The children ran into the house, giggling, as Drengr’s sister eyed me thoroughly. A hot flush arose to my cheeks as I shifted under her perceptive gaze. “Well,” she said in a brusque voice. “Mind you don’t get my brother killed, girl.”
My eyes fluttered to hers before I could stop myself. I darted a look to Drengr, who was too busy with the horses to have heard her. “He cares for you,” Gisla continued. “Too much, I think. No good will come of this, although I can’t talk sense into my brother’s thick head.”
I bit my lip, looking away. “Mistress,” I said hesitantly, “may I use your privy?”
“You are too accustomed to living in luxury with Barek,” Gisla laughed. She motioned toward the trees behind the house. “There is no privy here—the forest suits our needs.”
I waited in the forest for my lover, leaning against a rocky ledge, my thoughts in a swirl. Without Drengr beside me as a distraction, my anxiety returned. Why had Barek sent me to Gisla’s steading? It seemed an unusual decision indeed for him to send me away with one of his virile warriors, alone save for his young daughter. Was he trying to catch us in the act? Were his spies looking on even now?
But his behavior in the presence of the sons of Mogr seemed even more unusual. Barek had appeared angry with them, yet allowed them to stare upon me lasciviously as one would a common harlot, not his personal bed slave. He’d even commanded me to look at them. Why?
Drengr had asserted in the courtyard that their presence brought an ill wind to Vikenmar. A new worry plagued me. Could Barek be contemplating giving me to Mogr’s sons as recompense for his debts to their father? Would such a gift satisfy the greedy king who had lost his sons’ brides to an early grave?
Footsteps startled me from my ruminations, and I looked up to see Drengr approaching. I went to him without hesitation, throwing my arms around his waist and burrowing my head into his solid form. He held me for a moment, my ear just below his beating heart, then without warning he lifted me to sit upon the ledge. Now nearly eye to eye, I stared at the massive warrior, drinking in the fierce visage that had become so dear to me.
I grasped the neckline of his shirt and pulled his mouth to mine. Never would I have been so presumptuous with Barek. And even if I’d wanted to, my master would never had allowed such a thing. But I felt nearly dizzy with longing for Drengr, my womanhood throbbing hot and wet with need for him.
The big warrior did not object to my boldness. “Kira,” he groaned, gripping the back of my neck as he claimed my lips, moving his body even closer. I parted my thighs, opening myself to him completely, the fabric of our clothing the only barrier between us as the kiss deepened. I moaned into his mouth, needing him desperately. My fingers fumbled at the laces of his breeches, but he pulled away, eyes dark and intent.
“No.” He shook his head. “I must taste you first. The warm honey between your legs taunts me with its sweetness.”
Drengr lifted my gown, pushing me back slightly on the flat rock so I leaned on my elbows. His huge hands slid along my slender legs, starting at my thighs and ending at my ankles. “So lovely,” he breathed, staring down at my exposed womanhood as he spread me wide. My slit was already glistening with desire as I squirmed in eager anticipation of his hot mouth.
He crouched low, throwing my legs over his shoulders. My Northman drew his fingers over the wetness of my slit, teasing me with the tip of one finger just inside, as his thumb rubbed the swollen nub at the juncture of my thighs. I panted, watching as my juices dripped over his hand. Drengr leaned in to lick the glistening wetness from my folds, groaning in pleasure, then suddenly pierced me with two fingers.
I bit back a scream at the delicious sensation, my internal muscles clenching hard around the intrusion. He licked and suckled at my wet, excited womanhood, thrusting deep into me all the while with his strong fingers. The tightness in my belly built up fast, ready to explode, but Drengr backed off each time I was at the brink. He seemed to be teasing me on purpose, his hot tongue and masterful fingers keeping me just on the edge of release.
“Please, Drengr…” I sobbed, unable to take any more.
He looked up at me with a wicked grin, lips wet with my juices. My heart nearly burst with the beauty of him. “What do you want, Kira?” he growled seductively.
