Heat was radiating from his body into hers, and the fur beneath them was incredibly warm and soft. Only...
She twisted against him, pressing closer. ‘Actually, I was going ask you, just out of interest, what exactly am I lying on?’
In the heat of passion the sensation of fur against bare skin was intensely erotic, and usually she was too spent afterwards to speak, much less formulate a question. There had always been a kind of frenzied intensity to their lovemaking—maybe because they both knew that there was a time when this would end, and their imminent separation was at the back of their minds. But now they had given themselves more time they could allow themselves to savour these moments of exquisite easy intimacy.
She thought back to yesterday’s conversation on the beach. It still didn’t feel quite real, but it was real—it had happened, Ragnar had asked her to stay on with him in Iceland, and even though she knew it was just a couple more weeks, his hesitant words were making her dream of something she’d always thought life would deny her.
He shifted against her and, dragging her attention back to the present, she met his gaze—or tried to. But he was looking anywhere but at her.
‘I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that.’ His gaze met hers.
She stared at him uncertainly. ‘Why? What is it?’
He sighed. ‘It’s fake.’
‘Oh, you.’ She punched him on the arm. ‘I thought you were going to say it was a polar bear, or a seal or something.’
But she wasn’t angry with him. She couldn’t be. Not when she could hear the smile in his voice. Shaking her head, she moved as if to roll away, but he grabbed her and, pulling her beneath him, he stretched her arms above her head, capturing her wrists with his hands.
A beat of heat ticked through her blood as he stared down at her, his blue eyes gleaming. ‘I’m not a complete barbarian.’
Her body twitched as she met his gaze. They were teasing each other, using the intimacy of sex to test their relationship. ‘And you’re happy to say that lying naked on a fur rug?’
His lips curved upwards and she felt her heart begin to beat unsteadily. Now she couldn’t just hear his smile, she could see it. Her breath caught in her throat. He might not smile much, but when he did it was as miraculous and warming as the first rays of midwinter sunlight on her face.
‘I’m not lying on a fur rug,’ he said softly. ‘I’m lying on you.’
He shifted against her, and as the hard muscles of his chest brushed against her nipples she felt her body stir. ‘Yes, you are...but I’m not sure how that disqualifies you from being a barbarian.’
Holding her gaze, he drew the tip of his tongue softly over her bottom lip, pulling at a thread somewhere deep inside her.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked.
She stared at him dazedly. ‘That I want you,’ she said hoarsely.
His eyes narrowed, the pupils flaring, and he rolled over, taking her with him so that suddenly she was on top. Her eyes drifted hungrily over the muscular contours of his chest and she felt his hands move from her waist to her hips, his fingers biting into her skin as she pushed down against him.
He gritted his teeth and his hand caught hers. ‘Give me a minute.’
His eyes were dark and glazed, and she felt his fingers tighten around hers as he fought to gain control. Glancing down, she saw that he was watching her, and his blunt expression made heat unspool inside of her. She started to move against him, wanting, needing to still the insistent ache between her thighs.
Her body was losing its bones...she could feel herself melting... Leaning forward, she clasped his face in her hands and kissed him frantically. He kissed her back deeply, licking her mouth until her body was shaking and hollowed out with desire.
‘I want to feel you inside me...’ she whispered.
His jaw clenched tight and, taking a breath, he rolled off her on to the fur and reached into the drawer by the bed. She watched impatiently as he rolled on a condom, and then he took her face in his hands again and kissed her fiercely, catching her hair as her searching fingers closed around him.
He sucked in a breath as she began to stroke, and then he was moving against her hand, his dark, glazed gaze watching her steadily as he reached down and lightly touched her breasts. Her nipples tightened and she moaned softly, and then his hand moved from her breast to her stomach, then lower still, his fingers tangling through the triangle of hair, teasing a path between her thighs so that she was raising her hips, seeking more of his tormenting touch.
‘No...not this way—’
His fingers found hers and he freed himself from her grasp. Then he turned her gently but firmly so that she was facing away from him. Leaning into her, he reached under her stomach to caress her nipples, his fingers pulling at the swollen tips, and then he was parting her thighs, stroking the slick heat, making sure she was ready for him.
‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Yes...’
Pushing back, she guided him inside her and began to move against him in time with the p
ulsing urgency of her heartbeat, heat spreading through her like a fever as he thrust up inside her, his body jolting into climax in time with hers...