Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Astrid
Astrid didn’t know what was going on with him. One moment Bjorn was full of lust, kissing her in a wheatfield like he was a starving man who would do anything for a taste of her. But then he had her to himself, and he froze.
She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do.
With every step he was hovering around her.
He helped her over rocks. He gave her water.
The man had even pressed the back of his hand against her forehead like he was checking her temperature and then insisted she step into the shade for a little while because she’d felt warm to him.
It had been a slow, arduous journey. She hadn’t been prepared for the uphill portion of it, but she could have gone faster on the flatter bits. But he was so concerned about her welfare that it had slowed them down considerably.
Was this what he thought it meant to be husband and wife? That he needed to treat her like a fragile little thing who could shatter at any minute? Astrid didn’t want that.
Which was why she’d told him how she had been trained. She knew how to control people, manipulate them, and get them to do what she wanted. But she wasn’t some fragile little doll like everyone wanted her to be in the human kingdoms. Out here, she didn’t have to be either.
Sighing, she headed into the tent as a plan formed in her mind.
Usually, she would let the man take charge.
Sure, the few sexual encounters she’d had in her life had never led to actual sex.
The men had been well aware that they could only touch her in a limited fashion, and none of them had seemed all that disappointed by it in the end.
She just needed to figure out how to do this and get this man to take the lead if she wanted any of this to end up where it should.
Which was... sex, she supposed.
Astrid had rarely felt this way around men, if at all. Human men were lacking when it came to gaining her interest. No one had made her feel warm and liquidy inside like Bjorn did, and certainly not just by a kiss.
It was their first night alone together. She was sore and tired, but she was doing this.
A part of her needed to know if the kiss was a strange phenomenon that only happened when his lips touched hers, or if there was something far more compelling happening here. What if he could make her see stars with more than just his lips?
Well, she supposed, he was welcome to use his mouth in other places.
She could hear him outside, doing something to put the fire out. It gave her time to prepare herself. The poor man wouldn’t know what was about to hit him.
Tugging at the knot that tied the wool dress around her, she pulled it free from her waist. The fabric fell open like a robe, and there was very little beneath it.
The troll maidens who had given her this clothing had been adamant that she needed undergarments as well, but the grins on their faces weren’t as innocent as she would have expected from young women.
She understood why now. Astrid had come from a culture where undergarments were long, covered most of her body, and were only there as structure for the garment that would cover them.
Apparently, the trolls in the grotto did not feel the same.
These garments were helpful when it came to moving quickly, but the bindings around her chest pushed her breasts up.
And rather than a petticoat, there was only a small strip of fabric between her thighs.
She’d revealed the same amount of skin in many of the dresses she had worn as a priestess, but somehow this made her more nervous for Bjorn to see her like this.
Still, this was what she wanted. Astrid knew she was only nervous because she actually liked him.
If it were any other man, she would have scoffed at these feelings and tugged her drooping dress even lower.
She knew how to convince a man that she was the only woman in the room that he would ever dare to look at, and yet this troll had her twisted up in knots.
Blowing out a steadying breath, she turned as the flap to the tent opened and Bjorn entered.
“The fire is out,” he muttered as he heaved his bag in through the door. “Should be safe enough tonight if we... we...”
His gaze was like a physical touch. His eyes lingered on her feet, sliding up her calves to her thighs.
His gaze heated as he reached the small strip between her legs and then heated even more as his eyes wandered up her stomach, to the swells of her breasts perched just so.
By the time he met her gaze, his look could have burned her from the inside out.
“Astrid?” he asked. His voice had deepened into a low growl.
Oh, she hadn’t planned for this part. How silly. She was shaking as she watched his hands curl into fists, like he was trying not to touch her though he wanted to. And she wanted him to.
Warmth built between her legs, her body flaring with a desire that was as foreign to her as this entire experience had been. She had to call upon all her training to pretend she wasn’t so affected that her mouth had gone dry.
“I have a question to ask you, Bjorn.”
“Anything,” he snarled.
By all the gods, he was big. A hulking beast stood in front of the tent entrance.
He was mostly a silhouette with massive horns and a body built out of shadows, like a monster had walked in and she was supposed to tame him.
Why did that make a sudden rush of desire slick her thighs?
She shouldn’t want a beast like him, and yet.
.. all she could think was that she wanted him to lunge at her.
She wanted him unhinged, untamed like he had been before.
“Are you still sore?” she asked. “I suppose I’m curious about the speed at which trolls heal.”
His hands spasmed at his sides. “I am healed enough for some things. Not for others.”
“Care to explain?”
She felt like they were on the precipice of change. If he rejected her, of course she wouldn’t push. He wanted to take things slower, and considering his history, she wouldn’t deny him that. But she was curious how far he was willing to go.
“Astrid, we have a long journey ahead of us,” he said, but she could see how he was barely holding himself in control. He was shaking, standing there all by himself. “I have yet to convince you to be my troll wife.”
“That thinking all seems rather outdated.” And then she shrugged.
She’d completely forgotten that the dress wasn’t tied onto her.
She was so used to being clothed in very little around other people that it wasn’t surprising she’d forget it.
But then she felt the wool slithering off her shoulders, down her body, until it left her standing there nearly naked in front of him.
Only small scraps of fabric hid her from his gaze.
It was like he had been struck by lightning.
One moment he was standing in front of the tent flap.
The next, he was right in front of her. She’d thought he would swoop her up in his arms, tackle her to the ground, have his way with her like an animal.
But he froze right in front of her, so close their chests were touching.
