12. Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
A nother month passed, Sahginoth's health improving every day. He returned to his full duties, but he did not relegate her to smaller tasks. He kept her with him, caring for the village each day. He listened to her opinions, followed her lead. She caught him watching her, an approving look in his eyes, smiling at her whenever she met his gaze. She must have asked him, "What?" a hundred times a day, but he never answered, only smiled wider. And at night, the way he looked at her from across the embers of the fire made the little hut feel unbearably hot. He did not drag her beneath him in the furs, though. He would catch her hand and kiss her knuckles before lying down in his own bed and closing his eyes.
She was slowly going mad.
Her husband's touch had been infrequent in the past few years, and when he'd lain with her, she'd not enjoyed it. She knew he only wanted a son from her. She'd been so tired, so worn down from the monotony of working in his tavern, that she'd rarely pleasured herself. Being with Sahginoth had changed all of that. She wanted. She yearned. She hungered, and he denied her, even now when he was well enough to walk through the village with ease, to hunt and haul game and help stack snow to insulate the elders' huts.
He was waiting for something, she was sure, but she couldn't tell what it was. So she went about her life as she had before the bear attack. She'd grown used to not asking her husband what displeased him when his mood was sour, and the habit stayed with her even now.
One night, he was silent throughout dinner, a strange frown on his face. He did not make them their customary tea. When she pulled on her boots to take a trip to the hot springs, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.
"You go to the springs to watch the stars?" he asked.
She nodded. She hadn't known he was aware of why she spent some evenings there. She wondered if he'd ever followed her there and watched her.
She hoped he had.
"May I come with you?" he asked.
She nodded, and he shrugged on his coat, wincing when he bent to pull on his boots. She knew the skin on his stomach still hurt as it healed, the scars not as flexible as the skin surrounding them. The mineral waters of the hot springs would do him good.
They dressed and made their way through the quiet village, the huts glowing from within with the lights of their fires. His hand brushed hers and she wondered if it was intentional.
Gyrda huffed into the fur ruff of her new coat. Wondering would get her nowhere. She reached out and took his hand, twining her fingers with his. He smiled down at her.
The moon lit the snow and shimmered in the water of the hot springs, steam rising into the darkness. Gyrda pulled off her coat and hung it on one of the rocks by the edge, hesitating as she reached for her tunic. They would be naked together, in the water. Would he finally let her touch him with more than friendly interest?
He was already stripping off his clothes and folding them on the ledge of the hot spring. The air around them was damp and warm. She undressed, watching as he climbed into the water. His broad muscled back was unmarred by the bear's claws, the tattoos there dipping down to his buttocks in unbroken lines. He slipped into the water slowly, a look of ecstasy washing over his face.
She finished undressing and joined him, struggling to keep the desire and anticipation from her face. She watched his lips part on a sigh as he sank into the water up to his chin, leaning back against the rocks. She swam towards the center of the spring, the steam rising between them, and floated on her back. The wide expanse of deep blue sky stretched above her, stars twinkling in the darkness.
It was bliss to lie here every night she could manage it, to feel awash in the endless expanse of the night sky, lose her worries and concerns and simply... be. The last time she'd been allowed to exist so peacefully, before she came to the mountains, was when her father was alive.
She felt the ripples of the water as he approached her, and turned her head. He lifted his chin, beckoning her to come to him. She stood in the waist-deep water, slicking her hair out of her face. His gaze flickered to her breasts for a moment as water dripped from them and she bit back a smile.
He waited for her to focus on his lips before he spoke. "Do you wish to leave my house?" he asked.
She frowned. It was not the question she'd been expecting. "No," she whispered, stepping closer. "Do you wish me to leave?"
He shook his head. "I would be pleased for you to stay forever."
She hesitated. What if he did not mean what she thought he meant? "I'd like that," she said quietly.
A small smile curved the corner of his mouth. He reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist. He tugged, and she floated towards him.
"As a friend?" he asked.
Her heart lurched, her stomach feeling hollow. But hadn't she told herself, not long ago, that she would be happy even for this? "If that is what you want," she said quickly, not trusting her voice not to waver. She looked down at the water beside them, afraid to see what was in his eyes.
