Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
HENRY
I was a little afraid Yngvar would tell me to find my own way back on the first day, but after leading me to his clan leader to explain his plans and walking me around his clan while explaining the things he recognized to give him direction, Ekkar found us, and he released me to Ekkar’s care, telling me he needed to pack and would see me later.
The fact that he said ‘see’ then snorted to himself, made me feel a little kinship toward the barbarian.
We were similar in that way, making jokes to lighten the mood, and I liked that even though he was kind of gruff and pushy, he was also willing to tease and joke.
Didn’t make me any more confident I’d be able to move around like him, though. That felt too good to be true.
Petting the fur along Ekkar’s back, I asked, “Can you take me to Garrun? I could use a break.”
Like he’d been trained to do it, Ekkar led the way, blocking me when others passed by and nipping my clothes to pull me if I went in a direction he didn’t approve of.
I heard a few curious murmurs as I passed by, most shocked that a wolf would be acting as a guide, and felt a smile pull at my lips at the awe in their voices.
They had no idea just how sweet Ekkar was when he wanted to be. He was just a sweet puppy to me.
“Erska.” Garrun’s voice was relieved and filled with warmth as Ekkar led me toward him. I heard his movement and didn’t startle when he took my hands and kissed my cheek affectionately. “How was it?”
“Daunting,” I admitted quietly. “I think he really does intend for me to get lost. The thought makes me nervous.”
“You may feel lost, but I will always be close by when you need me. And Ekkar has been watching over you since you left with Yngvar. He would not listen when I asked him to come away.”
Huffing a laugh, I kneeled beside Ekkar and gave him scratches behind his ears in reward for his protectiveness. “Thank you for watching out for me. I want to figure it out, to be able to do things on my own, but it makes me feel better knowing I have the two of you.”
When I stood again, Garrun took my hand, tugging me forward and toward a fire with familiar voices chatting amongst themselves.
I got a few greetings, but before I could join in on the conversation, Garrun sat beside me, putting something in my hands.
Frowning, I felt along the rope, touching the knots and dangling bits of leather hanging off of it. “What’s this?”
“Our marker for our tent,” Garrun said, his voice quiet like he almost didn’t want to be overheard.
“I… I want you to stay, Henry. Yngvar called me your bondmate. I want that. I can make the clan easier for you to understand. I can walk you through it every time we move until you know exactly where things are and feel safe and free among us. I know Ekkar feels the same. Please, let me claim you.” He switched to Erabi, which I’d never heard him speak before, the words like soft silk against my ear.
“You are like an oasis after years in the desert. I do not wish to give you up.” Then he switched to the common tongue. “You see me. You are my greatest gift.”
My chest tightened and I reached for him automatically, running my fingers along the pull of his brow, the dip at the corners of his lips. He sounded reverent, but also scared. Like he was afraid I’d walk away.
“That was so sweet,” Alice murmured from somewhere nearby. “If you don’t say yes, you’re no longer my brother!” she added a little louder.
Laughing, I cupped Garrun’s cheeks, pressing my lips to his. “Yes, you silly barbarian. I’ll stay.”
I still wasn’t sure how everything was going to work out or if I’d ever get to where I could move as freely as Yngvar could, but Garrun was going to be there with me.
And Yngvar was right. I supported Garrun by playing for him when he was having nightmares.
This wasn’t any different. We supported each other, which was exactly the kind of equality I’d hoped for. We’d figure out the rest. Together.
The cheers around us made my face heat, but feeling the smile stretch across Garrun’s lips, the way his big arms wrapped around me as he drew me closer, distracted me from my embarrassment.
I tuned the clan out, giving my full focus to the sweet barbarian who proved over and over how far he’d go to make me feel like I belonged.
I wanted to do the same for him. To give him that same freedom he gave me and–
A furry body shoved between us, separating us for a moment.
I laughed as Ekkar made demands for attention, bullying Garrun away from me until Garrun moved to sit sideways on the log with me against his chest, giving Ekkar the room to claim my lap, using my legs as a pillow as he laid down next to me.
Tears threatened, I was laughing so hard, and hearing Garrun chuckle against my neck only made it worse.
He was right, if Ekkar saw us together, he was going to make demands like Garrun said.
We’d need to figure out some way to distract him because I wasn’t interested in keeping my hands off my big sweet barbarian now that we’d made promises to stay together.
