They walked down the hall to her chamber to find a spray of lavender, rosemary, and cloves pinned to the door. Once she opened it, she noticed a white crystal substance spread just inside around the perimeter of the chamber. She bent down to touch it then lifted a pinch to her tongue. Salt. It appeared Freydis had been doing some of her own preparation for their wedding night. On a table sat a pitcher and pewter goblets, no doubt a touch added from her brother.
Magnus closed the door and bolted it. He turned to her and stepped inside the circle with her. For some reason she expected…what? Some sort of change or something. Whatever Freydis was doing with the salt didn’t appear to have an impact on her. It was no matter. The door was bolted and she was finally alone with Magnus. The rest of the world could wait. She had a husband who needed pleasing.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The strings used to tie Elspeth’s bodice to her skirt were proving temperamental. Magnus had long since removed his furs, tunic and boots. He stood before her in nothing more than his trews and loved the way her hands stroked his chest then tugged at his hips.
“You’re not very good at undressing your wife,” she said.
“I want to know who made a gown meant to send a man into madness. Why can I not cut these strings?”
“This gown belonged to my mother and you will take care with it,” she said and reached around to cup his behind.
“That’s not fair,” he said. “I can’t even get you out of any of this contraption and you have almost full access to me.”
“Very well,” she said. “Here, tug on the strings like this.” Using her fingernails, she loosened the knots and released the parts of her gown.
Magnus didn’t waste another moment. He pulled the bodice over her head and tugged at her skirts until they fell to the floor.
“Step this way,” he said as he held her hands to keep her steady. Now she only wore her ornate necklace and her rings. He carefully removed all but the ring he’d placed on her hand during the ceremony. His felt foreign but at the same time comforting. As if it would always serve as a reminder of their commitment to one another. He supposed that was the point.
The fabric of her shift was sheer revealing her pink nipples. He reached out to stroke them with the backs of his fingers and smiled when she sucked in her breath. He picked her up and walked with her to the bed. He placed her there then lay beside her.
“Now you’re wearing too much,” she said as she stroked his leg with her bare foot.
Magnus shimmied out of his trews and threw them on top of her gown then reached for her. He pulled her atop him and lifted her so that she hovered over his hard erection. He’d been dying to drive himself inside her all day but in the back of his mind he still questioned whether any of it had been real. He didn’t want to hurt her in case her maidenhead was still intact so he would take it slowly, tease and taunt her for a little to see how high he could bring her desire.
He rubbed the tip of his cock across her slick opening and drew in a deep breath when she pushed her body down to take his tip inside.
“Not yet, wife,” he said and flipped her over onto her back.
“You plan to torture me then?” she asked a little breathless.
His answer was in the form of pulling her body toward him and positioning her legs above his shoulders. He buried his face between her legs and sucked hard on her bud. She bucked off the bed when he drove two fingers inside her. She was hot and tight and soaked. Her flesh clenched hard around him as her body pulsed through her climax. Thor’s breath, she was as desperate for release as he was. And if he didn’t get himself under control, his plans to take things slow with her would fail.
As her body settled, Magnus lifted her shift until it was over her head then wedged his body between her legs. He peered into her eyes and leaned down to kiss her sweet lips. When she opened her mouth he slipped his tongue inside to dance with hers. She tasted of the sweet wine they had shared and he marvelled at how perfectly her body melded to his as if they had been made from one of Yggdrasil’s branches.
“I need to feel you inside me,” she whispered as she gazed up at him.
His need was greater now than any other time in his life including his other times with her. This time, this connection was so much more than physical. This was a branding upon each other’s souls that time and place could not touch. He felt so raw, so exposed in the moment he pressed into her welcoming body. At her entrance, he waited. If she were a maiden still, she would need to adjust and he would not barrel forward like one who has not yet earned his manhood.
“Magnus, please,” she said as she tried to push him forward using her on his buttocks.
He looked deep into her eyes as he pushed into her. The moment was at hand and when he felt no barrier his soul overspilled with joy.
It had been real.
All of it.
How or why he didn’t care.
Now he could love her they way he wanted; the way she wanted.
He shifted his arms underneath her shoulders and thrust hard. She gasped. He pulled back and thrust harder this time and loved the way she threw her head back and lifted her hips to meet his. Her body tightened around him as he thrust harder and faster, their bodies slapping against the other in mad rhythm to a song only they could sing.
Tingling started at the base of his spine signalling his nearing climax, but he didn’t want this feeling to ever end. He pulled out of her body and flipped her over onto her belly. He lifted her hips and drove into her from behind.
Elspeth grabbed hold of the pillows and pushed her body back in time with his thrusting. Higher and higher he climbed, but he would not release until he was sure she had been completely satisfied as many times as she could. Her body tensed and her climax pulsed around him then she would build again. He lost count of the number of times this occurred for her before her body finally relaxed. Only then did he unleash his own tension and let the tingling spread up his spine allowing his own orgasm to spread through his body.
