Page 146 of Storm of Fury
And then he closed his eyes and breathed her in.
I love you….
A soft smile tugged at his lips. He’d dared to dream of those words, but there’d been a part of him that had never expected to hear them. “So that’s what it took to make you realize how amazing I am,” he rasped. “A little near-death experience.”
Bryn punched him in the ribs.
But lightly.
“Don’t you dare joke about this,” she growled. “I am trying to bare my heart to you, and all you can do is make mock?”
Tormund caressed her face gently, urging her to lift her head. His thumb traced the curve of her cheek and the soft lushness of her mouth. “It’s what I do when I’m afraid. Or overwhelmed. Or… trying not to shed a damned tear.”
“Are you overwhelmed?” she whispered.
He nodded as he sank back into the bedroll. “I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you, in one way or another. You were all my dreams breathed into life. You were everything I’ve never dared hope for.” He smiled. “And then you gave me a look that would have shriveled another man’s privates and told me that you weren’t my sweet anything. I knew you’d lead me a chase, Bryn. I knew I would have to be patient and let you slowly lower your guard. But there have been times when I wondered if you ever would.”
She curled into his arms again, resting her head on his chest. “The moment I saw you I knew you were a smooth-talking charmer who would try to win your way into my bedroll. Many men have tried, and all have failed. But there was always something about you that made me wary. Your smile, perhaps. Or your eyes. Or watching the way you cared for everyone around you. I knew you would be dangerous, because you had a way of disarming me even then.”
“And now you’re mine.” He stroked his hands up her shirt, feeling the muscles ripple along her spine.
“One could say, nowyou’re mine. Considering I bound my life to yours.”
“Yes, but I already put a ring on your finger, Bryn. And you accepted it.” He lifted her hand, toying with the ring there.
She stilled. “The king of the ljósálfar’sring?”
“The very same.” He cupped one hand under his head and winced as a muscle in his chest pulled.
Bryn lifted her head from his chest. “That was offered as payment, should I take you to see King Harald.”
“That was the moment you first let down your guard. You’ve been wearing my ring on your finger ever since.”
“Because it is powerful. And sparkly. And I collect items that belonged to the gods or great warriors.”
“Really?” He turned his face to hers. “It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact I gave it to you?”
Bryn bit her lip, toying with the edge of his collarbone. “Maybe a little.”
He captured her face, tilting his mouth to hers. “I’m going to marry you, you know? And I promise I will never betray you, or vanquish you, or belittle you. They’ll sing your name through the ages, and they’ll put my name next to yours. And together, we will move mountains.”
“Do I have any say in that?” she whispered, her breath stirring over her lips.
“Yes or no, Bryn?”
“Yes,” she moaned, leaning down to kiss him. “A thousand times yes.”
His tongue brushed into her mouth, sweeping in slow, deliberate strokes. Bryn’s hand slid down the ridge of his abdomen, and curled around his cock.
Fuck. He took a deep breath, and then winced as a shaft of pain near tore his chest apart. Of all the moments….
Bryn paused. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”Don’t you dare let go of my cock….
But she looked down at him, and he knew the moment was lost.
“You’re not all right,” she said. “Does your chest hurt? Can you cough? I thought you were fully healed! Sirius said he managed to clear most of the scar tissue from your lungs—”
