Page 62 of A Light So Blinding
Astrid had seen many cocks in her life. She was an advisor to a lord, after all. There were so many men around her at all times, it really would have been a miracle for her not to have seen almost every lord’s cock in the kingdom at this point. They seemed to love whipping them out and brandishing them at the first opportunity.
But Bjorn’s was... large.
No, that wasn’t even the right word for it.
Massive. That was more like it.
He gripped his hand around the base of it, holding the beast with his hand, and she sucked in her breath at the thought that he was maybe pleasuring himself. She would sneak away if that was the way of it. The man deserved a little alone time. All the gods knew she desperately needed such a thing herself except... then the needle glinted in the sunlight yet again.
Bjorn put a strap in his mouth, biting down hard on the leather, and she had a sudden flash of what was about to happen.Was he going to hurt himself? What was this mangling of the man who had saved her? No, she should step in.
But if she stepped in, what if she distracted him and he accidentally maimed himself?
She was so indecisive that she missed her opportunity. With a move that looked almost practiced, Bjorn threaded the needle through the underside of the head of his cock, and then straight out the middle of the head. The tendons on the sides of his neck stood out in pain, but he didn’t make a single sound after that. Not one that she could hear, at least.
Astrid’s hands flew to her mouth, and she held her breath as he immediately picked up a hoop that he then pushed through the same path the needle had gone. Blood dripped from the wound, although perhaps not as much as she had thought there would be. She’d been certain a wound like that would gush blood like a mortal wound. This one did not, although she still thought perhaps it should.
And as though nothing had happened, Bjorn placed what looked like a handkerchief underneath his cock and then started tucking himself back into his pants.
To catch the blood?
What on earth was the man doing?
Finally, a sound came out of her, one half of rage and one of shock. It ended up being a rather squeaky noise that echoed quite a bit.
Bjorn flinched, then stared in her direction. His eyes got wider every passing second that neither of them said anything. But what was she supposed to say?Why did you just maim yourself? What the fuck are you doing?
She settled on the former. “Why are you hurting yourself?”
He blew out a long breath, and she was certain he was steadying himself for the argument that was about to occur. “Trolls have piercings.”
“Pierced by others, I would imagine. Not by themselves.” But no, that wasn’t her issue with it. She stalked toward him, suddenly so angry she could have spit lava. “Why are you mangling your body like that? What could possibly possess you to harm yourself like that?”
He didn’t seem bothered. He sat there in the moss, his pants still half undone but at least his cock hidden. Still, it was distracting to see all those abs and muscles on display with his pants undone and the finest bit of hair revealed by them. “My mother advised that I have yet to prove myself as a good husband to you.”
“That has absolutely nothing to do with... with...” She gestured to his crotch and then to his face. “Stop trying to change the subject.”
“I’m not changing the subject.”
“Is it your anger? Is self-mutilation something that soothes you?” She hoped not. Oh gods, what if that was what it was?
Astrid could feel the blood draining from her face. Suddenly she wasn’t sure she could stand on her own if she had to think about this. The needle played through her mind, over and over again. The flash of metal in the sunlight, the cords of his neck in sharp contrast to his body, the pain he must have felt.
Bjorn held out a hand for her to lean on, not standing himself. “I told you all great trolls have piercings that they earn, did I not?”
She was hardly following what he was saying. If she wasn’t careful, she’d topple right onto his poor abused cock and hurt them both. “You did.”
“Husband piercings are earned as well. They are usually done before a bonding, but...” He arched a brow. “The two of us didn’t do things all that normally, I suppose.”
No, she still wasn’t following. Shaking her head, she asked, “What is a husband piercing?”
He looked pointedly down at his cock. “I think you already know the answer to that, Astrid.”
Oh.
Why?
“Why in the world would that be a husband piercing?” she asked, perhaps showing a little of her own naivete.
