“SAGA.” ERIK’S ARMS WOUND around my back, sweeping me firmly into his grasp. “Please, don’t cry. I’ll find a way out of this.”
“How?” I wailed.
“I don’t know, but with Odin as my witness, I will get you home.”
“You want me to leave.” I buried my face in his chest. The thick fibers of his cloak were already damp from my tears. What did a few more matter?
“No!” he said fiercely. “I don’t. But you do.”
I gave way to a fresh bout of tears. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
“You didn’t ask to come here. You had a life before Valkyris, and I will do everything within my power to give that life back to you. I promise you that.”
I clung to Erik’s arms, my fingernails digging into his cloak. “I’m scared.”
“I know.” His lips moved lightly against my hair. He pressed his palms against my back, drawing me into his warmth. With each sniffle, his now-familiar scent filled my head, and eventually the flow of tears slowed. Erik held me until my shoulders stopped shaking—whether it was a minute or an hour, I couldn’t tell. The only things I knew for sure were:
- I was trapped a thousand years in the past, with little hope of ever going home. And,
- I was wrapped in the arms of the most absurdly gorgeous Viking to have ever walked the face of the Earth.
Maybe my old life was overrated.
I pried my face from Erik’s chest, permitting myself one final sniffle before wiping my nose on the back of my sleeve. Two fingers gently nudged at my chin, and my face was being lifted. Erik’s beard, then his lips, and finally his eyes came into view, blurry at first, but clearing as I blinked away my tears. He moved his fingers to my cheek, drying the moisture with the pad of his thumb before cupping my jaw in his massive palm. His eyes bored into mine, and the intensity within their clear blue depths made my breath hitch. He was so strong, and so fierce, and so . . . Erik.
A sigh parted my lips, and he shifted his gaze to my mouth. A low rumble sounded through Erik’s chest. The vibrations stirred something inside of me, and before I could stop myself, I reached up and stroked his cheek. His beard was coarse against my fingertips, its roughness contrasting the gentle caress of his thumb on my face. He leaned lightly into my touch, his eyes never leaving my mouth. Without thinking, I pressed myself against him, so only the fabric of our cloaks separated us. In that moment he was my rock—the only thing anchoring me to this insanely unbelievable world. And I didn’t want anything between us. Not even the air.
I’d barely finished the thought when Erik’s hand shifted. He laced his fingers through my hair and pulled me to him, crushing his lips against mine in a movement that left me absolutely breathless. It wasn’t a tentative first kiss. This kiss was demanding, consuming. Erik claimed my mouth as if he were conquering a foreign land, his lips moving against mine with such fierce determination I knew he’d wanted this every bit as much as I had. His tongue danced with mine, exploring every inch of my mouth as I shifted my hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer. A moan ripped from his throat, and before I knew what was happening, Erik’s lips were gone.
No!
A second later, my body all but exploded with pleasure as the Viking licked the delicate skin behind my ear. A shiver wracked my torso, and I lowered my head to give Erik better access. Rough fingertips swept my hair from my neck, and Erik moved upward, flicking my earlobe with his tongue in a move that made staying upright impossible. I swayed, and Erik’s hands slipped up my cloak, pressing me to his chest as he ripped his own cloak from his back and flung it onto the ground.
“If you want me to stop, now’s the time to tell me.” Erik kept me close as he lowered me carefully onto the snow. The full weight of his body pressed against me as he touched his forehead to mine and murmured, “Because I want all of you, Saga Skånstad. For as long as you’ll have me.”
Oh. My. God.
My self-control imploded as Erik flexed his hips. “Don’t stop,” I whispered, throwing my arms around his back and drawing him even closer. His mouth slammed into mine and he ran one hand along my ribcage, sending a fresh wave of pleasure rocketing through me. His fingers paused at my hip, then slipped along the edge of my butt before squeezing lightly. He pressed against me again, making what little blood was left in my extremities fly straight to the point of contact. A slow throb pulsed inside of me, building to a point of near pain.
Holy freaking mother.
I was seconds away from begging him to hike up my skirt and just take me already, when he broke contact, rolling onto his back to lie beside me.
“We’d better slow down,” he murmured.
“I’m sorry, what?” I panted.
“One more minute, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.”
“And I am totally fine with that.” I’d have preferred our first time not be on a cloak in a snowbank, but at this point I was extremely not picky.
“Oh, are you?” Erik arched a brow.
“Yes.” I rolled onto my stomach, propping myself up on my forearms. “I didn’t ask you to stop.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Erik reached up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s my duty to look after you.”
Wait. What?
“Yeah . . . that’s kind of different where I’m from.”
“Well, you’re here now.” Erik rested his hand on the small of my back. “And here, we take care of our women.”
It was the taking care of I wanted him to make good on. Like, immediately.
“So . . . we’re slowing down?” It came out whinier than I meant for it to.
“We’ll follow the proper customs, yes.”
Dang it.
“What exactly does that entail—dating a Viking?”
Erik’s eyes twinkled, and I reached up to trace his pale, pink lips with one finger. He immediately took it into his mouth and sucked, making me moan.
“If by dating you mean courtship, then I’m not going to tell you. But I suggest you prepare yourself, Saga Skånstad. You’re in for one hell of a ride.”
He returned his attention to my finger, and I dropped my cheek to his shoulder, biting my bottom lip to keep from moaning again.
I had no doubt he’d make good on that promise.