by Nora Ash
“What do you mean?” he asked at the same time as Modi said, “How, then?”
“I…” I drew in a deep breath, steeling myself to say what I needed to. This had to be done. It was the only way.
“One of you needs to have sex with me.”
Seven
Bjarni
“I beg your pardon?”
The sheer shock in Modi’s voice made a rumble of laughter work its way up my chest. Annabel’s suggestion was a surprise to me too, but definitely a delightful one. Modi sounded wholly less thrilled.
“Freya said… Well, she said I had to let my mates tend to me to restore my energy, but they’re not here. And I can’t go back before we find Loki. Not even… Not even for this. So one of you will have to do it.”
There was steely determination in Annabel’s voice, as well as a slight wobble. She wasn’t keen, that much was obvious.
I reached out to stroke a hand over her cheek and saw the vulnerability in her eyes. No mated omega liked submitting to another alpha, but Annabel wasn’t going to turn around and let Trud take her place. Not even for this, as she'd said.
Whatever had her so determined to search for Loki, at this moment, I understood that it was everything to her. She was right—she had to come.
“You are my brother’s mate!” Modi snapped. “Under no circumstances am I bedding you!”
“Not a problem,” I hummed, offering Annabel a smile when she paled under Modi’s outrage. “Sniffling little godlings don’t know how to please an omega anyway, hmm? I’ll bed you anytime you ask me, sweetie. As much and as often as you like.”
“It’s not about what I want, Bjarni,” she bit, lowering her dark lashes to avoid looking at me—but she kept clutching my arm, as if she needed something solid to anchor herself with. “I… I need to find Loki. I need to save Saga and Magni.”
“I know,” I said softly, pressing my hand against her cheek until she tilted her head to rest against my touch. It made my skin prickle—such a tiny submission, yet such a big step for the little omega who’d been bonded twice against her will. “But if you ask me for this, I will bring you pleasure. I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“Are you serious? You’re going to screw your own brother’s omega?” Modi spat. “Even for a Jotunn, that’s repugnant.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at him over my shoulder. “She will be mine as well soon enough. But until then, she still needs tending. If this is what she asks, this is what I’ll provide. You can throw a tantrum about what needs to happen if you like, but it is happening. She’s staying with us, she’s helping us find Loki—and for that to happen, she needs her magic to work properly.
"Stay and watch if you need the pointers, or go kick rocks—I don’t care—but either way, stuff a sock in it. Your yapping could wilt even the hardest of dicks.”
Modi opened his mouth, rosy splotches of anger coloring his cheeks as he gaped at me. I halfway expected him to jump me, and I tensed my muscles in preparation, but instead he just glared, eyes like the darkest of thunderclouds.
“Screw the human whore if you so desire,” he gritted. “If Magni is happy to share her with your brother, why not you too? Why not the rest of Jotunheim? But if she hasn’t gotten her magic back once your knot’s tied in her simpering cunt, I’m going back for Trud with or without you.”
I shook my head as he stomped out of the great hall. Whether it was pride or sheer arrogance that had him acting such a fool, I wasn’t sure, but his loss was my gain.
“I’m not doing this for pleasure! Why doesn’t he understand?”
Annabel’s growl made my focus return to her, just in time to see her wipe a few tears off her cheeks. She’d let go of my arm and folded hers around her midriff in a protective gesture.
“Sweetie.” I cupped her face between both hands, bringing her chocolate gaze up to mine. “He’s an Asa prick, and he doesn’t get it. It doesn’t matter. I’m here, and I’ll take care of you. Always.”
“I’m not a whore.”
I smiled. She sounded so petulant it was almost sweet. “I’m aware.”
“I’m only doing what I have to so we can save them,” she insisted.
“I know. You don’t have to convince me, Annabel. I understand. You were Fated to me a thousand years ago—I’ve waited many lifetimes for you. Modi doesn’t get it, but you don’t need him. You have me.”
I leaned forward from my kneeling position and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Now let me help you, hmm?”
