36 THE DUEL
ALAR ROSE AbrUPTLY from his seat then, dragging his hands through his still-damp hair. “Fuck,” he muttered.
Pulse racing, Lara also stood up. He looked like he was about to bolt. She couldn’t let him.
Moving around the edge of the trestle table, she approached her husband, stopping when they were a couple of feet apart. Alar turned to face her, panic in his eyes now.
Heat rolled over Lara. “Don’t you want me … is that it?” Something inside her cringed then. He hadn’t touched her since their handfasting. She’d told herself he was holding back out of respect, but she might have completely misread him.
“Of course, I want you.” His voice was tight. Choked.
Relief slammed into Lara, making her lightheaded, reckless. She reached out and placed the palm of her hand on his chest. His heart was racing. “What then?”
His gaze burned into hers. “I told you … I’m not a good man.”
“I don’t care.”
His mouth twisted. “You should.”
Lara stepped closer still, breathing in the fresh scent of his skin.
Dizziness swept over her once more. “If I’m to take back The Uplands and then deal with my overkings, I need a ruthless husband at my side.
” She paused then, her fingertips digging into his leather vest. “The innocent, sheltered lass I was once no longer exists. And it’s just as well, for she wouldn’t survive the coming war. ”
Alar stared down at her. His chest rose and fell sharply now, and the rawness in his eyes made her lower belly clench.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he whispered, a plea in his voice.
“I do.”
He breathed another curse. And then, a heartbeat later, his mouth slanted over hers. It was a fierce embrace, bruising, yet she welcomed it. For too long, they’d danced around each other. They both needed to stop fighting this.
They kissed wildly. Lara clung to him with a desperation that shocked her. She craved him. Likewise, he didn’t hold back. His arms fastened around her, and he hauled her up against the long, hard length of his body.
And then, as the kiss deepened, he bent her back over his arm. The sensual stroke and plunge of his tongue made dizziness sweep over her. She responded eagerly, drowning in the taste of him: the rasp of his shaven chin against her skin, the graze of his teeth, and the heat of his mouth.
Gods, she’d never recover from this kiss.
It drew out, hot and hungry, and then his free hand slid up from her hip, over her belly and ribs, to where her breasts strained toward him through the woolen tunic she’d donned after bathing. His palm grazed them, and then his fingertips teased her nipples into hard, aching peaks.
And all the while, his mouth continued to feast on hers.
Lara writhed against him, the sensitive flesh between her thighs throbbing. This teasing was driving her mad. “More,” she gasped. Aye, she did want more. She wanted him, naked, in the furs.
He made a sound low in his throat—something halfway between a growl and a moan—and then pulled her upright. A moment later, he bent down, grabbed the hem of her woolen tunic and the long linen shift she wore under it, and yanked them up, undressing her in one smooth movement.
His scalding mouth was on her breasts then, his hands pushing the twin mounds together as he drew each engorged nipple in, rolling it between his tongue and teeth.
Lara gasped and then whimpered. Her hands tangled through his long, damp hair, encouraging his delicious torture.
He released her then, and she cried out in disappointment.
Cursing, he swept his hand over the table beside them, sending wooden cups and trenchers flying. Before she had time to recover from her surprise, he moved her sideways and pushed her onto its now clear surface.
And then, he spread her trembling thighs wide, lowered himself to his knees on the furs, and gazed at her.
Heat rolled over Lara.
He’d looked at her like this before; even so, the intimacy of it still shocked her.
And then he leaned in.
The feel of his mouth on her sex, the hot flick of his tongue, and the pressure of his lips made her buck against him, excitement churning in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t believe he was tasting her there, or that she liked it this much. But he was, and she did.
Goosebumps pebbled her skin, even as she started to sweat. Moments later, her legs began to shake and jerk. Growling something inaudible, Alar pleasured her even more hungrily now, his tongue spearing into her repeatedly, making her arch toward him.
But when he fastened upon the nub of aching flesh nestled in the petals of her sex—and he began to suck it like he had her nipples—she went wild.
Her ragged cries tore through the tent, even as wild pleasure clenched and pulsed through her loins.
She was vaguely aware then of the flames in the nearby brazier and the burning cressets that hung from the roof crosspieces flaring bright.
However, she was too lost to dwell on the fire’s response to her climax.
She shuddered and writhed as he continued to suck her through it. And then, when she lay there upon the table, panting and boneless, he rose from between her legs.
Their gazes met.
Alar tore off his clothing. Lara stared at her husband, her mouth going dry as she raked her gaze down his nakedness. He was magnificent. The ruddy light burnished his hard-muscled body and the snarling wolf tattoo across his chest. Its eyes glowed red tonight.
His shaft reared up from a nest of dark hair, a vein pulsing along its engorged length. Moisture glistened on his crown, and her breathing caught.
After Dunchadh, she’d vowed never to touch a man’s prick, but she forgot about that now. Pushing herself up, she reached for him, one hand fastening around the base of his shaft, while she trailed the fingertips of the other up his hot, hard erection.
He made a choking sound in the back of his throat.
Encouraged, she slid the hand that gripped him up the length of him, thrilling at the way he grew even bigger and harder as she did so. She glanced up then, her gaze meeting his.
Her heart kicked. Gods. The way he was looking at her right now. It made her want to utterly forget herself. Their gazes locked, even as she continued to work him. A nerve flickered in his cheek, pleasure rippling across his aquiline features.
A thrill washed over her. She loved being able to touch him like this, to have him in her thrall.
Moments later, he grabbed hold of her wrist, stilling her.
Lara gave a cry of protest. Damn him, she was only getting started.
She wanted to make him lose control. However, the next thing she knew, he’d shoved her onto her back upon the table, hauled her hips closer, and parted her thighs once more.
Hooking his hands under Lara’s knees, he pushed her legs back.
And then, with one, deep, punishing thrust, he drove into her.
She cried out—for it was a shock to be invaded like this—before hunger twisted in her lower belly. This was what she craved, for him to make her his. To brand her.
Sweat glistened on his chest and upper arms as he withdrew from her, almost to the tip. He was staring between her thighs, where their bodies joined, and the look on his face made her tremble.
It was hot. Carnal.
He thrust into her again, and this time, she angled her hips up to meet him, bringing him deeper still. Growling her name, he ground into her.
She whimpered. Pleasure coiled deep in her womb, an aching pulse that made her sweat and tremble. She was so wet now, so hungry for him.
“Is this how you want to be fucked, Lara?” he ground out, rolling his hips once more.
“Aye!” she cried, without a shred of shame. “Please!”
Pinning her legs back, he rode her in savage plunges that made the table rock. And with each thrust, she bucked hard against him. It was a duel. She wouldn’t be consumed by his passion but would equal it. Thrust for thrust.
And all the while, Alar’s gaze seared hers.
Held fast, Lara gave herself up to him. It was breathlessly raw to stare at each other while he plowed her. The masks they’d both donned since the beginning fell away, and at that moment, she knew he cared.
Lara’s breathing turned ragged, a storm gathering inside her.
The intimacy made the pleasure clutch even harder. Emotion churned in her chest, even as her loins turned molten. Arching up, she gave herself up entirely to it, grinding herself against him, while her climax shuddered through her.
Light flared around them.
Alar snarled a curse. His lean body trembled, his eyes wild now. The roaring brazier next to them now gilded his sweat-slick skin. He shouted her name then, his spine arching as he came.