CHAPTER EIGHT #2
She had no chance to answer, his mouth once more devouring hers.
He bent and scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed, spreading her out atop the furs.
All the while he kissed and teased and tasted, his lips and tongue sending her into a frenzy.
Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and glided down his arms. The need to touch him, to feel his skin quivering and shifting beneath her hands, overpowered all else.
No wonder all the other girls were always so happy when they arrived in a new town.
Katrin didn't care about anything but the promised delight she instinctively knew awaited.
Her sex was hot and wet, and quivering in that odd but temptingly tantalizing way.
Hradi lifted his head and her eyes fluttered open to meet his.
He brushed a stray hair from her face and traced a finger around her swollen lips.
The touch left her feeling like she'd stood in a summer's rainstorm, Odin's lightning crashing around her.
Rising up on his knees, he reached for her hands, lifting them and placing them upon the wooden slats of the headboard.
Curling her fingers around them, he leaned back.
"I want you to stay like that."
Confusion slowed the rapid rise of heat. "What do you mean?"
"I want you to hold on and not let go."
She couldn't touch him? "But I want to –"
"I know. But not yet." He hesitated and the darkening of his eyes set off an exhilarating wariness. "If I must, I will bind you."
"No!" Would he dare carry out his threat? The idea frightened her, yet at the same time, her breath quickened. Why should he do so, when she was willing? Why did the very idea spark a wicked lust? Where had these devilish imaginings come from?
"Then obey." Leaning down, he pressed a quick, soft kiss to her lips. He drew back and winked. "And enjoy."
***
Hradi knelt above Katrin, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself. He'd spent last night and all day today thinking about touching her, and now that he finally reached that goal, his control slipped.
The sight of her bared before him, the locks surrounding her head like a crown of fiery clouds matched the curls hiding her secrets. Her innocence. Once more his heart raced, his cock throbbing in anticipation.
It was why he'd insisted she not touch him.
Oh, he would show her passion and all the pleasures that came with it, but he could not have her as he truly wished.
At least, not yet. He was not so sure the gods would take her gifts, but she was.
For now, to gain her trust, he must refrain from burying himself deep inside her body.
If she touched him, his resistance was sure to break down.
And if she disobeyed his command... Hel, he already hoped for that, so he might indulge himself in ways other than the one he was forbidden.
Doubts about his endurance poked through his perusal of the bared woman before him. He closed his eyes, gave a silent prayer to the gods for the stamina needed for the hours ahead and once more met Katrin's gaze, holding it, searching for… what? He didn't know, wondered if he ever would.
Remaining silent, he cupped her cheek, and bent for a leisurely kiss.
Her eager response jolted him, the throb of his heart surging in rhythm with the pulsing in his cock.
She gave the sweetest cooing moan when he dragged his mouth along her jaw, licking and nipping at the sensitive flesh along her throat.
Running his fingers along her shoulder, he breathed deeply of her sweet scent, a mix of springtime wildflowers and earthy lust. Lust swelled his cock, his attempt to maintain control nearly blinding him.
Surely, she would be the death of him and he suspected it would be as glorious as dying on the battlefield, swept away to Valhalla by the Valkyries.
A moment later, she surprised him yet again by nudging him back to her mouth, without releasing her hold on the headboard. A peculiar admiration mingled with the desirous sensations raging in his blood, his heart thumping and ready for the upcoming thrills.
Somehow, with great concentration, he withdrew again, leaning back to study her in the soft glow of the lamp.
She met his gaze brazenly. Why did that surprise him?
She was not afraid to dare him in front of others, though he admitted he found the times she did display her wariness spurred his longing.
"What are you doing?"
A heavy note of frustration laced her words. Suspecting he would have her begging for more of his touch before long, he gave her a lecherous smile before answering.
"Whatever I please."
"What about what I please?"
He clenched his jaw tight to hold back his laughter.
Somehow, she always responded in the most unexpected ways.
He wondered if he would ever tire of it.
That thought calmed his elated desire. He had no idea if they might ever share more than this night.
