The Unyielding

by Shelly Laurenston

  She marched over and tried to knob. He’d locked it, so she banged on it. “Open this door, mister.”

  When she didn’t get an answer, she looked over at the couch. Hilda’s chin rested on the back as she watched the goofiness before her.

  Erin pointed at the door. “Do it, Hilda.”

  Happily, Hilda leaped off the couch, charged across the room, and rammed her head into the bathroom door.

  “Hey!” Stieg barked from the other side.

  “I’ll let her take it down!” Erin warned.

  Stieg snatched the door open. “Keep my goat out of your tantrums—Hey! Cut it out!”

  Erin had launched herself at Stieg, wrapping her legs around his chest and her arms around his head.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Wrestling you to the ground.” She heard Stieg snort and then she was upside down, held only by her ankle. “Put me down!”

  He didn’t. He just walked over to his shower and got in with her in tow.

  “Dammit, Engstrom! I just took a shower!”

  “Not with me, you didn’t.” He flipped her up, yanking the tank top off her body and pushing her against the far shower wall. He pinned her there, his mouth landing on hers, his tongue pushing its way inside. Invading her mouth while his hands invaded her body.

  Big hands palmed her breasts before moving lower, fingers sliding inside her pussy.

  He didn’t stay too long anywhere. He was just teasing her. Torturing her. Erin’s laughing curses and promises of cruel retribution turned into groans and gasps.

  Finally, while he sucked on her nipples and his fingers thrust inside her, she felt an orgasm tearing up her spine and . . .

  Shocked, Erin opened her eyes and stared up at the Viking. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded. She’d been so close. She was still so close. Just a little more . . .

  Stieg held out a bar of soap. “Wash me first.”

  Despite her painfully hard nipples and empty pussy, Erin still managed to laugh. “Are you kidding?”

  He stepped close, the heat of his body competing with the heat of the water from the showerhead. “You want me inside you? Fucking you? Then wash me first.” When her lip curled and she snarled, he added, “You wouldn’t want me to fuck you while still covered in Mara blood, now would you?”

  She hated him. She hated him. She hated him!

  Because she wanted him. Had to have him!

  Erin snatched the bar of soap from him and began scrubbing him to get the Mara blood off his skin. Stieg picked up the shampoo and took care of his hair.

  As she moved down his body, she saw how hard he was. So as she crouched in front of him, she made sure to nudge his cock with her nose.

  Stieg froze for a moment, but then went back to washing his hair, pretending not to notice.

  But they both knew he’d noticed.

  Erin washed his legs since Mara blood had managed to get under his jeans—she didn’t know how, and she didn’t want to know how—and as she did, she made sure to constantly bump into that thing.

  It wasn’t hard to do. It was like a goddamn elephant trunk in her way. She wondered if he could pick up things with it.

  When she knew he was clean, she started to stand back up, but stopped to suck the head of his cock into her mouth.

  Stieg was just washing the conditioner out of his hair and he almost lost his footing, his loud, surprised groan filling the room.

  Erin circled the head with her tongue, sucked again, then deep-throated the entire thing.

  Stieg went to grab the back of her head, and that’s when Erin pulled away and stood.

  She daintily wiped the corners of her mouth with her index finger before lowering her head and lifting her eyes to gaze up at Stieg.

  “You dirty little—”

  “Ah-ah-ah,” she cut in, waving her index finger in his face. “If you want to be inside me, fucking me,” she taunted, “then be nice to me.”

  Stieg took in a breath, his hands pushing his wet hair off his face, and Erin knew at that moment, she might have played the game a little too hard, you know, with a Viking.

  She made a run for it.

  But he was right behind her, his arm snaking around her waist and locking her against his body before she even made it out of the bathroom.

  “Uh-oh,” she muttered when she knew she was caught.

  Stieg held onto Erin like his life depended on it. He felt like it did. “Evil little tease,” he growled as he carried her across the room.

