“Up,” he commanded, and Lena’s eagerness to obey excited him.
Ivar ran his fingers over the round globes presented before him as Lena tilted forward to rest on her forearms. He palmed one then the other before bringing his hand down in a heavy slap. Lena’s moan drove him to spank her once more before trailing a finger along the crevice between her bottom. He tapped his finger against her sacred hole before carrying on to her slick entrance.
“Do you think I will ever give either of these up? You hold claim to my cock just as I hold claim to these. I’m going to fuck you now, Lena. I want to hear you scream my name as I pound into you.”
“Ivar, now. Don’t make me wait.”
“But waiting is part of the fun.”
“No, it’s not.” Lena shook her head. “Are you trying to be cruel?”
“You’ve always played along in the past. You’ve found the wait exciting.”
“This is different, and you know it.”
“Different?” Ivar thrust into her, and her moan filled the chamber. “Different because you want me to claim you? To show you I want no other? Because you need me inside you? Need me to prove I don’t want anyone else?”
“Yes,” Lena sobbed as Ivar’s thrusts shook the bed. “Because I need it before we must say our goodbyes.”
Ivar’s hand came down in a bruising spank.
“If you speak of us separating once more, I shall spank you in earnest. Lena, no more.”
Rather than argue, Lena forced her body to relax and let the sensations of their bodies coming together consume her. Ivar sensed when she relented, and he became man possessed, driven to surge into her over and over until he saw stars before his eyes. His own groans and pants muffled Lena’s moans.
“Ivar!” Lena screamed as her climax swept through every cell and hair of her body.
“Lena!” Ivar’s bellow matched hers as his seed jetted from him, leaving him wholly drained.
They collapsed on the bed, Ivar’s body wrapped around Lena’s as her back pressed against his chest. They drifted off without a word.
Five
Ivar awoke with a stretch then reached for Lena, but his hand only touched a tepid spot where she had lain beside him while they slept. He paused when he heard voices in the main chamber of the longhouse. He was aware Lena’s father, Tormud, was home from the fields. Ivar looked to the window and realized it was already past the evening meal. His father would be livid that he did not attend. Soren would have expected him to lavish attention on Inga and pretend to be a doting groom. He was anything but that, unless his bride would be Lena. Ivar searched for his clothes in the dim light but decided against putting them back on. He and Lena had awoken once earlier, and while Lena watched, Ivar used an ewer of water and a bar of soap to bathe. It had been freezing, but at least he had washed the top layer of grime from him. Now, he looked to the pegs on the wall and spotted the spare clothes he kept at Lena’s home. He hurried to dress before stepping into the main room. Lena glanced over from where she sat beside the fire with a spindle as she worked wool into yarn. She smiled at him before turning back to her grandmother. Ivar made his way to the large table in the center of the main chamber. They set a place for him beside Tormud, and his growling stomach testified to his hunger.
“Join me. You’ve been away a long time. A hot meal would do you some good. You’ve looking thin.” Tormud thumbed the table beside with his meaty fist. He had been a warrior in his younger days, but a deep slash in his leg left him with a limp. He had become a farmer to remain close to his family. Lena’s younger brother, Jan, stumbled through the door with three buckets hanging from his arms. At sixteen, Jan was still all arms and legs, but within a year, he would raid with the rest of them. Ivar lifted two buckets, and Jan pushed the door closed behind him.
“Lena,” her younger brother beamed at her as they embraced. “I’m glad you’re home. That damned cow doesn’t like me.”
Jan pulled up a pant leg to show a nasty bruise that was still bright blue and yellow. Lena shook her head but laughed.
“I told you she doesn’t like cold hands,” Lena’s laughter turned to giggles, and Ivar was certain his heart would explode. Contentedness filled Lena when she was with her family, and they enjoyed one another’s company. It was so unlike his own home where his father and mother barely looked at one another, and his mother blamed his father for Ivar’s brothers’ deaths. The tension was almost palpable in his home. It was why he spent most nights here.
“Maybe. Anyway, here’s the water you asked for.” Jan turned towards Ivar and grinned. “My sister insisted you would need a bath. I think she just wants an excuse to--”
Lena cut Jan off with a sharp elbow jammed into his side. Ivar looked over to see Lena’s cheeks were a bright shade of red. There was a silent agreement that no one discussed his physical relationship with Lena in front of her father. Her father graciously turned a blind eye when they retired together. Ivar took his seat where Tormud had indicated, the spot he usually occupied, and picked up the heel of bread near his trencher. He spoonedskouse, a thick stew, into his trencher before dipping a hunk of bread into it. He realized not enough time had passed for Lena to have made the stew, so he turned towards Amma.
“Thank for you the supper. It’s just what I needed to put some meat back on my bones, Amma. You spoil us.”
“It is the privilege of age. I can do whatever I want, and spoiling the men of my family is what I want.”
Ivar cast a glance at Lena and saw the strain around her eyes and mouth when Amma spoke of him as family. He bit into another chunk of bread, but before he swallowed, the door to the longhouse swung open, and his father stood in the doorway.
“I was certain I would find you here. You look well rested, son. Like a man who’s had his cock pleased and now his stomach.”
Ivar pushed back on the bench so hard that even Tormud had to grasp the table. He lurched across the room when two of his father’s guards moved towards Lena. He reached her in time to push her behind him and pulled a knife from his belt.
“What are you doing here, Father? Besides insulting my companion and her family.”
