Her first instinct was to go meet him, but she forced herself to stay where she was. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was eager to be with him.
So she stayed where she was, and he walked to meet her.
“I forgot you haven’t had anything to eat since this morning. You must be hungry,” he said when he reached her.
She snorted, strolling away from him. “I had one of those green fruits you have in the kitchen,” she replied, in a cold tone.
“That’s not enough. I will get you something else.”
“I can wait for dinner time. There’s no point eating at this hour.” She rejected his offer. “Did you see Eleanor?”
“No, I didn’t. I was told she had been taken to her room because she wasn’t feeling to well,” he explained, joining her.
“She must be in a lot of pain,” she let out a sigh of sheer frustration.
“I’m sure Brynjar will look after her,” he assured her.
“Why should he? He’s the king, not Eleanor’s nurse,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. “I should be there with her.”
“That’s not happening.” His tone was firm, and she was sure he wasn’t changing his mind.
“Why is it so important for you to have me here?” she poked him, looking for an honest answer.
He arched his eyebrows, enhancing the ridges on his forehead, as a devious scowl cracked his lips. “I’m sure you’re not so naïve, Sasha. After all, I’ve already told you there are no unmated females on this planet,” he stated.
“I’m not your damn slave. You said it yourself,” she spat through gritted teeth.
“No, you aren’t. That’s a fact,” he agreed, closing the distance between them. “Slaves don’t have free will. They do what they’re told, whether they like it or not. I discovered they are no fun in bed,” he continued, standing so close to her she was forced to take a step back. “Instead, what we have together is entirely different.”
“We don’t have a thing,” she grumbled, stretching her arm to keep him away from her.
“Of course we do. It doesn’t matter if you chose to ignore it. It has its own will,” he assured her.
“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about,” she stepped back and turned away to escape his overwhelming presence and his words. They both knew she was running away, but she didn’t care.
But he wasn’t ready to let her escape, and before she was able to take more than a few steps, he had captured her and pulled her into his tight embrace.
“You can’t escape,” he murmured, with his lips pressed against hers, right before he claimed them in a passionate kiss.
Being in his arms always melted away any resistance she might have been able to feign. Jolts of pleasure rushed through her whole body the minute he held her, ripping a moan from her lips.
His tongue didn’t waste the opportunity and slid inside her mouth, making sure to conquer every single inch of it, reigniting the wildfire that always burned between them.
Lost in the passion he conjured in her, she wrapped her arms around his strong neck, tilting her head to a side to give him full access to her mouth.
His hands slid from her waist up, until he cradled her face, deepening the kiss as if he wanted to devour her soul through her mouth.
His lips only left hers when they were both breathless. But he didn’t stop. His lips started tracing a trail of fire through her cheeks, towards her earlobes, where his teeth teased her sensitive skin, nibbling her gently.
Her moans soon became whimpers as her arousal peaked like it never had. She wanted more. She needed more. And at that exact moment, she was willing to do anything to get what she wanted, disregarding any possible consequence.
Asgar let his lips wander down her neck, combining kisses with nibbles, loving the way her body reacted to every one of his caresses.
Her fingers buried in his hair and roaming through his head were driving him insane, and he knew he was very close to losing his self-control. His need for her was so strong his cock throbbed inside his pants, pressing against the fabric so hard he was afraid it would drill a hole in it.
He wanted her. He needed her, so badly he had to have her. Somewhere, deep down, he knew he was rushing things, and that he might regret it, but his Drogon was so eager for her, he doubted he could stop.
Before she knew it, Asgar had laid her on the ground, over the soft grass, always kissing her, all over her face, ears, and neck, not allowing any coherent thought to cross her mind.
This was about feelings and sensations and nothing more.
With fervent passion, he parted her legs and nestled between them, allowing her to feel for the first time just how much he wanted her, as he pressed his hips against hers.
Sasha gasped for air when she felt him pressing against her.
God, how was it possible he made her feel this way? She was so aroused, she could feel her wetness. She wanted him so badly, nothing else mattered.
Her hands slid from his silky hair to his shoulders as she pulled his cape from them. She wanted to feel his skin under her fingers.
He helped her, unhooking the cape from his suit and he was about to take off the rest of his clothes when a man’s voice interrupted them.
“Asgar, where are you?” the man shout from the house.
For a moment, they stood still, unsure of what to do.
“Damn, damn.” Asgar cursed resting his forehead on hers for a few seconds. “He won’t go away,” he informed her, getting up and helping her do the same.
They were both breathless and still aroused. Desire and passion were written all over their faces.
“Who’s he?” she managed to ask when the man shouted Asgar’s name once more.
“It’s my younger brother, Eirik. He must have heard I was back,” he explained, picking up his cape from the ground.
“Asgar, where are you?” the man shouted again.
“A bit impatient isn’t he?” she asked, with a sarcastic tone.
She should feel relieved someone had stopped them before it was too late, and she was sure she would feel it, in time, but right now, all she could feel was a raw frustration that was eating her alive.
“Let’s go meet him, or he’ll warn the whole neighborhood he’s looking for me,” he said, with an apologetic smile on his face.
She nodded and followed him, trying to calm down the beating of her heart and the heaving of her chest.
He seemed to be struggling with the same, but that didn’t make her feel any happier.
