Chapter 18
Eighteen
SIMON
I t didn’t matter how many times we had sex, it was always so shocking how perfectly his dick fit inside me. I tried so hard to keep my wits about me, so I could show him my skill and truly blow his mind, but each peg to my pleasure spot melted my brain until I could only writhe and moan. I rode his dick hard, using his shoulders for leverage. He was sitting up, holding me in his lap as I fucked myself on his perfect cock. He tried to flip me at one point, but I refused to allow it, wanting for once to have the upper hand. It didn’t matter in the end. I was still just as overwhelmed and?—
“Ah! Yes! More!”
He had bent his knees while I was too mindless to pay attention, giving him the positioning he needed to fuck up into me. His powerful thrusts sent me into a spiral of lust and pleasure, and I was sure people could hear the sounds I was making. I didn’t care to be quiet when it was this good.
Tension coiled in my belly, and I felt my balls draw up. I bit my lip, trying to hold back my release. I wanted him to come first. Wanted to prove that I’d earned my title as the best in the brothel. Just a little more. I could hear his grunts, feel his hands tighten, probably bruising my skin. I’d be mad about that later. I just needed?—
He dipped his head, catching my nipple gently between his teeth and thrust at the same time. The combined pleasure shoved me over the edge with a cry, wave after wave of ecstasy drowning out the world around me. I barely heard Feigrind’s moans, his thrusts increasing as he sought his release, making mine drag on and on until I went blind from the pleasure.
When I eventually came back to myself, I was lying on Feigrind’s chest, his hand rubbing soothingly up and down my back, his cock still inside me. It was… nice. My clients generally didn’t want to cuddle after. They got off, paid me, and went on their way again. I got used to it, and it didn’t bother me, but I hadn’t realized how nice it would be to be held afterward.
“I don’t want you to go,” I admitted quietly. I’d grown used to him, and being alone again felt abhorrent.
He sighed, hugging me to his chest. “I don’t want to go. I must. We need supplies as winter draws near. It should not be long.”
“How long?”
He thought about it for a moment. “I have not gone on these journeys in a long while. I think a week is normal. Movement is slower because we will bring the cart with items to trade. If I can be back sooner, I will do my best.”
I believed him. I didn't trust men often, but trusted Feigrind. He’d been honest and open since the day I met him. If there was anyone in the clan I could trust to be honest with me, it was him.
Pushing up to look at him, I studied his face. He was unbelievably handsome. It felt wrong. Barbarians were supposed to be gruff and ugly. The few I’d dealt with certainly weren’t as good looking as Feigrind was.
“When do you leave?” I demanded, trying to distract myself from the flutter in my belly that wouldn’t go away whenever I was with him.
“Tomorrow morning,” he told me, cupping my cheek and stroking it gently. I batted his hand away and sat up.
“Good. Then we can go again. If I have to go another week without sex, I want as much as I can get before you go.”
A slow grin passed over his face and his gaze turned heated as he said, “Whatever you want, raknar. You will find no complaints from me.”
The word repeated in my head all the next morning. He’d called me it again as he was leaving, giving me a sweet kiss goodbye before mounting his giant horse and leaving with a group of four other warriors. I thought I knew enough of the barbarian language to understand him, but I didn't know that word, and I was curious. What did he think of me?
I planned on asking Maman once I met her for the day. I knew Feigrind was only asking me to look out for her so I’d stay out of trouble. I had no plans to stop her from doing what she wanted to do. But I did enjoy her company, so I’d agreed just to make him happy.
Ugh. What was wrong with me? Since when did I care so much about keeping men happy outside of the bedroom?
I was grumbling to myself as I got dressed for the day when a voice called out to me from outside Feigrind’s tent.
“Simon? Are you awake?” Patrick asked, quiet enough that if I was actually sleeping, he wouldn’t have woken me. Well, he wouldn’t have woken most people. He didn’t actually have to try that hard not to wake me. Chanel said I slept like the dead. He’d need to be a lot louder to wake me.
“What?” I grouched, tugging one of Feigrind’s tunics over my head. He’d gotten me new clothes when I finally started speaking to him in his language, and I had plenty. I just wanted to smell him. If anyone wanted to judge me for that, they could tell my blades.
