by Kate Pearce
She’d shifted closer as he talked, close enough to take his hand in hers and squeeze. “It does. And I want to help. I’m just a liaison officer, but I can write reports, try and convince my CO…” She shrugged. “It’s not much, but I’ll do what I can.”
“I think you can do more than that. I did some research into your FedNat contract and if—”
“You did what?” She wheeled on him, eyes blazing.
Damn. He’d meant to share that later. When they were alone and she could storm around his farmhouse throwing things while he laid out the whole plan. Once she heard everything…but it was too late.
“Reinn Ragnarson. What. Did. You. Do.” She hissed each word as its own sentence under her breath.
“Quietly, without naming names, I looked into the loopholes for getting you out of your commission.”
“Why?” The question burst out of her with a concerning amount of heat.
He pushed forward anyway. “So you could be my wife.”
Chest heaving, eyes blazing, she held up her hand and took a giant step back. “Whoa, buster.”
Behind her, people were turning and looking. He leaned back and crossed his arms. “We’re attracting attention, min elskede.”
She froze, then swallowed hard and stepped closer again. She levelled him with a beyond grumpy look, then settled on the bench beside him. Not close enough to touch, but she hadn’t turned on her heel and fled, either.
“You wanted a different kind of proposal?”
“Yes.”
“But you wanted a proposal.”
“No.” She worked her jaw back and forth. “We just met. Marriage isn’t something to rush into hastily.”
“Maybe not. But due to circumstances beyond our control, it’s the only way to be together.”
She snorted. “Wow, romantic.”
“I had a whole thing planned back at my farm. I was going to take you there on my boat.”
“That sounds vaguely like a kidnapping.” He shrugged and she laughed. “You would, wouldn’t you? Drag me off by my hair so I wouldn’t make a scene.”
He leaned over, keeping his eyes straight ahead at the revellers. “I’m not the one who needs to keep our affair a secret. You go on and make all the scene you want.”
“We’re not having an affair.”
“My tongue would disagree. It can still taste you.”
She bit back a groan.
“My cock, on the other hand, isn’t sure. It hasn’t had the pleasure of being buried deep inside you yet. But it does remember grinding against your tight little ass two weeks ago, and would very much like to do that again. Preferably without any clothes in between us this time.”
“You’re crazy,” she whispered, her cheeks beet red.
“Crazy for you. Crazy enough to say let’s get married. You’d have a right to be stationed near your husband, or they’d let you out of our commission.”
“I should give up my career to be your wife?” She looked him straight in the eye and rolled her eyes. “You’re overestimating how much I liked your tongue.”
“This isn’t about sex, but no, I’m not. I’ve been married before—”
“Don’t remind me—”
“And what we have? It’s nothing like that. That was strategic and convenient.”
“That’s exactly what you—” She spluttered and frowned. “That is exactly what you are suggesting. If you don’t see that, then this conversation is pointless.”
She stood and marched back into the square, disappearing into the crowd.
7
She didn’t know what she was more steamed about: that he’d presumed to make this decision for her or that his proposal wasn’t more romantic.
It made sense. A fling would reflect badly on the mission. A fairy tale love story would work to everyone’s advantage, binding the two worlds more closely together.
If only that was the truth, she’d dive in head first, because she knew they loved each other. But love didn’t always last, and throwing her career was a big deal.
And it would be a career-ending move, even if the wedding would have the tacit approval of the FedNat. Reinn was a possessive man. He wouldn’t want her to leave on deep-space missions—she wouldn’t want to leave him either. If she let herself fall for him, she’d fall all the way. And wake up in ten years with four small Vikings and be trapped on the other side of the galaxy from her home.
How is Earth any more your home than Midgard? Her father lived on Earth’s Moon. Her mother had relocated from Florida to the western coast of Australia. Neither was close enough to share a regular meal with. And Ashleigh had signed up with the Forces because she didn’t want to be stuck on one planet.
So here she was, considering tying herself to a man very much attached to another planet.
I’m not considering anything.
Nice dress, Ashleigh, the other side of her brain scoffed as she headed almost blindly toward Agathe and Bern’s home. She was done with the party.
What had she been hoping? That he’d show up—because she knew he would, for all her grumbling—and drop to one knee when he saw her in his native garb?
Yes.
With a strangled yell, she kicked at a bucket on the ground.
“What did that bucket ever do to you?” Reinn drawled behind her.
She whirled and pointed her finger at him. “You.”
“Yes, me.” He lifted his hands. “Don’t kick me, either.”
She kept going towards the house, walking backwards now. Just like in the market, even when she was mad at him she found it hard to look away. “You suck at proposals.”
“Let me try again.”
“No.”
“Watch out for the—” Her heel caught on the board at the bottom of the doorframe and she went tumbling onto her ass into the common room. Reinn stood over her, a gentle, laughing smile twisting on his face. “Step. Watch out for the step.”
She pushed to her feet and headed for the stairs. “You also suck at giving people space.”
“You don’t want me to leave you alone.”
“And listening. You suck at listening.” She was halfway up the steps when he grabbed her from behind, hauling her close.
