A Storm of Pleasure

by TERRI BRISBIN

  The Truthsayer was not what she’d expected at all. After the night they’d shared, she’d imagined carnal pleasures with little preamble or conversation at all. But now that seemed less important to him. When she’d expected another scandalous request or command, like his demand that she pleasure herself, instead he asked for sleep.

  Haakon had placed something else on the table, something that Gavin had not mentioned—a small bottle filled with a dark-colored liquid. She’d seen this one before and knew it contained some healer’s brew. Katla lifted it and held it up before the light of the lamp. He’d dosed himself with it several times while she observed from above

  When he saw her looking at the bottle, he offered, “I do not sleep easily or enough.”

  “Your pardon,” she whispered, bowing her head in apology. “’Tis not my place to…” Every word she thought of sounded wrong.

  “Snoop?” he finished.

  She felt her cheeks burn.

  “Aye,” she admitted, placing the bottle back on the shelf. “My curiosity is unseemly.” She wiped her sweaty, nervous palms against her tunic, drying them before facing him. “My father and his wife ever complained of it.”

  “You should know where that potion is,” he said, nodding to it. “If I need it…” He did not finish, but she understood, having seen him consume it several times.

  She changed the topic to something more mundane, away from all the questions she wished to ask. They had a month—there would be time enough.

  “Should I put out the lamps?”

  Though she done shocking things in his presence, she was not yet comfortable with bedplay, and did not wish to undress before him. Katla suspected that the scent his body gave off during arousal eased those inhibitions and allowed her to do many things with ease. Now, though…

  “Leave the one by the doorway burning, but you can put the others out.”

  When she’d done so, she walked to the wooden chest in the corner and undressed quickly. Folding her tunic, gown, and linen shift, she placed the garments on top of the wooden trunk and then unlaced her shoes and stockings and removed them. Despite the heat given off by the brazier burning there, the chamber carried the chill of the rocks. She shivered as she turned toward the bed.

  He lifted up the furs and blankets and held them for her to climb in. The lamp’s light flickered as it touched his naked skin and his face. And though most of his body was covered by the bed linens, it was easy to see his aroused cock.

  So much for going to sleep, she thought as she slipped into the large, very comfortable bed and into his muscular, heated embrace. So much for sleep.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When they approached the crest of the hill, Katla lost her breath. Not from the exertion of climbing up that hill, but from the sight before her. There, between this ridge and the farther one, sat a small, but perfectly circular group of standing stones. She took Gavin’s outstretched hand and walked at his side down the hill toward the stones.

  This day, her third with him, had been the first since their arrival to dawn with a clear sky. Haakon had packed food in a sack, and ale in a skin, before they set out. Gavin had kept their destination a secret, telling her only that there would be a surprise to see. It took hours to reach the stones, walking over gentle rolling hills, and even at this distance, they were spectacular.

  “How did you find this place?” she asked. The circle was off the path that followed the coast between villages.

  “Exploring when I was a boy,” he said. “I grew up and lived near Durness my whole life. One summer my father told me of the stones and so I went looking for them when I could.”

  The descent grew steeper now as they made their way down into the valley toward the stones. The sun’s rays flickered off them, sending shiny bits of light into Katla’s eyes. Soon, they reached the bottom and the ground leveled, making walking easier. Gavin held out the ale skin to her, and they paused for a moment.

  “Have you visited the other stones?” he asked, wiping his mouth after taking a swallow of the ale. “On the mainland?”

  “The ones near the ancient cairns?” she asked. “Aye.”

  Standing stones and ancient cairns were strewn across Orkney, the largest on the mainland where the earl lived. The Norse had visited them for centuries, especially Odin’s Stone near the lake at Stenness, where oaths were sworn and promises made.

  “These are different,” he declared as he began to walk closer to the seven stones. “Come.”

  And they were, for as Gavin and Katla approached the ring, it was clear that each of the seven gray stones was actually cut or had been cleft by wind and rain into three sections. The surface of each glimmered in the sun, flecks of metal or some other kind of stone giving the appearance of silver and gold. Gavin did not walk into the circle—he walked around it, leading her three times along the perimeter before taking her near the ring.

  “The rays of the setting sun on the summer solstice make this one appear afire, Katla. It is a sight to behold.”

  He reached out to lay his hand on the tallest of the stones, a simple gesture but one that was almost reverent. Gavin paused just before his hand came to rest on the stone, closing his eyes, as though listening for something.

  “What do you hear?” she asked. Did his powers connect to something here?

  He shook his head, laughing. “Nothing. Though as a boy, I thought I could hear laughter echoing through these stones. And sometimes, as I walked the circle, whispering seemed to follow me.”

  She smiled, thinking of how he must have been as a boy. He placed his hand on the surface of the stone then and sighed. Katla reached out and placed her hand on the stone, too, to feel what he was feeling. He covered her hand with his, sealing it between the heat of his skin and the heat that emanated from the stone’s surface.

  “The legends speak of the Old Ones who lived among the stones eons ago, Gavin. Mayhap you heard the echoes of their lives?”