  “Let’s discuss this like adults,” she offered.

  “Shut up.”

  He stopped in the kitchen and dumped the shopping bag of items he’d gotten from Mr. Matucka’s store onto the counter. He’d put the ice cream away in the freezer before Erin hit the shower, but the rest was still in the bag.

  Stieg grabbed the box of condoms he’d purchased because he couldn’t remember how many he had left in his bedroom end table.

  He started to carry Erin to the bathroom, but that seemed so far away. Stieg spotted the couch and walked the few steps over to it.

  Hilda was sitting on it and he gave her a short snarl that had the goat high-tailing it into the bathroom. She even shut the door with a kick of her back legs.

  “You are even freaking out the goat!” Erin said, squirming in his arms. But that squirming was not helping her. It was just making him hotter and harder.

  He bent her over the back of the couch and pushed her legs apart with his knee.

  “Dude!” Erin gasped, still trying to get away. “I’m not some peasant girl you just found hiding in the stables of the family farm!”

  Deciding she talked too much, Stieg slapped her ass. Kinda hard, too.

  Erin froze in midcomplaint. “Did you . . . did you just slap my ass?”

  In answer, he slapped the other cheek.

  “Stieg Engstrom!”

  He had the condom on and before she could wiggle away, Stieg gripped her thighs and pulled her back while he thrust forward.

  “You asshole! When I get free, I’m going to—oh, God! That feels good.” She was right. It did feel good. It felt amazing.

  Even better, Stieg didn’t need to worry about how much Erin Amsel could handle. The woman could handle anything he was ready to give her. He thrust in hard and she pushed back against him, her hands pressed against the couch cushions, giving her a little bit of leverage since her feet didn’t even touch the floor. Her pussy gripped him like a vise and, even better, she still taunted him.

  With a toss of her wet red hair, she looked over her shoulder. “Show me how hard you can fuck me, Stieg. Show me. Fuck me!”

  So he did. He fucked her as hard as he wanted and Erin did nothing but beg for more.

  With each hard thrust, she groaned or growled. Sometimes she just said “yes” over and over.

  While she balanced on one hand, she used the other to grip her own breast, her fingers toying with her nipple. She was so hot and wet, he couldn’t believe how turned on she was.

  How turned on he was!

  He couldn’t even think straight. He just knew one thing and one thing only. He had to get her off before he got off.

  It was imperative.

  Stieg stopped thrusting, holding her ass tight against his crotch.

  “Why did you stop?” she demanded. “Don’t fucking stop.”

  He reached around and slid two fingers down until he found her clit. He circled it with the tips, focused on nothing but Erin’s reaction.

  At first, she squirmed, wanting him to keep fucking her. But then her eyes closed, her head dropped, and her entire body tensed.

  Stieg gripped her clit between his two fingers and stroked it until Erin began to shake, her moans becoming louder, the top of her head resting on the couch cushion.

  Her toes curled and she gasped and growled into the couch as she came, flooding his fingers and hand with her wetness.

  When she finally reached back to move his hand away, unable
to take anymore, he gripped her upper thighs again and began fucking her hard. Harder than he’d ever fucked anyone before.

  He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to bury himself as deep inside her as he could. Wanted to make her his own. He knew it as soon as he came, his entire body lost to the release.

  When he was done, his body drained dry, he lifted a limp Erin Amsel with an arm around her waist and, with his cock still inside her, walked her to his bedroom.

  They dropped on the bed, still fused together, neither ready to move, and sort of passed out that way. Both too exhausted to bother un-attaching.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “Ice cream?”

  Erin opened her eyes and saw that Stieg was holding out a bowl of chocolate ice cream for her. Yawning and scratching her head, she sat up and took the bowl from him.

  It was still dark outside, but Stieg had the bedroom TV on.

  “What is it with you and American Greed?”

  “That’s how you learn what not to do if you don’t want to go to prison or make bad investments. I don’t want to do either, so I watch and I learn.”

