Mated To The Vikens (Interstellar Brides Book 8)(30)

“So they intended to transport Leah and her baby to the wilds instead of me?”

Rolf nodded. “Yes.”

“But how did it work, how did I get sent there instead?”

“We’re not sure. A transport glitch. The Kings have entire teams of engineers working on answering that very question.”

I opened my eyes and looked up into his face, meeting his gaze. “I’m not thrilled about someone trying to kill me, but I’m glad it happened.”

Rolf’s jaw clenched. “Glad?”

“If their transport plans had worked, Leah would have died protecting her baby. I…I can’t think about how awful that would have been.”

Rolf just made a weird guttural sound as a reply and released me. I righted myself and ran my hands over my hair to get the excess water out.

“So Gunnar and I will go to this place…Club Trinity, and find the man who wanted to kill Leah.”

Rolf reached for a washcloth and I stared at the way the water sluiced off his broad shoulders and down over his flat nipples. “No, love. Erik is meeting with the Kings. Gunnar’s already gone.”

“Gone?”

Nodding, he picked up the soap I’d been using and rubbed it over the washcloth. I breathed in the scent of vanilla. Did they have vanilla on Viken?

“Give me your arm.”

I lifted it in the air and he took my hand as he ran the bubbly washcloth up and down. If he wanted to do this as he gave me answers, I wasn’t going to complain. I’d never been washed by anyone before, at least not since I was a baby, and it was pretty darn nice.

“You’re doing this to distract me,” I fake grumbled.

Rolf switched arms.

“I can do both. Clean you, so Erik and I can make you dirty again, and give you the answers to your questions.”

That, I could live with.

“Gunnar went to Central City to see if he can learn more about the man with the mark.”

“The bad guy.”

Rolf frowned. “Yes, him. Gunnar plans to go to Club Trinity and reestablish his connections. He hasn’t been in some time.”

“He went without me? I want to help!”

He cocked a brow. “And how would you help at a sex club, mate?”

“I’m the only one who knows what the man sounds like. I can identify him.”

Rolf gave me a dark look. I assumed it wasn’t directed at me, but at the man who I could recognize by voice.

“I told you, I know about power struggles. I got caught up in the mafia on Earth. I want to help. Need to,” I added. “I tried to play nice last time, and all that got me a prison sentence.”

“And us,” Rolf added, absently washing my shoulders.

“And you. But I can’t let this one go, Rolf. They were going to kill Leah and the baby. They tried to kill me!” I cried, my heart rate accelerating with frustration and anger. “I’m the only one who can identify him. I have to go. We can’t stand by and do nothing. They’ll try again. As long as Allayna is alive, they’ll keep trying.”

“Don’t remind me,” Rolf grumbled.

“Let me help,” I repeated.

“We spoke of this while you were sleeping, before Gunnar left. He has to investigate alone. If he showed up at the club with you on his arm, there would be questions. It would be obvious you were the mate that transported yesterday.”

“The bad guy didn’t know I saw his tattoo,” I countered. “And, he thinks I’m dead. Perhaps Gunnar is a newly mated Viken who just wants to show me his lifestyle.”

He glanced up at me. “True, but when he, the bad guy, discovers you’re not dead in the wilds, he’ll try again. You’re a liability to him.”

“A loose end,” I added.

He furrowed his brow. “Like a thread?”

I smiled. “An Earth expression. In this case, I am someone who knows what he’s done, how he wanted the Queen and her baby. Like you said, a liability. They’ll try to take me out.”

“Take you out? To where?”

I laughed. As well as these NPU translators worked, some things just didn’t translate well. “They’ll try to kill me.”

“Stand.”

I looked at him for a moment as he added more soap to the washcloth.

I did as he wanted and water sluiced down my body. From his position, Rolf was at eye level with my pussy, and he stared at it avidly. He even licked his lips.

He cleared his throat and knelt before me, ran the washcloth over my belly. “Gunnar will not place you in danger unless there is no other choice, unless he can’t learn the truth on his own. I understand your history now and your…eagerness to find the Viken traitor, but Gunnar must work alone first. He is going to cross-reference the Central City transport logs with known masters at the club . You know the bad guy transported from the wilds somewhere. There is a record of it and Gunnar will find it.”