Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Bjorn
Bjorn was surprised at how much he enjoyed his time with Ragnar and Gunnar.
In the labyrinth, any time spent around the other men was usually a sign that he was about to fight them.
But now he could be with others without having to worry about what he’d be ordered to do.
There was only the joy at being with them and an ease that he was shocked he could feel.
They took him all over the kingdom, showing him all the old places they once had terrorized as children. He laughed with them, remembering all the foolish things they had done in those days. He was more than a little pleased they even remembered those times.
Ragnar had pointed to a tree that had looked much smaller than it had when they were children. “Remember when Bjorn got stuck up there? His father had been so angry he’d threatened to cut the tree down if Bjorn didn’t climb down on his own.”
“I’d been so scared he actually would that I climbed down. Who knew it would be that easy?” Bjorn said with a chuckle. “I think the whole tree shook as I half fell down it.”
Then they’d found a hidden cave system that only children could get through.
But Gunnar crouched, peered into the darkness, and then shook his head.
“Bjorn used to dare me to get into that crawl space. I got stuck so far in they had to get another child to come get me. You knew I wouldn’t fit, and you left me in there, anyway. ”
“I was the child who went in to get you,” Bjorn had grunted, before shoving Gunnar toward it. “Let’s see if your fat head still fits.”
The memories were good. Although some of their antics had been perhaps a little dangerous for children, they were still memories with his friends.
Moments of fun in a childhood that had been filled with darker times at home, and a family that had split apart when he had just wanted them to stay together.
But his friendships had always kept him together. These two had always made him feel like he was still wanted and believed, no matter what else happened.
Now, they were heading back up the rise toward his home, and he didn’t feel the shadows that always seemed to dog his steps. Instead, now there was a bright future ahead of him.
Rose and Maia were already coming out of his home, their laughter bubbling up and popping above his head. This could be a good thing. He could belong here, after all his time spent believing that no one would ever want him to come back.
Ragnar overtook him, heading up the path at an impressive speed toward his troll wife. And Bjorn would have followed his oldest friend if Gunnar hadn’t put a hand on his shoulder and held him still.
“You know the king isn’t going to change his mind,” Gunnar said under his breath. “You will have to fight again.”
“I am done with fighting, Gunnar,” Bjorn replied, his eyes on the house that hid a bright light that guided him. “I think I would like to rest for a while.”
“Egil won’t allow that.”
“Then I will enjoy every moment I have not fighting, so that I can walk into battle with her beauty in my heart.” He headed away from his brother, not even looking at Rose, who flinched away from him as he headed into the house.
There wasn’t any particular reason he wanted to see Astrid. He just did. He liked to look at her, to watch her as she moved in that graceful way that made it seem like she was gliding through the air.
And then he saw that they really had made the house a home.
The dust was all gone, the grime of years disappearing into a house that looked comfortable.
They’d somehow found old quilts that were draped over every piece of furniture.
Suddenly the massive hearth in the back didn’t look like somewhere his father would toss scraps of meat and threaten to toss Bjorn as well.
It looked like a warm space to snuggle in front of with his troll wife, to hold her against his heart on the cold nights that would soon greet them.
The worn sofas in front of it were no longer threadbare.
Instead it looked like someone had taken a needle and thread to them.
Patchworks dotted them from what he assumed were other pieces of quilts.
The kitchen smelled like baking bread, and not a single dust mote floated in the air. It was a new home.
A place to start over.
The door to their bedroom opened, and his heart stopped at the sight of her. Astrid had a small towel in her hands that she was using to dry off her arms, it seemed.
She paused, meeting his gaze with a confused expression of her own. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
She smiled, and he forgot how to breathe. “Like you haven’t seen me in decades.”
“A single moment away from you feels like a year,” he said, so quietly he almost couldn’t hear himself. “The day is not nearly so bright without you by my side.”
She fought a smile. “That seems rather dramatic.”
