by Alice Wilde
We sit in awkward silence for a long moment before I suddenly feel two large hands on either side of my face, and before I can react, Ero’s lips are pressed hard against my own. I stare at Ero’s face, so close to my own, my eyes wide with shock and sudden dread, but when he pulls away and opens his eyes, they’re still a stormy blue.
“Ero?”
“I want you, princess.”
“What?” I say in complete and utter shock. “We…you know we can’t. Is this another trick of Damien’s?”
Ero lets go of me and turns away.
“No,” he says. “I don’t think that will happen again.”
“How could you know that?”
Ero rubs his forehead as he tries to think of what to say to me.
“Annalise,” Ero begins, “I haven’t let anyone get close to me since the day my family was slaughtered. I’d never experienced a pain anywhere near what I did that day, nor have I since…until the day on the ship when I thought I’d hurt you, and again when I found out I had a daughter I didn’t know…and finally, when I thought you were going to join me in death on the pyre.”
I lightly place one of my hands on his arm, but turn my head away quickly as I am visually reminded that Ero is still completely naked.
“I shouldn’t have snapped at you just now,” Ero continues. “It’s just that…you’re right.”
“What are you trying to say Ero?” I say, my eyes flitting to his face.
Ero clears his throat once again.
“I…um…I felt the connection that Damien had made with me break when you stepped through the fire and came to me,” Ero says nervously, “and I felt something else fill that dark hole in my heart.”
“As though a fire had been lit,” I murmur to myself.
Ero turns to look at me curiously. “That’s exactly it. How did you know?”
“I saw it,” I say. “Whatever magic was at the pyre, it let me see that even with all the darkness, there was still good in you.”
We look into each other’s eyes silently for a moment before Ero grabs me and pulls me into another kiss, this one fierce and passionate. The world melts away around me, and I know instantly that what Ero has said is true. This is unlike anything I’d experienced with him on the ship. This is all Ero.
My hands, little by little, rise to touch him.
A loud knock on the door startles me and I push against Ero’s broad, bare chest to signal him to let go, although I do so reluctantly.
Ero kisses me softly once more before letting me go and slipping on his clothes and shouting something to whoever was on the other side of the door.
“Looks like it’s time for supper,” Ero says. “Although I’d prefer if we just stayed here.”
I blush and remove myself from the bed, smoothing out the dress. “I think we’d better eat.”
Ero raises his hands in defeat and then heads toward the door and opens it. “After you, princess.”
I roll my eyes at him as we exit the room together.
Sixteen
Roan & Li
Li
I don’t like the idea of us being separated from Ero and Annalise. Not just because of what happened on the ship, but something about the jarl makes me uneasy. From the little I’ve heard of Vikings, I’m not about to trust any I’ve just met, and definitely not any who have just tried to burn one of us at the stake.
Hopefully the stables are comfortable enough for us to get some much-needed rest. All I can do is hope. I don’t even know if our exhaustion is what’s caused us to be unable to shift back into our human forms.
Roan and I are led to a kennel inside the stable and locked inside. No wonder dogs bark so much when they’re forced to stay in these things. I have to focus on what’s important right now and get some rest. Whatever happens, I won’t be of much use if I can barely move, let alone think.
Roan
If I had any strength in me, I would have fought to stay with Annalise, but I can barely manage to walk straight, let alone fight. Li has been trying to calm me down enough to sleep, but I can’t, not after what the lass went through on the ship.
I promised never to let anything like that happen to her again, and now here I am, locked in a kennel like a dog with no way out. Li is right, we need rest to continue, but I can’t stop worrying about her. Nothing about this is right. Why didn’t I fight them? I should have insisted on staying by Annalise’s side. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her.
I can feel myself starting to doze off and shake myself to stay awake, but almost immediately, I doze off once again.
Seventeen
Ero
Supper was far from comfortable, and I was hesitant at first to eat any of the food that was offered to us. The table was laden with more food than I’d seen in years, far too much for the number of people at the table. But I couldn’t detect anything wrong with it, and I made sure to give Annalise and myself only the food that came from dishes the jarl chose directly from as an extra precaution. I had hoped this would be a chance to discuss what I really wanted, and to assure Bjarke that I had no intention of usurping him, even if I was the rightful heir, but we had been seated so far apart, and with so many guests between us, there was little chance for a conversation.
Annalise and I finished our meals quickly and excused ourselves to our room.
“What about Roan and Li?” Annalise asks.
“They’re being kept in the stables,” I say. “They’ll be well taken care of, don’t worry. Thankfully they’re not wolves.”
“Why?”
“The Norse aren’t too keen on wolves. They’re said to bring only danger and destruction. I don’t think they’re thrilled about leopards either, but at least we don’t have any legends that directly relate them to bad luck.”
I shut and bar the door behind us as soon as we’re both inside the bedroom we’ve been given and check the room thoroughly for any secret doors or possible threats.
“Is everything alright?”
I look over at Annalise and realize how suspicious my behavior must seem.
“You can never be too cautious,” I say. “Especially when dealing with Vikings and warring states.”
