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He growled then, hugging her hard against his sculpted chest. “Jeg har vært en sta idiot. Jeg elsker deg, min dyrebare perle-ingenting vil holde oss fra hverandre.”
He loved her? And just referred to her as his precious pearl? Oh, God … He’d left the gems for her.
He strayed from the footpath, finding a tiny clearing covered in grass and moss. As soft as any feather-stuffed mattress, she felt like a queen when he laid her on her back, hovering above her, his deft fingers blazing a trail down her center.
Mercia couldn’t find any words to say—but she loved him back, without fear. The one thing she’d told him from the beginning—use me to sate your desire—lingered in her mind. Only now, his love belonged to her. If his lips couldn’t express it again, she knew his body would.
He stood, stripping off his weapon belt, boots, and clothes. Sunlight filtered between the thick branches overhead, streaking his powerful body in golden light. She sucked in a breath as she admired his muscled thighs and arms, his narrow waist, and chest peppered with course hair. If she didn’t know he was a flesh and blood man, she’d fall to her knees and worship him like a god.
He belonged to her now.
“Mercia?” he whispered.
She met his gaze.
“Have you ever seen a naked man before?”
She shook her head—not from the waist down, and never this close. “You are so big.”
“This …” He gripped his manhood. “Is a symbol of my love for you, only you. I was afraid to admit how I felt, Mercia. Afraid another man would take the woman I loved away from me. I can’t live with that again—I need you now.”
She sat up, reaching for his leg. When she made contact with his skin, he squeezed his eyes shut and moaned. “Then don’t wait.” She wiggled out of her shift. “Open your eyes, Marteinn.”
He did.
“By Odin.” He knelt beside her, taking her hand. “You are too beautiful for me.” His fingers skated up her arm, then cupped her cheek. “Tell me I can make love to you. Promise there is no one else in your heart.”
“No one, but you.”
He gently pushed her back, easing her head to the ground. Then he shielded her with his body, their tongues swirling together, his frenzied kisses invoking the passion she’d kept hidden for so long. She tangled her fingers in his thick hair, afraid to let go.
Marteinn pressed his erection into her soft stomach and her eyes fluttered shut. He couldn’t mistake her desire with the way she writhed and moaned beneath him. Just the tiny sounds she made aroused him to the point of losing control. He smiled when he felt her heart pounding against his chest. Then his hand slipped between her legs and he cradled her sex, loving the moist heat he knew was only for him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her ankles behind his back. “Take me now,” she begged. “I don’t want to wait.”
He gritted his teeth, she didn’t know about the pain. Although he wanted her hard and fast, to release the anger and frustration he’d kept pent up inside him, he also wanted to savor the moment. He’d take it slow, whisper how much he loved her, catch every smile, and hear every whimper she made. All precious gifts from the woman he loved.
“Let go of me,” he said.
She sighed in frustration, but did as he asked.
He kissed his way down her flat stomach and thighs, pausing between her legs, admiring her glistening wet paradise. He suckled the outside of her nether lips and she squirmed violently, digging her nails into the soft earth.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“Never.” She lifted her head, staring at him.
He chuckled, whipping her sensitive flesh with his tongue, his fingers exploring every inch of her hungry body. Not wanting to make her peek yet, he kissed his way up her torso again. She dug her long fingernails into his back, and Marteinn was sure she’d scarred him for life. Marks he’d wear as proudly as medals. Face-to-face, he stole a deep kiss, and she grabbed two fistfuls of his hair.
“You belong to me, Marteinn.”
“Aye, I do.”
Her hips jerked, and he ground his cock against her center, ready to claim her.
Jolts of pleasure ripped through his body. “I want you more than any other woman I’ve ever known.” He wanted to know everything about her—all her secrets, dreams, and desires.
He loved her pert little nipples, and kissed them reverently, then nipped, intending to teach her a little about pleasure and pain.
