“Why didn’t you stay and look for them? Why didn’t you bring her to me!”
I press Rian’s head against my shoulder, shielding him from the venomous tone. He starts to cry, holding his arms out for Beowulf, but with how close the Warlord is to losing his mind, I don’t want Rian caught in the aftermath.
“Because I thought it would best to come back here so we can assemble the army and take the Jackals by surprise, through the tunnels.”
Einarr takes a step back and turns away, leaving everyone gaping from his random departure. I have an inkling I know what he is thinking… what if Lady Thyra never comes back? What will happen to our warlord then?
Chapter Thirty
Beowulf
Rian is asleep in his new room, and Lilith’s body is calling me to devour her. I lean against a beam, drinking a pint of mead and watch her chop carrots and potatoes for the stew. She has been quiet tonight since I’ve been back from the journey. Honestly, my ego expected more of a homecoming, but Lord Grimkael gave specific orders that we shall leave at the break of dawn and attack the Jackals.
She’s afraid for me. Studying her, her hands shake before she uses the knife. She is rubbing her hands more on her apron, not to wipe them clean, but out of a nervous habit. Lilith hasn’t glanced up at me once.
“If I was a delicate man, your silence would break my heart.” While she makes me softer, and not hearing the sweet lyrical sound of her voice saddens me. It would be worse if we were fighting, but since we aren’t, my ego is still intact, and I know just the way to get my woman to loosen up. “Come on, Angel. Come relax with me.”
“I can’t relax, Beowulf. Don’t ask for such preposterous things.” The love of my life brushes her hands on her apron again, and the scratch of the material almost makes my ears bleed. How her hands aren’t raw, I’ll never know.
I sit my goblet down on the counter and make my way around the block of wood that Lilith uses to cut our fruits, vegetables, and meats. Wrapping my hand around her wrist, I pull her flush against my body. Her swollen breasts push against my chest, and my cock swells instantly. “Why are you so mad? What did I do, Angel?”
She turns her head away from me, her eyes fixating on the wooden planks of the floor. Her chin wobbles, and with a shake of her head, she wipes a tear away. “I don’t want to talk about it. It won’t matter.”
“Everything you say matters.” My hands find her lower back, and I hold her tight. Her cheeks flush when she gets a good feel of how hard she makes me. Mmm, I just want to lift her leg around my waist and dive face first into that pussy. I know it is wet and ready for me, sweet like honey in spring.
My mouth waters from the thought.
“What if you don’t come back tomorrow? What if… what if this is the only time we have together? This small amount of time isn’t enough after being away from you for so long. You could die tomorrow, and I’d be left here without you, again, with your child and Rian. I’d miss you. You can’t go, Beowulf, please. Not when I just got you back. I’m begging you. Don’t go.”
Her golden eyes glow when sadness fills them. I hate it when she cries, but one thing beautiful comes out of it. The color becomes vivid and bright, locking me in her sorrowful gaze. I’m enamored, completely entranced by her beauty.
“Angel, I always come home.”
“What if you don’t?”
“Angel—”
“No, don’t you ‘Angel’ me. This is serious. This isn’t a regular battle, Beowulf. This is war. You may be fighting a thousand Jackals, against what? An army of three hundred warriors? It is a death sentence. We shouldn’t provoke the Jackals. We should leave them alone.”
“Vikings do not cower,” I growl.
“Vikings also die.”
“Everyone dies. Listen to me,” I take her hands in mine and set them against my chest. “Do you feel that? It’s strength, Lilith.”
She scoffs.
“No, listen to me. I was born a warrior. I have it in my blood. I’ve been in a hundred battles. Before you came back, I actually would go to war and not care if I died.”
“Beowulf!”
“It’s true. I had nothing to live for, and I was still the best warrior Lord Grimkael has. Can you imagine the force I’ll become when I have something to come home to now? I have you. I have our child,” I rest my hand against her belly, “and I have Rian. I’m not going to have him lose someone else again. I’m strong. The Jackals are not stronger. Wilder? Yes. You are forgetting while they may have a thousand men against our three hundred, we are three hundred men equivalent to three thousand. We are trained. They are not. Numbers mean nothing against us.”
