"Hug?"
He chuckled. "The more we touch, the better. Hugging is a great tool for time travel.
I looked at him doubtfully. Was he making this up in order for him to get close to me? Not that I minded... No, I did mind. I needed to stay away from him, and he from me.
"Don't we need to change clothes?" I asked to play for time. "Put on something more appropriate for the time period?"
"My brother has all that and we'll be able to borrow clothes for you from my mother. I don't have any female clothes here, unless you want me to steal some from the archive?" He snickered.
"How did you even do that?"
"Trade secrets. As a time agent, you automatically become a spy. Even though I now work as a teacher, I got the full training. Including how to infiltrate enemy buildings behind several layers of security." He shrugged, his expression full of mirth.
"I bet they didn't count the archive as an enemy building," I said, barely managing to hide a grin.
"A matter of interpretation. Now, how shall we touch?"
I sighed. "From behind."
I didn't want my mouth to be anywhere close to his. There was too much temptation in those curved lips, the beard surrounding them, the masculine scent I couldn't get out of my nose.
I turned, waiting for him to touch me. A shiver ran down my back when he gently stepped closer, his chest touching my back. I'd not been this close to a man in forever. Ever? I'd played around with boys back at school, but I'd never gone beyond snogging and a bit of curious fumbling. And once I'd left school, I'd cared for my mum day and night, leaving little time for a social life, let along dating. All the experience I had came from books, and I doubted that they were very realistic. Granted, I did have an actual Viking pressing his body against mine, which did sound like a scene from a book, but it wasn't in that way. Not romantic. Just practical. To jump in time.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and another shiver made my gooseflesh rise. My body was reacting to him in ways that I couldn't control.
"Ready?" he whispered into my ear, his breath hot on my neck.
I nodded. I didn't really feel ready, but I doubted I ever would.
"See you in the past," he muttered and before I could even take another breath, we were ripped into sunlight.
ᚴᛅᛒᛁᛏᚢᛚᛁ 5
I was old and young and everything in between. I knew everything and nothing. My life ended before it began, only to begin again and again. Time was endless, existing between the lives it touched, hugging us like a mother her newborn.
Hjalmar was all around me. I sensed him, his past, his future. He shared with me memories that he himself no longer remembered, and I knew that he could see my past as well as I could see his. Our minds merged, separated, merged again. His touch became my touch, and through it, our bond increased.
We were one being split into two bodies.
It was painful to let go of time. Stepping from perpetual infinity into the confinements of a present - a new present - was like being ripped apart. Only his touch kept me sane.
We arrived curled around each other. For a moment, I wasn't sure where I ended and he began. I stayed in that position, unwilling to confront the fact that something had happened that I'd not expected. Hjalmar was no longer a stranger to me. It felt like I had always known him. Like I knew him better than I knew myself. I knew his favourite colour (the blue of the sea at midnight), his favourite food (bacon so crispy it was almost burned) and the way he liked to touch himself in the show-
"What was that?" I muttered, still not moving.
"I don't know."
Without opening my eyes, I knew exactly how he was curled around me. I knew that he was looking at the beauty spot on my chin, I knew that he was fighting the urge to press his lips against mine.
"Do it," I whispered before I could stop myself.
He didn't hesitate. He kissed me and I kissed him, somehow feeling both my own and his lips as if they were mine. It was confusing and yet oh so amazing. I'd never been kissed like that before. His beard chafed against my skin, but I loved the way it felt, how it made his lips feel soft and gentle compared to the harshness of the other sensation. He made me open my mouth with nothing more than a thought, and his tongue met mine, desperately trying to find each other. We were close, touching, kissing, yet not as close as we had been moments ago when we had been one and the same.
Our kiss turned wild, all gentleness gone. We devoured each other, a dance more battle than beauty. His taste was raw, filled with the iron of blood. One of us was bleeding, maybe both of us, but it just added to the frenzy that filled my mind. I needed more of him. All of him.
I fumbled with the zipper of my jumpsuit, so distracted by the kiss that it took me forever to open it. I slid out of the sleeves and pushed the suit down until my upper body was bare. Without stopping the kiss, Hjalmar reached around me and opened the clasp of my bra in one practised motion. His tongue swirled around my mouth one last time, then he left my lips, drawing his down my chin, my neck, until he started kissing the soft skin between my breasts. I moaned at the gentleness of his touch, the careful placement of the kiss right atop of my centre. My heart was beating fast, aching to jump out of my chest and into his.
That strange sense of being one and the same was still there, although it was fading quickly, far too quickly. It was still strong enough to feel his arousal though, and that turned me on even more. His cock pressed against my hip, but the desire in his mind was so much stronger. Enough to almost bring me over the edge before I'd even completely undressed. Before he'd touched me where I wanted him to touch me.
