Hearthstone Queen
by A.C. Melody
(Midgard Úlfrinn, #2)
Publication date: March 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Corbyn’s worst fears come true when they strike at his mate from the one place he never saw coming. Fearing for Reyna’s life, he rushes her to the Elders, only to end up on their healing table next. After back-to-back horrors, Reyna knows she has to make a crucial decision that will change their lives forever… and possibly save them.
But fate immediately puts that to the test, drawing them right into enemy territory, where Reyna finally learns what’s become of Jesse and gets an unexpected audience with Úlfrinn Royalty. Just when they’ve found hope, their world gets shaken by a terrifying homecoming of bloodshed and betrayal. As they face off with the evidence of Fenrisúlfr’s return—and a living Nightmare—they can no longer deny the truth.
War has already begun.
—
EXCERPT:
“Corbyn Bruschard, you get your ass back in here.”
“Sorry, babe, can’t do that right this second,” he called back.
Oooh, he sounds so freaking smug!
Glaring holes into the wall between them, Reyna crawled off the bed and found that her thigh muscles were attached to the weakness keeping her miserably needy. She’d just had an explosive, albeit interesting, orgasm. So, why did her body feel like it was still hanging on the brink?
Reyna chalked it up to lingering effects that would eventually fade and began searching for her clothes. She ground her teeth every time she moved wrong and sent more tingling pulses of yearning through her core.
Once she slipped her panties on, she felt a little better. Then, she slid into Corbyn’s dress shirt and buried her nose in the collar for a deep inhale as she left the room.
Wandering into the kitchen, she pushed on one of the refrigerated drawers and smiled when it turned out to be the right one. Bypassing the beer, Reyna grabbed a bottle of water, impressed to find it was glass rather than plastic. Corbyn was an Eco-conscience architect. The man never stopped surprising her, and she was beginning to look forward to that.
Reyna turned and jumped to find him standing at the end of the island counter watching her, his hands tucked into the pockets of gray, drawstring pajama pants.
“Do you have to do that?” she complained with a hand over her racing heart.
Her gaze traced Corbyn’s inked muscles and the mouthwatering cut of his hips that disappeared into the low ride of his pants. The only hair on his torso was the faint dusting of dark gold starting just under his navel, and her mouth flooded because she knew precisely where it led. The ache between her legs intensified. He was so damn yummy.
“Yes,” he answered, a slight smile playing at the corners of his sexy mouth.
Her observation had been a quick sweep. Corbyn’s gaze seduced her. That was the only way to describe the slow, nearly tangible study he took of her entire body. Reyna’s skin shivered, and her nipples beaded under the crisp fabric of his shirt.
“Enjoying yourself?” she asked, attempting haughtiness.
“Immensely.” He smiled. “I’m certainly enjoying the way you look in my shirt. Then again, I doubt there’s anything you couldn’t make appear inappropriate. Like it came from a sex shop instead of a tailor.”
Reyna’s neck and cheeks heated. Damn him.
Corbyn stepped closer, invading her space while daring her to move away.
“Ever been inside of a sex shop, Reyna?”
Her face blushed even brighter.
Fold, girl, give up. You’re no match.
“No.”
His hands remained in his pockets, yet she felt the tease of him, nonetheless. “They’re remarkably enlightening.”
“I bet.”
Corbyn grinned, running his bottom lip through his teeth as he studied her with something close to smugness in his eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
Reyna shouldn’t have been surprised to hear him admit to leaving her needy on purpose, but she almost narrowed her eyes and demanded that he fix it. Instead, she shrugged, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.
“Fine,” she lied, taking a sip of her water. Reyna tilted the bottle toward him since he’d watched her movements. “Thirsty?”
Accepting it, Corbyn downed half the contents without taking his eyes off her.
“Mmm, thanks,” he said, licking and sucking on his lips as if it had been liquid ambrosia instead. Handing it back to Reyna, he kissed her on the forehead. “I’m starving.”
Reyna’s vision blurred as he stalked past her. She imagined strangling him and kissing him, but not necessarily in that order.
“Hungry?” he asked.
Yes. “Not really.”
The hollow ache between her legs was almost unbearable, causing her thigh muscles to flex. If she could just squeeze her legs together really tight… Reyna almost gave in to that idea until she realized how ridiculous it would look, on top of giving Corbyn exactly what he was watching for. And he was watching.
I’m going to kill him. Wait, I’ll jump him first, then I’ll kill him.
The thought brought a smile to her face.
“Something you’d like to share?”
“Nope.” She quirked a brow at him in amusement, and that’s when she noticed what he was dishing up. “Ooh, ice cream?”
“You said you weren’t hungry—”
“I’m always hungry for ice cream,” she cut him off, her tone mildly chastising as if he should already know that.
With a chuckle, he shook his head. “So, I heard,” he said, moving to the cupboard to get another bowl. “Though, we should discuss your habit of stealing others’—”
“Thanks.” She flashed a sweet smile over her shoulder as she left the kitchen with the bowl he’d already dished up for himself.
Reyna had to swallow her laughter at his shocked expression as he looked from her to the counter where his bowl had just been.
Author Bio:
A.C. Melody is an author of all things Erotic Romance who doesn’t believe in skimping on the dirty details. A mass consumer of coffee and books, she prefers one a little darker than the other. She has a weakness for hard ass Alphas and the strong women who capture their hearts, without damaging their rough edges.
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, A.C. is the mother of two young men, and honorary mom for more young adults than she can count. Outside of writing, she enjoys gaming, binge-watching Netflix, and pretending she has a green thumb.
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