She nodded, astounded at how badly she wanted to see him as her gaze drank in the sight of his muscled torso.
His hands came up in what seemed to be a deliberately slow movement to draw on the fastenings of his trousers. He pushed them down, first revealing the dark trail of hair that led downward from his navel, before giving her a glimpse of his manhood. The tip of him glistened. He pushed the trousers down his muscled thighs and she finally got a glimpse of his perfect length as it stood proud with his need for her. A few veins stood out against the smoothness of his skin there as it rose flawlessly from the dark patch of fur to lie against his belly.
Instead of crawling into bed beside her, he pulled the blankets back and knelt before her. His eyes were fevered and demanding as he took her in. A flush of embarrassment mixed with her own desire overcame her as she brought her knees to her chest. A grin twisted one corner of his lips as he ran his palms up and down the length of her calves.
‘Your legs are very pretty, strong and lean, but they are not what I wish to see.’
When had her breath become this ragged? She stared at him, somehow unable to comprehend what he must mean. ‘Do you...do you mean that you want to see...?’ She could not bring herself to say the words.
Thankfully, she did not have to. ‘Open your legs. I want to see your desire for me.’
His words only made her thighs press further into her chest. Grim had never asked this of her before. He came to her in the dark, or sometimes by the light of a candle that had not yet sputtered out, but he had never looked at her there to her knowledge. Perhaps a glimpse, but nothing more.
His eyes all but dared her to comply, while his hands encircled her ankles. She startled when the backs of his fingers stroked against the tender flesh of her inner thighs, dangerously close to that part of her.
‘Why do you hesitate?’ he asked. Although his eyes were still fierce with need, his voice was soft and unhurried.
‘Because...it’s indecent.’ Was this the price of marriage to a pagan? Even while she asked the question, she could not deny that a part of her thrilled at the prospect of complying with his request, of having him see her there—perhaps he would even want to touch her there. Damp need accompanied that thought and she worried that he might know. What would he think if he saw her like that?
Obviously, she understood that it was part of the process. The times she was damp there had been the times Grim’s invasion had not pained her. But to have it known was something altogether different.
Thankfully, Rurik did not seem to be at all bothered by her internal debate. He had taken an ankle in hand and drew it to his mouth. His lips touched the arch of her foot before trailing to the soft divot near her ankle. She watched, breathless, as he kissed his way up the inside of her calf and she seemed helpless to resist when he said, ‘Lie back.’
Her eyes closed as soon as her back touched the soft mattress. How easy it would be to close her eyes and let him have his way with her. Reflex made her grab the edge of the blanket and pull it over her breasts, but that was as far as it went to cover her nakedness. She gasped when his hot mouth touched her inner thigh and his tongue traced over her skin. When he gave a gentle nudge, her other knee fell to the side. She would not think of the fact that she was exposed to his gaze. If she did not open her eyes, he could look and she would not have to acknowledge that he had seen her.
Nothing could have prepared her for the hot dampness of his mouth when it found her, or his eager tongue stroking between the lips that guarded her there. Eyes opening in shock, she sat up and grabbed his hair even as the hot flame of pleasure bloomed to life deep in her womb. ‘Rurik! You cannot!’
He grinned up at her like a cat that had made a glutton of itself on ill-gotten cream. ‘I would know your taste as any mate should.’
She stared at him, speechless in the face of that odd logic. He continued to smile as he placed another kiss to her curls, knowing full well that she watched him do it. ‘But you are right,’ he continued. ‘That will have to be later. You are more than ready for me now.’
His strong body rose over her, forcing her to lie back. Resting on an elbow above her, he took her leg and fitted it around his hip, opening her to him in a way that had her angling her hips, eager for him despite how he had shocked her. As his gaze met hers and locked, his fingers worked between them and found her opening. He was right. She could easily feel how damp she was when a long finger slipped inside her. She clenched around him, arching her hips for more. He watched her face as he pressed another in, stretching her. There was a slight burn as her body adjusted, but it gave way quickly to greedy need as he moved them in and out in a slow rhythm that had her hips responding.
She had never felt this mindless with her need. In the space of a few moments, she had gone from being conscious of her own nakedness to preening under his touch, heedless of what he was doing to her as long as he kept touching her. A whimper escaped her throat and he groaned in response,