“Do you think we need to be worried?”
“I hope not, but that dinner was not altogether friendly. And Bjarke seems to be set on the idea I’m here to take back my throne.”
“We’ll just have to talk to him in the morning,” Annalise says with false confidence. “Let’s try to get some sleep. I can barely think anymore.”
She’s brave, I’ll give the girl that. I still don’t know how she’s talked herself into being able to stay alone with me in the same room again.
“You’re right,” I say, rubbing my temples. Exhaustion is setting in harder than I had expected.
I try not to watch as Annalise removes her outer garments and slips under the quilt, but I look.
A voice at the back of my mind tells me I should offer to sleep on the rug, but I push it aside as I walk across the room, remove my shirt, and toss it to the side before lying down on the bed next to Annalise.
I can sense tension rise in her immediately, but it’s not the same as before. Her heartbeat has sped up, and the scent of her skin is sweet and strong. I clench my jaw. She’s giving off every signal I used to track women long ago. Women who wanted sex just as much as I did…
Annalise is lying on her side, facing away from me, the quilt resting gently against the curves of her body. I’ve never had a woman in my bed that I wanted this badly but was forbidden to touch.
Touch. Was I forbidden from touching? I knew there were limits to what I could do to her, at least for now, but did that really mean there wasn’t pleasure to be had?
I try to divert my thoughts, but all I can think about is her naked body pressed against my own, the scent of her skin. How in all of Valhalla did Roan deal with this on a daily basis? No wonder he was so jealous. Thank the gods he isn’t here or he’d tear me to
shreds—though he’ll probably do that later anyway.
“Annalise,” I say, my voice low, “tonight, you’re mine.”
Eighteen
Annalise
I turn toward Ero just as he yanks back the quilt and pulls me into a sitting position on top of him. I can already feel his arousal through his pants.
“Ero,” I gasp, “we can’t.”
“Why not?”
“You know why.”
“I won’t take you like that,” Ero says, watching my face carefully for a moment before letting his eyes drift lower. I can feel my body awakening beneath my nightdress as he does. Ero is holding me tightly around my waist. He lifts me ever so slightly and begins to move his hips. He rocks gently back and forth, pressing himself against me, the sensation sending shivers of pleasure through me.
“Ero,” I groan, not wanting him to stop.
“Say you want me.”
I try to think of an excuse, something, anything, to make him stop. But I can’t, and I don’t want to. I want him to keep going. Ero had always been a flirt, but I hadn’t paid much mind to him. There’d always been a little tension between us, but I thought it was because he had some kind of distaste for me. But now I wonder if it was borne out of restraint.
There is something exciting about him, something barbaric, almost primal in the way that he wants me. It’s completely unique from the way Roan makes me feel. It isn’t better or worse, just different. It’s demanding, but in a way that doesn’t threaten me or my life. Consensual, but dominating. It is almost as if I need him to want me.
“Annalise, tell me that you want me,” Ero demands, his voice a soft growl.
“I want you,” I say nervously.
“Say you need me.”
I whimper, the sensations rippling through my body growing stronger than I can almost bear.
“Say it,” Ero commands, stopping all motion.
“I…I need you,” I gasp.
Ero rises and flips me onto my back, climbing on top of me. He pulls me up by the neckline of my chemise and then stops, looking into my eyes.
“Give me permission, Annalise.”
“What?”
“Give me permission to ravish you,” Ero says. “But I’m warning you now, I won’t stop until I’m done.”
I pause, my heart racing, my mind giving me every reason why I should say no. My body imploring me to say yes.
“What will it be?”
Against my better judgment, I put my hands on his face and try to kiss him, but he pulls away before I can.
“Answer me.”
“Yes,” I reply meekly, almost hurt by his rejection of my kiss.
Ero grins and releases my chemise, and I fall back against the bed. Placing a large hand against my throat, he presses down gently. Not enough to hurt me, but enough to send my blood pounding through my veins. He leans down and takes the edge of my neckline in his teeth and free hand and rips it apart to expose one of my breasts. Ero traces his free hand along the side of my neck and down my chest before taking my nipple between the knuckles of two of his fingers and tugging firmly. He presses down gently against my throat as he does this, causing the sensation to intensify, and I moan.
Ero sits up, releasing me, and I whimper at the loss of his touch and then again as one of his hands finds my hair and tugs at it, exposing my neck. Before I have time to anticipate anything, Ero bites me. The bite is hard enough to hurt, but not enough to break skin, and he continues to bite me on his way down my body. He seems to vary the pressure and pain of the bite depending on the area of my body.
I’m struggling against my own mind. His actions aren’t unlike what Damien tried to do with me, but for some reason, I’m enjoying this. The only difference I can think of is that I want Ero to do this to me, and I trust him to stop before things go too far.
Ero is awakening sensations in me that I didn’t know were even possible, and I want him with more intensity with every passing minute. My body is practically aching with desire as Ero continues to slowly make his way down to my chest. I expect him to stop and play with my breasts, but Ero only continues past them, kissing, biting, and licking his way down my torso. Spasms of electricity seem to shoot through me at various points, and I feel like I’m about to burst with pent-up excitement.