She stared at me for a long moment, her dark eyes searching mine. Then she closed them and nodded.
“Okay.”
It was only a whisper, but it sent a shiver of exhilaration through my body. I’d fantasized a lot about fucking Annabel since she came of age and her parents sent us a picture of her, sometimes even trying to imagine what it’d be like to be with my Fated mate while bedding some local girl back in Iceland.
But then she’d finally come, it had finally been time to take her—and that prick Magni had gotten in the way.
She should have been mine already, should have been familiar with my touch and not trembled as I slid my hands from her face down to her shoulders to caress her arms. She was scared, I realized. Only sheer determination kept her still for me.
It hurt my heart to know my mate-to-be feared our physical union—but it also awakened the hunter in me. I might not be able to put a claiming mark on her tender neck this time, but when we were done, she would be mine in every other sense of the word.
“I’m never going to hurt you,” I whispered as I leaned in to brush my lips against the shell of her ear. “Sweet Annabel. So delicate. So terrified. And yet every inch as strong as dwarven steel.”
I flicked her lobe with my tongue and trailed lower to bury my teeth in the side of her neck, wrapping one arm around her to quell any chance she might jerk away.
Annabelle expelled a trembling breath, her body stiff in my grip—but she didn’t try to move away. I took it as encouragement.
Soft kisses along her jawline made her breathe faster, and when I finally reached her lips, they were swollen and ripe for me.
I tested her with a gentle kiss first, unable to hold back a groan of desire as my cock rose hard and fast between my thighs. Gods, I’d ached for her since her scent first wafted through our farm back home. Sweet, deep, lush—and it’d only strengthened since she’d gotten mated and her biology finally fully succumbed to its true nature.
“I’m gonna make you ache so deliciously,” I rasped before deepening our kiss, slipping my tongue in between her lips when she sucked in a startled little breath. Warm, wet heat enveloped me, short-circuiting any and all connection to my brain. She filled my senses, drowning me in scent, touch, taste, and I lost myself.
I kissed her with every ounce of pent-up longing, pushing her onto her back with my much bigger body. The soft press of her shape against me made me growl, every cell throbbing as if on fire. The heat from where her thighs were spread around my hips made me gasp and rip at her leather armor, mindless to finally sink inside of her. My omega.
Fuck, yes.
She pawed at me as I pulled her pants down her thighs with a harsh tug, fueling the raging need in my blood for every bite of her blunt nails. She needed me as much as I needed her, needed to stretch for my big cock and cry out as I pounded her wet little cunt until she accepted me as her alpha, until she—
“Fucking ow!” I pulled back, releasing Annabel’s leather pants to bring a hand to my bleeding lip. She bit me!
Hot, dark fury rose along my spine, blackness tinging at the edges of my vision. Every alpha instinct embedded in my DNA thundered to flip the feisty omega over and force her into submission. She thought she could bite me? Hurt me?
“Bjarni.” It was a broken whisper filled with dread. “Please. Please don’t. Not like this.”
Something twisted in my chest at that sound—at her pleas.
The darkness fade
d from my vision, and I saw her spread out underneath me, dark hair fanning on the cold stone floor. Her lips were flushed rosy from my rough kiss, trembling—and not from desire.
She’d experienced forceful mating before. That was how both Saga and Magni had claimed her, and her unwilling submission was forever etched into their bonds. That wasn’t how I wanted us to be. That wasn’t how I was.
I hadn’t expected how harshly—how fully—my alpha instincts would kick in with her.
I raised up on my elbows, allowing for some space between our bodies even if my skin ached to press against her, and studied her scared face.
“I’m sorry,” I rasped. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. The need… it’s stronger than I expected. You’re longing for them, and this goes against every instinct you’ve got. I understand. I… I’ll control it.”
“No,” she frowned, her hands softening against my shoulders where she’d pushed to get me off. “It doesn’t… It doesn’t feel wrong. To be with you. I just…”
“Don’t want another alpha to force you to submit,” I finished for her, bowing my head to rest it against her own. “Shit, Annabel. You fucking sing to me. But I’ll show you, it doesn’t have to be rough. Not always.”
