laughed as she realised that D’hol was getting a quick explanation of why their sister wasn’t in pain. When his eyes widened in shock and he blushed darkly, she knew that they had gotten through to him. “It doesn’t hurt. It’s just…surprising.” Thosnas and Khasna smiled and he spoke to the Dremarai. “It is a non-invasive method of distracting a woman who is on a path to angering her spouse. It satisfies him and gives her a little jolt of sensation.” Khasna smirked. “The real question about my grandson’s behaviour is why he had a chain ready for her in her size. She is not the size and shape of the average inhabitant of Jotunheim.” Curious eyes looked at Ragnar, including Jin’s. “Why did you have a chain in my size?” “I had a member of the dress shop on Raven’s Rest send me her measurements. I knew who and what she was the moment that I saw a vid of her at Elymyntyl.” Her brothers looked at her, at him and spoke to 54
Liquid heat each other silently as only the talented or the Elite could manage. “Elemental Djihntalia Bosun, do you accept this man as yours?” D’hol had a straight face. He was frequently called upon to conduct mating and bonding ceremonies. “Elite D’hol Bosun, I do. I don’t know why, but he fits.” D’hol turned to Ragnar, “Ragnar of Jotunheim, son of Jungnar, son of Thosnas, do you accept this woman as yours?” He looked down at Jin and smiled, “Elite D’hol Bosun, I do.” “Rise and continue to hold hands.” D’hol came to them and held his hands over their joining. “By the authorization of the High Prefect and the Master Elite of the Dremarai, I now pronounce you bound and mated and none shall ever part you.” His hands flared and Jin felt the magic of her homeland in her bones. She felt the tremble in Ragnar’s hand and knew that he was feeling the warm burn through his nerves and into his groin. Thosnas cleared his throat. “That is all well and good, but I have not given my permission for the joining.” Jin smiled. “It is done. We are bound by the laws of my people and neither of us will be able to have children without the other. Effectively, 55
Viola Grace without me, your grandson is as good as neutered.”
56
Liquid heat
Chapter Seven hosnas did not take kindly to her flippancy, but by the time he got to his feet, Khasna had her hand on his arm. “It is done, Thos. The seer foretold it and for our beloved grandson, the moment is here. Let him embrace it and stop trying to throw your weight around. Bad enough you put a price on the lady’s head to get her here. Now, you are changing your mind? Shame on you.” She left the room in a huff and Thosnas turned an ashen pink. He strode to Jin and looked down at her. “Welcome to the family, Djihntalia. We look forward to seeing you at court frequently.” She was blinking as he kissed the back of her hand and his beard tickled her skin. “Thank you, Lord Thosnas. Could you ask your grandson to lift the communication restriction? My friends on the station need to know what is going on.” He was almost out the door. “Not quite yet. Ragnar isn’t my only grandson you know.” The whole of his plan just came crashing in
T
57
Viola Grace around her. “Why you sneaky son-of-a-bitch.” Her brothers winced at her terminology, but she had always had a flare for repeating their mother’s turn of phrase. Thosnas simply laughed and left them. Jin rounded on Ragnar. She turned her hand to water and pulled it away from his grip. Her hands were on her hips. “You knew about this!” “Yes, Jin. I knew.” He crossed his arms and scowled at her. Her brothers very quietly made their exit. The moment the door was closed, a sharp buzz went through her. “Oh, no. You are not distracting me that easily. I want to know why you did this, why you fought with your cousin. If he was in on it, why did you take me from him instead of letting him drop me off here for your grandfather to hand out?” She rarely got this kind of angry. Her mother said it had something to do with her water nature, but once you started pouring water down a hill, it tended to keep going. “You said you would not use your power against me.” “I didn’t. I used my power on me. There is a dramatic difference.” She scowled at him and moved away when he took a step toward her. The chain didn’t bother with a short buzz—it went to full vibration and brought her to her knees 58
Liquid heat after several minutes of fighting. “I won’t discuss this here. The walls have ears.” He lifted her to her feet and tossed her over one shoulder. The vibrations grew so intense that she climaxed in the hall on the way to the audience chamber and she bit the back of Ragnar’s tunic to keep from screaming so the whole room could hear her. He strode calmly back to the skimmer and tucked her inside as she writhed in the grip of another building orgasm. He left her writhing with only short breaks for her so that her clit would not become desensitized to the vibration, but by the time they reached his summerhouse, she was close to screaming. He picked her up and carried her through the house and into his room. Ragnar removed her clothing quickly, stripping her to nothing but the torturous chain in no time. She hissed as he removed it and almost sobbed in relief. Her relief was short lived when he bent her forward over the edge of the bed and pressed two fingers into her creamy heat. Ragnar thrust them into her with a steady rhythm, his other hand pressing the small of her back to hold her still. Her body was rioting on the fine edge of orgasm when he pressed his cock into her with short punching thrusts that rocked her forward with every move. 59