He held her firmly at the waist and he settled her bottom on his thigh. He leaned them both against the wall, bringing his lips to her ear. “We’ve got a lifetime to sort that out. I look forward to endeavouring every day to be a better husband to you.”
“You talk about it so casually, like it’s just that easy.”
“You said marriage isn’t something to rush into. And you’re right. When people make a conscious decision to become spouses, that takes thought and consideration. But I didn’t choose you, Ashleigh. You were chosen for me. You’re my mate, selected for me by the gods, and all I need to think about are the details of protecting that. Protecting you. I’m not rushing into anything.”
“How can you know that? I don’t know that. I think that’s something we both need to be on the same page about.”
“I love you. I thought I loved Ylsa, but I was wrong. I met you and my world righted itself. And now that I’ve got you, I’m never letting you go. I know you’re scared, min elskede. But I also know you feel the same way. That’s why you’re frightened. Because it’s so damn big. Bigger than anything else.”
The whispered words fired up the hope she’d been trying her damnedest to tamp down, which only made her madder. She jerked forward, fighting his hold on her.
“You want me to let you go?” He kissed her neck. “Ask me nicely.”
“Please, Reinn,” she whispered, but then she stopped. No, she didn’t want him to let her go. She wanted him to listen and talk to her, but the last thing she wanted was distance. He eased his hold on her, and she used that moment to turn in the circle of his arms. She stroked her hands up his chest and around his neck, enjoying the way his pulse jumped under her palm. He always looked so cool and calm, but she liked that she got under hi
s skin just as much as he did hers. “Take me to bed.”
With a growl he pressed her back against the wall, his hands in her hair and then on her shoulders, her hips, her breasts. His mouth covered hers in an urgent kiss that didn’t end until he was sitting on the stairs and she was straddling him, her wet sex riding his straining cock. He cupped the back of her head with one hand and stroked up her leg, under her skirts with the other. “I should fuck you right here, you impossible woman.”
“Yes,” she whispered, nipping at his lower lip. “I want you inside me.”
He rocked against her, his erection rolling across all her sensitive parts before pressing against the most sensitive part in exactly the right way. “No,” he ground out. “Not yet.”
She wiggled against him with a whimper and he cupped her bottom firmly in one hand as he lifted them both up off the stairs and turned, climbing again. “Which room are you in?”
She muttered instructions to him between kisses on his neck. The hot, tight skin there was suddenly irresistible to her. She wanted more of him naked. All of him. He bumped her back against the doorframe to the room at the end of the hall, but then she was being gently lowered on the low, wide platform bed. He kissed her soundly before standing again, and she pushed herself up on her elbows to watch him undress. This time, it all came off. Tunic. Shirt. Belt. His torso was a thing of beauty, all angles and shadows, dark, curly hair trailing down the centre in an invitation to discover what was hidden behind the laces on his trousers.
“Let me,” she breathed as his hands moved there, and he climbed onto the bed, his long thighs straddling her with ease. She touched the hard planes of his abdomen first, loving the way he shuddered under her fingertips. She leaned up and kissed the flat space between his navel and his pants, then inhaled more of that yummy soapy smell she’d come to associate with him. And underneath it, the scent of her man.
It made her hungry.
She opened her mouth and sank her teeth ever so slightly into his skin, laving the spot almost immediately with her tongue. He groaned and pressed her head into his belly. “Again,” he muttered, and she laid a line of love bites across his stomach while her hands started to work on the laces. Underneath her fingers, his erection flexed and strained for release, and she teased the impressive length of him with her knuckles. On the third pass, he let out another growl and hauled her away, flicking his pants open with a lightning fast move.
“Touch me,” he commanded, and she greedily wrapped both hands around his cock. It was a thing of beauty, with silky skin stretched tight behind a wide head. Dusky pink down the length, almost dark purple behind the foreskin, and all hers. She dashed her tongue out and tasted the bead of pre-come swelling at the tip. Hesitantly, she opened her lips, wanting to taste more of him. He flexed his hips forward, easing in over her tongue, and she quickly choked as the weight of him filled her mouth. He pulled back, whispering for her to breathe, then swallow as he tried again. It was overwhelming and she struggled under him for a second before he twisted off and pulled her on top of him. “Something else you’ve never done?” he asked, tracing her lips with his thumb.
She snagged his finger between her teeth and shook her head. Holding his hand in place, she licked up and down his thumb before tugging it back into her mouth to demonstrate she did know a little bit about that act. “Not never. Just rarely. And never…like that. Or with anyone quite so large.”
He stared at her mouth as she pulled again at his thumb. “Show me, then, how you’ve done it.” He carefully removed her broach, loosening her dress. “And take that off.”
She slid down his legs as she lifted both her dress and the shift beneath it over her head. She hadn’t bothered with a bra, which left her just in her basic issue underwear. He could peel those off her in a minute if he wanted. Right now she was a woman on a mission. She wrapped her fist around his shaft, smoothing her other hand up his leg and onto those muscles in front of his hips that made her crazy. She hovered her mouth over his head, licking her lips. She had zero trouble producing enough saliva to make this blow job rock his world—she was practically drooling for another taste of him.
