Sliding back and forth, listening to his intake of breath and the low groans of pleasure, Kára felt powerful, even as she kneeled before him. The trust he had for her made her bold, and his noises of pleasure made heat spread down through her body. She felt his hips thrust against her, gently at first, but the motion grew more forceful until Joshua lifted under her arms, pulling her up to standing.
The room was cold, but the heat within her warred against it. She shivered from the contrast. Joshua’s mouth fell on her own, kissing her with wild want. Pushing backward, they fell across her bed, the furs tickling against her skin. Without breaking their kisses, they slid up the bed. His fingers moved between her legs, searching her out.
She gasped as he entered, touching where only one other ever had before. The ache grew heavy there, and she thrust upward against his hand. His mouth drew her nipple inside, the hot, wet suction pulling a moan from her. In the quiet, the sound of her wetness as he worked her flesh spiraled another coil of desperate want through Kára. She panted above his bowed head as he sucked on one and then the other of her breasts.
Without words to break the spell, Kára opened her legs far across the bed, her knees coming up to clamp around Joshua’s hips. Her hands slid along his taut arse, pushing him toward her. Eyes wide, but too dark to see anything, Kára felt his presence hover over her, and she let her knees fall open. He sought her below, and she held on to his broad, muscle-encased shoulders. And then he surged straight into her.
Kára gasped, passion’s fire exploding within her at the immense pressure filling her. His lips came back down to hers, and she clung to them, her heels digging into the bed to meet his thrusts with her own. Her hands strained to pull him down on her.
Suddenly, he pulled out of her, but she did not have time to voice anything before he rolled her to her stomach, his hands lifting her hips up. His hot jack slid down her arse, poised from behind. She pushed up onto her hands, arching her back, her full breasts hanging.
Joshua’s stomach, hot and hard, lay along her back, and he thrust back inside her.
“Oh God,” she breathed.
His hands wrapped around to the front, one holding her stomach so that she couldn’t fall flat, the other finding her most sensitive spot down below. Agile and strong, his fingers strummed against her, and she moaned as he kept their rhythm going, her legs wide, her body completely open and presented to him. The sound of his body slapping against her backside added to the hunger consuming Kára.
Joshua’s hand moved to capture her weighty breast, squeezing and rolling her hard nipple between his fingers. The sensation shot down through her to join the incredible heat at the juncture of her legs and the pressure building inside.
Aye. The word throbbed through Kára’s head as she met each thrust. Aye. The sensations building together within her. Aye. His fingers moved against her so expertly, so firmly that the waves of pleasure shattered, and she yelled out, “Oh God, aye!”
His arms wrapped around her, holding her to him. His roar filled the vastness of the den as his body filled her, continuing the rhythm to wring out every little bit of pleasure. Kára’s head dropped to hang between her shoulders. Joshua’s hands stroked along her form, still embedded within her. He pulled her to their sides, yanking the blankets up and over them. Arms around her, he held her as their breathing slowed over many minutes.
Kára listened to his inhales and exhales, feeling the whisper of his breath against her nape and the thud of his heart against her back. Slowly, she turned within the circle of his arms to face him. They still couldn’t see each other. She reached up cautiously, catching his whiskered cheeks to kiss him softly. He kissed her back, then tucked her head under his chin. She felt his lips press against her forehead, and then she nuzzled her face into his neck.
Never before had she felt so… What did she feel? Safe, warm, satiated. Aye, but even more, Kára felt cherished, for who she was, not who she was supposed to be. A queen, a chief, a woman warrior. With Joshua, she was only Kára, and that was all he seemed to want.
Tucked away from responsibility, bloodshed, and sorrow, she wished she could stay there forever. Her hand slid lower over her abdomen. It was too soon to wonder, and yet she hoped.
Naked, their combined scent and heat wrapping around them, Kára nuzzled closer into Joshua almost as if she could hide away inside his large body. He held her there, seeming to know what she wanted, what she needed at that moment. Joshua was all around her. She breathed evenly, her thoughts beginning to float on the flow of her breath. For the first time she could remember, she let herself fall completely into the depths of sleep without worry.
…
“We will head back to Hillside?” Joshua asked as he belted his wool plaid around his waist without taking his gaze from the beautiful sight of Kára dressing.
The white smock floated down around her curvaceous form, her breasts swelling high as she tightened the front ties of her stays. It was a shame to cover all that beauty. His urge to tumble her back into the bed was strong and insistent.
He had never disliked the sunrise as much as he had that morning. The darkness had cloaked them in warmth, keeping them together all night long as they each gave and took pleasure from the other. But daylight brought the world back, all the hard decisions, remorse, and war.
“You head back,” she said, throwing her wool dress over her smock and stays. “I
