Viking's Love (20 page)

The fever in his blood for her was raging.
From the moment he set eyes upon her she had him twisted him up
inside. He was determined to have her willing in his arms. She was
startled when he found her in the kitchens.

“
Get you to my room, Slave.”

Allisande stiffened at his words. “I am not
done with my duties, Master,” she said coldly, her obvious sneer
making the women around her gasp at her audacity.

“
You are done! Go, or I will carry you,
Allisande!” She glared at him, breathing slowly as she saw his
intent gaze upon her. “Get up to my room now, or I will drag you
out of here, Allisande!” He was pleased to see she rose and walked
ahead of him out of the kitchens without a word, her head held
high. She came to the top of the stairs and hesitated before the
door, and winced as he pushed her inside his room.

A fire crackled invitingly in the room. She
saw the tub had been filled with steaming water. She gazed at it
longingly, but realized he probably wished to degrade her again by
making her wash him. He barred the door and leaned back against the
wall, a small smile playing upon his lips.

”
Now take off your clothes and get into
the tub. I would have you clean when you come to my bed.” Joran
smiled at her furious intake of breath.

Her lips tightened at his amused expression,
and she turned her back on him. She bit her lip and her hands
trembled as they went to pull her gown over her head. He nearly
gasped when he saw her back.

Joran stared at her scarred back in regret,
remembering how flawless it had been before Grogan laid hands upon
her. She would always wear the mark of the lash. The crisscrossed
wounds were now scabbed and healing, but the scars would be with
her forever.

He felt his body responding to her nudity.
His eyes slid down to admire her sweetly curved derriere and
slender legs, imagining her sprawled under him in abandon.

Allisande stepped into the tub hurriedly,
refusing to allow herself a sigh of pleasure as the water soothed
her. He came near. She swallowed hard and looked away as he tossed
her a rag and a bar of soap. She accepted it without a word, and
watched out the corner of her eye as he reclined back against the
pillows to watch her bathe.

“
I gather you will not be giving me any
privacy, Viking?”

“
I would not miss this for anything,
Allisande.” Joran folded his massive arms across his chest. “Just
pretend I’m not here,” he added softly, his blue eyes darkening
with passion as he watched her tentatively lather the rag with the
bar of soap. Her raven curls floated upon the water. He watched as
she began to wash herself, nearly groaning aloud as he saw her
scrub her arms and shoulders, her frown telling him she wasn’t
pleased to be watched during such an intimate task.

Joran’s mouth went dry as he saw her lovely
breasts bobbing above the water before she lathered them too,
covering them with white bubbles to hide them from his avid gaze.
He knew she was fully aware of his watching her as she lifted a leg
to wash it, and the other.

Seeing her long slender legs above the rim of
the tub made him imagine them wrapped around him. He felt his body
tighten in response. He was throbbing as he watched the rag
disappear under the water, knowing the other parts she washed now
with an inward groan of relish.

Allisande disappeared under the water as s
began to wash her long hair. She was determined to ignore his
presence, but he knew she was completely aware of him as her
reddened face betrayed her.

He smiled as she seemed to take her time at
her bath, unknowing how much she aroused him by taking her leisure
at it. He saw her rinse her hair. When she would have washed her
legs again he sat forward, his face betraying his impatience.

”
You are done, Allisande. Now get
out.”

Allisande saw the towel lying across a stool
some three feet away, and knew she would have to get out of the tub
and face him fully to retrieve it. He wasn’t about to get up and
bring it to her to and allow her to retain any of her modesty.

She bit back a nasty comment and rose from
the tub, not hearing his indrawn gasp as she stepped out of the tub
and snatched up the towel. She turned her back upon him as she
dried herself, determined he not get the satisfaction of seeing how
disturbed she was feeling with his heated gaze upon her the whole
time.

Joran rose from the bed and undressed slowly,
his eyes never leaving her as she stood drying herself before the
fire, his lips set in determination as he let his pants fall to the
floor. He lay back upon the furs.

