Page 45 of The Devil's Viking

“Yes.” Her hand drifted down his body, over his t-shirt, stroked him through his jeans. “Here.”

“Holy crap,” he breathed. “Iris… you don’t have to –”

“I want to.” She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. “I want to try, with you. For you.”

Her words smashed through the haze of his arousal, and he tipped her chin up. He saw fear and uncertainty in her eyes, and he knew why. He was sure –sure with everything that he had – that she’d been violently forced to go down on that fuck Gideon. Forced to suck him until he came in her mouth, maybe on her face, and his whole body went tense with anger and disgust. If she was scared of and disgusted by this, he wouldn’t be the slightest bit shocked.

“You don’t have to,” he repeated, trying to keep his voice level. “I promise, it’s OK.”

“Can I try?” she asked. “You won’t be… disappointed? Gideon always told me that I was – that I was bad at it.”

“Never,” Viking rasped, hating that her self-confidence had been so shattered by those cult monsters. “Never,ever, Iris. Not with you.”

“So… can we try?”

He smiled, held her eyes, pulled off his t-shirt, rolled on to his back. Moving slowly, he stretched out and then tucked his hands under his pillow, showing her that she was in control here.

“Yeah,” he said, husky and low. “Yeah, we can.”

She exhaled in relief. “Alright.”

He lifted his head. “Iris?”

She looked at him, silent.

“You change your mind, you stop. It’s OK. I won’t be mad, and I won’t force you to carry on. You get me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Youreallyget me?” he insisted. “This isyourchoice. You don’t want to do this, you say so.”

“I will. I promise.”

He searched her entire body for a lie, but saw nothing. A bit more relaxed now, he lowered his head back to the pillow, nailed his eyes on her face.

“Up here, baby,” he ordered her. “Kiss me.”

She came without hesitation, gave him her mouth. He kept his hands under the pillow, kept his lips soft. He wanted her to set the pace here – and that started with a kiss.

As she moved her lips over his, he felt her confidence grow. Shy and slow, her hands started to glide over his upper body, and he was astounded at just howgoodher touch felt.

It occurred to him that while he’d had his hands – and now his mouth – all over her delectable little body, she’d barely touched his. So he just lay back, gave her the space and time that she needed to play, and to get comfortable.

Iris couldn’tbelievethat she finally had her hands on the man. That this hard, muscular body was hers to stroke, nibble, lick, kiss. She didn’t know where to begin, really, but she was damn wellgoingto begin. This man was a bearded warrior fantasy-come-to-life, and he was at her mercy.

She wasn’t sure how she ended up running her tongue over the tattoos on his upper arms and chest, but he seemed to like it as much as she did, so she kept going. She traced the curve of his pecs, then flicked his nipples. He arched a bit at that, and gave a low groan.

“Iris…”

“Hmmm?”

“Again.”

She smiled, then did as he asked. She saw the muscles in his arms flex and strain, and she knew that he was fighting to keep his hands in place. The sight of his voluntary helplessness did something to her – something dark and powerful. It made her feel… naughty. Sexy.

Powerful.

With renewed confidence, she started to lick her way down his body, running her tongue over every curve, every indentation. When she reached that sexy ‘v’ just above the waistband of his jeans, she turned all of her attention to worshipping it. As far as Iris was concerned, there wasnothinghotter on a man’s body – and she was going to enjoy this. But there was too much clothing in her way.

---