Page 36 of Heart of Fire
Freyja wiggled a little beneath him, her body tight with thwarted anticipation. She ached, and it was a deliciously horrible feeling. “What do you mean? You didn’t just wrestle me down onto your blankets for the sheer enjoyment ofit.”
“You don’t know that. I was planning on tickling you into submission. Kissing you was not my intention,” he admitted, rolling slightly to the side, so he rested on one elbow. His right hand came up, brushing a strand of hair off her face in a gentle touch, and Freyja realized he wasn’t actually going to kiss her. “Though I might have thought about it, now we’rehere.”
Soft fingers trailed down the sensitive skin of herthroat.
Freyja sucked in a sharp breath, and became very still. Those fingers trailed lower, lower, then his knuckles brushed against the soft wool of her dress. Again she writhed, but it was a different feeling to when she’d wanted to escape. This felt like a silent demand, like her entire body wanted something her mouth couldn’tarticulate....
And he knew it, cursehim.
“If you want a kiss, Freyja”—that smile turned utterly devilish—“then all you have to do isask.”
What?She froze. Her treacherous body was in utter rebellion against her common sense. Her body knew what it wanted. And she had to admit her own desires were somewhat thwarted. She’d expected him to kiss her, damn him. Then she wouldn’t have to admit to herself she wanted himto.
“I thought you were here to seduce me,” shesaid.
“Iam.”
“Then you’re doing a rather poor job of it if you expect me to kissyou.” She took an unsteadybreath.
“Am I?” There was that smile again. Rurik’s thumb caressed her cheek, and his eyes grew heavy-lidded. “You want me to steal akiss—”
“I don’twantyou to do anything of thesort.”
“Then you expect it,” he countered, his breath whispering over her skin. “Most likely so you can push me away and tell me your hell hasn’t frozen overyet.”
Freyja swallowed.Maybe.
“I now realize,” he continued, in that same silky-soft voice, “the men you have known have not been the sort to take ‘no’ for an answer. You know nothing of seduction,sarratum zamani; and you fear a single kiss will not endthere.”
“You’ve called me that before,” shewhispered.
“You’re stalling,” he replied, and tugged her braid over her shoulder. Rurik bought the end of her plait to his nose, and inhaled the scent of it, then those amber eyes locked on her again as the ends of her hair tickled across his lips. “Your choice, Freyja. All you have to do to receive a kiss is ask for one. If you want more, then you may take more. And if you want me to stop, then all you have to do is sayso.”
Her choice. Freyja turned the thought over in her head. It felt strange to consider such a thing, but... she was tempted. What would it feel like to have the reins in her hands? To be able to explore without fear he would push her further than she was ready? “I’m not going to lie with you, so... if we start, then it will end with akiss.”
“Is that a yes?” he purred, and his thigh nudged betweenhers.
A thrill shot through her as his weight shifted over her again. She could control this. Her hands curled around his upper arms as he rested his forearms beside her head. Freyja slid a hand up his bare chest. The heat of his skin felt like some inner furnace burned within. “What did you mean by more?” shewhispered.
Rurik lowered his mouth to hers, hovering there. “I could show you so much, Freyja. If you trustedme.”
If she trustedhim....
It was her choice to brush her mouth against his quivering lips. Hordes of butterflies took flight in her stomach. She didn’t know how he did this to her. What was this odd connection between them? “Maybe a little more,” she whispered, as she opened her mouth tohis.
Rurik licked her tongue, his hips pressing flush against hers, and the hard length of his erection rubbing against her lower stomach. Each stroke of his mouth was an enticement, rather than a claim. Daring her to kiss him back, and letting her set the pace. Freyja’s hands curled around his biceps, and she stroked his arms, her hands sliding up over his shoulders. All of that hot skin.... More. She wanted more. But Rurik held himself curiously apart from her, matching her kiss for kiss, and nothing else. Every time she touched him, he reciprocated. Every time her nails dug into his back, he grew a little more insistent, pressing his hips between her thighs and rubbing that heavy cock againsther.
Her entire body ached, wetness dampening the skin between her thighs. An image of his hot mouth closing over her breast in Akureyri assaulted her, and Freyja moaned as she arched her back beneath him. She could almost feel his lips on her nipple, but the memory felt hollow, not quite substantial enough to satisfyher.
She didn’t know how to ask for what shewanted.
Freyja curled her fists in his hair, and tugged. Hard lips captured hers, as if to encourage her. Not a sweet kiss now. This was messy. Pent-up frustration poured from him as his tongue tangled with hers, and his erection ground against the wet ache between herthighs.
More. Definitely more. That sweet friction made her body want to curl up on itself. She writhed against him, and her skirts rode up between them, leaving her legs bare. Then her greedy hands slid over his shoulders, exploring all of that smooth skin. She wanted to lick it and so she did, nipping at the muscle in histhroat.
“Freyja.” He sucked in a sharp breath as he turned his face to the side, muttering an unsteady curse under his breath. Hands trapped her wrists, and then Rurik pinned her hands above her head, leaving her utterly helpless beneath him. Those golden eyes locked on hers, and he shuddered, his voice turning all growly. “If you don’t stop doing that, then this isn’t going to endhere.”
“Doing what?” she whispered, cupping his hips with her thighs and rocking against himexperimentally.