“I want you…I need you, inside me…”
Drengr rose, unlacing his breeches to unleash his massive cock from its confinement. I reached for it, nearly mad with need, my fingers wrapping around the girth I craved. He moved close, allowing me to guide his manhood toward my pink, excited flesh. I rubbed the thick head of it over my folds until it glistened. He breathed hard with restraint as I guided his cock just inside my tight hole.
The lips of my womanhood strained against his size as Drengr slowly pushed his way into me, until he was buried to the hilt. I panted, squirming at the blissful sensation of being stretched tight and filled to overflowing as he began to move. Drengr’s long, thick cock impaled me as he rubbed his thumb over the swollen nub at the juncture of my thighs. Each touch sent a jolt through my body, pulling me ever closer, calling for my complete submission to his magnificent cock.
But I sensed he was holding back. “Harder,” I begged, urging him on. With a growl, his thrusting intensified, then suddenly he lifted me bodily from the rock. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist and held on. Drengr slammed into me, pulling my body down forcefully to meet his huge, thrusting cock. I buried my face into his neck to muffle my screams as he speared me with his deadly weapon, over and over, until I feared he would break me in two.
Yet my wet slit gladly accepted the rough assault, quivering around his enormous manhood greedily as he bounced me upon it. I could tell by his movements and his erratic breathing he was close to release. He gripped me hard, thrusting deep, and I threw my head back as my body shattered with glorious pleasure. My womanhood clenched tight with echoing waves of ecstasy as Drengr buried himself inside me, shooting his hot seed into my welcoming folds.
He held me for some time, wrapping me in his powerful embrace as our heartbeats slowed. I became aware of my surroundings; the cheerful sound of birds chirping overhead, the cool breeze that brushed my limbs, the scent of fresh green foliage. I opened my eyes to look upon Drengr.
My love.
His grey eyes were soft as he gazed at me. He seemed about to speak when the sound of voices reached our ears. The children were coming this way.
Drengr set me on my feet to rapidly tie his breeches. Placing a finger on his lips to keep me quiet, he motioned me to hide behind the rock. I did so, just as the girls stepped into the clearing.
“Drengr!” I heard Thora scold. “There you are. Gisla is in the barn and needs your help with one of the sheep. Have you seen Kira?”
“No,” Drengr replied, following the children.
I washed myself quickly in a nearby stream before returning to the farmstead. The remainder of the day seemed to go by much too fast, my thoughts consumed with the brief, stolen pleasures I’d shared with Drengr.
How I longed to be alone with him again, wondering what he had been about to say to me in the forest, but he was busy in the barn. Instead I helped Gisla and her solitary female thrall, a girl a bit younger than I was, prepare the evening meal. I rolled up the sleeves of my silk gown and expertly gutted the fish the girl had bought at the market.
Gisla couldn’t hide her surprise as she stared at me. “I suppose you’re not as useless as you look,” she grumbled.
I bit back a smile as I pulled out the entrails and discarded them in a bucket. Gisla watched me silently before turning to the slave girl. “Yrsa, go fetch some fresh water.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Bobbing her head, the thrall grabbed an empty bucket and stepped from the house.
I was now alone with Drengr’s sister. Looking up to find her still studying me, I stopped, staring back at her with uncertainty.
“Do you care for him?” Gisla’s voice broke with emotion over th
e words.
“I do. Very much.”
“Are you willing to let him die for you?”
I swallowed hard. The thought of any harm coming to Drengr made me sick with anxiety. “No,” I replied.
“If Barek catches you, my brother will die. Even if you run away together, Barek will find you. What other outcome will there be to this ill-fated liaison than Drengr’s death? If you have any love for him, girl, you will end this now before it is too late. Or his blood will be on your hands.”
I was pensive as we sat to eat. The children chattered away, unperturbed by the heavy silence shrouding the adults at the table. Drengr tried to make eye contact with me, but I kept my gaze firmly lowered. Gisla’s harsh words had left ash in my mouth, and I picked at the succulent fish stew before me with no appetite.
Gisla was the first to break the silence. “I have learned that Sokki Kolgrimsson plans to ask for Runa’s hand,” she informed her brother. “I want you to accept.”
