Chapter 46
Forty-Six
Astrid
Astrid had never thought she would be excited to explore a log cabin, but here she was. Excited to walk into what would have essentially been a hut to her not all that long ago. Now she thought it just might be the home she’d always dreamt of. Because he would be in it.
She reached for his hand, tugging him with her as they headed into the cabin.
It really was adorable. A sizeable space where more than a few people could live.
Gardens dotted along the exterior, wild and unkempt, but they were made with a loving hand.
Flowers and vegetables, even a few pumpkins that were already quite large and ready to be harvested.
There were three windows on each side, which made her think that perhaps it would be bright and sunny within.
As she opened the door, she prepared herself for the prospect of more cleaning. If his father’s other home had shown her anything, it was that there would be a lot of work in this place waiting for her. And yet, when she stepped inside, she was surprised to see that it was very clean.
The living room was far more comfortable than the one deep within the mountain.
There were more couches, patchwork quilts that were made with loving hands.
There were paintings on the wall, of flowers and landscapes.
The massive fireplace in the back was obviously familiar.
She was certain his father had built both of them.
But this was almost a formal parlor rather than a utilitarian room with an area for seating and cooking.
“It’s so clean,” she marveled.
“I had Maia and Rose help while we were gone. I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t come back, but I still wanted you to have somewhere comfortable for yourself. I knew...” Bjorn cleared his throat. “I knew it would be hard for you if I were gone, so I wanted to do something special for you.”
This man. Her heart shattered at the thought that he’d been planning to never return while she’d just been planning to keep him safe. He hadn’t feared his own death. He’d feared her being lonely and sad in the mountain without him. So he had created an oasis of safety for her.
Her breath caught, and she turned to look at him with her heart in her eyes. “You did all this for me?”
“I want you to be happy here,” he replied.
“I don’t want you to regret coming with me, or giving up all that you did.
I know you lived a life of luxury, and I am ashamed to admit there are other trolls here who could give you the same kind of life you are used to, but I am not one of those trolls.
I hope perhaps that this will be enough. ”
“You foolish man,” she whispered, walking up to him and planting her hands on his chest. She stared up at his confused expression. “They could never give me what you do. Because there is no man in this realm who would love me like you do.”
His expression softened, and he leaned down to kiss her.
She could feel every ounce of his love in that gentle, delicate kiss.
He took his time, lingering at the corners of her lips and on the swell of her cheeks.
He kissed her eyes, as he always did, two sweet kisses that pressed onto her like he knew how much she loved it when he treated her so gently.
Astrid took his hand, tugging him through the room. “I assume there is a bedroom here?”
“There is, but I thought you would want to see the rest of the house first.”
She shook her head meaningfully. “No, there’s something else I’d like to do before all that.”
Immediately, fire burned in his gaze. She knew that he understood her meaning, and that he would worship her soon enough. He had time now, and yet there was no need to rush. They had battled, and they had won. Now she wanted to celebrate that they were both still here.
Bjorn led her to the bedroom in a whirl of movement. She wasn’t even sure that she paid attention to where they were going or any other room they walked through. All she saw was a massive bed, one that was circular in shape, with no visible frame.
He backed her knees up to it, breathless already as he stared down at her.
Without a word, he started unbuttoning every single button down the front of her dress.
Carefully. He took his time, teasing her with little touches as the backs of his fingers toyed with her skin.
Never enough, but that feather light brush of his knuckles made her skin burn.
First, he lingered at her breasts, and the tips hardened to near pain. Then down her belly, which clenched in anticipation. And then finally she felt his fingers between her thighs, just barely as he undid the last few buttons.
Bjorn got down on his knees before her, sinking until he could stare up at her with all that awe in his expression making her feel like a goddess.
“There are many beautiful things in this world,” he murmured, then pressed a kiss to her thigh.
“Wisps floating above a pond. Moonlight peeking through leaves. Stars so bright in the sky that they illuminate the universe. I would give up every single one of them if it meant I could gaze upon your beauty for even a second.”
“Bjorn,” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair.
He moved the dress from her shoulders and let it fall onto the ground. She stood before him completely nude while he remained on his knees. Her hands found his horns, guiding him between her legs where she knew he wanted to be most.
A deep groan echoed through his chest, vibrating through her entire being and shaking through her hips as his hands came up to grab her ass. With a firm grip, he held her steady as his tongue gave her one long, slow lick.
Astrid’s head fell back. She would never, ever get used to that long troll tongue. So flexible, he found every part of her that made her shudder and quake with his touch. He groaned again, and this time the sound seemed to vibrate his tongue as he flicked it over her, again and again.
She moaned out his name, already shaking with need. She was desperate, but he was so apathetic to her desperation.
“What do you want, wife?” he asked, his fingers replacing his tongue as he asked the question.
“Make me see the stars.”
“So soon?”
“Please.”
He always seemed to love it when she begged.
Two massive fingers suddenly plunged inside of her, stretching her near to bursting.
A little shocked gasp escaped her even as his tongue found her clit once more.
He circled it, so lightly she swore sometimes she didn’t feel his tongue at all until suddenly he pressed down hard.
She exploded. Her inner walls clenched around his fingers, gripping him tightly, and she swore she could hear him making the same sounds she was making. A moan of pleasure, a grumbled curse as he sucked so hard it made a second orgasm chase the first.
