Vengeance of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 2)

by Sky Purington

  “Why not do that when you were still together?” Sam murmured. “Why not save you both so much grief and finally be happy together?”

  “Because we would have been living a lie,” Katla said. “No matter how much I suppressed his dreams, you were always going to be there. His heart would always belong to another.” Katla’s eyes went to Bjorn again before they returned to Sam. “Since you arrived, my spell over him has been fading. He’s been remembering more and more. Now the spell is completely lifted, and like you soon will, he remembers everything. Every last dream.”

  Sam’s eyes met Bjorn’s and a fresh wave of emotions washed over her. It was astonishing how far both of them had come to find one another.

  “You are fated to be together.” Katla embraced her one last time. “Love your dragon well, seer.”

  Katla’s eyes returned to Bjorn as she pulled away. “I have already said goodbye to Sven. He knows I will visit him often but discreetly.” Her eyes grew damp again as she said, “There is something in my cottage you must give him. You will find it in a box that will materialize on the mantle at sunrise tomorrow. Until then it is hidden by my magic.”

  Bjorn nodded. “I will make sure he gets it.”

  Katla nodded as well and their eyes held for a long moment before she turned to Näv and Vigdis. “I am ready to go home.”

  “Yes, home,” Vigdis murmured as she walked by Bjorn, her hips swaying as she eyed him up and down with a just-see-what’s-walking-away from you look. Sam rolled her eyes. The last time she checked, the seer had no use for him. When had that changed?

  “You, you, you,” Vigdis said almost like tsk, tsk, tsk as she walked around Sam and shook her head. “Such fire. Such intelligence. Who knew?”

  “Me.” Sam winked. “Because I’m smart like that.”

  “So you are.” Vigdis eyed her as if searching out weaknesses. “It has been…entertaining serving you, Samantha.”

  That’s when it occurred to her. “All along, you were in on this with Näv, weren’t you?”

  Vigdis’ brows perked with thinly veiled ignorance. “In on what?”

  Sam wasn’t about to be baited or have it out with the seer yet again so she simply said, “Thank you, Vigdis.”

  “Thank you,” the seer mouthed as if not all that impressed. Yet when her eyes met Sam’s, she felt a jolt of awareness. Almost as if she was back in that dream at the Dragon Lair when she thought she heard her mother’s voice…then Vigdis showed up. As soon as the feeling came, it fled. Sam shook her head, trying to hold onto the errant thought, a revelation, but it vanished as soon as it came.

  Vigdis’ eyes held hers for another moment before she stretched languidly, spun on her heel and sauntered toward Näv and Katla. “It is time to bring our sister seer home.” She turned back as she took their hands. “Heidrek knows I will be back soon. That life is very uncomfortable when my bones and stones are separated.”

  She looked at Bjorn and offered a few last words before the three of them vanished. “Don’t forget, Dragon. Play by nigh, feel his frigh. Frolick by day and you will pay.”

  Then they were gone.

  “Damn her,” Sam groaned in frustration. “Why can’t she just come out and say what she means? Why be so cryptic?”

  “Because she is Vigdis,” he muttered. “And because she follows the Seers’ Code of Ethics. It is supposed to keep seers from becoming too involved in our lives, but lately I have wondered how much they are adhering to it.”

  “No kidding…” she started but didn’t get the rest of her words out before he closed the distance and kissed her.

  Finally.

  At last.

  This time, there was nothing slow and careful about them coming together. She wanted him in her arms. Her mind. Her body. As fast as dragonly possible. Which, as it turned out, was pretty darn fast.

  Seconds later, they were nude, and he had her against his headboard. Everything seemed to happen in rapid flashes of pulsing lust. She not only felt him but saw them both from outside her body. It was an uncut out-of-body sexual experience with all the perks of flesh touching flesh.

  It was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced.

  The way she white-knuckled the headboard and arched back against him. The ivory paleness of her skin against his. Her fiery curls next to the darkness of his bent head. How delicate she appeared beside his muscled body. His large hands on her curved hips and small waist.