“Don’t worry.” Bjorn walked over to her, grabbing her waist and tugging her into his arms. “The world is bright again.”
He kissed her, and the world disappeared. There was only the feel of her melting into him, her hands pressed against his heart. He kissed her with every ounce of love in him. Because he did love her. He worshipped the ground she walked on, yes, but he loved her with every broken piece of him.
Taking a breath, Bjorn leaned back to tell her just that. It maybe wasn’t the perfect moment, but there was no perfect moment to tell someone that they were the best part of his life.
Only for her to interrupt him. “We saw a shopkeeper today.” Astrid even leaned back so he could notice the pretty blue dress she wore. “She said something about how I’ve earned new piercings in gaining the approval of your mother and the others at the grotto.”
He hadn’t expected that.
How did he talk to her about this? She didn’t know what she was asking for. He couldn’t imagine what his mother and the other of their magical women had told her, otherwise why would she be asking about them? But he didn’t know if he should be the one to tell her such sensitive information either.
“Uh...” He released her, taking a step back to rub at the back of his neck. “That is something you have earned, yes.”
His mind wandered because he knew what those piercings were.
Throughout his entire life, he had watched young women get them in the grotto.
There was usually a ceremony with everyone who lived there.
The piercings were an honor. He remembered all the families coming out to watch, and the cheers that would erupt after the young woman’s nipples were officially adorned with glimmering metal.
It had never been about anything other than honor and hope. The women were so proud of themselves, and their families would cry. He had cheered with the others, never thinking anything differently.
Until this moment.
The thought of her wearing his jewels, glittering gemstones turning her perfect little breasts even more beautiful? It made him so hard he could hardly think straight.
Yes, he wanted to pierce her. Yes, he wanted to know what she would look like and how he was going to roll those bars in his mouth once he could. He would tug on them with his teeth, giving her even more pleasure than just his pierced cock could give her.
But that wasn’t the point of those piercings. He wasn’t supposed to think of them sexually. They were an honor that she would wear with pride, not something that he could lust over. His mother would be so ashamed of him.
Still, Bjorn had to clear his throat and adjust himself before replying to her. “These are perhaps not piercings you would be willing to get.”
Astrid pointed behind him to the island.
“Fortunately, I already know what kind of piercings they are. And yes, you are correct. There was a time in my life that I would have been horrified. Marking my body such as that would have been something that terrified me. But now I am a troll wife. I am here to stay, Bjorn. And if wearing those jewels means I honor you by doing so, and myself, then I will do it.”
There was a small box on the table. Shocked, he wandered over to it and opened it.
A piercing kit, he realized. With hollow needles blown by a metalsmith in town, most likely.
Even a few jewelry options. He had no idea where she had gotten this, but the simple gold balls would not do for someone as stunning as her.
He’d have to go into the mines, he realized. He didn’t trust any jeweler to have stones breathtaking enough to match her. He’d find them himself. And when she was fully healed, he would place them himself as well.
Heat flashed in Bjorn’s chest, and he turned to look at her with a more calculating expression. He could do this, but he would do it in his own way.
“You are certain you wish to wear them?” He confirmed while making sure he had everything he’d need in the box.
“Yes, of course.”
Fine, then. She’d said this was what she wanted, and he would not deny a gift like that.
Bjorn turned, grabbed her by the waist, and set her onto the counter. Like this, they were almost eye to eye. Nerves danced in her gaze, and she licked her lips while staring at him. “Is it going to hurt?”
“Yes, bright one. Nothing I can do will help that.”
He gently grasped the straps of Astrid’s dress, pushing them down her shoulders so they slipped.
The fabric pooled at her waist, and his mouth went dry looking at her.
It had been dark last night, and now he could see her.
Every inch. Every bit of smooth skin, pretty pink nipples, and the way her chest moved up and down in a rapid breath that betrayed her fear.
“Bjorn,” she whispered. “Are you just going to stare at me?”