His blue eyes glowed as he patted the place
beside him. He was sprawled naked upon the furs, his big body hard
and ready. She couldn’t look at him.

“
Come here now, Allisande,” Joran was
annoyed when she tucked the towel around her, and refused to budge
from her spot, her chin raised defiantly. Her violet eyes were
pools of loathing.

“
Haven’t you enough women here to
satisfy you, Viking, that you must settle your attentions upon one
who is unwilling?” Allisande asked with scorn, her eyebrow raised
in silent mockery.

“
Come here, Allisande!” Joran said
harshly and she flinched from his tone, and came forward
reluctantly, sitting upon the edge of the bed with her back to him,
not allowing him to see how difficult this was for her.

She remembered the pain she felt the last
time he satiated his lust upon her. She trembled with dread for
what was to come. He reached out and tugged the towel away from
her. She gasped as he threw it across the room.

He pulled her back and pushed her to lay flat
beside him, his eyes sliding over her nakedness with heat in his
gaze. She turned her head, determined not to cry this time as she
felt him move to lie next to her.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt him
touching her. His hands caressed her breasts slowly and gently. She
shivered as she felt her nipples tightening in response.

He lowered his mouth and took a nipple into
his mouth, suckling at it softly. He latched onto her other breast,
repeating the slow, unhurried caress. She lay stiffly as she felt
the sensations his mouth was creating within her, her fists
clenched at her sides.

Joran’s mouth left a blistering trail across
her ribcage. She was trembling as she felt his golden hair fall
across her chest. She dared to sneak a glance downward, and saw him
watching her before his tongue teased across her abdomen to her
belly.

He was lavishing it with such attention she
felt a sudden tightening in her loins. His head moved lower still.
She gasped aloud as he opened her slender legs. His fingers parted
her there and delved into her moist feminine folds.

She jerked as his mouth kissed her there. He
teased the flesh with such slow gentleness, she became flushed and
heated, the sensations so intense; she gripped the furs at her
sides.

Allisande closed her eyes in denial as
pleasure washed over her with such intensity she thought she would
shatter from it. His tongue lashed at the sensitive bud of her
desire until a soft cry of surrender escaped her parted lips. She
tensed when she felt him insert a finger inside her, and he soothed
her with soft words.

Soon he was thrusting his finger inside her
slowly as his mouth and tongue drove her wild. She bit her lip as
the shudders of delight wracked her body again, arching under his
mouth, uncaring anymore if he laughed at her for responding to
him.

The tense hands that gripped the furs now
slid into his silky golden hair, clutching him to her tightly as he
lifted her from the bed to bring her more fully against him. Her
eyes widened as his pressure increased. She arched frantically
under his sensual ministrations, soft cries escaping her as spasms
began to hit her.

The heat in her loins was so intense she
sobbed and gripped his head between her thighs tightly as she began
to shake violently. She was dazed when he rolled above her, her
violet eyes dilated as they met his.

Joran fit his big body over hers gently. He
slid his hands under her hips as he thrust deep inside her, filling
her, and stretching her to accept him with such gentleness, she
felt no pain this time. He held himself above her, his face taut as
he slid with such aching slowness within her.

Joran’s eyes were dark with desire as they
met hers. She enjoyed the feel of their bodies joined. The ache
within her began anew. He dipped slowly, back and forth, going
deeper still. She tensed as she prepared to feel pain. She was
stunned as the friction between their bodies caused her to move
with him.

Joran groaned aloud, and felt her meet the
movements of his body with eagerness, gripping his shoulders as he
rose and fell above her. His lips covered hers, drowning out her
cries as he drove into her harder, feeling her nails dig into his
shoulders in response.

He was determined to go slowly this time, but
soon her body was undulating under his with such fervor, he forgot
his best intentions. He began to stroke harder inside her, gritting
his teeth as he felt her clenching around him.