  Most especially, she liked the expression on his face. The look in his eyes as he brushed aside her hair and ran his fingers down her back. As he felt and admired the contours of her body.

  It was crazed lust, untempered desire.

  His lips fell apart, and his breath caught as he wedged her knees further apart and pleasured himself not by entering her but by rubbing his shaft along her front. Sweat slicked their skin as he stimulated her clit and drove them both insane.

  “Can you see?” she panted, unable to catch her breath, wondering if he was having the same semi-out of body experience she was. “Do you see?”

  “Yes,” he managed, his voice hoarse, rough. “Our dragons are very creative.”

  Why did that not surprise her? Especially of Bjorn’s.

  Sam groaned as he nipped the side of her neck and fondled her breasts. Then he angled her head until his lips were on hers again. The way he touched and stroked her was masterful. As if he was creating another one of his sculptures. He touched her body so well that she was fast becoming a work of art.

  Or so said the way she looked from the outside.

  The fluctuations and undulations of her form against his. The untethered, euphoric expression on her face. He was molding her to his will. Bringing out the best in her.

  Sam bit her lower lip when it started trembling. When the pleasure became so intense her breathing grew choppy, and her body began to shake. She had already climaxed several times. Or perhaps it had been one long release. Even so, her dragon, his dragon, kept her suspended in agonizing pleasure, feeling so much while at the same time frantic for more.

  “Bjorn,” she moaned, ignoring the tears leaking from her eyes. “Please.”

  His movements stilled, and he inhaled deeply, as though savoring her scent, her desperation. Slowly, so slowly she was ready to scream, he leaned back and gripped her hips. His eyes worked their way down her back as lovingly as his hands had.

  She shuddered, unable to swallow, as he admired himself entering her. Sam didn’t recognize the sound she made as he inched along. He was teasing. Taunting. Making her suffer.

  But not for long.

  Because her dragon didn’t like to be kept waiting.

  So instead of thrusting back and making him take her, she pulled free, sat on the headboard, and narrowed her eyes in challenge. “You’re being a bad boy again, Bjorn.” She spread her legs. “And I’m growing impatient.”

  A covetous smile curved his lips as he took in everything she offered.

  “Samantha,” he murmured as his lips found her knee, then her inner thigh, then so much more.

  Her head fell back, and she released a host of colorful curses as he gripped the headboard with one hand and used the other hand in unexpectedly inventive ways. Tongue, teeth, lips, fingers and knuckles. Oh, who knew you could create that little extra something with a well-placed knuckle.

  Bjorn, it seemed.

  By the time he was finished, she was hoarse and well past being defiant. Nope, when he finally wrapped his arms under her knees and hoisted her higher, she was pure putty. Done for. Hands braced against the wall, he thrust deep and took her.

  Sam half screamed, half gasped. Then she didn’t stop sharing with the world exactly how he made her feel. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to.

  It felt too amazing.

  Too astounding.

  Every color imaginable burst around her before red shrouded her vision.

  She arched sharply as her dragon let go...seconds before she did.

  Bjorn seemed
to hesitate—almost as if he sensed something—before he pulled out, kept her close and roared his release. Sam was so caught up in her own orgasm she barely processed what had distracted him. Not until several minutes later when he held her in his arms.

  He was worried about getting her pregnant.

  “I’m on birth control you know,” she murmured. “Not that you seemed concerned before.”

  “Birth control means nothing to dragons,” he said. “We can sense when a woman is fertile. We can control our seed from taking root.”

  “Okay.” She cuddled closer to him. “Then we have nothing to worry about.”

  “A human woman,” he said. “We can control our seed with a human woman.”

  Still drowsy and enjoying the afterglows of killer sex, his words didn’t really sink in…at first. “What does that mean exactly?”