It suddenly occurs to me that his face is almost between my legs and my thighs clench around Ero’s torso in anxiety. Aside from the woman who checked my virginity, no one’s face has been so close to my groin, and certainly no man’s. For a moment, I worry that Ero doesn’t actually know what he’s doing either, but then he wraps his arms around my legs and pries them apart with ease. He looks up at me for a moment and smirks before lowering his face between my thighs. Ero definitely knows what he’s doing.
I close my eyes and moan as Ero flicks his tongue against my clit before taking it in his mouth and sucking. My back arches, my vision blurs as I try to comprehend what’s happening to my body as it seems to tense and become almost painfully frustrated, and then I cry out as wave after wave of relief and pleasure wash over me.
Rosa had once told me that men often use their hands to excite a woman, but she had said this was only ever to get her ready enough so that he could enter her easily. I hadn’t known that there was this kind of ecstasy to be had. It was as though I wanted to scream, laugh, cry, and sing all at the same time. Everything wrong and bad in the world leaves me in the moment, and I want Ero in ways I’ve never wanted him before. I want him to take me. Screw the fate of the world!
“Ero,” I gasp, his name barely escaping my lips.
Ero raises his head to look at me, a knowing grin spreading across his face.
“Good, isn’t it, princess?” Ero says as he blows cool air over my wetness. “I doubt you’ve ever felt anything like that before.”
I shake my head, unable to think of anything to respond with.
“I’m only just getting started.”
“How—”
The rest of the words never leave my mouth as Ero returns eagerly to what he was doing before, but this time he slides down further, pressing his tongue up into me. Another completely new sensation, and I suddenly begin to squirm with anxiety. I grab a handful of Ero’s silky white hair in my hand and tug at it, but instead of causing him to look at me it only makes him plunge himself deeper inside me.
Gods, how is his tongue so long?
I let out a whimper. I don’t want him to stop, but fear is starting to take hold of me as I realize the possible consequences of our actions. I’m about to say something when Ero pushes his hands up underneath me and drags me down toward him, lifting my lower body up off the bed as he places my legs over his shoulders and wraps his arms around me to keep me stable as he somehow manages to use his tongue to enter me deeper. I doubt this position would be possible if he weren’t so strong.
“Ero!” I finally manage to force myself to shout.
Ero stops what he’s doing and carefully lowers me back onto the bed. I can’t help the tears that well up in my eyes almost instantly, and I struggle to choke them back.
“Did I hurt you?” Ero asks, his face showing genuine concern for me.
I cover my face in my hands, not wanting him to see the tears rolling uncontrollably down either side of my cheeks. A shadow moves over me and I peek out to find Ero learning over me, his arms on either side of me holding him up.
“What’s wrong?” Ero asks, his voice shaking. “Tell me what I did.”
“It’s not you,” I say through sobs.
“Then what is it?”
“I’m worried you’re…you’re going too deep,” I say, my face flushing with embarrassment.
Ero blinks and then sits back, relief spreading across his face.
“Is that all?”
“All?” I ask. “Aren’t you worried about it?”
Ero sighs and shifts to the empty side of the bed, pulling the quilt up over me. He puts his arms behind his head and stares up at the ceilin
g.
“To be perfectly honest with you, Annalise,” Ero says, “I have a hard time believing that this supposed curse really has anything to do with your virgin blood.”
“It doesn’t make much sense to me either,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean I want to take that chance.”
“Did you feel any pain?”
“No.”
“Then everything should be fine,” Ero says. “Perhaps if I’d used a finger instead, we might have cause to worry.”
“A finger could ruin me?” I ask in disbelief.
Ero turns his head toward me.
“I wouldn’t say ruin you, but it could cause you to bleed.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Wait, Roan didn’t—”
“No,” I say hastily, stopping him before he can finish.
My stomach twists at the mention of Roan’s name, and I suddenly feel guilty and confused. Tears well up in my eyes.
“He did, didn’t he?” Ero asks, mistaking the reason for this new wave of tears. He turns onto his side and props himself up on his elbow.
“No, honestly,” I say. “I just feel guilty for betraying Roan.”
Ero watches me for a moment and then laughs.
“There’s nothing to feel guilty about.”
“Maybe for you.”
“For either of us,” Ero says, his tone surprisingly serious. “If you want to go into technicalities, you’re twice married, and in both cases, it was out of necessity. Nothing about any of this is normal.”
“I didn’t just marry Roan out of necessity,” I mumble.
“So what if you have feelings for him?” Ero says. “That doesn’t mean you won’t have feelings for anyone else.”
“How can you be so casual about this?”
“I’ve been with lots of women. It’s nothing new to me.”
My jaw tightens as I look at him in disgust before turning onto my side to face away from him. I feel so stupid! I’d given in to the weakness of my flesh for a moment of pleasure—and with Ero nonetheless! The emotionless, loveless creature that he is. He probably told me what I’d wanted to hear just to get me into bed with him.