Page 54 of Alien Viking's Plunder

“He’s a funny little tyke.” The Viking chuckled, brushing snow off himself.

Ninja came running, paws light on the snow and barely leaving tracks. Still at full speed, he jumped at Josie.

She squealed, suddenly thinking that the pup had gone back to his deadly predator instincts. But Ninja simply pushed her at the shoulders and used her as a ramp to jump into the air in a youthful display of energy. Josie was surprised at the weight of the pup — he pushed her off balance.

Bragr stepped close and caught her, and then she was looking into his face from close up. His body was hot with sweat and cold from the air, he had snow in his hair and beard, one horn had a small icicle hanging from it, and his musky scent was suddenly overwhelming.

Putting both arms around his neck, she placed an impulsive kiss on his full lips.

His embrace tightened and he responded to the kiss, his warm lips eagerly meeting hers in a passionate encounter. His hand moved up to her throat and he pushed her gently into the hard trunk of the tree. It was a gesture so dominant it made Josie gasp. The kiss was both tender and demanding, and she had no choice but to go along with the passion, loving that there was no need for her to hide her own attraction anymore. Her mind was going fuzzy in the most pleasant way, his eagerness making her feel irresistible for the first time in her life.

Bragr’s surprisingly soft beard tickled her chin, and she put her hand on his hard, bulging chest. His slow heartbeat echoed through her whole body, and something hard was poking her in the stomach. She didn’t need to check to see that he was just as aroused as she was.

They stood there for a long time, only the two of them existing in the world, until Ninja jumped up and tried to push Bragr down with a light punch with two paws.

“Let’s go inside,” Josie said, her voice hoarse. A swarm of butterflies took off in her stomach, fluttering downwards. This she couldn’t go without anymore.

Without a word they went inside the hut, leaving Ninja to bounce around on the snow by himself. Bragr picked up a stack of bowls before he crawled inside, putting them by the wall. “For later,” he said. Then he took Josie into his arms again, bending down to kiss her. “Did you like the bastu?”

“M-hm,” Josie replied, lips busy with other things than talking.

“I’ll go and light the fire,” Bragr said and let go of her. He dug a glowing ember out of the fire and went into the sauna.

Josie heard him blow on it, swearing because it took time for the fire to catch.

She grinned. She wasn’t the only one who was impatient. But she really was. Seeing the huge, strong Viking chief play-fighting a wolf-like pup like a father playing with the family puppy had melted all resistance in her. Yes, he had abducted her. But he had abducted her from a life that wasn’t actually all that great, and he had kept her safe ever since and made her feel better about herself than she had in years. He was the best male she’d met, and ifhewasn’t good enough, who could possibly be?

She sat down on a fur where she’d slept and took her boots and headset off, discreetly spreading the other furs out on the floor just in case they’d need a bigger area.

“Finally,” Bragr grunted when he came out of the sauna and closed the door. “It will take a while to heat up. Can you think of anything we might do while we wait?” His eyes glittered blue as he stoked the fire and added pieces of firewood to it.

“The only thing I can think of is checking your wounds to see if they’re still healing,” Josie said, wanting to get more of his heat as soon as possible.

“Ah, good idea,” Bragr said and sat down behind her, pulling her back and into him so she was lying back with her head right under his chin. “But I should check yours first.”

She wriggled against his chest, making herself comfortable. “I don’t have any wounds.”

He put his hands on her upper thigh. “Really? Perhaps there’s a whole lot of injuries that you’ve kept quiet about because you are a brave shieldmaiden.”

“Perhaps,” Josie said, wanting him to move that hand further up. “You’d better check.” She shrugged off the upper part of the uniform and reached out an arm.

Bragr took hold of her hand and examined each finger. “What do you call these things in your alien speech?”

“Fingers,” Josie said. “Let me see yours.” She grabbed his hand and stroked along each finger, noting the calluses and the fine tattoos that extended all the way to the fingernails. “No injuries here.”

His fingertips ran lightly up her arm, raising goosebumps in their wake. “Or here. The skin is perfectly smooth except for these fine, white scars. Sword practice?”

“No.” Josie slid two fingers along his massive forearm, covered in soft, golden hairs. “I made those myself. Butyoursare from sword practice, I’m sure.” She noticed the occasional bump and white line of an old scar.

“All warriors have those. And all shieldmaidens.” His fingers moved to her shoulders, making little circles as they moved down and to the front. “But not everyone has this.” He pinched the fabric of her sports bra, the only kind of bra allowed onUnity.

“Then I’ll take it off,” Josie offered and leaned forwards.

“Allow me,” Bragr said as he carefully inched his fingers under the lower elastic and then pulled the bra off in one smooth move. “Ah yes. Much better.”

He cupped her breasts from behind, thumbs circling the skin and barely brushing the nipples. They were plenty hard from before, but the touch made them stiffen even more.

“No injuries at all,” Bragr said, voice gruff. “Pristine and perfect.”

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