  “Aye, you might have the right of it, Katla. Old Ones, Old Gods, ancient peoples—all may have lived here, arranging these stones. Mayhap they even performed pagan fertility ceremonies to ensure a good harvest or many children?”

  Before she knew what he was about, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the center of the circle, where the grass was level and thick. In the true center, a small area lay higher than the rest, and that was where he took her.

  “I have heard stories that virgins were sacrificed here, at the very heart of the circle.”

  This lighthearted teasing was new. Each day, he seemed less burdened, less haunted, less madman. He drew her into pleasure with little or no provocation, and she discovered it was no hardship for her to join in his bedplay. Whether it was in his bed, along the river that ran through the cave, on the beach under the stars, or as it seemed likely, in the center of a ring of ancient stones. Katla smiled back at him.

  “So do you mean to sacrifice a virgin or simply celebrate fertility here?” she asked, laughing at the surprise in his eyes. “I fear I can be of no help with one, but may be willing to participate in the other.”

  His eyes darkened, and her body reacted to that sign she was coming to know well. Soon, that scent, full of musk, and irresistible male attraction, would begin and she would be under his spell. Or not, for she could push it away and enjoy being with the man rather than the Truthsayer.

  “I could play the virgin,” he offered, peeling off his tunic and loosening his trews. He tossed his cloak on the ground and smiled. “A virgin must be taken before sacrifice. You could”—he paused and lowered his head, narrowing his gaze as she met it—“you could take me, Katla.”

  Though each time they joined was different from the rest, he’d never been able to lie still and allow her to explore his body as he’d explored every inch of hers. Heat shot through her as she considered all the places she could touch. Her own skin began to tingle as she imagined the touch and taste of his. Deciding to join his game, she nodded.

&nb
sp; “I think I will,” she whispered.

  Giving him no chance to react, she kicked out her leg and took him down to the ground with a move she’d used dozens of times on Kali. Gavin landed with a thump, and she jumped on top of him, spreading her legs so that she straddled him. Instead of fighting back, he lay there and watched her with hooded eyes.

  “Will you resist?” she asked, knowing that he was stronger and could reverse the situation if he chose to do so.

  Gavin lifted his arms and tucked his hands behind his head. The movement made the muscles of his stomach and chest tighten and ripple. She could feel the strength of his thighs as he shifted beneath her weight. “Touch me,” he said in a deep voice. “Take me, Katla.”

  Katla had never taken the first step in bedplay. Harald had been the first man for her, and their joinings were accomplished quickly, quietly, and usually in the dark. Gavin turned out to be exactly the opposite, for he seemed to enjoy teasing and tormenting her body until she was screaming for her release. He thought nothing of lying with her outside in the cool night air, or like this, in the light of day.

  She did not think she’d ever found release when coupling with Harald, while Gavin would not spill his seed until she’d peaked several times and begged for him to finish with her. She suspected that Harald tried to be kind, for she thought he might feel some guilt that he’d taken her maidenhead. Gavin relished every joining, be it slow or fast, tender or forceful, and he always wanted more from her.

  How would she return to the household of Harald Erlendson after this interlude with Gavin? Katla decided she would savor every moment of it before life brought misery or heartache to her door.

  Gavin recognized the moment Katla decided to accept control of their coupling, and he waited, holding his breath to see her first move. Her weight on his legs was not one that would hold him down, but he wanted to let her have her way with him this time. When she climbed off him, he wanted to protest, but waited instead to give her time.

  He held his breath as she leaned down and kissed his mouth.

  With a hand on the ground at either side of his head, she dipped down and kissed him again. Her unbound hair flowed around them like a curtain, shielding them from the outside and allowing him to take in her scent. She tested his lips with her tongue, and he opened to allow it in.

  Bold strokes soon replaced her first tentative movements, and when he offered his tongue to her, she suckled on it. Gavin fought to keep his hands still, but his body screamed for him to move. He concentrated on her and on the almost musical sounds created in her blood and in her flesh as her body grew ready for him.

  Katla lifted her mouth from his and began to kiss her way down his neck and then over his shoulders and chest. He arched against her when she touched one of his nipples and teased it with her teeth as he’d done to hers. He exhaled the breath he’d been holding and then sucked in deeply when she moved to the other one and bit him.

  When she began to move down onto his stomach, his prick surged against the fabric of his trews. Gavin panted as she reached down and encircled his hardness with her hand. Between her tongue tracing down the muscles of his stomach and her fingers massaging the hard flesh in her hand, he struggled not to spill his seed. Her hair trailed over his skin, leaving it tingling in its wake. Then she paused, with her head so close to his prick he could feel her breath on it, and he let out a groan at the thought, at the wish, that she would take him in her mouth. Katla leaned back and met his gaze, a question in her eyes.

  Gavin tried to imagine how it would feel when she took him in her mouth, but none of those guesses and no previous experiences prepared him for her. Her actions were uncertain, tentative, halting, as though she’d not done this before, but regardless of whatever inexperience she showed in the way she tasted him, his body bucked and thrust as soon as she drew him inside. He clenched his jaws tightly and tried not to frighten her.