He tucked his fingers under her chin, tilting her face back up to his. His smile was warm and wide in the moonlight. "What if I want you as my mate?" She stood, stunned, and he dragged her closer until the front of her body was warmed against his. "My wife, Gyrda," he said so quietly she could not hear, but she could not mistake the shape of his lips as he said the words, the hope in his eyes that matched her own.
"Louder." She wanted to hear it.
He leaned close. "My wife," he growled in her ear. The sound was still so soft she didn't trust herself.
"Shout it," she demanded.
He tipped his head back and laughed. "Be my wife!" he shouted, then pressed a quick kiss to her lips, leaning close as he spoke. "Be my mate. Will you share my bed each night? Share my life each day?"
"Why?" she asked. Her hands trembled slightly as they came to rest on his chest. She wanted to hear him say that too.
He held her close. "I love you, fool woman." He pulled back slightly, grinning down at her. "How could I not? Look at all you've done. Look at how well you've cared for me, for my people. If I had not loved you already, I would have fallen in love then."
She bit back a smile. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she still hesitated. She pressed against his chest, putting space between them, and he frowned, his arm tightening around her waist. "I cannot give you children," she said. "Shouldn't you wed someone else?"
"Why?" he grunted with a frown. "I've never wanted children. The village is enough for me." He pulled her against him again. "You are enough for me." He crushed her to his chest, dipping his head to press his lips against hers. She melted against him like snow in the hot water of the springs as his leg slipped between hers, his thigh brushing against her sex.
He lifted his mouth from hers. "Well?" he asked, his voice thick with desire.
"I have a husband," she breathed.
He shook his head sharply. "No. Not here. Not under orcish law. You left him. Your marriage is dissolved."
"Then..." she hesitated. It was what she had wanted. Every day and night with him. Loving him. Loved by him. Why should she make excuses? "Yes."
A triumphant smile spread across his face and he kissed her again, his tusks cold and hard against her cheeks. She loved their rough feel, the firm press of his lips, the thick wet length of his tongue teasing entrance to her mouth. She loved him, this quiet solemn mountain of a male.
"When?" she asked between kisses. "How?"
"Pledge yourself to me, here, under the stars. Marriages are not complicated things here. Our words to each other, with the Gods for witness, are enough." He sat on a low rock by the edge of the hot springs, lifting her onto his lap. She tightened her legs around his hips, her fingers brushing over the five round scars on his chest where the bear's claws had pierced him.
"So simple?" she asked. He nodded. "Then I promise to be your wife," she told him. "Your mate. Your companion. I will hunt with you, care for your people with you. I will stay by you, no matter what comes." She kissed him, smoothing her fingertips over the frost that had gathered on his eyebrows and eyelashes. "I will love you," she murmured against his mouth, feeling his grin against her lips. "And I will teach you to make love in every way, until we grow too old to manage it."
She could feel his chuckle against her body, the gust of his surprised breath. One of his hands strayed down her back to her bottom. He splayed his fingers over her plump flesh and squeezed as he tilted her face back up to his.
"I will attend to your teachings well, my mate," he said, his eyes sparkling. His lips formed the words of his vow slowly, his voice loud enough she could hear clearly, and she blushed at the thought that the village might be able to hear him as well. "I promise to pleasure you well every day, to care for you, to hold you in my arms at night and stand by your side through each day. I will protect you until I can no longer." He nuzzled his face against her cheek, his lips brushing her ear. "And then you can protect me," he added. "As you already have."
He pulled back, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Will you start your teachings now?" he asked. "A marriage must be consummated."
She could feel his hard cock bobbing between them in the water. She leaned forward and kissed him, reaching down and stroking his length. A tremor passed through him and his groan reverberated against her lips. His hand on her backside squeezed harder, the other roughly palming her breast. She stroked him more slowly, rubbing her palm over the tender head that thrust from the water between them. The heavy ache between her legs grew as he flicked his thumb over her cold nipples.
Gyrda leaned back, lifting her breasts to him. "I need your mouth to warm me," she breathed.
Sahginoth wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head to her breasts, sucking a nipple into his mouth. He teased the tight flesh with his tongue, the warmth of his touch spreading through her. She could feel herself grow wet beneath the surface of the water. "Stretch me," she begged him, guiding one of his hands to her sex. He grunted, his face mashed against her breast in his eagerness as he licked her, his fingers caressing along the skin of her inner thighs.
