He stopped, stunned, as the action on the screen registered.

A dark haired man sporting a mullet was seducing a poofed-out brunette. “Oh, Vincente, kiss me again. Roberto cannot hold a candle to you, my love.”

“My darling Miranda. How I wish that we could be one.” The mullet-haired man dipped the woman and kissed her deeply. Behind them, a large, ornately carved wooden door opened silently.

“Vincente! How could you? And with my sister!”

The pair in the clinch stopped and gasped. “Sylvia!”

It’s a dubbed soap opera. From what, the eighties?

He almost laughed out loud, only stopping himself when he heard Jamie growl softly. “Don’t touch him, you skank.”

He bit his lip at the fierce little whisper, almost losing it when she gasped in outrage as the blonde Sylvia slapped Vincente. “Oh, you bitch. To think I liked you.”

He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, and settled down to watch her watch her soap. The way she nibbled at her finger during the confrontation between the three antagonists, the little sob of fear when Sylvia pulled out a gun, the “Yes!” she hissed when Vincente wrestled it away, just endeared her to him more.

She was just so… passionate about everything she put her heart into, even something as silly as an old dubbed soap opera. He couldn’t wait to feel all of that passion surrounding him, smothering him in wet, hot heat. The thought of how she would react under his hand, his mouth, his beard tickling her skin and leaving marks behind, had him rock hard in no time.

He was indulging in a little fantasy where he got to feel her pink lips wrapped around his cock when she squeaked. He focused on her face, curious why she was staring at him in horror.

“What?”

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Since Sylvia found out Vincente was cheating on her with Miranda. Why?”

“You didn’t run screaming from the room.”

“Why would I?”

“So you just stood there and, what, watched?”

He grinned and nodded.

“Really.” She stared at him skeptically, her arms crossing over her chest.

He pulled away from the wall, leaning over her chair until his lips were mere inches from hers. “I didn’t say what I was watching, did I?”

“Trav—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish whatever it was she’d been about to say. He’d waited far too long for this moment. He took her lips, his hand going to the back of her head and tangling in her wild curls. He stroked her nape gently, loving the feel of her silky hair sliding through his fingers. He licked at those strawberry-tinted lips, silently begging her to let him in.

After a brief hesitation her lips parted and she began to kiss him back with a shy uncertainty that tugged at him. The urge to plunder her mouth, to taste her sweetness until she was moaning beneath him, nearly overtook him.

He controlled his first impulse and kept the kiss soft for her. He wanted it to be everything she deserved in a first kiss between them. The ravening conqueror he was would just have to wait until she was ready for him.

Before too long he was lost in her taste. He could stand there and kiss her for hours and hours, never losing complete touch with those incredibly sweet lips of hers. She was trembling under his palm, her hands inching their way up his arms to his shoulders, her fingers clenching the soft fabric of his shirt. She tried to deepen the kiss and he let her, reveling in the feel of her tongue stroking his. The cast on her wrist reminded him that now wasn’t the time to take this too far. She was too injured to take this much further, but he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to. His dick was a throbbing pain behind his jeans, made even worse when one of her hands left his shoulder to cup him.

He wanted to thrust into her palm, take what she was offering him, but he couldn’t. Inside he growled, wanting to paint the walls red with the blood of the man who’d taken his woman and injured her to the point where Travis couldn’t even take such a simple pleasure without risking her.

He pulled his hand from her hair and clasped her wrist, pulling it away from his body, trying to hide his reaction. “No, sweetheart, not yet.”

She mewled, pouting up at him. Her expressive face was filled with dazed desire, and he found he couldn’t stop himself. He took her mouth again, this time allowing himself to plunder her sweetness.

After all, this was their second kiss.

The door to the office slammed open. “Norns!” Jeff yelled.

Travis stood, his powers seeping out at the threat. He positioned himself between Jamie and the door.

“Where?”

“Gah! My eyes!” Jeff slapped his hand over his eyes, protecting them from Travis’s glow. “God damn it, Travis.”

Travis sheepishly harnessed his powers. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d lost control like that.

“Sorry.”

“Knock next time.” He turned to find Jamie scowling at her twin, her face flushed, her lips swollen from their kisses.

Jeff put his hands on his hips and glared right back at her. “Y’know, I’ve been here four days and already I’m fed up with Casa de Luuuv. You have a bedroom; use it.”

Jamie turned as red as her hair. “Dickhead.”

“As I was saying. Since everyone else’s brains seem to have taken up permanent residence in their crotches, I’ve been doing the thinking.”

“Oh, that’s where that burning rubber smell came from.”

Jeff just stared at Jamie until she sniffed and turned away. “If anyone will know the truth of the prophecy, won’t it be the Norns?”

Travis blinked. “Fuck. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Jeff pointed. “Brain. Crotch.” He threw up his hands in a see? gesture.

Travis growled.

Jamie rolled her eyes. She so did not need the two of them turning into cavemen right now. “What the hell are Norns?”

“Like the three Fates of Greek mythology, the Norns who sit at the base of Yggdrasil are said to hold sway over the fates of men. Verdandi, Skuld and Urd might be able to tell us what is about to happen, but they’ve been known to exact a terrible price for their knowledge.” Travis stroked his beard while he thought. “Let me talk to the others, see who’s willing to take on the trip.”

“Why not you?”

He looked down at Jamie and smiled. “I have more important things to take on.”

“On that note, I cordially invite you to leave my bedroom and go to your own.” Jeff opened the door and bowed. “Feel free to leave Vincente on the screen while you’re at it.”

Jamie leaned forward and hugged the screen, wincing a little as she did so. “Mine!”

“Nope.” Travis scooped her out of the chair, ignoring her outraged squawk. He carried her out the door, winking at Jeff as he did so. “Mine.”

Jamie stared up at the bearded face above her. “Travis, what the hell is going on?” She could hear her voice rising on each word and knew she was this close to shrieking.

He smiled that lopsided smile of his. “What do you mean?”

The smug male look on his face had her growling. “You know exactly what I mean. Calling me sweetheart. Checking up on me when I went into the office. Sucky-face. The caveman routine. But most especially the sucky-face.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes, that.”

He placed her on the bed, settling her against the pillows. Then he began tugging on her T-shirt.

“Well, that was me staking my claim.”

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and hung on for dear life. If she’d had both hands she might even have managed to stop him. As it was the shirt was soon on the floor. She crossed her arms over her chest, determined to keep her bra and her dignity. “How romantic. Where were you planning on planting your flag?”

The hot look he shot her had her gulping. “Where do you think I should plant it?”