Page 145 of Ironling
He scooped her up, earning more giggling as he strode through to the bedchamber. When he set her down near the bed, her hands made hasty work of all his buttons and knots, but he should’ve known better than to think she could be wholly distracted.
As they undressed the other, she demanded to know where he’d been, and he told her all about his travels and bargains.
“That land was yours,” she said with a sadness that tore at his heart.
“Yes. Mine to do with as I wished. It did as I’d hoped—it secured a chance for us.”
“More than a chance.” Taking his face in her hands, her look grew shy. “Does this mean I’m your mate?”
Hakon couldn’t help his wince. He hated seeing her uncertainty and knowing he could have spared her this worry.
“It means that I’m yours. Your man, your mate. When an orc finds the person they wish to bond with, little in this world can stop it. The bond I felt to you grew even before I knew it was there.”
Taking her hands, he placed them over his heart. “This is yours. Should you claim me as your mate, I would be the luckiest male alive.”
Her gaze was terribly serious as she looked up at him then. She’d already chosen him in front of a hall full of her people, but this felt even more important. She’d chosen him in her way, but in the soft darkness of her bedchamber, half-naked and desperate for her, he asked her to claim him in his.
“I’m yours,” she whispered. “For longer than I knew it myself, I’ve been yours. I love you, Hakon. I would be your mate.”
Hakon shuddered with the impact, the bond cinching tight just behind his ribs. He’d never imagined it could manifest like that, nor that he would feel the echo of her heart alongside his. He could wait no longer. Stripping away the last of their clothing, he placed her in the center of the bed.
Fates, what a vision she made, all warm golden skin, her leonine curls strewn across the blankets. She gazed up at him with such love, such acceptance—his heart could hardly hold his love for her. It was too vast, too heavy.
He had to show her.
Crawling over her, he purred when she welcomed him into the cradle of her body. He claimed her lips in a searing kiss, the first of many, a whole lifetime of kisses that told her without words that he was hers. Wholly. Irrevocably.
He covered her body with his, claiming her in kisses and caresses. Nowhere was spared, he had to have all of her, if only to prove to himself that this was real.
When he reached down to feel how her cunt burned for him, his purr deepened.
“My good mate,” he rumbled, “how you burn for me. Do you want to feel how I burn for you?”
Her needy moan was his answer, and he guided her hand to take hold of his straining cock. Together, they fed him insideher waiting body, and together they moaned and cried out as he pushed deep. She clasped him tight, her grip a promise that she’d never let him go.
Seating himself to the hilt, Hakon came home.
34
Aislinn arched into a delicious stretch, spreading her toes and rolling her shoulders. Her skin slid against even warmer skin, and the memories of yesterday filled her heart with such gladness. Rolling onto her other side, she beheld her sleeping betrothed.
She’d never seen Hakon asleep before. In all the nights they’d spent together, they’d either woken at the same time or he was the one to wake her so she could slip back to her rooms.
He seemed so at ease, the hard lines of his face softened by sleep. His pointed ears lay flat against the closely shaven sides of his head, but the longer hair at the crown flopped across his forehead in an almost boyish swoop. His lips were parted just slightly, revealing the tip of a tusk, and too tempting for her to resist.
The heavy arm thrown across her waist tightened and pulled her in as she kissed him awake. She should probably let him sleep, but she couldn’t bear her joy alone.
He came awake slowly, his mouth moving lazily as she tangled their legs.
What a way to greet the new day.
She loved it. Most of her mornings had been spent alone. There was plenty she enjoyed about that, as well as having a bed to herself. However, there was far more to enjoy with this arrangement, and she could see herself quickly growing used to him here, in her bed, in her rooms, in her life.
He’s mine. Well and truly mine.
The thought was almost too fantastic to believe. She couldn’t think on yesterday without a touch of wonder. Aislinn didn’t know how things had gone so well, nor if an old god smiled upon her finally, but she wouldn’t take the opportunities for granted.
Bayard in the dungeon, Hakon in her bed.
