Page 61 of Lord of Fire and Ice

She arched herself into his mouth.

Sucking one, gently pinching the other, he worshipped her nipples until she moaned. Then he ran his hand over her ribs, past her belly, and pulled up the night shift to invade the dark curls at the apex of her thighs.

She was slick and wet. When he slid into her soft folds, she tilted into his hand.

He drew a bit of her moisture out with his fingertip. Then he put the finger in his mouth and sucked off her salty sweetness. Her breath came in short pants as he traced her lips with the same finger and then sealed her mouth with a soft kiss. The taste of her made his cock twitch.

“You see,” he whispered. “You don’t want me to leave, do you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to leave.”

Katla reached behind his neck and pulled his head down into a blistering kiss.

***

She couldn’t get enough of him. It was as if a gaping maw had opened inside her, ravenous and needy. She had to have this man or die.

The ache, oh gods, he’d made her ache before but not like this. She never dreamed she could ache so. The emptiness overwhelmed her. If she didn’t feel him between her legs soon, she’d fly apart in all directions.

She rocked herself against his hip, grinding against his pelvis. She throbbed to feel him inside her. What was the man waiting for? Did he want her to beg?

Probably.

Katla pressed her lips together in a hard line as he kissed his way down her body. His tongue found her sex, and he traced all her little folds with the tip. Her wanting grew more desperate, pounding in tandem with her heart.

His mouth was soft and wet on her. If she hadn’t fisted the linens, her nails would have cut into the heels of her palms.

He growled with pleasure as he suckled her and she whimpered.

Damn the man for making her need him so.

The heaviness in her groin weighed her down. She thrashed on her pillow. Incoherent sounds escaped her lips.

Her mind wandered between the worlds. She was the earth, a cavern, a secret, deep place only the bravest ever dare.

Then when she thought she could sink no lower, the tight heaviness inside her burst forth into vibrant light. Her body shuddered with the force of her release.

Before the last spasm faded, Brandr had moved up and filled her so she convulsed around his thick length. Once she finished pulsing, he began to move. He reached down and hitched her legs up over his shoulders, so he could plunge into her without the least gentleness.

Good. She couldn’t bear gentleness from him now. Gentleness might give her space to think.

She needed him hard and male and demanding. She needed the slap of his balls against her. She needed his hoarse cry of triumph when he emptied himself into her, his body strained and as taut as a bowstring while his seed pulsed hotly.

The ache was stilled. The emptiness fled away. For a moment, the cares of the steading, the coldness of the cradle in the corner, the fact that her new husband wasn’t really the sort of man she should have chosen at all—none of those concerns signified a thing.

All that mattered was the thud of Brandr’s heart on her chest and his breath on her neck.

He slid her legs off his shoulders and settled down on her, his breath coming in short gasps. When Brandr looked down at her and smiled, her chest flooded with warmth.

She still had no idea if she and Brandr could make a marriage. But by the gods, they could make love.

***

“Brandr, whether you will it or no, you and I must talk. Now,” she said another coupling later.

“Katla, I—” He meant to plead exhaustion, but his throat closed up. She’d let the sheet drop, and her nipples peeped through the open slit in her night shift. He could still taste them, sweet and responsive in his mouth. His cock rallied for a third time.

Her lips were moving. She was undoubtedly saying something, but all the blood in his brain seemed to have fled, taking his understanding with it. He was fully engorged.