Chapter 28 The Prince of Asgard #2
“You brought me Jokull’s gift,” Njord whispered against Thori’s hair. “You fought mountain giants and defied your parents to come back to me.”
“I gave you my promise.” Thori looked at him earnestly. “And I couldn’t stay away from you if I tried.”
Njord kissed him, pouring all his longing into it, and Thori opened up to him with a small sound of relief.
“Come to bed with me?”
“Yes.” Thori nodded emphatically. “Yesyesyes.”
They stumbled to their feet together, and Njord had half a mind to wrap the egg in its cloth and put it close to the fireplace before pulling Thori in by the neck and dragging him into another kiss.
Thori melted into the touch, moaning softly.
He clutched at Njord’s shoulders, kissing back with desperate enthusiasm.
He tasted like honey and sunshine, and Njord never wanted to let him go.
“You reckless fool,” Njord said. “You should have stayed in Asgard.”
“I couldn’t.” Thori’s fingers combed through Njord’s hair. “I tried to break my word for Mother’s sake and for my siblings. I tried to pretend everything was good, that I could just go back to being the Prince of Asgard. But all I could think about was you, how I gave my word to you.”
“Life has been miserable without you,” Njord admitted, the words escaping before he could stop them. “Nóatún felt all wrong, and I’ve been brewing up winter storms like an angry child unable to control his seier.”
Thori laughed, breathless and delighted. “Oh, I noticed the weather. Very dramatic. And all because you missed me?”
“Yes.” Njord kissed him again, harder this time, backing him toward the bed. “Now hush. You’re not leaving again. I forbid it.”
“Yes. Absolutely yes.”
He sounded so eager. Njord’s poor heart would never recover. He needed Thori in his bed. Now. In his haste, he shoved Thori forward, making him stumble and catch himself against the bedpost at the last second.
“Sorry!”
“Don’t apologize.” Thori crawled onto the bed, turning toward Njord with an inviting grin on his lips. “Just tell me what to do.”
Gods, Thori was really invested in this. But well, if his prince wanted to play it this way, Njord could play too.
“Off,” he growled. “Your pants. Take them off.”
Thori didn’t hesitate; he slipped the silken pants down his thighs gracefully, arranging himself seductively on his side.
Norns.
Njord went to the chest by his bed to retrieve silken bonds, because if he was allowed to do this, he was going to do it properly. Thori watched him with wide eyes, but he relaxed when Njord approached, putting his hands up above his head in a clear offering.
“You still sure about this?” Njord asked. “You want to be mine?”
“Yes,” Thori breathed. “Please.”
“Hold still then. I’m going to bind your hands.”
Thori went very still, allowing Njord to secure his wrists to the headboard. When Njord was done, Thori tugged experimentally at his bonds. They didn’t budge. A shiver ran through his body, and his cock was already half-hard against his stomach.
“You’re beautiful,” Njord murmured, trailing his fingers down Thori’s chest. “I can’t believe you came back to me, wearing the collar, the bracelet. How can you be so honorable? So good?”
Thori moaned. “I’m selfish. I needed to be with you.”
Tracing the golden line of the collar around Thori’s throat, Njord watched the dragon’s sapphire eyes gleam as if in response to his touch.
“I know what you need. Don’t worry, I need it too.”
He brushed across the golden bracelet on Thori’s wrist, feeling the familiar pull of his seier woven into the metal. The bracelet had been more than a gift after all; it had been a promise. A declaration of intent that Thori was his to protect, his to keep.
And Thori still wore it.
Gods, he was perfect.
Njord let his hand drift lower, across Thori’s chest and down his stomach, deliberately avoiding his cock. Thori writhed beneath the touch, hips rising in a silent plea.
“Patience,” Njord said.
He reached for the collar, letting his seier flow into the enchanted metal.
The effect was even better than he’d hoped for.
The collar pulsed with power, and Thori gasped as it awakened fully.
The magic wrapped around Thori’s trapped thunder, holding it in a careful embrace, connecting them in a more intimate way than ever before.
Njord gave their connection another nudge, letting Thori feel his power, and Thori arched off the bed with a broken moan.
“Feel that?” Njord teased, sensing Thori’s thunder bubbling beneath the collar’s control. “Your power recognizes me. Responds to me. It knows who its master is.”
“You,” Thori gasped. Lightning crackled faintly around his bound wrists, pale blue sparks dancing across the silk ropes. “It’s—gods, Njord. It’s too much—”
“No.” Njord steadied Thori’s hip, holding him still. “It’s exactly as much as I intended. Exactly as much as you can take.”
Careful not to hurt, Njord tapped into Thori’s thunder the way he’d done during the battle. But this time, there was no urgency, no enemy to fight. This time, Njord could savor it, could explore the way Thori’s power sang against his own like his lightning was greeting Njord’s storm.
Thori was trembling underneath him, the collar pulsing with each labored breath, and Njord savored the raw pleasure coursing through the bond between them.
Every touch of his seier against Thori’s thunder sent waves of sensation through both of them, building and building until Thori was writhing helplessly in his bonds.