And then he stayed there. His muscles shaking, breathing hard, he said quietly, “I do not know the right way to do this. My memories are all from the labyrinth, and I have no wish to treat you like the men treated women there.”
Oh. That was why he was so nervous.
Astrid could handle that. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her. It was that he was afraid he would hurt her. This sweet, wonderful man wanted direction.
She hooked her hand behind his neck, drawing him down until their lips touched. And then she whispered, “I will tell you what to do, husband. But first, kiss me until I tell you to stop.”
His hand tunneled beneath her hair, and suddenly this was the man she remembered.
The passion in his kiss was enough to take her breath away, not to mention the way he clutched at her waist, his fingers spasming against her skin before he tugged her even harder against himself.
She was surrounded by the heat of him, but the desperation in his touch as though he feared they would never touch again.
His kiss scorched her to the bone. She was marked by him, devoured by his lips and tongue, and never again would she be the same person she’d been before.
Because with every nip of his teeth, every stroke of his tongue, she became addicted to his touch.
She wanted every ounce of him, the good, the bad, even the horrible things he had done trapped in that labyrinth. She wanted it all.
Astrid’s fingers spasmed against him, clutching at the muscles that moved beneath her touch as he held on to her just a bit too tightly.
When she pulled away, he didn’t hesitate to let her.
There was no resistance as she pulled back enough to whisper, “If I let you do whatever you want to me, what would you want to do?”
He groaned and pressed his forehead to hers, as though he couldn’t stand to look at her while he said this. “All I have dreamt of since the first day I saw you was finding out what you would taste like, bright one.”
“Taste like?” She had served men as a priestess, not the other way around. He’d tasted her lips already, but if he wished to taste her skin, then he certainly could. But then something in her mind steered her thoughts in the right direction. The direction he must’ve meant.
Men did that, she knew. She’d seen it happen when she’d been with her lord, but it was few and far between for men to be interested in such things.
They were more interested in women sucking their cocks.
Which she would gladly do for Bjorn if he wished.
His piercing was intriguing, although she hoped it was healed.
Bjorn slid his hand down her neck, slowly moving down her body.
She held her breath as that massive, calloused hand moved between her breasts, his thumb flicking over her hardened nipple, then down to her stomach.
She couldn’t think as the raspy sensation of his fingers teased the edges of the binding between her legs.
Then her entire world nearly exploded as he whispered, “I will beg, if I must.”
She was already moving before her mind had caught up. Astrid drew him with her, or he helped her down onto the bedroll, she wasn’t sure which one of them moved first. But soon enough, she was spread out, her legs wide as his claws made quick work of the fabric that hid her from his gaze.
It had been a long day, her mind screamed, scrambling for reasons they shouldn’t do this. She was sweaty. She’d hardly had time to clean herself. The very least he should do was—
His tongue found her center and gave her one strong, thorough lick.
All the thoughts in her head about why she shouldn’t do this scattered.
With the sensation of that massive tongue flicking across her clit, delving deeper to her core where he teased her entrance before circling that bundle of nerves again. She would never be the same.
She arched, barely able to control her body as she wanted to grind herself against his mouth. More, she needed more.
He perhaps knew, because the groan that rumbled through his chest was one of pure satisfaction. “Knew you’d taste sweet.”
How was she supposed to hold herself together when he said that?
Astrid writhed beneath him as he attacked her again.
The sensation of his tusks sliding against her legs was smooth now because she was so wet, it had somehow gotten all over his face.
Or maybe he’d done that. She wasn’t sure.
All she knew was that he was devouring her whole, and she was so close to seeing sparks.
Until he moved back for a moment, his thumb pressed against her clit, and he held it down in a way that had her throbbing. She gasped, looking up to see him biting his nails until they were short enough for him to...
Bjorn plunged his finger into her, sinking it deep inside her body. She bit her lip, eyes rolling back in her head as she rode just his finger that somehow felt so big.
“Gonna have to stretch you a bit,” he murmured as he worked her. “That’s all right. We’ll get there. Can’t hurt you.”
He wasn’t talking sense. All she cared about was the fact that now his finger was inside her and his tongue was on her clit and she couldn’t breathe.
He was inside her, outside her, everywhere until she finally clenched around him.
Her head slammed back, and maybe that was why she saw sparks, or maybe it really was that good when he made her come.
He groaned with her, the sound almost pained, but it was so hard to focus on that right now. Her body had turned to liquid. Her arms wouldn’t lift, but she wanted to hold on to him. She needed to feel his skin pressed against hers for some strange reason.
Bjorn knew. He always knew. He crawled up her body, breathing hard and pressing kisses to her torso along the way up.
Then, a soft blanket draped over her. The same quilted blanket that he’d said had been his when he’d been a child.
It was warm and cozy, chasing away the chill of the air that cooled the sweat that had gathered on her skin.
Then he pressed one more kiss to her lips, with the taste of herself remaining.
“Sleep, bright one,” he said.
“What about you?”
He rolled her onto her side and then curved his body around her. She could feel the hard bar of his cock pressed against her bottom, but he made no moves to do anything about that. Instead, he folded himself around her body and wrapped an arm over her.
“Sleep,” he grunted again.
“Bjorn, I can feel your—”
“Sleep,” he repeated. “The piercing limits what I can do. It is a small price to pay to know reality is even better than dreams. I will watch over you tonight. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead.”
Who was she to deny him that? Sleep was rapidly calling her anyway. After being treated like that, she wasn’t sure any woman would have been able to stay awake.
But also, she felt like this was one of the rare times in her life she was completely safe. Wrapped up in his arms, Astrid knew without a single doubt there wasn’t a person in this realm who could harm her.