A Midwinter Fantasy - Leanna Renee Hieber [87]
She barely noticed the squawking and flapping sound until Vidar pulled away from her and looked up. Her heart raced, wanting more of him as if she’d been waiting for him all her life, even though she knew little about him and his world scared her. The two black birds that had been circling above them peeled away and disappeared into the darkness.
Vidar cursed and rubbed a hand across his face. “They’re bad news. I need to get you back to your room. Have you scheduled a flight home?”
The speed at which he moved from intimacy to getting rid of her left her breathless. “You want me to leave?”
Cold bit into her at the uncompromising gleam in his eyes. “It’s best.”
“I left the return date open,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Check flight times when you get back to your room. Take the first available flight to London.”
“Are black birds a bad omen or something?”
“Forget about them. I just want you off this frozen rock as soon as possible.”
No room for confusion there. Both Vidar and her father had mood swings that threatened to give her whiplash. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about her deal with the resort, but she would find another way to impress her aunt. Her head was spinning with everything she’d experienced since she arrived. One day in Iceland was long enough to last a lifetime.
Chapter Four
Sonja sat on the bed in her room with her laptop balanced on her crossed legs and booked her homeward flight. She’d finally met her father and found a man who she connected with deeply, yet Vidar and Troy both wanted her gone. Why did nobody want her? She felt more alone than she’d ever been in her life. She’d always known she was different from other people because of her guardian angel, but she wouldn’t allow herself to seek his reassuring presence. After her disturbing visit to the ice palace in the sky and her glimpse of the weird people at Odin’s Yule Fest she no longer trusted anything out of the ordinary.
The first available flight to London was in the morning, so that meant she was stuck in Iceland for a night. She booked an early cab, packed her bag and fell into a restless sleep. Fractured images of her father and the weird people at the Yule Fest alternated with heated memories of Vidar’s kiss and the feel of his body pressed against hers.
She woke in the still of the night and blinked into the darkness. A streak of illumination from the light outside penetrated between the curtains. Tinny Christmas music still played in the distance, although the time was well past midnight.
Something dropped onto the pillow beside her head. Sonja raised herself on an elbow and picked up a black feather. In the sliver of light, it gleamed blue-green like oil on water. Where had that come from?
Movement in the shadows snagged her attention. She sat up, squinting at the corners of the room. The darkness stirred. A scream burst from her lips. Fingers clamped over her mouth from behind, wrenching her neck sideways against a bony chest.
“Shhhh. Shhhh,” a male voice hissed in her ear.
A second figure loomed out of the darkness in front of her. He stripped away the bedcovers from her body. She clawed at the hand over her mouth while her legs were pulled over the edge of the bed and her ankles tied together.
When the hand left her mouth, she dragged in a frantic breath and screamed as her wrists were jerked behind her back. Then a gag tightened between her lips. She struggled, kicked, grunted, and banged her head back against the bony chest until sparks swam in her vision. She must escape now. Once they took her from her room, no one would find her. Anyone who checked would think she’d left for her early flight. She opened her mind, longing for her guardian angel, but he wasn’t there. More than ever, she needed his calm support to help her cope.
Dark, suffocating fabric covered her face. Her breath came in short panicked gasps while they manhandled her. The material enclosed her, and she fell awkwardly. They had put her in a bag. The