Tension seized the muscles of Swede’s body. There were seven teams of Valknuts coming into the bar tonight. At least two of them had seen her as well, one heading in her direction. Before he could warn his podmates, however, Nor took matters into his own hands.
Swede watched with a great deal of satisfaction as Nor stomped forward, pointedly ignoring the Floor Matron and flicking away the bouncers like fleas. He gently picked up their woman and cradled her in his arms for a brief second before slinging her over his shoulder. The smug look of satisfaction Nor cast at the Valknuts who had been headed her way would have been comical if Swede didn’t feel such a need for urgency. They needed to get her upstairs; they needed to make her theirs. Then they needed to get her the hell out of here. Without a word, Swede and Dane followed as Nor made his way to the upstairs room.
“Wait! Wait! That’s a hundred fifty credits. You must pay first.” The wide Floor Matron stepped in front of him and Dane, but Swede noted she let Nor proceed without protest. She knew them well enough to know nothing would happen unless all three were present. It was simply the way they operated, coded in their genetics every bit as much as the Viking blood that made them fearless in the field.
“I’ll settle the bill.” The words tasted sour in his mouth. This was their woman, their life mate. “Dane, go up and make sure Nor doesn’t frighten her to death.”
Soon they would take her away from here, where she would never again be used to relieve frightened boys playing at being men. Soon.