Slowly, she brought her hand up as she dropped her head, bringing her fingers to meet her lips before sliding apart again. Up and down she went, increasing her speed and suction as Reinn urged her on. He groaned and uttered half sentences about what he liked and what he wanted, but she was in the driver’s seat. The taste and scent of his pre-seed flooded her senses, short-circuiting her brain. Everything narrowed to her tongue, her hand, and all the man in between. And there was a lot of him. One day she’d practice taking him deeper, but for now she was playing a finesse game.
Reinn’s hands tangled in her braid, then pressed on her shoulders and her arms, skittering restlessly as his hips surged in a demanding rhythm she was more than happy to meet. She reached out with her free hand and wound her fingers into his, but he used the grounding gesture against her, hauling her back up his body like she was a rag doll.
“Enough of that, woman,” he rasped. He slid his other hand into her hair and pulled her closer to his face, stopping just before he got blurry. “I love you.”
He said it fiercely, like she might challenge him, but she couldn’t. Didn’t want to. “I love you, too,” she whispered.
“Say it again.” He looked at her mouth, which must be red and swollen and wet, and she started to repeat the profession of love, but he cut her off with a groan. This was a teeth-clashing, hungry kiss that amped them both up and sent her spinning. After a minute she realized that was a literal thing, because he was turning them both. Somehow in the process her underwear came off, and then he was right there, between her legs.
She thought of the birth control shot—and the clear bill-of-health—she’d received before she left Earth, and thought of what Reinn had said a week earlier. They should have had this conversation before this moment, but still… “I can’t get pregnant,” she whispered. “Not right now. I have a shot.”
Between her legs, his erection twitched. “What a shame,” he grinned. “I’ll enjoy practicing nonetheless. And when the shot wears off…”
She arched her hips. “We’ll take a babymaking vacation.” She touched his face with her fingertips. “I do love you, you crazy Viking.”
He closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to touch hers. “And it is a great honour, min elskede.”
She rolled her hips, inviting him to fill her because she was more than ready, and when he did, slowly stretching her in ways she’d never imagined, she cried out with joy.
***
Reinn settled in the cradle of Ashleigh’s hips, giving himself a minute to gain some control. Because at the first slide into her body, he’d wanted to surge again and again, fucking her hard until they both collapsed in sated exhaustion. And that wasn’t what she deserved. That shouldn’t be their first time together.
His arms shook as he slowly moved over her, into her, and around her. Between them her small breasts jiggled against his chest and he needed one of them in his hand. Needed. He couldn’t quite understand this hunger he had for her, this all-encompassing desire to touch and taste and smell her constantly, but he’d stopped questioning. He shifted his weight to one arm and traced her nipple with his free hand. “You’re so beautiful,” he groaned as the peak tightened and stood up for him. “Every bit of you is utter perfection.”
She rocked underneath him, a groan of her own the only response, and he wondered if she was already close. He should have prepared her better for him, but he was gone at the first touch of her pussy to his cock. She was so damn tight, but wet, and the combination was mind-blowing. He surged over her, then tilted his hips and thrust again, varying his entry until she gasped out loud. There. He found it again, that spot inside that would help her find her ultimate pleasure, and with her next gasp he knew he’d found the right rhythm for them. But she kept shifting, clawing at him and curving her legs around his hips trying to gain purchase.
Gods. He wanted to tie her down and lick her through a few orgasms to tame the wild beast inside her.
“Reinn,” she gasped, then grabbed his face. “Stop thinking about making it perfect for me.”
He froze. “It’s my duty to pleasure you.”
“Trust me, fucking me like a stallion will bring me all sorts of pleasure.”
He grinned down at her, her sweet face all flushed and bright-eyed. “You want me to be your stallion?”
“Damn straight.”
He swept his arm under her hips and rolled them in one fluid motion. “Then ride, min elskede.”
Like a sphinx, she rolled up and away from his body. He thought he was already as turned on as he could possibly be, but the long, graceful stretch of her torso made him even harder inside her. She looked down at him through half-shut eyes and licked her lips as if to say, yes, I feel it, too.
He stroked his hands up her lean thighs, gripped snug to his body, and anchored his hands on the swell of her hips. She lifted up, as if she was going to fuck him, but he had other plans. She might be on top, but he was in charge. He thrust into her, intent on finding the spot that made her gasp before. She wobbled in place but stayed up right, and he started again, lifting her and driving deep in a strange and perfectly haphazard fashion. Form took a back seat to the function of driving her out of her beautiful mind.
Over and over again, he slid his cock into her, fast and hard. He didn’t need to tell her to touch herself, her hands were everywhere. He watched, devouring the sight of her pinching her nipples and stroking down her stomach. Holding herself open with one hand as she found and circled her clit with the other.
He watched, but he didn’t stop. He was a machine with a single purpose: keep his woman moaning. Even as his own climax thundered closer, he kept filling her, stretching her. He loved that look of wonder on her face as they joined over and over again, and he’d count the gods backwards and upside down if he needed to. But she was close, really close, and when she tipped forward and he took one pebbled peak in his mouth, she spasmed around him in bliss and he surged one last time, filling her with his seed.