She lays her cheek against my heart and sighs, listening to the quick beat. “I can’t go another day without the sound of this.” Her voice is low. I can barely hear it over the boiling stew, but the infliction behind the words are felt.
“You are my home, Beowulf. All those years, you thought I loved the sun and its warmth. You never put together that you are my sun; you heat my world; you are my fire. My day starts when you rise, and it ends when you rest. I’ve lived in a world where you do not exist. I never want to experience it again. That world is a very lonely, dark, and cold place. And how could it be anything else? You’re my sun, remember?”
“Goddess, I love you.”
Lilith’s eyes are shut, but a content half-smile ghosts over her lips as she nestles her head onto my chest. “And I, you, my love. So much.”
We stay that way, standing in the middle of the kitchen, swaying to the patter of our hearts as we hold each other. The howling of wind shakes the house, blowing with it a blanket of snow. Her body is warm against mine, and I never want to let it go. My shirt becomes wet from her silent tears, but I don’t try to and promise comfort because I know it isn’t possible with what is about to come. All I can do is hold her through the storm.
Death is always a possibility in battle. No one is ever safe. No matter how great I believe I am at protecting myself, something could always happen. I’m not blind, thinking I’m untouchable. I know tonight may be the last night I ever get with her. To hold her, feel her lips, her body, hear her voice.
Tonight may be my only chance at heaven because after everything I’ve done, I won’t know anything mightier than her love.
“Don’t cry, Angel. Please. I don’t deserve your tears.”
“You deserve everything. Promise me you’ll come back to me, Beowulf. Promise that all these years without each other, this won’t be the thing that tears us apart. Please. I’m begging you.”
Her eyes are red and swollen, but hope widens them. She brightens. “We can run away like you wanted to all those years ago. We can run and never look back. It can just be me, you, and the babes. We don’t need anything else or anyone else. Let’s run away until we can’t be found.”
As much as it appeals to me, I know I can’t do that. “You know that isn’t possible. I can’t leave my men without me. Many of them will die without me there.”
“And what of me?”
“You know I love you. I have an obligation to my men too, Lilith. This is my life. All those years ago, I wanted to run away with you because the darkness of life hadn’t sunk its teeth into us yet. I have responsibilities. Turning my back when they need me most will label me a coward. Don’t mistake that for me turning my back on you. I’m doing this for you. For our wee one in your belly. And for Rian.” I flatten my palm over her stomach like I love to do. “I have a deep hatred for the Jackals for what they did to you. What they took away from us. I shall never be able to live the rest of our lives, knowing I didn’t do everything in my power to protect my family.”
She kisses my chest, and her lips feather over my pecs as she whispers. “I’m so afraid.”
“I know. I know.” I do not reveal that I am afraid too. I’ve never had anything to come back home too. I have something worth fighting for now, and it scares the hell out of me. Fear is something I cannot afford to have r
ight now. It is the greatest weakness a warrior can bring onto the battlefield, but she needs me to be strong. Seeing how unsure I am will only fuel the panic she already feels.
“I love how you feel.” She peppers open-mouthed kisses along my chest. “So strong. I love your strength. Your power. It exudes from you. It sends me to my knees.”
“I don’t see you on your knees,” I grin, my voice deepening from the sudden loss of my blood leaving my head to pool in my cock. I’m already hard and ready for her. My pants tent from my unmannered erection, reacting to her words.
She falls to her knees, which can’t be easy on her legs, so I lift her up and place her on the bed. “You make me feel so good, but I won’t let my pleasure cloud your discomfort. Your legs are too sexy to get bruised.”
“Always thinking of me.” She smiles, cupping my long dick through the material of my pants. “I want to make tonight a night to remember.”