He was holding her upright at this point. So he guided her onto the bed and laid her out like a banquet for him to feast upon.
She lifted her arms, reaching for him. But he stood instead of lying with her, Bjorn took off his shirt, revealing miles of muscle that made her want to sink her teeth into him. All that green, rippling muscle did was make her feel even more rabid for him.
But it was hard to do anything after he’d made her come twice. The languid feeling that filled her body made her muscles soft and her plan to seduce him even harder.
“Aren’t you coming here?” she asked, arching a brow and trying to look sexy on the bed while also feeling a bit like her limbs were made of water.
“I’m joining you, but I’m not done with you yet.”
“What?” Her brain wasn’t keeping up.
He crawled between her legs, dragging his tongue up her stomach and between her breasts. “I haven’t played with these yet,” he murmured against her skin. “And they do look so pretty on you.”
Her piercings? What did he mean play with them?
His tongue toyed with one, then the other, and it didn’t take long for her to realize what he meant.
Pleasure spiked from the tips of each breast, zinging right down to her core.
She hadn’t thought it was possible for her to be so riled up this quickly, but he played her like an instrument.
Within minutes she was writhing beneath him, shocked at how much pleasure could come from two metal bars.
She’d never felt like this. Ever. There was pain and pleasure, mixing together until she couldn’t see straight.
Astrid grabbed onto his horns, thankful for something to grasp at because her hands needed something to do.
Her body wasn’t listening to her. She wanted.
.. needed... something. Anything. Friction in every part of her body because what he was doing was only winding her up tighter and tighter, beyond what she had thought she could do.
She feared she’d break if he kept going. Her mind or her body, one or the other. She was going to shatter into a thousand pieces and never put herself back together. She’d die if he kept going because she so desperately needed to jump off that cliff, but it just kept getting higher.
“Please,” she whimpered, unsure of what else to say.
“Please what, wife?”
Astrid was incoherent. She didn’t even know what she was asking, but then she felt his fingers between her legs and that—that was what she needed. Again he sank them into her, the tips of his fingers curling to press against a spot deep inside her that only he had found.
She arched, her back coming off the bed as she splintered into pieces once again. A third time, this one so much stronger than the other two. She’d thought her orgasms would get softer, but no. This one was so much more powerful.
Breathing hard enough that it felt like her heart was beating out of her chest, she finally blinked to see him staring at her with a pleased expression.
“What are you doing to me?” she whispered.
“Waiting for you to look at me so we can keep going.”
She swore her face went white. “Keep going?”
“I’m not done with you yet.”
And he wasn’t. Astrid lost track of how many times he made her spiral out of control that night. Over and over again, never even thinking about himself until she was begging, pleading for his cock.
Maybe that was what he wanted. Once she was a whimpering mess, he stood again and took off his pants.
The cock he revealed was so hard, it had to be painful. The veins stood out in stark relief, and when he palmed it, white dripped from the tip to land on her belly. She wanted to rub it in, even though that thought shocked her.
Bjorn pressed his hand flat to her belly, holding her still as he notched the massive head of his cock between her folds. She could feel cool metal against her skin, and knew exactly what it would do to her once he slid home.
She’d thought he would ram it in—she would have welcomed that—but instead, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I love you,” he said as he slid just the tip inside of her. Allowing her to get used to his size once again.
Then he slid in a little more and kissed her again. “I love you.”
More and more he fed her his cock, bit by bit, repeating that he loved her with every single movement. She was blinded by him. They could have been attacked again, and all she would be able to think about was how much he loved her, and how much she loved him back.
By the time he was fully inside her, stretching her to the point of almost painful fullness, she was radiating love from every pore. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him as tightly as she could.
Then he moved. Sliding out of her until he was all the way out before drifting back in. Slowly. Like the sea ebbing and flowing against the shore.
His pace was maddening. When she wanted him to slam into her, to hear the resounding slap of their flesh against flesh, he built her back to that starlit place with the slow patience of a man who knew he had all the time in the world. He didn’t rush her. He didn’t rush himself.
Bjorn took his time getting to know her body and to allow hers to get used to his. He breathed her in, whispering encouragement that made her very soul glow.
“You are perfect for me.”
“Look at how well you take me.”
“There is no better troll wife.”
“Fuck, bright one. You undo me.”
She’d never felt more powerful than this moment, when she decided enough was enough.
Astrid pushed on his chest, forcing him to stop as she turned around beneath him.
With her back to his chest, she arched her spine.
She knew he wouldn’t be able to ignore such a sight.
Bjorn palmed her ass and let out a little curse before he was inside her again.
This time, there was no soft pace. He surged around her, consuming her even as his hand came around to frame her throat and pull her back against him. He rode her hard, slamming in and out at the pace she had been wanting since the beginning.
They both came together, shattering around each other as she rippled around his cock, feeling him pulsing inside her body, jetting out so much come that she could feel it leaking out between her thighs even as he continued to groan in her ear.
And then they fell together onto the mattress, breathing hard and more tired than she had ever been in her life.
But there was nothing better than feeling his arm wrapping around her waist and tugging her tightly against his thundering heart.
“I really do love you, you know,” he whispered against her hair, pressing a kiss to her head. “More than any troll has ever loved a woman before.”
She didn’t think he could claim that, but some part of her soul whispered he had to be right.
“I love you just the same,” she replied. “You call me bright one, but you are my sanctuary, Bjorn. My safe place in this world.”