  “It means that you are in heat,” he said softly. “And I think our dragons have manipulated us again.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  BJORN EXPECTED SAMANTHA to grow upset. To rant and rave, and accuse him of things he had no control over. But she did not. Instead, she propped up on an elbow and looked at him. Just stared at him as though seeing him for the first time. It was a curious yet baffled look that spoke volumes.

  She didn’t screech but remained perfectly calm. “What do you mean our dragons manipulated us again?”

  “I should not have sensed your fertility halfway through sex,” he said. “It does not happen that way. I should have known sooner. I would have smelled and felt it.” He kept his eyes on hers. It was the least he could do. “I think you have been in heat since we met. And I think I did not sense it sooner because our dragons did not want me to.”

  “I’m not sure I understand,” she said slowly. “Why would they do that?”

  Bjorn decided this was a good time for a drink and started to roll away, but Samantha stopped him. “Hey, answers first.” Her eyes met his. “Why would they do that, Bjorn?”

  He sighed and sat back, growing more uncomfortable by the moment. “I do not know for sure, but I can speculate.”

  Though her voice remained calm, her eyes widened slightly. “Then speculate away. Please.”

  He eyed her for several moments before he decided he had no choice but to share. “My dragon was not happy when I lost Sven. It was concerned about my state of mind. And it continued to worry until my other half and I reconnected. Until the day I pulled my inner dragon free from the darkness the enemy invoked.”

  When she said nothing but urged him to continue, he did. “My dragon lost a son that day too, Samantha. We both lost a child.” His eyes held hers for a long moment before he murmured, “Just like you and your dragon did at one time.”

  She blinked several times and pulled away as his words sunk in. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Bjorn kept his eyes on hers. He wanted her to see his compassion. How much he cared and hurt for her. The loss she had suffered. “I’m inside your mind, Samantha,” he said softly. “There is little I do not know about you.”

  Her eyes filled with moisture as she continued to stare at him. She wasn’t mad. Just sad. “It was…a long time ago.”

  “It was two winters ago.” He kept his tone soft, caring. “And it is part of the reason you and your former husband are no longer together.”

  Samantha sat, wrapped her arms around her bent legs and rested her cheek on her knees, her eyes still with his. Now he understood that position better. It was a means to curl into herself. To stay safely away from the past…and her unborn child.

  She didn’t speak at first, just stared at him blankly, until finally, at last, she opened up.

  “I was only five months pregnant when I lost her,” Samantha whispered. “I carried small so nobody knew but Rick. I didn’t even tell Cybil.” She paused and pressed her lips together as she worked to temper her emotions. “In retrospect, I’m amazed she didn’t know considering her gift of foresight.” She swallowed hard. “But then maybe some things just aren’t meant to be known.” She released a shaky sigh. “I kept meaning to share with everyone, but I’m superstitious. I was afraid something would happen if I did.” She blinked back tears. “But it did anyway.”

  Bjorn put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she whispered, “Her name was Grace.” Her lips trembled. “I was so unhappy in my marriage,” she said hoarsely. “So she was my little saving Grace.”

  Bjorn knew. He had sensed it all. Instead of offering words—because he knew there were never enough and that they could not fix it—he pulled her into his arms. He had spent endless days and nights mourning for and missing his son. While their situations were markedly different, their pain ran just as deep. The unfiltered heartache that never truly went away.

  Until now…for him.

  Because of her, he finally had a chance to heal his relationship with Sven. To once more find the son he lost. But she could never have that. She would never hold Grace in her arms. Her daughter was gone. And Bjorn knew, deep down inside, that his dragon, their dragons, wanted to give her that chance.

  To help her heal.

  To start anew.

  Samantha might be loud when lovemaking but she was the opposite when mourning. That’s when she held it all in. She fought the pain. Every day. Every moment. Showing the world one thing while feeling another. At least she had been.

  Until now.