“Every night with you is a night to remember,” I croon, holding her chin in my hand. She licks her lips and my cock jerks in reaction, pre-come leaking from the tip.
She rolls her eyes and tugs my pants down my hips until I pop free. “Such a sweet talker.”
My cock slaps against my stomach, hard and waiting for the wet heat of her mouth. Her fingers clutch onto the part of her dress that covers her breasts and yanks it down. The mounds fall free, and her nipples beckon me, calling out my name. I can’t take it. I shove her down and straddle her waist.
“Push them together.” I take my cock in hand and wait for her to listen to me. “Do it, now,” I snarl, and she hurriedly pushes those creamy tits together.
The pre-come dripping from the tip gives me enough lubricant to slide between the valley she made. My throbbing rod is swallowed by pure silk. My eyes roll to the back of my head. Her skin is so soft against the hard, weeping muscle.
“I’ve dreamed about this for so long,” I moan, letting my head fall back as I fuck her breasts. “I’m going to come all over you, paint you with my seed before I fuck you.”
“Yes, my love. Do it,” she opens her mouth and leans forward, taking the tip of my cock in her mouth every time I thrust. The dual sensation is incredible. I get both the tight soft walls of her breasts and the suction of her mouth.
Fuck, I’m not going to last at all. It will be as quick as an arrow leaving a bow. My sack drags along the tops of her tits. “Fuck, I’m going to come.”
I slap her hands away from her tits and hold the bountiful morsels myself, tweaking the nipples between my fingers. I nearly pass out as the first spasm leaves my body.
I watch her try to catch every rope shooting from my cock, the creamy seed laying thick on her swollen lips and tongue. A few streams are left on her chest, and I grunt in satisfaction, rubbing my come with my−−still very hard—cock on her skin, hoping her flesh soaks me up. I grab her chin and force her mouth to stay open to dip my fingers inside to gather my load.
Once I’m satisfied and feel like I have enough, I paint her pussy with it. She doesn’t need to be more slick, but it makes me happy knowing she is wet enough to take me. Plus, it soothes the primal side of me.
“You’re so pretty covered in my come. Do you want my cock, Angel?” Grabbing my girth, I swirl my cock through the sticky mess and rub the tender head over her pulsing clit.
“I want it, Beowulf.”
I love the way she says my name. It nearly makes me come again from how breathless and needy she sounds.
“Take me then.” I flop onto my back and stroke myself. “Ride me. Show me how much you want me.”
She takes her lower lip between her teeth and swings her leg over me, mounting me like one would a horse. Lilith drips from her sheath, raining juices on my aching steel. A low, guttural groan leaves me as I quiver in anticipation. I want to push my hips up until I slam home, and she is screaming out my name from pleasure.
But I don’t want to cause her any pain.
She takes the base of my cock in hand and keeps it straight, settling her tight hole against the head. And then she lowers herself.
Lilith sits down on me until her ass is against my thighs, and I’m ten inches deep in her hungry channel, spreading her lips wide with my thickness. Her body falls forward, catching herself on my chest with her hands to use me as leverage.
“Beowulf. So deep. So good. You fill every part of me,” she gasps, swivelling her hips back and forth, then flipping those blonde locks over her head, so they are out of her face. The golden strings catch the light of the fire and shine so bright; they twinkle like stars in the night sky.
“A fucking angel,” I murmur as my eyes roll and my toes curl. She picks up speed. My hands grip her thighs and pull her forward every time she pushes back. I know it helps her orgasm quick, and my goal tonight is to be covered in my woman’s come. I want to reek of her when I go into battle tomorrow, have the taste of her on my lips. If anything does happen to me, at least I’ll die with her love on my tongue.
Lilith keeps rocking back and forth. She brings her lips to my ear, taking the lobe into her mouth and between her teeth. She lets it go with an audible pop and blows the delicate air from her lungs against the wet trail she left. My breaths stagger. She’s sending me to fucking heaven with how good she is making me feel.
“If I’m your angel, does that make you my demon?” she whispers.