  “That’s probably a good plan. Ravens in prison can’t be a good thing.”

  “Not when I can just fly away. But then I’d be hunted, which doesn’t sound entertaining at all.”

  Erin ate her ice cream and watched the show with Stieg. When she finished eating, she put the bowl aside and leaned her head against his arm. “Why are you helping me?”

  “Because I’m pretty certain I’m the only one who can put up with you.”

  “I’d be insulted if you didn’t have a point.” She yawned again and stretched, leaning back against the bed. When she was done, she saw that Stieg was staring down at her, a little bit of leftover chocolate ice cream on his chin. She reached up and wiped at it with her finger, then held it in front of Stieg.

  Smirking, he sucked her finger into his mouth and Erin immediately felt her nipples get hard and her pussy get warm, then wet.

  The man did have some technique.

  He swirled his tongue around her finger one more time before pulling back. “You never ask me,” he suddenly announced, placing his empty bowl on the opposite end table.

  “Ask you what?”

  “About my past.”

  “I’ve asked some questions.”

  “Not really and when you do, it’s mostly mocking.”

  “That’s true.” She dragged her finger down his chest. “I never thought you wanted any questions about your past. You don’t exactly present yourself as a chatty person.”

  “Does my past make you uncomfortable?”

  “No.”

  “Not at all?”

  “No. Do you want it to?”

  “Not really. Just surprised. You seem so curious about everything else.”

  “I never said I wasn’t curious about you. But I don’t pry into people’s real problems.”

  Stieg raised an eyebrow and Erin explained, “I’ll give Maeve shit until the end of time about her ‘illnesses,’ but what I won’t do is ever ask her about her mother. Whatever her issues are, I know they stem from that woman and she does not want to talk about it. If she suddenly did, though, I’d listen, but at the end of the day, we all have our private issues, and they’re none of my business unless you want them to be.”

  “So you do have boundaries. Lines you won’t cross.”

  “Of course I do. I’m not—no matter what Idunn says—a monster.”

  “She really hates you.”

  “I know. But they’re golden apples all together in a basket. How does she not expect me to play with them?”

  Stieg curled several strands of her hair around his finger. “I don’t want you to go,” he suddenly admitted.

  “You mean right now? Because I wasn’t planning to.” When he just stared at her, she said, “Oh. You mean . . . go.” She shrugged. “It’s not like I have a choice.”

  “You could run.” He gave a short snort. “But Crows don’t run.”

  “It’s not even that. I tried running once. It did not end well. But every extra day I’ve had as a Crow . . . a blessing. So if that means sacrificing myself to prevent the end of everything, I’ll do it. But you’ll have to promise to remember me fondly and make sure that no other woman you’re ever with again measures up to the wonder that is me.”

  Stieg moved in closer, snuggling down beside her. “You better get to work if you want all that.”

  Erin laughed. “I’m the one risking life and limb and you want me to get to work? You’re such a dude.” She snapped her fingers and pointed down. “You get to work.” She put her hands behind her head. “And I’ll just lie back and enjoy.”

  * * *

  And that was it. That’s how Erin Amsel grabbed his heart. His angry, vicious, doomed heart. The heart he thought he’d encased in concrete. Never to be hurt again by anyone! That was the plan.

  But how could he not fall for a woman who’d accepted a suicide mission like she was being forced to take on a daily carpool of obnoxious children? Who gave as good as she got in bed and out? Who never went down without a fight? Who pissed off gods for her own twisted entertainment?

  He couldn’t. Stieg knew that now. He couldn’t resist this woman.

  This foolish, ridiculous, pain-in-the-ass woman.

  Even though he was certain he’d lose her forever in the next few days.

  But that was the price they all paid. The risk they all took.

  So, for now, he’d enjoy her while he had her.

  He wrapped his mouth around her breast, his tongue circling her nipple, and Erin’s body instantly responded. She settled down on the bed, her hips squirming a little bit.