She moved one hand from my shoulder to the back of my head, cupping it. “I’d like that,” she whispered.
I inhaled deeply, soaking in her gentle embrace, and tried to focus on her hand in my hair instead of her lush thighs bracketing my hips. This woman… How Grim could have any doubt she was ours, I’d never understand. Simply touching her, I felt the ghostly caress of Fate shiver down my spine, mixing with a longing so deep it took my breath away.
It took longer than it should have to withdraw from the hungry claws of my more violent instincts, the urge to flip her to her knees and rut her like a beast tearing at the edges of my resolve for every shuddering breath of her scent that filled my nostrils. Only the knowledge that I wanted to do better for her, be better, allowed me to eventually roll to my back, ensuring she followed so I could shield her from the cold stone with my body.
The weight of her small frame against my chest felt so perfect, like she was made to fit against me. I rumbled a chuckle, earning me a curious glance from Annabel. I couldn’t blame her—seconds ago, I’d been about to maul her.
“I find it amusing—that some Norn weaves two threads together and then here you are, in my arms. My perfect match. In about the worst circumstances imaginable,” I added, lifting my free hand to touch her cheek.
“I’m glad someone finds it funny,” she flatly replied. “I’d personally like to slap that Norn. If she wasn’t so damn scary…”
The last bit she mumbled, pulling another laugh from me. “Don’t go slapping any Norns, you hear?” I drew a finger along her jawline, a small bolt of glee sparking in my still-heated blood when her breath shuddered in response. “If she hurt you, I’d have to kill her. And I also find them fucking terrifying.”
“I didn’t think alphas ever admitted to feeling fear. Especially not the godly kind,” she said, a small smile twitching the corner of her lip. It was fucking adorable, and I pressed a kiss to it, lingering for just a moment.
“Hmm,” I hummed, distracted by the taste of her lips. I wasn’t nearly as good at banter as my brothers on the best of days, and right now, most of my blood supply had relocated south of my navel.
Instead of answering, I drew my hand down along her side, caressing her breast and the curve of her hip before dragging my fingertips back up along the same path.
Her breath hitched again, her body tensing against mine. She was still afraid, but now it was mixed with arousal. Her omega instincts were warring against themselves.
I kissed her again, parting her lips with my own so my tongue could explore the wet cavern of her mouth. Instantly blood thundered in my ears as my instincts roared to take charge, but I kept control this time—mostly. My hand dipped between her legs of its own accord.
She gasped into my mouth, squeezing her thighs around my touch, but I kept my fingers light on her mound, brushing the rough fur there until she relaxed, her focus returning to our kiss.
Gradually I worked my fingertips lower, eventually letting one slip down her cleft. She jerked in response, and I smiled against her lips at the familiar little bulb I grazed. She might be scared, she might miss her mates, she may only have offered her body to bring forth the power we needed to find Loki… but her clit was throbbing, begging for my touch.
“Little omega,” I whispered, finally pulling back from her mouth so I could take in her flushed cheeks and dark eyes. I greedily swallowed every gasp, every tremor on her pretty face as I let my fingertips dance along her little nub, rubbing on the hood covering it and occasionally teasing her with a direct touch to the tender bundle of nerves protruding farther and farther the more I stimulated her.
Soon her hips rocked with my motions, the tension in her body shifting as her nature forced her to chase what I was offering. She squeezed her eyes tight, breath coming in sharp little pants, fingers digging into my shoulder and arm, almost as if she didn’t know if she wanted to push me away or press me closer.
“Please… Please!” she gasped, nails biting into my skin. I pressed in harder, wrapped my free arm tighter around her so she couldn’t escape, and rubbed her rough and fast right where she’d feel it the most.
She shrieked, head flying back and then forward, smacking against my face. I barely noticed the pain when my lip split open, the roar in my veins deafening me to anything but Annabel’s keens as she came hard on my fingers, fighting me every inch of the way.