He learned quickly. That, or he had excellent instincts. He seemed to know just how to tease her and make her desperate for him.
She did not hurry him, letting him explore at his own pace. His palm brushed against the curls between her legs, the tips of his fingers sliding along her slit. He grunted again as his teeth gently marked her breast, and she knew he felt her slickness. Slowly, he slid one thick finger inside her and her channel clenched, needing more. "Please, Sahginoth," she moaned.
He lifted his head from her breasts, watching between them in the moonlight as he pumped his finger into her, his teeth bared in concentration as he pleasured her. Gyrda gripped his arms, holding herself upright, her thighs trembling. "More," she begged. He plunged two fingers into her, spreading them apart and slowly stretching her tight sheath.
He looked up at her, his voice harsh as he called her name. Her gaze snapped to his. "Will I hurt you this time?" he asked, his brows drawn together in a frown.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again, loving the raw hunger she tasted on him as he pleasured her. "No," she assured him.
He added another finger at her urging and she squirmed on his lap, eager for release. Three of his fingers were far bigger than a human male's cock, filling her deliciously. She told him so, laughing in delight at the feral look of desire on his face. "Do you like it when I tell you these things?" she asked, licking the pointed shell of his ear as she rode his hand. "Do you like me to speak of my pleasure?"
He nodded, eyes closed tight, neck corded with the strain of holding himself back. She could tell he was only a breath from snapping, but it was too soon. There was more she wished to show him tonight. "Let me go," she whispered. His arm loosened around her waist and he removed his fingers from her sex reluctantly, watching her as she slipped from his lap and stepped between his legs. She rested her hands on his thick muscular thighs, dragging her nails down his legs. He shivered, his nostrils flaring as he gripped the rock beneath him, waiting for her to touch him however she wished.
She bent and pressed a kiss to the head of his cock as it bobbed above the water, keeping her gaze locked with his. He stiffened, his puff of breath making a white cloud in the air. His eyes were wide, unblinking, as he watched her lick slowly around his hard flesh.
He was salty on her tongue, the tip of his cock weeping as she tasted him. His thighs clenched beneath her hands, his gaze never straying from her as she lapped the water from him and took him into her mouth. She could not fit more than his head inside, her jaw stretched painfully and her teeth scraping against him as she sucked at him, but he did not seem to mind, his lips open in panting pleasure. She stroked his hard shaft as she licked him, watched his lips form the shape of her name over and over, his eyes filling with wonder as she showed him a new form of pleasure.
She released the head of his cock with a pop, squeezing his bollocks gently as he gasped. "And do you like my tongue on you?" she asked. "My mouth on your cock?"
He nodded dumbly, his gaze intent as she pressed close, her breasts bobbing at the surface of the water. She bit back a smile as she pressed her breasts together, trapping his cock between them and stroking him against her. His hips snapped forward in pleasure. She grinned. "And this?" she asked, lapping at the head of his cock as it neared her face. "Do you like this?"
"Yes," he growled, gripping her arms and dragging her back into his lap. "I can take no more, woman." He held her tight, his cock trapped between them as he devoured her with a desperate kiss.
Gyrda braced her knees on either side of him and lifted up until the head of his shaft pressed against her sex. She felt him suck in a breath as they kissed, his hands trembling on her back. She reached down, fitting him to her entrance. The slick head of him pressed inside, his hips lifting slightly towards her. He stretched her impossibly wide, the sweet pain of entry making her gasp. She wondered if it would always be like this, if the first few moments of his body inside hers would always make her heart race with anticipation. "More," she murmured against his mouth.
His hands tightened on her hips as she sank slowly onto him. She could feel the tension in his muscles as he struggled to hold himself back, to move slowly for her sake. The warmth of the water relaxed her muscles, her body feeling languid and liquid around him. She wanted to take all of him, to watch him come apart as he used her for his pleasure. She wanted him to lose control, this serious man who was always in control.
She kissed her way down his neck, smiling as he rocked her over him, inching his way inside faster. "Please, Sahginoth," she murmured. "I want all of you. Take your mate." She sank her teeth into the muscle of his shoulder and he jerked, his hips snapping up towards her. She screamed against him, so full she could barely breathe, barely move.