I still had Simon’s lessons to think about.
I wanted to know what he was talking about when he said barbarians had ‘magic cocks’.
It was one of Garrun’s clan brothers that got Ekkar to give us some peace.
He was a hunter and asked to borrow Ekkar for some night hunting that he’d heard was more dangerous but also more lucrative.
Garrun had been uneasy letting his friend go off without him, but Ekkar seemed intrigued and didn't wait around for Garrun’s permission before following the hunter into the forest.
I could tell just how uncomfortable he was, so I figured now was a good time for a distraction. It was Garrun’s night off from his duties, so we had the whole night just to ourselves. I was sure I could keep his mind off Ekkar until he returned.
Leaning against his chest, I murmured quietly enough not to be overheard, “Let’s go back to your tent.”
He hummed, distracted, but did as I asked, helping me stand and leading me to his tent before ducking inside.
I heard him moving about, lighting the lantern and kicking off his boots.
I did the same, finding the bed with ease after a few days sleeping with Garrun.
It helped that the tent wasn’t that big.
I only had to take a step to reach either side.
Turning around, I listened to Garrun mumbling to himself, the tent flap rustling like he was peeking out to see if Ekkar had returned.
I chuckled. How in the world could anyone think he was scary?
“Garrun.”
“Hmm?”
My cheeks heated at how forward I planned to be, but I pushed past it, lifting my chin to project as much confidence as I could muster. “You said you laid with others in the past. Will you lie with me?”
I heard his movements falter, his breath catching as he finally gave me his attention. “You want to…”
Biting my lip, I tried not to grimace. “Too forward? I’m sorry, I didn’t know how else to– mmph!”
He cut me off, actually tackling me to the furs with his lips fused to mine. Maybe I wasn’t too forward after all.
He didn’t rush for long, his kisses turning long and drugging, tongue tangling with mine in a hot glide.
To prevent him from any ‘taking it slow’ notions he might get in his head, I was quick to pull at his trousers, stripping him bare before he got any funny ideas.
I had no idea how long we had before Ekkar came back, and I really didn’t want to find out how he’d react to our lovemaking.
Garrun must’ve been thinking the same thing because he followed my lead, stripping me out of my clothes before tackling me to the furs again.
My laugh was strained, a moan caught in my throat as the contrast between the soft furs beneath me and the hard muscles of the man above me gave me goosebumps.
When he settled between my thighs, his hot length grinding against mine, I had to bite my lip to muffle a shout.
“No,” Garrun protested, using a gentle grip on my chin to force me to release my lip. “Your noises are music, erska. Remember?”
My face flamed hot at the memory of his sultry words the first time we got naked together. The man seriously liked my music.
Two could play at that game. Pushing his shoulder to encourage him onto his back, I straddled him, grinning when he practically purred at the position, his rough hands running up my legs.
“If my noises are music, yours are a symphony. I’d rather hear yours than mine.
” Then I set about finding as many places as I could to get him to make noise before he got his wits about him enough to make me stop.
Sliding down his body, I followed the path of my fingers with my mouth, focusing on spots that made him gasp or squirm until he groaned in pleasure.
A flick of my tongue over his nipple made him grunt, while a light nibble made him groan loudly.
My fingers traced over his abs, counting each one, and when I ran my tongue along that same path, he shifted restlessly underneath me, his breathing turning ragged as I got closer to his erection.
During Simon’s impromptu lesson, he mentioned using my mouth to bring Garrun pleasure.
I hadn’t thought to do that, hadn’t ever heard of that before, but I was willing to try anything to make him feel good.
I let my lips ghost down his length, a grin overtaking my face at the whimper that escaped him.
“See?” I teased. “Music.”
“You are not– Ungh!”
I cut off his protest by using my tongue to trail a path up his length, my hand wrapping around the base to angle him away from his body so I could flick my tongue over the head like I had with his nipple.
I knew better than to involve teeth, Simon had warned against that, but I wasn’t experienced enough to know what else to do so I kept up my little licks until Garrun was leaking steadily from the tip, babbling half in his language, half in the common tongue as he begged for more.
“Kolrav, please,” he whined. “I want to bring you pleasure, too.”
Chuckling, I sat up, straddling his thighs again so I could rock my length over his like he’d done to me in the past. “You bring me pleasure just by being here with me. Unless you had something else in mind?”