Drengr, raising his cup of ale to his lips, stopped to stare at Gisla. “Runa is not old enough to wed,” he said with ice in his voice.
“She will be twelve at the end of the summer,” Gisla responded. “We will have the wedding then.”
I looked at the child before me. Runa was a pretty girl who appeared just a few years older than Thora, still small and flat chested. Nowhere near womanhood, it seemed. The thought of her being nearly old enough to wed hadn’t crossed my mind.
At her brother’s silence, Gisla continued. “Why do you think I’ve allowed Runa to winter with our cousin? Katla has two children now, and is barely older than Runa. The girl needed to learn what it is to birth a babe, care for it and give it suck.”
“Still,” Drengr insisted. “Sokki is old enough to be her father. Give Runa a few more years, Gisla. Let her marry for love.”
“Love?” Gisla’s laugh was harsh. “I married for love, Drengr. And look what I got for it.” She waived dismissively at the tiny farmstead. “I wish our father had insisted on a proper husband for me. We would have been much better off for it.”
“Hvati loved you.”
“Yes, he loved me. As he loved his drink and his dice. Hvati left us destitute when he died. Is it wrong to want more for my daughter?” At Drengr’s stony silence, she continued. “You will accept, Drengr. You owe us that much.”
We rode home with the setting sun to our backs, the long shadows of the horses before us on the road. Thora trotted a bit ahead which allowed a private conversation between us, but Drengr seemed as lost in thought as I was.
Deep in my heart, I knew what I had to do. Yet the awful words refused to rise to my lips. As though not speaking them would make them less real, I rode in silence next to the man I loved.
“Run away with me, Kira,” Drengr said finally, startling me out of my sad reverie.
I cringed. Gisla had been correct when she predicted her brother’s plans. “Barek would find us,” I responded quietly.
“I fear Barek means to hand you over to Mogr as payment for his debts. Leaving is the only way to keep you safe.”
I drew in a deep, steadying breath, praying for courage. “I thank you for your sense of duty towards me, but—”
“Duty?” Drengr echoed. He placed a hand on my arm, causing me to look over at him. “Make no mistake, Kira, my feelings for you have nothing to do with duty.”
I couldn’t contain the forlorn sob that rose in my throat. “We must end this, Drengr,” I whispered. “I will not see you harmed because of me.”
“What has Gisla said to you?”
“She only spoke the truth. And I was too blind to see it.”
“Gisla is a bitter woman who knows nothing of love,” he ground out. “I love you as I have loved no woman before you. Come with me, tonight—we will leave Vikenmar and never return. Be my wife, Kira.”
He loved me.
A flash of joy coursed through my veins, sweet, intoxicating, but all too brief. The thought of Barek hunting us down to kill the warrior who’d betrayed him was sobering. Kinsman or no, he wouldn’t allow Drengr to live after such an affront to his authority. No, I couldn’t allow myself to contemplate Drengr’s profession of love any further than I already had.
As Gisla had said, his life was in my hands.
I reined my horse to slow it, feeling dizzy and sick with the knowledge that I had no choice but to break this man’s heart. How could I speak the awful words that would spare his life? “I do not love you, Drengr,” I faltered, nearly choking on the lie. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to continue. “Barek is my master and I will deceive him no longer. I am ending this, now. Do not come for me again.”
I entered Barek’s steading, following Thora, somehow managing to keep from crying. The hall was loud with dozens of Barek’s men feasting and drinking around the flickering hearth. Thora went immediately toward the kitchen, most likely looking for Asta, but I held back near the door.
Barek saw me, motioning me toward his carved chair. I went to him, eyes lowered, clasping my hands before me. “Where is Drengr?” he asked over the noise of the hall.
“He returned to his sister’s steading, my King,” I replied.
Barek grunted his displeasure. He grasped my slave chain to pull my face close to his. “Wait for me in my chambers, Kira. On your knees.”
“Yes, my King.”