“No, bright one.” He met her gaze and grinned, although he knew the expression looked wicked. “Did you know troll saliva has healing properties?”
“That sounds like something you’ve made up.”
“It’s not made up. It won’t close a wound, but it certainly will help it heal. Now, let me help you.”
He bent and sucked one of those pretty pink beads into his mouth.
He’d done this to her before, but still it felt like the first time every time.
At her gasp, he couldn’t help himself. Stopping was entirely out of the question as he swirled his tongue around her nipple and swore it tasted just like sugar.
As obsessed as he was, he wasn’t surprised her entire body tasted like some forbidden candy to him.
Astrid’s hands came up, gripping his horns as he alternated between her breasts. He should stop. He should focus. He should get her pierced so that the nerves wouldn’t overrun her and ruin this moment, but also, he didn’t want to stop.
He wanted to taste her. Devour her. Destroy every bit of nerves in her body until all she could do was writhe on the island in front of him. Fuck the piercings. Fuck everything but this moment between them.
Bjorn trailed his hand up one of her thighs, growling low under his breath when she automatically parted them for him. It was so easy to slide his fingers between her legs.
She was already soaked, because of course she was. This perfect creature was made for him, it seemed. And he would worship her until the very end of his days.
The little noises she made drove him wild. The little whimpers, the sounds of her pleasure as he plunged his fingers into her, made him not quite able to think straight. But he had a job to do. A job that wasn’t supposed to be just this.
He released one of her nipples, blowing on it so it hardened enough to pierce. They were both breathing hard by the time he pressed his thumb to her clit, gently rubbing back and forth in the way he’d already discovered made her pant.
“The first one is going to hurt,” he said, leaning down and biting at her flesh. “But you’re going to come when I pierce the second.”
“What?” she breathed.
He had done this many times in his life. Not nipples, but he’d pierced more trolls than he could count. All of them had. Bjorn had pierced his own cock. It was very quick for him to snag the needle, line it up, and then thread it through her flesh.
The curse she let out made him wince. It was bound to hurt. This was a sensitive part of her body, and he knew for certain that a distraction was helpful in situations like this.
So he leaned down to her non-pierced nipple and went to work again. He circled her clit with his thumb, his fingers working her once again. This time he took his time, spiraling her higher and higher.
He kept his head about him. Every time her breathing turned ragged, he kept doing whatever had made her excited. He spun her tighter and tighter, feeling her clenching around his fingers until she was right at the edge. Just enough so that he was certain she would do as he told her.
Ducking between her legs, he licked her, devoured her, using his teeth and tongue to keep her right on the edge until he could surge up and kiss her mouth. She clung to him, her hands wrapped around his horns as she desperately kissed him back.
And he was right. She came the moment he pierced the second nipple. Her moans were both pleasure and pain, a memory that she would never, ever forget.
Bjorn leaned back to look at her, thighs wide, cheeks and chest bright red from pleasure, with needles threaded through each of her nipples. Gods, he’d never seen anyone more perfect for him. There was no other woman more beautiful, more brave, more daring in everything that she did.
He was a lucky, lucky man. A man who didn’t deserve her, but he intended to spend the rest of his life proving that he could be worthy of her.
Leaning down, he kissed her one more time. Gently, now. Using his lips to ease her back down into reality as she stared up at him in shock.
“Wow,” she whispered. “That’s not what I thought it would be like.”
“I still have to put the piercings in,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s just the needle.”
“Oh.” Astrid looked down at her chest, and he had the pleasure of watching her face turn even deeper red. “I didn’t think I’d like them so much.”
What an utterly ridiculous thing to say after what had just happened. Bjorn tilted his head back and laughed, the sound coming from deep inside him as he shook his head. “Astrid...” He had no idea what to say to her after that declaration. “Hold on to my horns. This is going to hurt too.”
He chose the gold bars, even though he didn’t like them without stones. Silver wasn’t good enough for her. He wanted his bright one to be adorned in gold.