Page 116 of The Reluctant Viking

“Don’t be so anxious, husband. I want this to be a wedding present you’ll never forget.”

A wedding present! She will put me in my grave, instead.

With the palm of her hand pressed against his chest, Ruby moved him back to the bed, teasing, “I thought you were going to have a slow hand.”

“Slow hand! Hah! You will not even let me touch you.”

“Lie down, sweetheart,” she ordered gently.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously. “Come with me.”

“I will. Just relax.”

Relax? Was she bloody, out-of-this-world touched in the head?

When Thork was on his back once again, Ruby stood at the edge of the bed and streamed a thick dollop of honey in a steady stream from his neck to his burgeoning manhood. He almost shot off the bed at the intensity of pleasure caused by the warm syrup oozing around his rock-hard staff. With a smile, she laid the crock down and crawled onto the bed.

“It’s just as important that men be sweet as women.”

“Woman, this bed is going to be sticky as a beehive by morn,” Thork growled appreciatively, pulling her into his arms.

“Oh, really, I don’t think so. I always lick my plate clean. How about you?”

Thork almost lost his control then. Almost.

Ruby moved over him, rubbing her honey-slick breasts across the hairs on his chest. At first they both just laughed at the mess they made, but their laughter soon died and turned into breathless pants as the slickness of their rubbing skin created tingles of aching sensation wherever they rubbed.

“Thork, do you think I’m silly trying all these outrageous things to please you in bed?” Ruby asked shyly in a low, aroused whisper, her eyes downcast.

Thork put his forefinger under her chin and raised her face. Her eagerness to please him touched Thork deeply, almost as much as her uninhibited ability to share in sexual gratification.

“Oh, Rube, I love you so. Do you not know that everything you do pleases me?”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she seemed to have trouble speaking. “I love you, too, husband.” She put her hand up to his face and stroked it softly. “Let’s promise each other, Thork, that this night, our wedding night, will be the first of an eternity of nights for us.”

Thork nodded, then teased, “All of them filled with loving?”

“Of course!” she said with a weak laugh.

“Don’t you think we should get started then, wench?” he said with a low growl, rolling her onto her back. “We have a quantity of honey to consume.” He put both hands on either side of her face, holding her in place for his hungry kiss. First he licked the honey from the edges of her lips with the tip of his tongue, then outlined the seam. When she parted her lips on a sigh, Thork smiled with satisfaction and laved her entire mouth with wide sweeps of his tongue.

“Mmmm! You taste so good,” he murmured.

“Let me taste,” she urged softly against his lips.

He inserted only the tip of his tongue. She circled it with her own, then drew deeply on the honeyed moisture. “So sweet,” she whispered appreciatively. “Give me more.”

Smiling against her lips, Thork sheathed his tongue in the warm cavern of her mouth, then slowly slid it in and out. Ruby wouldn’t stand for that. She drew on it tightly, then suckled him. Thork felt a spasm of pleasure start in his tongue and travel that invisible line straight to his male organ which jerked against her belly.

He pulled away slightly, panting, and Ruby leaned up, following his lips, wanting to continue the deep kisses.

“Nay,” he said firmly, putting both hands on her shoulders and pressing her down. “As of now, I take over control of these wedding night maneuvers,” he proclaimed in a voice so raw and low he barely recognized it.

He slid down her body, literally, until his mouth was level with her breasts. With a forefinger, he circled the aureole of first one, then the other, then put the finger in his mouth to taste. “So good,” he murmured. Ruby just gazed at him, mesmerized, with parted lips. He repeated his actions, but this time offered the finger to her. She leaned up and licked the tip with her pink tongue, then the slick sides in wide sweeps. Finally she took the whole finger into her mouth, sucked it tightly, then, using both hands, moved it in and out of her mouth in long strokes, simulating the sexual act. Holy Freya! How would it feel if she did that to—

He pulled his finger away abruptly, fearing he would embarrass himself by ending this game prematurely. He moved back to her breasts and consumed every speck of honey with his licking tongue. When he leaned away to inspect his work, Ruby moaned, arching her breasts up off the bed.

“Please, don’t stop,” she begged.