Page 86 of Ironling
“Good morning,vinya.”
Reluctantly, Aislinn peeled back an eyelid to behold the devastatingly handsome face of her blacksmith. He looked soft and warm in the morning, his hair mussed from his pillow—and her clutching hands.
A blush overtook her, and Aislinn curled up under the blankets in shock and delight. Fates, she’d gotten her answer. A decadent soreness accompanied her memories of the previous night, of his ferociousness and devotion. The slap of their bodies echoed in her ears, an answering throb low in her belly a telltale sign that she wanted more. Much more.
“Good morning,” she replied, smiling up at him.
It was only then that she realized she was actually alone in the bed. He knelt beside it, dressed already for the day.
She tried to ignore the shard of disappointment that lodgedin her chest. She couldn’t quite decide what was her favorite part of the previous night—having that monstrous cock buried inside her or falling asleep with her cheek squished to his hard chest. She’d actually…looked forward to waking up with him. Seeing what he looked like in sleep. Maybe even kissing him awake.
“You’re up,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. She sat up in the bed, holding the blankets to her chest.
“The day starts early for blacksmiths.” He leaned back to reach for something on the trunk then set a tray of food in her lap. “And I wanted to fetch your breakfast.”
Aislinn stared in surprise. “You brought me breakfast?”
“Of course.” Leaning in, he kissed her brow before standing to his full towering height. “You have to keep your strength up.”
“For what?”
He smiled wickedly, and Aislinn realized he was flirting.
Bending at the waist, he placed his lips just beside her ear to whisper, “For rutting.”
Her heart kicked in her chest with excitement, and her cunt gave another throb of desire. “O-oh?”
His grin was insufferably male and had her whole body blushing. “Indeed. I mean to keep you captive today. You aren’t to leave this room.”
She blinked in confusion. “But…what am I to do all day?”
“You’ll eat your fill. You’ll take your rest. And you’ll think about what the night will bring.”
Aislinn thought steam rose from her cheeks, her blush was so hot at his words. She squirmed in the bed, rattling the utensils on the tray.
“I-I have much to do. I can come back—”
“No.” Holding her chin with a finger and thumb, his gaze was sure, hungry, and set her alight. “You’re my captive, remember? And I say you take the day off.”
She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip as sheconsidered, and his eyes tracked the movement. That deep, rumbling purr rattled to life in his chest, and Aislinn nearly choked to feel how quickly she ran slick at the sound.
The guilt of wasting an entire day sat heavily on her shoulders, but was there anything else to say but, “All right.”
“Good.” His smile was her reward, as was the long kiss he bestowed, his tongue teasing and playing with hers.
She’d raised a hand to clutch his tunic, nearly forgetting the tray of food, when he pulled back. She wasn’t proud of the mewl of disappointment she made, but she stood by it.
“I know,vinya.The day will be even longer for me, thinking of you here, warm and naked in my bed.”
“Well, at least we’re in it together.”
His smile was wide and happy and took Aislinn’s breath away. It stayed with her even as he left her to eat and start his day.
The memory of that smile alleviated some of her shame at taking such an indulgence. She ate her breakfast at a leisurely pace and ate it all, her appetite large after the previous night.
She could still hardly believe it, and when she finished her food, set the tray aside to lay in the depression Hakon had left in the bed. Everything smelled of him—and of their lovemaking.
He’d been so gentle as he cleaned them both before rejoining her in bed, but the blankets tangled around her still held the scent of their exploits. She wouldn’t normally, but there was something thrilling about laying about late into the morning in the blankets that smelled of them. It was a visceral, primeval sort of pleasure, and Aislinn decided she enjoyed it immensely.