  Until she felt his dragon wrap around hers as readily as his arms. That’s when she let go. Not loud but quiet sobs. He embraced her pain and helped her work through it. A friend within her mind who bit by bit helped her release the heartache. To accept that Grace was gone but never forgotten. It was time to let go of the past and focus on the future.

  There would be more children.

  She could still be a mother.

  His chest grew damp with her tears and his heart heavy with her sadness, but he didn’t care. He would do whatever it took to give her a modicum of peace. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep. When she did, he followed. Into her dreams where she wasn’t so sad. Where they could fly together over oceans, mountains, and forests.

  Play, love and finally be together.

  The sun had just set when he felt her stir. He opened his eyes to find her awake. They were curled up together, facing one another. Their eyes held before she whispered, “Thank you…for being such a good friend.”

  He cupped her cheek. Though he meant to tell her she didn’t have to thank him, the last thing he intended came out of his mouth. “I love you, Samantha.”

  She gave no response but nodded as her eyes grew moist, and she kissed him. Soft. Fleeting. But the look in her eyes and the feel of her lips told him everything. She loved him too.

  “Am I pregnant?” she said softly.

  “I don’t know,” he said just as softly. “But if you are, I will know very soon.” He gave her absolute honesty. “Every Sigdir dragon will. They will feel its life force and catch its scent.”

  “Damn.” A bit of humor lit her eyes. “So it’s a family affair, eh?”

  “Yes.” He continued to give her honesty as he did his best to suppress his excitement, how happy he would be if she were. “He or she would be the first of its kind. A dragon born of two dragons.”

  “Sounds intense,” she murmured, but he heard something in her voice. A lightness he hadn’t expected. One he had hoped for. The same light reflected in her eyes. She wasn’t opposed to having a child with him. Far from it. But she wondered. “I know what your dragon wants but what about you, Bjorn?” Her eyes searched his. “Do you want another child? Or was Sven—”

  Bjorn put a finger to his lips and murmured, “I do. I want another child. And I want one with you, Samantha.”

  Her eyes grew damp as they held his. Everything that needed to be shared was in that one long look. Where they stood. How they felt. What they wanted.

  Still beneath the furs, she straddled him. When they kissed, it was slow, languid, building up to wha
t she meant to take from him. By the time their lips separated and she sank onto him, their dragons were surfacing. His vision was shrouded in red, and her skin was sheening sparkly white.

  Her dragon was taking over.

  And his dragon was ready.

  After that, their movements fluctuated from fast to slow, from warm passion to sizzling heat. It wasn’t long for either of them. To find each other. To get lost in one another. He rolled her beneath him, wrapped his hands around hers and released a strangled groan as he pressed deep and locked up. Samantha’s body seized just as tightly as she belted out a throaty cry then trembled as she let go.

  They stayed that way for a long time.

  Holding each other.

  Part of each other.

  Though it was the last thing he wanted to do, Bjorn eventually pulled away, lifted her and brought her to a tub of water near the fire. Though it had been filled earlier, he warmed it with a simple chant then set her down in it. A servant had brought in refreshments at some point during the day. Mugs of ale and a variety of food.

  Samantha watched him, her eyes drowsy as he sat down and fed her. Not much. Just enough. His eyes never left her face as they chatted about their various dreams. He remembered what she went through with her mother. How similar it was to what he was going through with his. He recalled talk of her father. A man she had cared deeply for.

  Decades of memories brought them closer than they already were.

  After a while, a comfortable silence settled over them as they bathed each other. Her skin sheened and unsheened as she watched him, touched him. By the time they were finished the lust in her eyes was unmistakable.

  So when she ordered him to stand beside her, he did and was never more grateful. The way she took him into her mouth, the way she used her tongue, he was gone. Lost. And he didn’t truly come around again until several hours later as they lounged in bed. Furs were everywhere. So was food.

  “I need to bring a backpack full of S’more fixins’ here,” she murmured as she licked a drop of mead off his chest and smiled. “So I can eat dessert off of you again.” Her hand found his cock. “All of you.”