Moving as if in a dream, I went to Barek’s bedchamber and closed the door behind me with a soft, ominous click. I removed my clothing, washing my body quickly with the bucket of water he’d left for me. Then I walked to the center of the room, kneeling on the floor with my head lowered submissively.
I fought back the urge to vomit as I waited for my master. Time dragged on, my mind churning as my legs slowly went numb. What was Barek doing? Searching for Drengr? Planning our execution? Briefly, I considered running. I could make my escape from the exterior door and hide in the forest. But where would I go from there? Everyone in Vikenmar knew I was Barek’s bed slave. And even if I managed to escape to another city in this cursed Northern land, the collar around my neck would alert anyone to my status as a runaway thrall.
No. I would not run. If Barek had indeed learned what had transpired between me and his kinsman, I would not leave Drengr to bear the punishment alone. Clarity filled my mind as my rapid heartbeat and swirling thoughts slowed. How could I have deluded myself to think I deserved love? Deserved a relationship with an honorable man such as Drengr? I was a slave. A pleasure vessel.
I belonged to Barek.
I heard the latch of the door. Remaining on the floor awaiting his command, I tried not to cringe as Barek stepped near.
“Rise, Kira.”
I did, shivering. My numbed legs threatened to give out beneath me as I stood before my master. Barek hooked a finger under my chin, pulling my head up forcefully so I had no choice but to look at him. He gazed deeply at me for a moment before he spoke again.
“What transpired here last night?”
“I do not know what you mean, my King,” I whispered desperately.
In response, Barek took hold of my slave chain and pulled me to the foot of the bed. “Open it and explain yourself,” he demanded, gesturing to the trunk.
I did, swallowing hard as I looked down at the contents. Nothing seemed out of place. I cringed as he fumed beside me.
“Well? Who was in here with you?”
At my silence, he pulled out one of the phalluses, holding it up near my face. “This was in the wrong place,” he spat. “So, tell me Kira—who were you with while I was gone?”
Relief coursed through my body. He didn’t know I’d been with Drengr. He only knew his box of depravity had been opened outside of his presence. “I—I am sorry, my King,” I faltered. “I used it. To pleasure myself.”
He shook the chain hard, jerking me toward him. “You expect me to believe your lies?”
“You were gone so long,” I whispered. “I missed you. I am sorry, my King.”
&n
bsp; Barek was quiet for a long moment. “You missed me?”
I nodded. “Yes, my King.”
“Look at me.”
I lifted my head to look into my master’s bright blue eyes. His face had softened somewhat, but I knew from experience I wasn’t completely out of danger. “Kira,” he said sternly. “You are mine. I own all of you—your body and your pleasure. I am very angry you touched yourself without my permission. You must be punished.”
“Yes, my King.”
“Go to the table.”
I did as he bade, walking to the table in the middle of the room. I climbed upon it, sitting on my knees with my head lowered and my hips spread wide, hands clasped behind me, as Barek always wanted me before he moved my body into whatever position he desired. I heard him rummaging through the box, then his footsteps as he approached the table.
Without a word he fastened a leather cuff around my wrists, tightening it uncomfortably. Then he tied my legs with rope, binding my ankles to my thighs. The rough fiber bit into my flesh as he pulled my hips even farther apart, tying the rope to the table legs on each side. My eyes widened as Barek approached me with nipple clamps, attaching them and allowing the delicate chain to pool on the table, just below my quivering womanhood. Finally, he pulled my head down low, affixing the ring of my collar to a hook on the table.
My cheek pressed into the wooden planks, the position pulled hard on my shoulders where my wrists were bound behind my back. Buttocks high and legs spread wide, I was completely exposed and vulnerable to my master.
Barek walked around the table slowly, grunting in satisfaction at his work. He gave a little tug on the chain attached to the nipple clamps, making me gasp. “Yes, this will do nicely. But I think we need one more thing.”
He returned to the box briefly, then strode back to tie a gag around my face. A leather ball was affixed to the gag, stretching my mouth wide to receive it. “I plan to paddle you hard, Kira. But I need you to stay silent, since the hall is full of guests, after all.”
Serving My Viking Masters: Complete Series Page 8