Joran moaned harshly, closing his eyes as
passion claimed him, so overwhelmed with the woman in his arms, her
name slid past his lips. Allisande looked up at him and saw the
power she wielded over him as he rocked hungrily within her,
bringing her to ecstasy with each maddening stroke.

The tension grew between their
sweat-slickened bodies. As a wave of such intense pleasure hit her,
she wrapped her arms around his neck to get closer to him. Joran
gasped as he felt her shaking around him, tightening until he too
exploded, emptying his seed deep within her with an exultant cry,
his head flung back as their bodies strained together.

When he lay still within her, panting
harshly, she opened her eyes expecting to see his mockery. She was
shocked to see the tenderness in his eyes. He rolled to his side
now and brought her with him. His hands stroked her tenderly as he
held her.

No words were spoken as he pulled the furs
around them and held her tightly against his wide chest. She was
confused by what happened between them, and felt so exposed to him
in that moment; she couldn’t bear it if he laughed at her.

Joran dropped a kiss upon her shoulder. She
lay sprawled across his chest, feeling the golden hairs there
tickling her nose. She found the closeness strangely comforting as
they lay together.

Allisande stole a glance up at him and saw he
was now fast asleep, an expression of such contentment upon his
face, she stared at him in fascination. His face was so different
in repose from the harsh man she had come to know, she found
herself enjoying this moment while he was so softened and
vulnerable to her.

She noted the healed wounds upon his chest
and shoulder grimly. She tried to kill him, and expected to die for
it, yet he allowed her to live. She waited expecting to meet
certain death any day that stretched past, not to feel such
pleasure in his arms this night.

Allisande blushed when she thought of how
good it felt, remembering his words weeks ago when he promised she
would like this thing she dreaded. She lay her head down upon his
rising and falling chest, and did not realize it when the movement
lulled her to sleep at last.

****

Joran awoke first that morning and stared
down at her beautiful face as she lay across his chest, his arms
tightening possessively around her. He smiled in relish as he
recalled how good it was between them the night before. He enjoyed
each and every detail of her complete surrender to him at last. His
body was so satisfied, he had no desire to rise and meet the day’s
responsibilities.

He was stroking her cheek with his finger
when her sleepy violet eyes opened and met his. He could see the
anger there first, than the confusion in her eyes. He lowered his
mouth and caught her lips with his. He kissed her so thoroughly she
was breathless, and hadn’t the strength to deny him as he rolled
her beneath him.

His hands slid over her with slow insistence
as he readied her again, his body hard and throbbing against hers.
She gasped as he thrust hungrily inside her at last, her knees
coming up to bring him deeper within her.

Joran growled in delight as he bore her into
the bed, his body driving so deeply within her, she hardly
recognized the sounds coming from her throat. She was breathing
raggedly as he thrust hungrily inside her, her fingers digging into
his back as she met each stroke of his body in matched ardor. Joran
was on fire, the passion raging within him as he rolled over her,
feeling her long legs wrap around his hips.

Joran’s lips met hers as their cries mingled
together at the last. He closed his eyes as he shook within her,
his hot seed erupting within her. He splintered apart and
shuddered. Allisande felt her climax hit her. She cried aloud,
holding him fiercely. Her lips parted in delight and wonder.

They lay entwined for what seemed an eternity
before he rose up to look down at her. She saw the same look in his
eyes mirrored in her own, and couldn’t look away as his lips met
hers in a slow, tender kiss. Joran delighted in his lovely slave
meeting him halfway in their passion, too enchanted to stop. After
he rested, he eased her atop of him and guided her to control their
pleasure, his groans of satisfaction his reward as she sat upon him
in uninhibited eagerness.

They dressed in silence some time later.
Allisande found a fresh gown in his chest and donned it, feeling so
out of sorts from what they shared. She couldn’t meet his eyes,
fearing he would shame her with her responses to him.