“Stop, Bridei…”
“There is no stopping this”, he said between rough kisses. “It is the will of the gods. Do not be afraid. And do not deny me what I need so fiercely.”
His hands ran over her warm skin, touching her everywhere, groaning when he kneaded the softness of her breasts, bowing his head to kiss her there. “You are perfect, Ashta. So beautiful.”
She didn’t want him to stop, not really, and he knew it. She was completely and utterly lost to him. Her body felt as if it could rise of the bed at any moment, floating on the edge of a wave too strong to resist.
Nessa managed to push weakly at his chest once more, even as her legs wrapped themselves around his without her permission. “No… I’m not like all those other women. I won’t be used once and forgotten. I want so much more. I want someone that belongs to me alone.”
“You have that, Ashta”, he said fiercely. “Iamyours alone. There is no other woman for me.” He covered her hand on his chest with his own much larger one. “Can’t you feel the way my heart beats for you? It has never beat this way before. The Goddess has chosen. I knew it from the first I saw you, but I was stubborn and reckless with Her gift. No more.”
She looked up in wonder at his words, the last of her fear and inhibition melting away when she saw the truth of it in his eyes.
“I can barely breathe”, he said softly. “I have to have you. I have to make you mine.”
Nessa could feel his desire like an electric charge running through his body and into hers wherever their skin touched. Her legs fell open for him as he moved insistently against her, and he pushed slowly into her, until she took all of him. He held perfectly still, looking down at her for a moment with an expression of wonder. His muscles were tensed, and his breath was harsh, as if he were on the very edge of control, barely holding on.
“I am inside you, Ashta, at last. I have wanted this for so long. Much longer than I’ve even known you were mine.” His eyes closed and a groan escaped his throat as he tilted his head back. “Gods. So much pleasure. I never knew.”
She lifted her hips, her fingers digging into his back as she tried to pull him closer. He began to thrust, following the pace she set with her movements. “Ashta, I can feel you… not just with my body, but with my heart.”
“Bridei”, she whispered. “Oh my god…” But there were no other words. Just surrender.
The first peak came swiftly for them both. Bridei slid his arms beneath her, pulling her tightly against him as he moved deep within. He growled low in his throat…an animal sound of pure ecstasy that she echoed with a strangled sob. Stars moved beneath her eyelids as they both crested the wave of pleasure and crashed breathlessly back down to earth.
“Not enough”, Bredei breathed near her ear, already moving within her again. “More.”
She lost track of how many times they made love that night. Bridei was never sated, pausing only to kiss and touch her for a while before sliding back into her body as if he were helpless to stop himself. Eventually, sometime in the hours before dawn, she fell asleep in his arms.
When she woke to the sunshine streaming into the window, and her mind slowly cleared from the thick haze of passion that had consumed her so thoroughly, Nessa realized that Bridei had come deep inside of her. Many times. She had thought, because he said he didn’t want a baby, that he would stop in time. But honestly, she didn’t thinkshewould even have been able to stop. There was no force on earth that could have halted what had happened between them. The fault lay equally with her for not talking about something so important before things got out of control. She turned her face to breathe in the scent of Bridie’s warm skin. There was nothing she could do about it now. Only time would tell.
He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Domech, he was so right.”
“About what?’
“He kept telling me sex is just sex, until you find the one woman meant for you. Then it becomes something that you couldn’t have imagined, before.”
He leaned up on one elbow, looking down with eyes that were still dark with passion. “I thought that once I had you, I would no longer be so obsessed, but I think that now I only want you more. You are mine now. Mine alone.”
Brideisuddenly bolted upright and swore. “My men! I’m supposed to be on the field right now.” He jumped out of the bed, reaching for his pants. “You have led me astray, Ashta”, he said with a grin. “But even so, I will be back for more.”
And it was so very true. Now that he had bedded her, nothing in this world could keep him away. He had been with many women before, but he was certain he’d never want anyone but Nessa again. The physical pleasure alone had been enough to shatter him into a thousand pieces, but it was more than that. With her, his soul felt as much pleasure as his body did.Shewas what he’d been waiting for and dreaming of for so long. She filled the hollow place inside so fully, he thought he would burst.
As he rode out to his army, he felt as if he could conquer not just Ecgfrith, but the entire world. Domech came forward to meet him. As soon as he was close enough to see Bridei’s face, a huge grin lit his own.
“There is something very different about you this morning, King.”
Bridei looked straight ahead, but the corners of his mouth curled up. “Is there, now?”
“Aye, there is.” He waited a moment, then prompted, “And? Aren’t you going to tell me about it?”
“No, Domech.”
“What? Why?”
“Because there are no words.”
