Free Truth's Heart (The Valkyrie's Passion Book 3): A Valkyrie/Shifter Romance by Renee Jordan

seen those Lord of the Ring movies. Dwarves are short, with thick beards, and they're filthy.”
    “So if they were six-foot-tall, chiseled gods who were muscled like a maiden's fantasy with flowing hair and a few tattoos to get you excited, you'd go for it.”
    I opened my mouth. “Are you suggesting I sleep with four guys that look like you?”
    The wave of heat that washed through me was...startling. Four Magnuses standing naked around me, their bodies strong, their hands reaching out to caress and please my body. They would all know how to touch me and make me come.
    “You're blushing,” grinned Magnus. “I think you like the idea.”
    “Of course I don't. It's so filthy. I'm not a pervert. I know having a bunch of sexy women all eager to please you is a guy's fantasy, but women don't have thoughts like that.”
    “Sure.”
    The way he said it, the way his eyes stared at me, exposed my lie. I blushed hotter and looked away. I tried to keep my head high and not let my hips squirm to fight the molten itch forming in my panties.
    “Let's get going to Muspellheim,” I said, keeping my voice light. “This conversation has grown very sordid.”
    “Only because you have a sordid mind.” Magnus strode out into the hot spring, the water soaking into his blue jeans up to his waist, almost touching the bottom of his leather vest. I followed, plunging into the warm water.
    It was nice. A shame Loki had to spoil our time last night.
    Magnus reached the Yggdrasil root thrusting out of the center of the hot spring. Steam rose about the pale-white root streaked with pits of brownish murk. Magnus seized a hold of the root and planted his booted foot on it. He climbed out of the water, a deluge splashing off his jeans and rolling down his boots.
    He held out his hand to me, his other gripping the root. I took it and planted my boot on the root. He hauled me up after him. The root had a pulse thudding beneath the woody bark. I gripped the pits and climbed after Magnus. The root bent at the top, becoming almost horizontal before it fuzzed away out of existence.
    “If anyone comes along, are they going to see us floating in the air hugging an invisible tree root?” I asked as Magnus reached the bend and climbed to his feet.
    “Who knows,” Magnus shrugged. “Maybe we went invisible the moment we touched the root.”
    I reached out and snagged his hand. He hefted me up onto the bend. The root was wide enough that standing on it didn't require much balance. Still holding my hand, Magnus stepped forward and fuzzed out of existence.
    I followed.
    The Bifrost appeared in the sky before me, a path made of rainbow light in a dark void. I took the last step and Northern California vanished as we stepped in the space between the worlds. The road felt solid even though it looked ephemeral. I kept fearing my next step would send me falling through it into nothingness.
    I swallowed when I glanced over the side. “If we fell from here, I don't think we'd ever hit a ground.”
    “Better not fall,” Magnus suggested.
    I rolled my eyes. “What great advise. I wouldn't have thought of it on my own.”
    Magnus looked back at me, his face stern. “Don't get catty.”
    I wanted to object, I could be as catty as I wanted, but his look was the alpha wolf staring at one of his pack. I swallowed and nodded. He was right. We were in a dangerous place. This wasn't the time to let my annoyance out.
    “Let's just go faster, I want out of here.”
    Magnus picked up the pace to a jog. In the distance, a shimmer appeared. The last time we had traveled the Bifrost, traveling from Utgard back to Midgard, we had been on Magnus's motorcycle and driving at full speed. The journey didn't take long.
    The shimmering barrier grew closer and closer. The jog devoured the distance at a steady pace. My heart beat faster, but I didn't exert myself. I had a feeling Magnus deliberately didn't have us run. He wanted us to conserve our energy.
    We were about to step