Chapter 16 #3
When she thought she would explode with need, and beg again, he lifted her right leg up slightly and cupped her mound. “Feel this, Saxon? You’re so wet I guess you didn’t lie when you said you wanted me.”
“No.” How could he doubt her? She was naked and panting in his arms.
“Like this? Is that what you want?” A finger slid inside her, slow and deliberate.
“No, not like this,” she managed to answer.
Though the sensation was exquisite, the finger was too small.
It was like being offered a sip of water when she was dying of thirst. She wanted more, she wanted to drown in sensations, she wanted to be overwhelmed.
A finger, she had already felt during her intimate nightly explorations, now she wanted the rest, she wanted what she was entitled to as a woman, what only a man could give her.
There would be other opportunities to tease and explore, for now she wanted to be taken and feel the full effect of Haakon’s potency.
Not knowing how else to explain to him what she needed, she reached behind her and took hold of this throbbing member. It was so smooth, so warm, so thick. Perfect. Suddenly she was sure she would be able to handle him. She was made for this.
“Please, I want you inside me.”
“Damn it, woman, I’m trying to take it slowly.” Haakon’s voice was reduced to a growl. “I should—”
“You asked me to tell you how I wanted it. Well, I want it now.”
Arching her back, she brought her entrance in contact with the tip of his erection. There was a sharp inhale of breath behind her and then, slowly, blessedly, Haakon slid inside her, only an inch or so. Just what she could take at that time.
Gytha gasped, shocked by the intrusion. “You’re so…hard!”
“I’ve never felt so hard,” he rasped in her ear. “That’s because I want you so much. And you’re so tight and wet it’s killing me.”
Yes, she did feel wet, as he’d said. But she knew that was normal.
Haakon withdrew, then pushed in again, no deeper than before, staying at her entrance, stretching her, allowing her to adjust to the newness of the feeling.
Mm. This was definitely thicker than a finger.
Definitely what she had wanted. All the while he kept muttering to himself in Norse.
Somehow the raspy sounds added to her level of arousal.
“Lie down on your stomach,” he ordered eventually. “Let me do this. I’ll make sure it feels good for you.”
On her stomach? Gytha had never heard of that position but she was more than happy to trust him.
Besides, what he was doing felt too good, she never wanted him to stop.
She moved until she was flat on her front.
Haakon followed and nudged her right leg up, bending it at the knee to make her open wider.
Then he resumed his slow, shallow strokes.
She moaned every time she felt him push past the tight muscles guarding her entrance.
Then he kissed the side of her neck and, while she was occupied reveling in the feel of his kisses, he plunged inside her more decisively.
She tensed, and then relaxed when she realized that the pain was far from crippling.
He had warned her it would hurt and she knew what he meant.
Eadhild had told her that her first time with Halfdan had been painful, even if he had been careful and patient.
She had also told her that after the initial shock, it had been glorious. Every single time.
But nothing of what was happening was unbearable. It had been uncomfortable, yes, but quite easy to get past. Gytha knew she was less sensitive to pain than most, and never had she been more grateful for it.
And soon, it became glorious, as promised.
Each thrust brought her closer to the release she knew was the natural conclusion of their lovemaking. Everything within her started to sizzle and tense, her breath caught in her throat. This was too much, it had to happen now, or she would die.
“Breathe, Gytha,” she heard Haakon say. “Let it happen. I’m here.”
The speed of his thrusts increased, and the angle changed slightly. There, yes, now! She buried her face into the furs and let out a long, keening cry. The air left her lungs in one long exhale, somehow intensifying her pleasure. Yes, yes , yes.
Dear God, she never wanted this to stop.
As if he’d heard her silent plea, Haakon continued to ride her, allowing the sensations to keep blooming.
When the last of her cries had died on her lips, he wrenched himself out of her with a grunt.
At first Gytha wondered why he would do that and then she understood when heat seared the small of her back.
His seed. He’d finally reached his own release and he didn’t want her to fall with child from this encounter.
She wondered how that made her feel. Grateful for his thoughtfulness undeniably.
But at the same time she wished he’d not had to interrupt his pleasure when he had been so intent on dragging hers out for as long as possible.
And in truth, the idea of her stomach swelling with his child did not worry her.
What was she thinking… The pleasure she had just experienced must be responsible for this folly because of course she did not wish to trap him thus. If they ever got involved, it would have to be because he wanted to, not because he felt he had to.
“Saxon, you killed me,” he breathed into her ear, collapsing by her side.
But she hadn’t done anything, she thought ruefully, except let him love her. Next time she would have to take a more active part in their lovemaking.
