Page 47 of Hungry Like a Wolf
She fingered the cross on her earring and looked at the floor.
“Carmel,” he whispered, raising her face. “Would you really rather live as a slave than a queen while you are here?”
“No…” She shook her head. “But how can I go home in three years if I am your wife?”
“I will let you go.” His mouth fastened into a tight line. “If I have to.”
She swallowed. Did he mean divorce? If so, that wasn’t something she believed in…until now, perhaps.
“In that time, I promise to respect your god, even though I am not Christian,” he said. “That is the best I can do.”
“And I will respect yours.”
“Then that is settled. We will marry.” He saw a flash of fear in her eyes and hated that it was there. “Tell me. What scares you?”
“I… I… I am a virgin and you are… And I don’t think I can…”
“What?”
“I don’t think a woman from my lands can bed a man from the north. It will not work. You are too big.”
A burst of laughter came from him. “That is what worries you?”
She frowned. “It is more than a worry. It is a truth.”
“Then how do you think Haakon and Kenna do it?”
“I…” She frowned. “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. That would be wrong.”
“Well, think about this: not only is Haakon a Norseman, he also has an iron piercing through his cock.”
Her mouth fell open. “Lord have mercy on his soul. That cannot be true.”
“It is. I swear on Thor’s hammer it is.”
“It is impossible.”
“It is not. Though I do not have such a thing, so consider yourself lucky if that is something that scares you.”
“‘Lucky’?” She screwed up her eyes. “Please, can I wake up from this nightmare?”
Ravn couldn’t help but feel offended. “I have just asked you to be my queen and you think you are in a nightmare.”
“Do you know me so little?”
“I know you. And I know you are resilient, and brave, and that you will do the right thing. You will take the path your god has set out for you.” He wrapped his arms around her and snapped her close. “I believe in you.”
She gasped and placed her hands on his bare chest, staring up at him.
“Now say you will wed me this day and let’s be done with it.” Her petite body felt so good pressed up against him. As though they were meant to be.
“Wed you this day and bed you this night?”
“Ja, and…” He pulled in a deep breath and lowered his voice. “I will give you my word it will be a night you remember for all the right reasons. It will be full of pleasure and satisfaction. Every desire will be fulfilled, every need met.” He paused, enjoying the rising flush on her cheeks and her shallow, rapid breaths. She was hanging on to his every word. “I will make you feel more adored than you ever have before. I will show you how real men pleasure a woman. I will show you that you will never want to leave me once I have made you cry out my name in ecstasy over and over again. It will be the most perfect night in the mortal world.”
“You can certainly…” She cleared her throat. “Talk the talk.”
“Trust me, I can walk the walk too.” He set his mouth over hers.