“Please,” Thori whimpered. “Njord, please—”
“Tell me,” Njord commanded, finally allowing himself the pleasure of wrapping his hand around Thori’s cock and stroking him slowly. “Tell me what you want.”
“You.” Thori’s eyes were glazed with pleasure, his voice breaking on the word. “I need you. I’ve missed you so much.”
The admission warmed Njord to the core. Reluctantly, he released Thori’s cock, ignoring the frustrated sound that earned him, and reached for more silk ropes. He could give Thori what he wanted immediately, but where would be the fun in that?
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure you stay still to enjoy what I’m going to give you.”
“Hurry up,” Thori moaned, writhing helplessly while Njord took his time to pull his legs apart and secure his thighs and ankles to the bed’s frame.
When Thori was completely spread out, unable to move an inch, unable to do anything except take whatever Njord decided to give him, Njord settled back on his heels, admiring his work.
“See,” Njord said, peppering kisses along Thori’s jaw. “You can be patient.”
Thori moaned in response, leaning into Njord’s touch, his desperation for more evident in every trembling line of his body.
“Please,” Thori gasped. “I can’t—”
“Shhh, not much longer.”
Njord stripped off his clothes efficiently, then reached for the oil. He slicked his fingers and gently slipped inside Thori, watching with satisfaction how Thori gasped and squirmed.
“So needy,” Njord murmured. “Taking everything I give you.”
He added a second finger, then a third, working Thori open with great care.
The collar continued to pulse with power, and he felt Thori shudder under every touch and every drag of his fingers.
When he finally decided that Thori had been patient enough, he pushed inside him and was rewarded with a deep, sensual moan, Thori’s whole body relaxing.
The collar flared bright, and lightning danced across both their bodies, making Njord’s skin tingle pleasantly.
“That’s it,” Njord growled, setting a slow, deep rhythm that had Thori thrashing in his bonds.
Pleasure flowed freely between them, intensifying with every thrust. It was overwhelming, intoxicating, addictive.
He reached down to stroke Thori’s cock in time with his thrusts, and the combination of sensations made Thori’s moans turn incoherent.
Njord could feel the pleasure building, and he didn’t have it in himself to deny Thori his release anymore.
“Come for me,” he ordered, and Thori came with a shout, lightning blazing bright around them as his whole body went rigid. The collar pulsed one final time, releasing a surge of power that crashed into Njord and dragged him over the edge as well.
Njord’s hips stuttered, and he buried himself deeply in Thori’s pliant body, his seier flooding through the bond between them. The smell of burnt iron and storm-salt air tickled Njord’s nose, and he’d never felt more complete and alive.
Collapsing forward, Njord needed a moment to catch his breath while Thori was still shuddering and moaning with aftershocks.
Thori made a little sound of protest as Njord pulled out of him, his nose scrunched up in an adorable frown.
“Are you okay?”
“Perfect, actually.”
Thori’s smile was dazed and blissful, and he let Njord free him of the ropes without further protest. His wrists were faintly red where he’d pulled against his bonds, but the skin was undamaged. Njord brought them to his lips and kissed them gently anyway.
“Gods, I didn’t know I could feel so good,” Thori breathed.
“Neither did I.” Njord pulled him gently against his chest, reveling in Thori’s proximity and the softness of his skin. “So, you really intend to stay with me?”
“Yes,” Thori’s answer came immediately and without a trace of hesitation.
Njord’s heart sang with happiness.
“Good. But if we’re going to do that, I can’t keep you as a thrall forever. So how about you stay as my consort?”
Asgard would probably riot, but he couldn’t care less, and as Thori regarded him with suspiciously bright eyes, he knew it was the right thing to do.
“You really want me to stay? To rule at your side, even?”
“Yes,” Njord said simply. “I want to wake up with you in my arms every morning. I want to see you in my great hall, in my bed, at my side. I-I love you. Have loved you for quite some time. You’re brave and clever and noble, and I don’t want to spend another day without you.”
A tear slipped down Thori’s cheek, the sight tearing Njord’s heart to shreds.
“I love you too,” he whispered. “Norns, I do.”
Njord kissed him again, soft and slow and full of promise. Outside, he could feel the storm clouds clearing, the unseasonable tempest finally dissipating now that its cause had been resolved. When they finally broke apart, Njord became aware of a faint warmth radiating throughout the room.
“The egg,” Njord breathed, pulling Thori up with him.
They padded naked over to the fireplace to find the dragon egg where Njord had placed it, wrapped in a warm blanket and positioned directly in front of the flames.
But as they approached, Njord spotted a thin crack on the egg’s surface, running from apex to base like a lightning strike frozen in crystal.
“Is that—” Thori started, voice full of wonder.
“Yes,” Njord knelt beside the egg, hardly daring to breathe. “It’s going to hatch soon.”
They found robes to wrap themselves in and stayed cuddled close to each other, kissing slowly and watching the crack slowly widen. Njord buried his nose in Thori’s hair, breathing in his scent, and sent a silent prayer of gratefulness to the Norns.