Page 77 of Summer of the Viking

He rolled her over. His lips sought hers. At the faintest touch, her mouth parted and drank from him. The banked heat which his touch ignited flared through her, burning its way through the ice surrounding her heart. All the horrible pawing from the other Northman vanished under the tender onslaught of his kiss.

She buried her hands in his hair and gave herself up to that kiss, drawing strength and solace from its healing touch.

She wanted, no, needed this man.

In his arms she felt alive instead of numb. It was as if his touch was burning away all the horribleness and destruction that the day had brought, leaving her clean and made new. Here it seemed anything was possible.

A moan escaped her throat as he buried his face in her neck.

His hand slid under her gown and up her thigh, making patterns against her skin. She squirmed next to him and the heat grew ever more intense.

His fingers played in the apex of her thighs, circling around and around her sensitive inner core.

‘Valdar.’ The word was half-plea and half-promise.

He froze. ‘If you want to stop...’

And she knew if he stopped, she’d never experience this again. She wanted it desperately. She wanted the healing balm of his touch. ‘Not that. Anything but that.’

His hands lifted her gown and exposed her burning flesh to the air. Her body bucked upwards, seeking him and her final release.

He drove deep and she wrapped her legs about him, wanting him there, inside her, filling her up and making her alive. They rocked in tandem. Each movement drove him deeper within her.

At that moment she wasn’t sure if she loved him or hated him. All she knew was that she needed him desperately and that this would be her last chance to experience this heaven on earth.

She allowed her body to tell him things that she would never dare utter in words.

Then all too soon the shuddering overtook her as he gave a great cry and lay spent against her. She put her arms about him and held him within her, trying to make the moment last as long as possible.

* * *

Much later Valdar held her in his arms and watched her softly breathing. His woman, in a way no other woman had belonged to him. He thought he’d loved her before, but now he loved her with his entirety. He could understand why Ash had sought out Kara and why she had chosen him when he had returned after all that time. It had not been about the child, but about her heart and the man who called out to her soul.

Alwynn had been correct when she accused him of holding part of himself back. Now that the shadow of his lie no longer clung to him, he could see that. And he knew that he could love her properly.

He hoped he’d done enough.

He hoped he’d shown how much he cared for her. With Alwynn, he wanted no part of his life or his body hidden. How could anyone be cursed if they loved with their whole heart? Even if it was for far too short a time. His brother had been right—the only curse was not loving enough.

‘Love me,’ he whispered. ‘Love me for a little while.’

She murmured in her sleep and he fancied it was a yes.

‘I will watch over you. Always.’

* * *

Alwynn woke in the semi-darkness, struggling to remember where she was. And then it all came flooding back.

She touched his shoulder, marvelling at how warm his skin was. And at how much this man still meant to her. She ran a hand down his back and encountered the bandage.

Her reasons for being there came flooding back. She was shocked that she’d forgotten even for a breath. She pushed against his chest and he rolled off her.

‘This has to stop. This has to have been the last time. No more, Valdar, no more.’

He gathered her face between his hands. ‘We are good together, Alwynn. You and I. We belong together. Wherever that together is.’

Her heart lurched. ‘Impossible. And this was nothing but the meeting of two bodies. Don’t try to change things.’

His eyes darkened. ‘Never call what we just shared nothing. For me, it was something important. It is the centre of my life.’

‘You must understand. It can’t be. There are laws here against Northmen. All Northmen.’

‘But do you care for me?’

‘How I feel doesn’t matter.’ The huge hollow opened in her stomach. In his arms, she wanted to believe again in his goodness. ‘Your life is in danger. It is what I came to tell you. You must go. We can’t be together.’

‘There will be a way,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘We belong together. You must believe that. I will find a way. I will always find a way.’

She attempted to wriggle away from him. ‘We need to speak sensibly and I can’t do that if we are like this.’

He ran a finger down her face and a flame of desire shot through her. ‘I will be good. I promise. But I need you here where I can touch you.’

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