  Stieg took his time. He was in no rush, even if Erin was. Her hand started to move down to her pussy, ready to jack herself off since he hadn’t touched her there yet, but Stieg grabbed her, pinning both hands against the bed as he moved from one breast to the other.

  She struggled against his grip, her hips squirming more, her legs becoming restless. He didn’t let any of that bother him, though. He was on his own timetable. Much to Erin’s annoyance.

  He finally slid down, his tongue leading the way, until he reached her pussy. He saw the hands he’d just released ball into fists. She didn’t want to do anything that would make him stop, but she was running out of patience.

  Once settled between her legs, he leaned in, but before touching anything with his mouth, he blew on her clit. Erin’s toes curled as she raised her knees on either side of him.

  He pushed her legs wide apart, leaned in again . . . and blew.

  “Stieg,” she growled in warning.

  He lifted his head, one eyebrow raised. “What?”

  She gritted her teeth before snarling out, “Nothing.”

  “Yeah,” he taunted back, “That’s what I thought.”

  He went back to blowing. Then, he licked her clit. But little licks that he knew were doing nothing but torturing her.

  Sometimes he used his nose to circle but still . . . not enough to get her over the edge. He knew it. She knew it.

  Finally, she lifted her head a bit, her face covered in a sheen of sweat, and glared at him. Silently demanding to know when he was going to get to it.

  “You know what I want to hear,” he teased.

  “Oh, come on,” she bit out between those still-clenched teeth.

  “Say it . . . or I’ll keep this up until dawn. Say it.”

  She fell back on the bed, refusing. And he kept toying with her until her entire body was sweating and she was trembling on the edge of release with no hope in sight.

  When this was all over, she might actually kill him.

  Finally, she lifted her head again and barked, “Please.”

  “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  Her eyes widened in rage, but he simply ignored that and went back “to work.” He sucked her clit into his mouth and sank two fingers deep inside her.

  Erin
’s hands reached up, gripping the headboard, her hips rising off the bed as he sucked hard and stroked deep.

  It took seconds before he pulled her over the edge, but he wasn’t done. He kept going, not letting her wiggle away when she tried. He held onto her waist with his arm as he continued to suck and fuck her pussy with his mouth and fingers.

  Erin let out a sharp, short scream when she came again, her entire body rigid as she thrashed beneath him.

  She finally pushed him off, using her legs and hands. But he didn’t let her scramble off the bed. He grabbed her ankle and dragged her back. By the time he had her on his lap, he had a condom on and was buried deep inside her.

  “Bastard,” she snapped at him before she kissed him hard on the mouth, her hips pressed against him.

  Stieg kept her on top as he stretched out beneath her. He gripped her waist with both hands and made her ride his dick.

  Erin slapped her hands against his chest, her knees resting on either side of him. “I’m so going to make you pay for this later,” she warned. “I’m going to make you pay so hard.”

  Stieg, nearly ready to come just watching her get off on what he was doing, was about to explode. But after hearing her warning, he held back long enough to reach down with one hand and grip her clit again between his fingers.

  She grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him. “Stieg. Not again.”

  “One more time,” he pushed. “Just for me. Only for me.”

  Erin’s head fell back, her mouth open, her body shuddering on top of his. She came again and this time Stieg came with her.

  When Erin landed hard on his chest, Stieg’s arms too weak to do anything except flop uselessly at his sides, she reached up and grabbed a hank of his hair, pulling hard.

  “Ow!”

  “Bastard!”

  “Cock tease.”

  Then he hugged her close . . . and she let him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Erin woke up smothered. More than three hundred pounds of Viking muscle sprawled across her.

  “Great,” she muttered. “He’s a cuddler.”

  She tried easing out from under him but he wouldn’t budge. She tried gently pushing his shoulder. That, too, was ineffective.

  She finally gave flailing a try and, growling, Stieg rolled off her, but kept right on sleeping.