Michelle Willingham - Forbidden Nights With A Viking

‘I wanted to do this from the first moment I saw you,’ he confessed. ‘You fascinated me. And the longer I was with you, the more I wanted you.’ He stopped thrusting, using his hand upon her instead. ‘You were forbidden to me, and I never thought we would have this.’

She was fighting against the touch of his fingers, but could not stop the keening cries that escaped her. Styr kept up the pace, demanding, ‘I’m going to take you there again, Caragh. I’ll watch you come apart with me inside you.’

He leaned her back slightly, and the angled pressure caused a delicious friction. She couldn’t stop herself from panting to the rhythm of his fingers.

‘I love you,’ she told him, locking his gaze with hers. ‘Stay with me. No matter what happens.’

‘I love you,’ he answered. When the words were spoken, it seemed to transform the intimacy between them. And with his hands, he pleasured her until she trembled violently against him, his body still buried inside her.

‘Please,’ she begged. ‘I can’t bear it any more.’ She was moving in counterpoint to him, her body crying out for release.

Styr kept the same pace but impaled her deeply, his hard shaft embedded to the hilt. In and out he moved, every penetration swift and deep.

Caragh couldn’t speak, she was trembling so hard. ‘I need your hands on me,’ she begged. And when she guided his fingers between them, he found the place she wanted. It took only a few strokes before the shattering sensations flooded through her, making her cry out with release. She clenched against his erection, and he went rigid, his expression fighting to maintain control.

When the languid feelings spread over her, she wanted him to lose himself, to forget all about her and sate his own desires. ‘Let me touch you.’ Reaching down, she cupped his sac and he tensed at her actions.

He let out a stream of words in his native language, and perspiration beaded across his brow.

‘Or should I take you in my mouth, the way you tasted me?’

The very promise made him groan. Styr resumed his thrusts, his body so tense, she wondered when he would let go of his control. To urge him, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he rewarded her by increasing the rhythm.

It was primal and hard, their bodies so caught up, they were one. And when she felt herself trembling a third time on the brink, she pulled his mouth down to her bare breast, and he rewarded her with a deep pull against her nipple.

It took only a few more penetrations before his breathing shifted and he groaned, collapsing against her. Caragh’s heart pounded so fast, she couldn’t catch her breath. But she felt alive in a way she never had before. Being with Styr, sharing this act with him, was everything.

And she loved his skin upon hers.

Her brothers made him pay dearly for the rights to the land. Over the next few weeks, Styr journeyed back to Dubh Linn to bring over sheep and horses, as well as enough grain for every person in their clan. And when they’d at last agreed to the price, Styr spent his time building longhouses similar to those in the city.

Caragh had come to see him each day and sometimes brought him water. Her presence only increased his desire to finish their home sooner. Her brothers had refused to give their permission for the marriage to take place until the dwelling was completed. Although Styr knew he could have taken her to wife at any moment, with his men as witnesses, he knew Caragh wanted her brother’s blessing.

Being apart from her was slowly killing him. He hadn’t touched her in nearly a month, save for a few stolen embraces.

He was working atop the roof one afternoon, laying thatch, when she approached with her brother Brendan standing behind. Shielding her eyes against the sun, she called out to him, ‘Will it be finished tonight?’

‘If I keep working until sundown.’ Styr climbed down the ladder, noting the soft smile on her face that belonged to him alone. His body stirred, and he didn’t resist the urge to pull her close.

‘My brother wanted to speak with you,’ she admitted, and Brendan stepped forwards.

‘I’ve come to ask that there be peace between us,’ he began. ‘For Caragh’s sake.’

The young man’s face was sombre, and though Brendan appeared nervous, he continued his apology. ‘I thought I was protecting my people when we took your men and your wife captive. She—she’s safe now, isn’t she?’

Styr gave a nod, still not revealing his thoughts. He knew Caragh wanted him to forgive her brother, but Brendan’s actions had threatened all of them.

‘I know this won’t matter to you, but my blade is yours, if ever you have need of it. I owe you a debt that I can never repay.’

Styr glanced at Caragh, and saw the plea in her eyes. ‘My men will need help building their homes,’ he said at last. ‘Give them the labour of your hands until our work is done. That can serve to repay your debt.’

He flushed, his head bobbing with thanks. Caragh’s blinding smile made Styr glad he’d compromised.

‘There—there’s one more thing I can do for you,’ Brendan offered, his face turning crimson. ‘I—I could keep my brothers away for the rest of the afternoon. So that you and my sister can be alone.’

Caragh looked at her younger brother, aghast that he’d said such a thing. But his offer caused Styr to break into a laugh. He took her hand and called back, ‘I accept your offer, Brendan, and gladly.’

‘I can’t believe what my brother just said,’ Caragh murmured. She was holding a cup of cold water from the stream, and Styr accepted the cup, drinking deeply.

‘He’s more intelligent than I realised.’

A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, and she reached out to touch it, drawing a line down his throat, to his chest. Heat flared through him, and Styr dropped the cup, dragging her inside.

He took her mouth, kissing her hard against the wall. Gods, but he would never get enough of the taste of her. Caragh’s arms came around him, and she pressed close. ‘If you finish the house today, we could wed this night.’ Her mouth was swollen, her eyes bright. ‘I’ve made a gown from the silk you brought me. I hope it pleases you.’

‘You could wear nothing at all, and it would please me,’ he gritted out. His hand moved up to the underside of her breast. ‘Though I would kill any man who looked upon your beauty,’ he murmured against her throat, caressing the hard nub of her nipple.

‘You’re not playing fair.’ She shuddered at the touch of his hands, gasping when he cupped her fully.

‘Not for something I want this badly.’ He kissed her hard, offering every promise of what was to come. She melted against him, opening while his tongue invaded her mouth. When she kissed him back, pulling him tightly against her, his arousal made her breathing quicken.

‘I don’t want to wait until tonight,’ she whispered. Her arms tightened around his waist, her face pressed against his heart. Styr gripped her hard, breathing in the scent of her hair.

When she raised her head, she stared hard at him. ‘A madness possesses me when I’m with you. I don’t understand it.’ She steadied herself, then ventured, ‘Was it like this with her?’

‘What happened with Elena is in the past,’ he said, not wanting to darken this day. But when he saw the look of worry pass over her, he realised she needed to know that he no longer held any feelings for his first wife.

‘No,’ he said. ‘It was never like this. Not in five years.’ Kissing her to force her not to speak, he murmured against her lips, ‘Elena is a good woman, and I wish her every happiness. But protecting her and being her husband was my duty.

‘We were friends,’ he admitted. ‘Lovers, even. But I never felt for her the way I feel for you now.’ He slid his hands beneath her skirts, touching her bare leg. ‘I love you.’