“Bjarni! Fuck! Goddamn, shit!” Her body arched, tensing so hard she shook as curses flew from her lips. I kept flicking her spasming clit until the tension drained from her muscles and she collapsed back onto my chest, panting for air as if she’d just run ten miles.
“Oh my God,” she murmured drunkenly against my chest.
I knew it wasn’t what she meant. But hearing her call me a god? Her god?
She grunted when I rolled her off my shoulder so she landed on the rough floor, and shrieked when I grabbed the pants caught halfway down her thighs and tugged so roughly she jerked along as I pulled them from her, boots and all, leaving her lower half bared. Finally.
With a growl I had no control over, I fell between her legs, wrapped my arms around her thighs so she couldn’t deny me access, and buried my mouth in her core.
The onslaught of sensation that closed in around me took my breath away. I gasped, inhaling her scent deep into my lungs, dragging it in as if my life depended on it.
And right then? It fucking did. I knew with every ounce of my being that if I didn’t drink my fill of her honeyed cunt right goddamn then, I’d die.
She mewled when I dragged my tongue up through her cleft, splitting her open and tasting the juices I’d manipulated from her with my fingers. It was maddening.
Blind with need to feel her gush for me again, I found her clit and wrapped my lips tightly around it, sucking it with a hunger I’d never known the likes of.
“Bjarni! No, no!” she hollered, trying to wriggle her hips out of my grasp. Too soon—she was too sensitive after her first orgasm for such direct stimulation.
Tough shit, sweetie.
I held her tight, forcing her to experience every deep draw on her throbbing clit, making my entire body hum to the same tune. I’d never forcefully penetrate her, but I was still an alpha. Every instinct I had screamed for dominance, and so I sucked her clit while she cried for me to stop, thrashing against my grip, sucked it as she sobbed and her body slowly softened, sucked it until she finally surrendered to the pleasure and began to grind against my face.
She barely registered when I released her left thigh to slip a finger up inside of her, but she sure did notice when I hooked it, finding her G-spot.
“Bjarni!” she gasped, then went rigid, jerking once, twice…
Her hands in my hair tugged harshly, and the
n warm liquid spilled against my chin, wetting my beard as the sweetest moan rang in my ears.
I’d never been this hard in my entire life.
I rose to my knees between her thighs, her hands falling limply from my head to her sides as she looked up at me through hooded lids. We didn’t speak—we didn’t need to. She kept her gaze locked on mine while I freed my throbbing cock from the confines of my leather pants, never breaking eye contact as I fell on top of her, catching my weight on one elbow.
And then I brought my cock to her slick, open pussy.
The first brush of her lips over my throbbing cockhead sent shivers up my spine. It turned to a full-body shudder when I pressed in farther and she spread open like a flower, her folds wrapping around me as I speared her opening.
“Shit!” she mewled, hands flying to my stomach the second her tunnel stretched in preparation to finally take me.
I’d fucked enough women to recognize the worry in her eyes as she stared up at me, a plea to stop moments from spilling from her lips. I was bigger than even my brothers, and it had taken a lot of coaxing of the beta girls I’d bedded while living in exile in Midgard before they enjoyed this part.
But Annabel was an omega. She was built for me.
I grabbed her protesting hands, trapping them above her head by her wrists. And then I pushed in.
Fully.
Hot. Tight. Perfect.
“Fuck! Anna! Annabel!” I was barely aware of my own roar, my senses full of nothing but the tight, wet grip she had on my dick. Every nerve in my body sang out of tune, my blood thundering like Thor himself had taken up residence in my veins.
This was it. This was what I’d waited for all my life. Her and her perfect little cunt.
The second I released her wrists, she was beating at my shoulders, her mouth forming angry words I couldn’t comprehend while her cunt sucked on me, but I read her true feelings plain as day.
She fucking loved how I felt inside of her. Loved the stretch, loved the submission.
