This wouldn’t do.
“Let me touch you,” Njord whispered.
He was well aware of the ridiculousness of his remark, considering Thori was already nestled firmly in his embrace. Njord ran his fingers up Thori’s thigh to his knee, determined to make sure he understood what he was talking about.
Thori went completely still. Even his breath seemed to catch.
“Let me touch you,” Njord repeated, speaking directly into Thori’s ear. “Let me take care of you.”
For another shuddering breath, Thori hesitated. Then, with a soft sound of relief, his knees fell open.
He was hard again, his cock flushed a pretty pink. And without a conscious thought, Njord wrapped his hand around him. He didn’t like his own eagerness to touch Thori, to make him come undone, one bit.
Why not take him as your lover?Jökull had said.This way, you won’t even have to treat him cruelly.
Even this echo of her, speaking to him from the other side, thought too highly of him. For Njord feared that if he actually allowed himself to take Odinsson into his bed more than this one time, he would grow far too attached.
But this once, it couldn’t be helped.
Gently, he started stroking Thori, relishing in the way he shuddered when Njord tightened his grip ever so slightly or brushed his thumb over the tip.
“You don’t have to—” Thori breathed, although his hips bucked upward. “You shouldn’t have to—”
“Shh, you belong to me, and I’ll look after your needs.”
Uttering the cutest of choked-up sounds, Thori hid his heated face against Njord’s neck.
“My apologies.”
Thori’s voice was barely audible, but his words felt like a plunge into icy water to Njord.Hel, he had dreamed that Thori would apologize for his deeds. He had spent countless nights fantasizing about how he would make him pay, how he’d make Thori Odinsson and the House of Asgard pay with humiliation and death. Only this twisted version of his plans didn’t feel particularly satisfying. He had seen countless men suffer without caring, but with Thori, he couldn’t even feign disinterest in his fate.
“Don’t apologize,” Njord said. “This is Svanhild’s doing. Not your fault.”
Twisting in his arms, Thori regarded him with lust-blown eyes as if he was searching for something in Njord’s features. Bitinghis lip, Thori looked unbearably pretty. And then, just like that, he leaned in for a kiss.
For a breathless second, Njord couldn’t even process what was happening, couldn’t react.
Jerking back, Thori covered his mouth as if Njord’s lips had burned him.
“Gods, I thought—I didn’t mean to—”
With a harsh tug, Njord pulled him back in.
He kissed him angrily, hungrily.
And Thori opened up to him without hesitation as soon as Njord’s tongue demanded entrance.
Grabbing Thori’s head with both hands, Njord guided him into a more comfortable position. One that afforded Njord better access to soft lips and smooth skin. And again, Thori pliantly followed his lead, wrapping his arms around Njord’s shoulders as he went.
For a blissful moment, Njord lost himself in the delicious drag of teeth and tongue, simply enjoying the way Thori shuddered under his touch. When was the last time he had been able to fully immerse himself in a task without worries clouding his mind?
But all too soon, Thori’s skin started to heat further as if he were running a fever. A deep blush spread across his cheekbones and ran all the way over his shoulders and chest. Needy little sounds fell from his parted lips as he pressed his whole body against Njord’s.
He was so gorgeous. The golden, perfect warrior god trembled under Njord’s touch. It gave him a feeling of superiority. Power. And it calmed the roaring force of the seas raging inside Njord. He knew this was dangerous, but he couldn’t refuse it.
“Lie down. On your back,” Njord heard himself say as if from far away.
Thori blinked, gaze a little unfocused. He looked as if he couldn’t decide whether he should obey or rather cling to Njord,as if he couldn’t stand to lose their bodily contact.Hel, he was so susceptible to theseiðrsurrounding them, so affected by the ritual. Maybe because, aside from being the lord of storm and thunder, deep down he was the son of the earth, giver of rich harvests and pleasant weather. Njord felt his remaining composure to act cold and unforgiving toward Thori shatter. It was only for tonight, anyway.