“Can I come in?”
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “Whatever. Just get in here.”
The barbarians were territorial about their tents. No one was allowed in without permission. Since Feigrind was gone, it was my permission they needed to enter. That felt pretty good, actually. If I didn’t lock my door at the brothel, it was a guarantee someone would steal from me. I didn’t have to worry about that here.
Patrick poked his head in and smiled at me. “Good morning. Or afternoon. It’s pretty much lunchtime. Do you always sleep this late?”
My flat look didn’t seem to faze him, nor did my grouchiness thanks to waking up alone.
“I like sleeping. What do you want?”
He waved his hand toward the direction of the village center. “I was going to invite you to eat with us. My bondmate goes on long hunts sometimes, so I know it sucks when they’re gone.”
I made a face. “Feigrind isn’t my bondmate.”
He didn’t look concerned about that. “I know. There’s a whole ceremony for that. But you two seem pretty happy together.” He lifted a shoulder. “I guess I just assumed you’d stick with him. Are you hungry?”
Starving, actually. Feigrind had catered to my demands for sex all night long, and I worked up an appetite. He’d probably only managed to get an hour or two of sleep before he had to leave. I wanted to feel guilty about that, but it was hard to feel bad after coming your brains out that many times. I was starting to think he had a magic dick. That was the only thing I could think of to explain how he so easily destroyed me every time we fucked.
“Who’s we?” I asked suspiciously.
“A couple of the hunters. And I can introduce you properly to my bondmate. He’s pretty chatty, though, so he’ll probably dominate the conversation.”
I didn’t care about that. I was too tired to converse anyway. I agreed with a nod and followed him out after tucking my borrowed daggers into the sheaths on my thighs that Feigrind had got for me before he left, waking me to give me the gift and say goodbye. I thanked him with my mouth on his cock. That was one way I’d easily taken back the upper hand. He’d looked stunned when I was done, and I felt no remorse for making him late.
I probably should’ve asked Patrick to be more specific when we discussed who would be eating together. I didn’t realize that one of the hunters was Finn’s bondmate. Which meant Finn was there, too. I scowled to myself and made sure to sit as far away from him as I could. Which wasn’t as far as I would’ve liked because I’d agreed to meet Patrick’s bondmate, and he’d sat next to Finn’s before I even got there.
At least I didn’t have to socialize with him. Patrick was right that Verus liked to talk. My assumption that he was like a big puppy wasn’t wrong, and he bounced from topic to topic with a grin on his face. Other people cut in now and then, but he definitely dominated the conversation.
“So, Simon, right? How’d you do it?” Verus asked, turning his exuberant attention onto me.
I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to explain. “Do what?”
“Get Feigrind into your bed. He’s never been interested in males before,” he said innocently.
Patrick took exception to the question, smacking Verus’s chest with the back of his hand. “Verus! You can’t ask that!”
I shrugged lazily. “I’m just that good, I guess. Why? Does it matter?”
He shook his head, but Finn’s bondmate nodded seriously. I narrowed my eyes at him. It couldn’t be that we were both males. He was mated to one. So I didn’t understand his protest.
“Feigrind is a good man. He has wanted a bondmate for a long while. It hurts him whenever those in his care choose another. It matters that you are returning his affection. He deserves happiness.”
There was no accusation, he didn’t seem to think I was leading Feigrind on, but I felt a little like I might be. I still didn’t plan on staying.
My stomach clenched uncomfortably. The thought of going home was what had kept me going since I arrived. So why did it make me nauseous now?
I tried pushing the discomfort away, but it wouldn’t go. I just kept thinking about what would happen if I left. The life I’d return to. What I’d be leaving behind. Or more specifically, who. I still wasn’t happy about how I’d been brought here, but the thought of leaving Feigrind and going back to life in the brothel wasn’t as appealing as it used to be. Here, I could do as I pleased. I had sex for pleasure, not for work. I could say no if I wished, without risking an angry client or a missed meal. Feigrind would never force me to do something that would make me unhappy.
Did I really want to go back? No, not really. But I didn’t like the idea of being Feigrind’s bed warmer either. There had to be another option. Right?