He seemed content to keep her there, speared on his cock. His hands smoothed over her wet skin, possessive and soothing, as she adjusted to his size. He grasped thick handfuls of her thighs, her ass, petting her back as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, feeling his pulse beneath her tongue.
She ground against him, his thickness hitting places inside of her that her husband had rarely touched. No, not husband. She grinned. Former husband. She had a new husband now; a far better one in every way.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved over him slowly, her sex loosening as pleasure bloomed in her core. Sahginoth kissed her forehead, his thighs bunching beneath her as he held himself still, letting her take her pleasure. She grasped one of his hands and guided it to her sex, pressing his fingers to her bud in light circles.
His lips moved against her temple, and she looked up at him, but she didn't need to hear his words to understand. His eyes shone with wonder. No one had ever looked at her like that, as if she was something precious, but he did. When he looked at her like this, she knew he saw someone beautiful, someone strong, someone beloved. Perhaps he felt as she did: she'd gone her whole life not knowing she needed him, but now that she had him, she would never let go.
"You belong to me," Gyrda told him. "Body and mind and heart." She held his face between her hands, her thumbs brushing the glimmer of tears from his cheeks. "You are mine."
He nodded, his face blurring as her own tears mirrored his. Then he bent his head and kissed her, his teeth sharp and hungry on her lower lip. She gasped into his mouth, her climax sweeping over her, and she felt the rumble of his growl as he gripped her close, his hips bucking against her as the heat of his own release filled her.
They sat, holding each other tightly, as the cold of the night seeped back into their sated bodies. After a few minutes, Sahginoth lifted her gently from his softening cock and slipped from his perch, lowering them both into the hot springs. He still held her close, one arm enclosing her waist like a steel band.
Gyrda looked up at him. There were a thousand more words of love she wanted to speak to him, but the soft smile on his face silenced them all.
"I love you," he said. He must have whispered, because she could not hear, but she couldn't mistake those words.
"Again," she demanded, pressing her fingertips to his mouth. He chuckled and said it again, slowly, so she could feel the shape of every syllable against her hand.
"And I love you," she answered. His lips curved up against her fingers.
He nudged her hand aside. "Are you sure?" he asked.
She frowned. "Yes."
He raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Shout it," he challenged.
Gyrda threw her head back with a laugh. "I love you!" she shouted to the sky. She pinched his arm. "Do you think the Gods heard?" she teased.
He stroked his chin, a serious expression on his face. "Perhaps a bit louder," he shouted back.
She'd wake the village, if they hadn't already with their earlier clamor, but she didn't care. "I love you!"
He nodded solemnly. "Does this mean we can move your bed beside mine permanently?" he asked.
Gyrda huffed. Did he know she'd been longing for that for weeks? "I'll be using you as a pillow whether you like it or not."
He looked quite satisfied with himself, his chest puffed up like a rooster guarding his hens. "If you wish."
"I wish for everything," she whispered.
He looked down at her, solemn and serious as when she'd first met him, his hand caressing the small of her back. "Then you'll have it, my mate," he promised. He looked so certain that she didn't doubt him. A year ago, she would never have thought to wish for anything at all, beyond a small measure of freedom from the misery her life had become. She hadn't been brave enough, hopeful enough, to ask the Gods for more. But as she watched the shimmer of the northern lights reflected in her husband's eyes, she felt filled with more hopes than she could voice aloud.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. If he said she would have everything she wished, he meant it. He was a force of nature, her mate, as solid and unshakeable as the mountains she now called home.
"And what do you wish?" she asked.
He tilted his head, brushing a curl of wet hair from her neck. "You," he said. "Every day, every night, spent with you."
"You ask so little," she laughed.
He frowned, giving a sharp shake of his head. "No. You are everything."
Gyrda's breath caught, tears blurring her vision again. He leaned close. "Do you believe me?" he asked.
She nodded. It felt too brave to agree with him, but if she admitted that, he would surely tell her that nothing was too brave for her. He believed in her, fully, in her ability to save him as he'd first saved her. He believed in her, and therefore she believed in him.
"Yes." She pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Yes, my mate. I do."