I was quivering beneath him as he placed kiss after kiss on the small space between my breasts. His beard tickled my skin, while his hands were moving down, grabbing the jumpsuit and pulling it down. One of his hands pushed between my legs, sliding underneath my panties. He wasn't going to wait, he was going to take me here and now, I could feel it in his thoughts. I was okay with that. More than okay. I craved him like the air that I now breathed in short, ragged breaths. I'd felt his mind merge with mine, now I wanted the same to happen to our bodies. Have him inside of me.
That thought alone made me squirm. His mouth was moving over to my right breast, his lips gently hugging my nipple. He began to suck just enough to stretch the skin but not enough for it to hurt. I wanted him to be less gentle, but I couldn't remember how to speak.
I moaned as he pushed a finger inside of me, giving me a taste of what I needed. His thumb stroked my clit in slow circles. I pushed up my hips to meet his touch. I wanted more. It wasn't enough.
He moved onto my other breast at the same time as a second finger joined the first. Already, I was close to being too full. I had no idea how his cock was going to fit into me if two large fingers already made me feel like this. Still, I wanted it. He could take my innocence, I gave it to him freely.
Suddenly, Hjalmar roared in pain. I opened my eyes and his fingers slid out of me, all pleasure gone immediately as fear gripped my heart. I felt my own wrists burn as he pressed his against his chest, agony marring his features. His bracelets were showing the same line hologram again as they had back at TTA. He wasn't doing anything to them, but the lines kept swirling, moving into a new pattern. My stomach lurched as I realised what was happening a second before it did.
Hjalmar was wrenched from my grip before either of us had the chance to say something.
Say goodbye.
I was holding nothing but thin air. The man in front of me had gone, disappeared into time.
I was alone, trapped in a Viking village, imprisoned in a past I'd never lived.
"Hjalmar," I whispered, shock slowly giving way to tears.
Without warning, my bracelet vibrated and fell off my wrists. I stared at the silver pieces of metal, wishing them all the harm in the world.
They weren't going to help me go back. I wasn't going to be able to travel back home.
No, the only thing I could do was wait.<
br />
Wait for Hjalmar to return. To bring me home. To make me his for real.
*** The End (for now) ***
The third episode in the Norsemen Academy serial will be released shortly. Pre-order it now or subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of the release.
Resources
Here are some resources that I found particularly helpful while studying Old Norse and Runology. This is by no means an extensive list and I’m sure there are some great other resources out there that I’ve not come across yet (if you know something good, email me!).
My favourite book:
‘Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas’ by Jesse Byock. ISBN 978-0988176416
A free Memrise course teaching the most important 246 Old Norse words mentioned in the book:
https://www.memrise.com/course/365561/the-246-top-old-norse-words-audio/
Some short videos about Norse culture and studies:
http://www.vikingnorse.com/old-norse-teaching-videos
English to Old Norse Dictionary:
http://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_E2N.shtm
The Futhark song (like the ABC song but for the Futhark):
http://www.sassafrassmusic.com/songs/norse-mythology/futhark-song/
Dr Jackson Crawford’s Old Norse Youtube channel (lots of fun stuff):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCxNFxw6iq-Mh4uIjYvufg/featured
The Orkneyinga Saga in English translation: https://archive.org/details/orkneyingasaga00goudgoog/page/n12
More information about runes:
https://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm
The Elder Futhark
Also By
Daughter of Winter Series (Paranormal reverse harem)
Winter Princess
Winter Heiress
Winter Queen
Winter Goddess
>> Box set
Mother of Gods (prequel)
Demon’s Revenge (spin-off)
SEVEN WARDENS (Paranormal RH co-written with Laura Greenwood)
From the Deeps
Into the Mists
Beneath the Earth
Within the Flames
Above the Waves
Under the Ice
Rule the Dark
Prequel: Beyond the Loch
Spin-off: Through the Storms
CLAIMING HER BEARS (Dystopian bear shifter RH)
Polar Destiny
Polar Fates
Polar Miracle
>> Box set
THE MARS DIARIES (Sci-fi RH linked to the Drowning series)
Alone
Hidden
Found
>> Box Set
DEFIANCE (contemporary dark RH)
Abandoned Heart
Broken Princess
Stolen Soul
INFERNAL DESCENT (paranormal RH based on Dante’s Inferno, co-written with Bea Paige)
Hell’s Calling
Hell’s Weeping
Hell’s Burning
CATNIP ASSASSINS (urban fantasy)
Meow
Scratch
Purrr
ANTHOLOGIES AND BOX Sets
Hungry for More – charity cookbook
Captivated – contains my post-apocalyptic shifter RH Three Arrows
About the Author
Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today Bestselling Author with a slight obsession with bunnies, dried mango and Scotland. And when she says slight... her friends are trying to find ways to trick her into not having a book set in Scotland.
Whether it's set in space (Scottish space, obviously), fantasy worlds (Scottish fantasy worlds, obviously), or Scotland, Skye's tales are full of magic, romance and adventure. Oh, and unicorns. There's a few demons, too.
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Finding Her Vikings Page 4