Gytha stilled as the thought crossed her mind. Would there be even a next time? She had managed to convince Haakon to make love to her this time but she doubted she would succeed another time. Besides, when would they find themselves sleeping in the same bed? It might never happen again.
She stopped thinking when she felt something, probably a corner of the furs, wipe at her back.
Then Haakon settled her in his arms once more, covered them both with the blanket and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her flush against him, nose to nose.
She sighed in contentment. This felt like home.
“Why did you give me this gift?” he asked, removing a strand of hair from her face. So tender… She was discovering a new side to the confident Norseman every day.
“What gift?” she mumbled, feeling boneless.
“To be allowed to be the first man to give you pleasure. It was a gift.”
Yes, it had been. For her, not him. “It was perfect,” she mumbled. This was no real answer, but the best she could do right now.
There was another silence, even longer.
“Tomorrow evening, if we ride hard, we should be home.”
Gytha nodded, heart sinking. He didn’t need to say more for her to understand what he meant. Tomorrow they would be home and everything would go back to normal.
This had been folly, and would never happen again.
In the light of the flickering flames, Haakon watched Gytha sleep.
She looked so peaceful and content that he could almost forget he had hurt her earlier.
Not unbearably and, fortunately, he had managed to make her forget about the pain, but he had hurt her nonetheless.
The thought was a knife to the heart. If one of them had to endure any discomfort, it should have been him, whose body was stronger and harder.
Haakon had always thought that this difference between men and women was one of life’s greatest injustices.
Why should women’s introduction to sensual pleasures bring pain when men felt nothing but bliss from the start?
Easing his way into slick, warm softness was one of man’s greatest delight whereas welcoming her lover’s iron hard member into her untried body for the first time caused pain to a woman, and this despite the desire she felt for him.
How deeply unfair.
The only thing a man could do was to ensure he caused her the least amount of discomfort.
That was why Haakon never balked at the idea of making love to a virgin.
He’d reasoned that if a woman thought herself ready to start exploring and was willing to be bedded then it might as well be by him, who would be careful and give her pleasure once the worst was over.
If he refused her in the name of some outlandish principle, then she would only go to someone else, who might not be as gentle. Someone like Arne.
No, it was better to agree and give a woman what she craved. After all, if she found herself in his arms and in a position to ask to be taken, it was because she had chosen him. Why should he assume to know better than she did what she wanted?
But Gytha’s virginity had taken him by surprise.
He had been certain she had some experience of men, having assumed that Theodebert, her first love, had introduced her to the delights of the flesh.
She had stood up to Alberic with such confidence, claiming that who she fucked was her own concern, that not for a moment had he thought she was putting on an act.
The way she had talked about his lovers later had only comforted him in the idea that she was no stranger to what transpired between men and women.
He had been wrong.
Well, she might not have known before last night what lovers did together, but she certainly did now.
She’d found out that men were little more than rutting beasts ruled by lust. A twinge of guilt caused his chest to tighten.
Had he really taken her without pleasuring her first?
Yes. Granted, he had succeeded in tempering his fiercest urges while she was getting used to being filled, but he had pounded into her with abandon once he’d felt her spasming around his cock.
There had been no other way. It had felt too good, too satisfying to know he had succeeded in bringing her pleasure.
What would happen once they returned to the village?
They had once pretended to be betrothed, they had now become lovers in truth.
But there was nowhere else for them to go.
He knew Gytha wasn’t ready to consider anything serious for now and he had decided that he had better stay clear of Saxons.
And he wasn’t sure what her father would think if he found out what had happened tonight.
Or rather, he knew only too well.
The reeve would understandably come to the conclusion that Haakon had used his time alone with Gytha to seduce an innocent all too susceptible to men’s scheming.
It would be unbearable because he didn’t care to lose the respect of two men he admired.
Because Wolf would not take it too well either to see him take advantage of the mission to indulge his senses.
All this was why he’d been made sure to spill outside her body—another reason why women, and virgins in particular, were better off with him than with a less scrupulous man. He always stayed in control, ensuring that their encounters didn’t bear any fruit.
Haakon ran a hand over his face because this time, things wouldn’t be that simple. There might not be any physical consequences of their lovemaking in the months to come, but he suspected that tonight’s tryst would leave a trace in his mind.
Gytha sighed and turned her back to him, nestling into his body just like she had before he’d slid inside her.
His cock immediately responded to the involuntary invitation.
He tried to move away from her and the temptation she represented but every time he shuffled closer to the edge of the pallet, she grumbled her displeasure and reached for him.
In the end there was no choice but to accept his fate.
It was a long time before he fell into oblivion.