He would ensure the night would be one she would never, ever forget.
"You will be pleased. I promise you this."
He slid his hand over one breast, smiling at the way her eyelids fluttered, her body arching into his touch. Was anything more pleasurable than showing an innocent woman the true meaning of pleasure?
He had always enjoyed seducing a maiden, watching their faces when the pinnacle of pleasure washed over them for the first time.
But Katrin was unlike any other maiden. She roused in him an uncertain anticipation that was almost as alluring as her beauty.
She had been sheltered more than most, with not even an innocent kiss between young ones.
Being near her gave him a feeling of youth he'd not felt in many years.
At the same time, her fiery responses to his kisses and his touch were as untamed as any he'd ever experienced. He wondered if her gift gave her awareness of a different sort, of which even she remained unaware. He ached to coax that passion from her. And he would.
He cupped his hands around both her breasts, focused on her lust-clouded gaze and finding so much to see.
Desire, apprehension, eagerness, hesitation.
He growled low in his throat and dipped his head to flick his tongue at the enticing pink tip of one breast. A strangled cry escaped, her body bending toward him.
His heart thudded. He drew away, forcing back the escalating need.
Some time would pass before she was ready for what he planned.
Maintaining his control would take monumental strength.
Gentle squeezes of the trembling flesh under his hands spurred still more writhing and sweet sighs.
He shook his head. How would she react when he finally reached her pussy?
His cock was instantly hard at the very idea.
He ground his teeth together, rolling his shoulders against the ever-strengthening urge to take her, gods be damned.
"What's wrong?"
The husk in her voice sent a wave of tingles along his spine. He shook his head.
"Nothing. I am finding you a delight, but there is only so much a man can bear."
Bewilderment crept into her expression. A reminder of her innocence, and enough to steady his senses. At least for now.
"Is this painful for you?" she asked.
Odin's blood, she would be the death of him with her chaste curiosity. The control of a moment ago slipped from his grasp.
"No, not in the ways you might think." A sense of pride at keeping his voice calm and even helped him regain mastery over himself.
She reached for him, letting go of the headboard. He caught her wrist, letting loose his excited grin. The moment he had been hoping for had come to pass. Sooner than he expected.
"You have disobeyed me."
"What? You mean… I only meant to help you, not to … not to …"
He shook his head, a feral eagerness thumping through him. Despite the true worry darkening her eyes, Hradi also read a desire-filled curiosity in the clear blue depths.
"I will not harm you, or kill you, if that is what you are worried about." He found himself unable to resist the temptation to tease her. Her reactions never failed to entertain. Now was no different.
"I should not be punished at all!" She sat up now and poked his shoulder. "I believed you to be in need and only sought to help. Not to disobey your silly rule!"
He laughed, making no attempt to rein in his mirth. When she scowled, he reached for her other wrist and enclosed both in one hand. With a swift twist of his body, he was sitting up and pulling her across his lap.
Apparently, the reality of her punishment became clear, for she lurched and writhed and yelled. Her attempts to free herself failed.
"I am not a child, you beast! How dare you!"
"No, Katrin, you most certainly are not a child.
" He caught her kicking legs between his own, grateful her position made it difficult to resist. With her wrists pinned to the bed beside him, she had no leverage to buck him off.
He gave her a few minutes to settle, chuckling at the curses she directed toward him.
"Son of a whore! May you suffer the agony of Odin's lightning bolts in your cock!"
Part of him worried she might truly persuade the gods to strike him. The other half disregarded the concern, stroking the creamy flesh of her bottom so nicely displayed for his punishment.
"For someone as pure as you claim to be, you possess a vicious tongue!" His amusement refused to be contained and he laughed again, giving a sharp pinch to her ass. She shrieked.
"Bastard!"
"Remember, little witch, you agreed to accept my hospitality, along with my wishes. You didn't abide your agreement."
"You said nothing about my acting as thrall! I am your honored guest, as you told me several times."
"But guests also have a responsibility to honor their host's traditions and customs, as well as their requests and instructions, do they not?"