Viola Grace Her voice came untethered, moaning and crying out as the slow strokes inside her hit the forward wall of her sex. She grabbed at the bedding, her fists tight as he worked into her completely and then withdrew to enter her all over again with one slick thrust. Hours, days could have passed like that, Jin had no clue, but when her orgasm built, the shivering of her talent flowed through her. Power built between them and when his free hand stroked her clit, her scream and his roar could be heard for miles. Water coursed into the room and spun around them, swirling in the air as her body spasmed under Ragnar’s. It seemed endless to Jin, but when she finally calmed, she saw the blaze of fire that was twisting and flirting with the cables of water. She smiled into the bedding that was wet with her tears. Slowly, she let the water return to its point of origin and Ragnar let his fire dissipate. The slide of his cock as he withdrew made her shudder and he dropped to the bed, rolling with her until they were against the pillows and she was tucked against him, her head on his chest. His voice was low and husky as he explained Thosnas’s plan to find wives for his grandsons. Thirty years earlier, a wise woman, a seer, came to Jotunheim and in exchange for repairs to her ship, she read the future of any child brought before 60
Liquid heat her. Ragnar had been told that his fire would blend with that of water and a liquid heat would be the result. A power that would tame the eldjotnar and would give strength to the throne of Jotunheim that it had never known. Two of his cousins were given the same type of foretelling, one to wed air, the other a wolf of fire. Jin was nodding and told him her own tale. A seer had crashed on Dremarai and by the time she had finished her predictions, she had known that she would wed a member of an ancient race who was as opposite to her as fire to water. “I suppose she was right.” Jin yawned and snuggled against him. “I suppose she travelled a lot.” He smiled and touched the gems in her hair. “I am sorry that you can’t contact your friends, but this is not something that one can be warned about. It either happens or it doesn’t.” She propped her chin on her fist. “I suppose so. But Sol is so aggressive, Fen is so shy, I hope that your relatives don’t hurt them, or I will have to take my show on the road and kick some giant ass.” “Another colourful term?” His black-red brow rose over one eye. “It is. You had better be wary. It takes a lot to get me riled, but when I get mad, I stay mad.” 61
Viola Grace “I have noticed that. I will keep the chain handy just in case.” He stroked the golden expanse of her hair and tilted his head. “You met the planet?” She smiled and pressed her fingers against his lips. “I will tell you about it later.” With a deep sigh, she settled against him and enjoyed the heat radiating off his skin. There was plenty of time for telling him about Jotun, about her family and about the pilgrimage that they were going to make every two years to visit her parents. With her last thought, she hoped that Sol and Fen could find even a second of the contentment that she felt and if any giant did anything to hurt them, Jin would see how well inhabitants of Jotunheim could swim.
62
Author’s Note Liquid Heat is the first in a miniseries of three. The Elymyntyls. It also introduces the Gaia Group, a consortium of Terran descendants who watch out for each other and enjoy life for fun and profit. Dream a dream and the Gaia Group will help you achieve it. In Eryth and Ayr, the Halloween instalment, Sol is interrogating every giant she can find and it is only when Morgarn enters the bar and she seduces him to the back room that she believes she will get some answers. Morgarn knows who she is, what she is and that he wants her, but how can a giant withstand a woman who controls the very air he breathes? And the miniseries concludes during winter holidays with Frost and Fyr. A frantic Fen has been forced to close the bar when a frost giant comes to the rescue and offers to take her to her friends. He has a detour in mind, but when he faces a blazing wolf, will her giant turn tail or face the fangs of fire? I love alliteration, don’t you? For the parents of these intrepid women…find them in Enchanted, Scorcher and Minder.
Thanks for joining me. Viola Grace
[email protected] About the Author Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No coworker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales. Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.