  “Am I doing that the wrong way?” she asked, her voice throaty and sensual as her body began to warm with her own arousal. “Should I stop?” Her gaze displayed genuine concern.

  He barked out a rough laugh then. “If that is the wrong way, my angel, I may not survive it when you discover the right way.”

  She smiled at him as though he was being kind, but he was simply stating the truth—she would kill him with pleasure if she kept this up. And from the way she took him in even deeper then, using her tongue and teeth along his length and around the thick head of his prick, his survival would be a near thing.

  Gavin leaned his head back, thinking that not watching her would make it easier to control his raging lust. He tried to ease the breaths in and out, listening to the lovely way her own breathing was growing rapid and shallow and trying to ignore the scent of her body as it blossomed with heat. Her heart raced and the flesh between her legs grew wet and ready—he could hear it all. He had nearly gained control when she lifted his balls into her hand and felt the sac with her fingertips, caressing it until it clenched in readiness. She teased the curls around his prick until he lost the control he’d fought so hard for and begged her.

  “Angel! Too much…I beg you…cease…or I will…”

  And he did. His body shook and trembled, and his release poured from him as did a long moan of pleasure as she sucked him dry and then licked her lips like a sated cat. But her body told him otherwise.

  Gavin slid his hand under her gown and tunic and discovered just how aroused she was. Her body wept on his fingers and he used the moisture to ease his way as he plundered her for her own release. It took little time, for the folds there swelled and the tiny bud that could make her scream pulsed against the tip of his finger.

  Katla rode his hand, sliding back and forth, trying to hasten her release. He pressed on, rubbing and caressing her until he heard her blood sing. Her body opened to him, arching, and he did not slow or cease.

  He watched as her head dropped back and she screamed out as her body tightened and then released, the sound of her pleasure echoing around the stones and down the valley.

  “Next time, I want you to ride my cock the way you rode my hand, Katla.”

  A new wave of throbbing answered him, then another release. Another moan escaped from her lips and he continued to massage that sensitive place between her legs. Determined to be inside her when she next came, he stroked softly and slowly, keeping her body aroused. When her eyes finally focused on his face, he smiled.

  “Ride me, my angel. Ride me now.”

  Though she thought herself in control of this, it was clear that he truly was. With the pulsing waves of pleasure still making her ache and throb and want, she did not care. His reaction to her mouth on his cock was more than she’d expected and it made her body weep with desire. He eased his fingers in and out of her, soothing and exciting with the same stroke until she wanted more…again.

  “Ride me,” he repeated, and she wanted to obey. But how?

  He motioned and she followed his guidance, standing first and tugging her tunic and gown and shift over her head, tossing them aside and then standing over him, her legs wide, exposing that heated place to his view. He reached up and she held her breath, waiting and waiting as he drew out the anticipation of his touch there. Katla arched against his hand once more while he stroked long and deep along her nether folds. Just as she would have screamed out another release, he stopped and placed his hands on her thighs, easing her down to her knees over his hips…and his cock.

  Katla understood then and positioned her body so that he could guide his flesh deep into hers. And he did, filling her until she was seated completely on him. Then he urged her to move, placing his hands on her hips and lifting and sliding her until she found her own pace. Her flesh spasmed around his, clenching and holding and creating a friction that made her breathless. She moved slowly until the friction grew. Her quicker movements made him moan. Alternating the speed of her hips on his cock, she brought them both so close to release that it shocked her.

  He touched
her then, sliding his hand between her legs, urging her on, and bringing about her release with a flick of his finger there. Her inner muscles contracted against his flesh, but she did not stop until she felt the hot stream of his seed against her womb. Their cries of satisfaction mingled as his seed mixed with the wetness at her core, becoming one thing, one sound that traveled out and echoed off the stones standing sentinel to their act.

  Exhaustion captured her quickly and she fell over, in his embrace, without moving off his body. He rubbed her back, smoothing her hair down over her like a covering. Katla knew not when his flesh left hers, but she did not have the strength to push herself off him. Just as her body urged her to sleep, the sounds began. She lifted her head, looking around for their source.

  At first the sound resembled the tinkling of bells in the wind, but it changed and softened and echoed against the stones as the sounds of their releases had. Now, instead of bells, it was the sound of laughter floating in the air around them. The laughter faded, replaced by what she was certain were voices whispering. Katla looked again and found no one nearby.

  Then, out of the corner of her eye she caught a faint movement near the shadows cast by the huge stones. But as quickly as she turned her head, it was gone. She thought she had imagined it, until she glanced at Gavin and realized he’d seen and heard something, too.

  “Wee ones?” she asked, though they’d seen no signs that anyone lived within miles of this place.

  “Nay, we are alone,” Gavin answered, sitting up and helping her to sit next to him.

  “But I heard…,” she began to explain. She stopped then, remembering his words about things he’d seen or heard here in the past. Maybe she’d just lost consciousness from too much pleasure and imagined it? “Mayhap those sacrificed virgins are whispering to us from the past?”