She tugged against his grip, her hips shifting in an attempt to free herself. A rough squeeze of her ass brought a momentary freeze before she once again writhed in his hold.
"You are disgraceful! You will pay for treating me this way! The gods will see to it!" She gave another rough twist but remained captive.
"The gods know well that there are consequences to shaming your host by refusing his request. And now, so shall you."
He lifted his hand and brought it down sharply on the left curve of her ass.
She let out a gasp. He waited several moments before giving her another spank, this time on the right, drawing a sharper cry.
Against him, her body tensed, waiting for the next blow.
Instead, he taunted her, trailing his fingers across the pinkening flesh.
She kept her face buried against the furs, muffling the sounds she couldn't quite contain. Damn her! He wanted to hear her.
He caught a piece of flesh of the underside of her bottom between his thumb and forefinger and pinched.
Her head lifted up and a throaty shout echoed.
His cock throbbed, the ache for release growing yet again.
Instead, he focused on giving her three more solid strikes, each accompanied by a sobbing moan.
He paused, sliding his hand between her legs.
The heat of her pussy beckoned his searching fingers and he slid along her swollen flesh, the slick evidence of her desire soaking him. He grinned.
"You have a liking for the painful side of pleasure." His thick words hovered and he wondered if she noticed the clue to his own raging need.
She remained silent, yet her body trembled. He recognized the way she tried to contain her sobs. The peculiar desire to soothe her distress overtook his own lust. He released her wrists and helped her up, pulling her into his lap.
She curled into herself, refusing to even lay her head upon his shoulder, until he forced her to rest against him. He slid a hand into hers and opened her fisted fingers. Her bare skin against his warmed him.
"There is no shame in enjoying the darker side of passion." Where the words of comfort came from, he couldn't be sure.
She stiffened for a moment, before sliding away from his tight embrace. She lifted her chin, her deep blue gaze now clear and narrowed on him.
"I have no shame. You did this to me, though I accept my part, dubious as it may be."
She hesitated, her gaze darting away, her innocence and uncertainty enchanting. A breath later, she yanked her hands from his grip, twisting them together before her.
"But you enjoyed it, didn't you?" he asked.
Several deep breaths lifted her shoulders.
Though he tried to keep his focus on her face, he found his gaze lingering on her rosy-tipped breasts, his fingers itching to touch her again.
He held back. Rushing her now would only spook her and spark a further rebellion, though the idea intrigued him, for he suddenly found himself anxious to show her more of the wickedness of pleasure.
"I have … never … experienced … such things."
The words, accompanied by another shuddering breath, instead spurred him to warp his arms around her again, but she resisted, pushing his arms away until he fell still again. This time, she surprised him by looking straight into his eyes.
"I confess, I found your… punishment … exciting. And frightening. And I want to know more, even as I don't want to. Do you understand?"
Her innocent and honest explanation left him ready to burst. Even the purest of maidens he'd known before knew full well what might be expected from them in a physical sense.
This woman before him, this Seeress who turned his senses inside out, seemed truly free of deception and entirely unknowing of what passed between men and women.
The realization sent his hunger for her soaring, more tenacious than before. Clenching his fists was barely enough to curb the temptation to lie atop her and take what he wanted.
Forcing himself to focus on her words, he said, "I think I do. I must be honest as well. I would have found the slightest reason to punish you, you just gave it to me much easier and sooner than I expected."
When she stiffened in his embrace, he tightened his hold.
"Do you mean that you were going to beat me, no matter what I agreed to or not?"
A few moments of regret passed quickly. "I take pleasure in such things. And it's time I showed you more."
He lifted her from his lap to the bed, easing her to her back once more. Again, he instructed her to hold on to the headboard.
"It pleases me for you to obey. And you want to please me, don't you?"
She nodded, reaching up to curl her fingers around the carved antlers. He cupped her cheek and leaned in close, brushing his lips against hers for the briefest instant. When he drew back, she met his stare directly, eagerness lighting their sapphire depths.