“Ah, here you are.” His brother shouted when he saw them coming from the garden. “And she must be one of the humans you brought back.”
Eirik was a younger version of Asgar: same hair, same eyes, same features, but there was an air of carelessness, a product of his tender age, no doubt. He didn’t look much older than a teenager.
“Eirik, she’s Sasha. Sasha, allow me to introduce you to my younger brother Eirik.” Asgar made the introductions.
“It’s a pleasure meeting my first human female,” he replied, enthusiastic.
“Thank you, Eirik,” she said with a wide smile. Unlike his older brother, he was quite harmless. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, too.”
“What are you doing here, Eirik?” Asgar asked, with a frown, feeling a bit jealous of his own brother. Sasha never smiled at him that way, so open and unreservedly.
“I was bored at home, so I thought I would come by and hear about the new females,” he explained, shrugging. “I wasn’t expecting to find one here, that’s for sure, but that only makes me happier that I came.”
“We’re both tired and hungry, so why don’t you leave this visit for some other day?” Asgar suggested in a cold tone.
“I’m sure he’s hungry too, aren’t you, Eirik?” Sasha asked, taking a step forward to where the other man was standing. “I’m sure he would love to join us for dinner,” she added with a huge smile.
She wasn’t ready to be left alone with Asgar again. She needed to build back her defenses against him. Otherwise, she would fall for him hard, and that was the last thing she needed right now.
“I’m always hungry,” Eirik nodded, ignoring his brother’s expression. “Sharing a meal with you will certainly make my day.”
She chuckled and invited him in, leaving a very frustrated Asgar behind.
He watched them disappear inside the house before he hit the wall with his fist. ‘Damn woman.’ He knew exactly what she was doing, and though it annoyed him very much, there wasn’t much he could do, not unless he wanted to throw his brother out of the house and that would only make things worse. He could imagine his mother flying to this house to find out what was going on. That was the last thing he needed.
When he joined them in the kitchen, Eirik was ordering food from the nearest refectory for the three of them.
“Why don’t you cook your own food?” she asked, intrigued.
“I have no idea of how to cook a proper meal,” Eirik replied with a scowl. “Very few men learn how to cook, and those who do are the owners and employees on the several refectories all over the planet,” he explained.
“So, you buy all your food? Isn’t that expensive?” she asked again.
“No, it’s not. This is a very rich planet, and we have learned to use its benefits without exploiting them, and that has provided all our people with enough income for whatever they want.” Asgar explained as he entered the house, clearly not very pleased with the whole situation.
“That’s nice. I could have used something like that back home. Cooking was never my thing,” she said with a self-deprecating scowl. “How long does it take for the food to arrive?”
“Five minutes or so. It’s teleported here,” Eirik explained.
That astounded her, but then she remembered Egil had teleported all of the women from the lizard’s vessel into theirs. Back then she had been so upset she hadn’t paid much attention to it.
“Nice. Enough time for me to take a bath and change clothes,” she said, and without waiting for an answer, she turned around and went straight to her room. She was feeling sweaty and wet. She was so aware of her arousal that she could smell it. How the hell was that even possible? What dark magic had he conjured over her to make her so weak in his presence? A single touch of his hand was enough to make her legs quiver, a kiss was enough to make her surrender to his will.
Once in her bathroom, she stripped off her clothes, and headed straight to the shower stall, needing more than ever the soothing power of the orange liquid.
She stayed there, just standing under the warm stream until she felt calm. Only then, did she bother to wash her hair and her body.
Out of the bathroom, she put on one of the tunics Asgar had provided for her, and while she stood in front of the metallic mirror, she wished she had a comb. Her hair was starting to look like a rat’s nest.
Asgar looked at his brother with an unfriendly expression.
“What? What did I do now?” Eirik asked, amused.
“You could have said no to her invitation,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, as he faced his brother.
“Yes, I could. But I decided it was more important to get to know her better. After all, she will be part of the family soon,” The naughty smile on his face said more than his words.
“Shut up,” Asgar snarled. “She’s not supposed to know that yet.”
“She’s not here now,” Eirik replied, not even a bit impressed with his older brother’s dark mood. “How does it feel?”
“As if someone ripped the air out of your lungs. Your whole body responds to her whole presence, but her scent is the first thing you notice,” he explained. “How did you know?”
“You mean, despite the fact you’re acting as if you could rip me in two if I dare to get too close to her?” his brother mocked him. “I don’t know exactly how, but I knew it the minute I saw her. Mom will be so happy.”
“You can’t tell her about it,” Asgar warned him.
“You have to be kidding. She would kill me if she found out I knew about something this big and didn’t tell her,” Eirik protested.
“I’ll kill you, in a more painful way, if you tell her,” Asgar quivered with the single idea. “You know she would come running and I don’t think Sasha is ready for that kind of attention.”
“You won’t be able to keep that a secret for much longer. You should know that. The minute she finds out you have one of the female humans here, she’ll know why,” Eirik warned him.
A beep warned them of the arrival of the food.
“Then, make sure she doesn’t find out,” he growled.
“Hey, I can’t make miracles,” Eirik warned him. “But, I’ll keep my mouth shut as long as I can.”
Asgar nodded and took the food out of the transporter.
“Why is she taking so long? Food will get cold,” he mumbled, impatient. “I better go get her,” he added, ignoring his brother’s naughty smile.