My cock gets impossibly larger, swelling from her words.
“Is that what you want me to call you? My demon? No, you are my Viking.” She licks the shell of my ear, a true vixen as she destroys all restraint I have.
I pull her to my chest, control be damned, and plunder her pussy with my cock. I don’t hold back. I give her everything I’ve got. My balls slap against her ass with every deliberate, hard stroke. A high-pitched ringing noise replaces her sweet, sultry screams as she calls my name. She’s so loud, I’m afraid she will wake Rian, so I shove my hand over her mouth, silencing the beautiful noises that help me climax.
To me, nothing is better for a man than to hear a woman calling out his name, begging for him, praising his cock from how good he makes her feel. And the way Lilith calls out for me, wanting me to give her more with every hard pound, almost makes me spill my seed prematurely every time.
She has no idea how much I must hold back my orgasm every time I slip inside her. I could let go the moment her tight, hot cunt wraps around me. My jaw is locked tight, and my teeth grind against each other, threatening to crack from the force it takes to hold myself back.
It’s worth it, though. Because when I do spill inside her, it only feels that much better.
“Beowulf, ah. Oh, yes. Yes, please, don’t stop. Oh, you feel so good, never stop.” Her fingers find her clit, and she ruthlessly flicks her sweet little bean to get herself off.
I let out a sinister chuckle. “I’ll have to stop breathing for me to stop. This is mine. You’re mine, say it. I need to hear it.” I hate that I’m going to war and that she isn’t my wife. It’s part of the reason why I need her to say the words, the exact words. If something does happen, it will be the one regret I’ll take with me to the afterlife.
“Say it,” I bring my hand down on her arse, and my greedy little angel’s pussy clamps down on my cock, spasming until a flood of her cream soaks me.
“Yours. I’m yours. Forever.”
The answer is muffled since my hand is over her mouth, but I heard it. The promise causes my cock to jerk, and my teeth chatter from the strength of my orgasmic convulsion.
“Fuck!” I grunt, keeping her hips locked down on me so she can feel every twitch of every inch of my cock as I unload.
“My love,” she moans before taking my lips.
Those words mean more to me than she knows. It isn’t just sex. I’m her protector, her lover, her fighter, her soulmate, her everything. I am her love.
And I must make sure I do everything in my power to come back to her.
It’s the least I can do for her to willingly give a ma
n like me her love.
Chapter Thirty-One
Beowulf
The tension in the air is thick. The threat of death looms.
It’s the day we all knew was coming, but now that it is here, it almost seems unreal. Every single one of these men carries a deep hunger, a starvation, a craving to have their hands wrapped around a Jackal’s throat or their sword deep in their gut. Many men here have personal vendettas against them, and that is what fuels them right now. It is what gives them the courage to stand behind their Lord and Warlord and fight, possibly to the death.
For most kingdoms, it wouldn’t be common for the Lord to come with us. The Warlord always leads into battle. But Lord Grimkael isn’t a typical Lord, and he has a very specific hatred for the Jackals. As does Warlord, as do I.
Three hundred men behind us, and they follow us with pride and honor. Our pain is theirs, as theirs is ours, and it’s why we do this. We must protect our families and other families alike, so no one shall ever suffer the wrath and hatred of the Jackals any longer.
We are heading to the trapped door that is hidden under mounds of snow, and since there are so many of us and we aren’t charging into battle like we usually do, we are walking. It takes longer to get there. On horseback, it took a day, so I know for sure we won’t be there until another day’s nightfall.
My mind drifts back to this morning, and my heart squeezes so tight, I forget how to breathe for a moment. Saying goodbye to Lilith was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I never showed her my fear of never returning, but it was there—is there. And she cried, goddess, did she cry. I’ve never seen tears fall so fast in my life.
She clutched onto me, begging me to stay, and it made my own eyes turn to oceans. I wanted to give her what she wanted. I wanted to stay and lay with her, make love to her all day and night just like we did yesterday, but life isn’t always bliss.
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