Chapter Seven
Thonis
The taste of her lips went straight to his head. He had longed for and dreamt about this moment for so long, he wasn’t certain it was real. He pressed his body against hers, his hands roaming over her figure to make sure that, yes, she was there in his arms and, yes, she was kissing him back. A heady rush filled his body, making his loins tighten and his hips thrust forward gently.
The only light was from the flickering fire and a silver beam from the moonlight outside. The air was still and yet, so alive. A buzzing grew under his skin and he found his heart pounding wildly. His flames burned so hot that he could taste the smoke on his tongue; or was that the taste of Katrina’s smoke, the flames in her belly fanning to life?
Her fingers dug into his tunic, pulling him even closer. Thonis reached around behind her, digging his fingers into her ass, loving how soft and round it was, before moving his hands down over her thighs. He picked her up, eliciting a gasp from her. She drew back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He supported her there against the wall with his hands on her ass once more.
“You’re strong,” she blurted, eyes wide in amazement.
“I train and work out for hours every day; I ought to be.” He winked at her. Now that the first kiss was there lingering between them, it was suddenly not enough. He wanted to give her everything he had to offer. Was it too soon for that?
Katrina sighed as she brushed her mouth against his. “Did you only do this to distract me from asking questions? Or are you wanting to see this through?”
It took a second for Thonis to remember her questions and why he had kissed her in the first place. He pressed himself harder against her. He was hard within his trousers and by the shiver that ran down her spine, she knew it. He could almost smell her arousal, but there were too many clothes in the way for that to be true.
“I can’t tell you what you want to know,” Thonis whispered. “Or rather… I could but I won’t.”
She stiffened, and her eyes flashed.
“Not because I don’t want to,” he quickly added. “And not because I don’t think you should know. I want to tell you. I want you to know. But it’s not my place.”
Katrina frowned at him, her gaze intense. “So, it’s something important, then?”
“Yes. Very important. In more ways than one.”
“Can you at least point me in the right direction to start getting answers?”
Thonis hesitated. If he said too much, would she be able to guess what was happening? Or was it so far outside of her world that she wouldn’t ever suspect the truth? He wanted to give her a push in the right direction. But if he did that, would the king see it as a betrayal? It was impossible to tell, really…
He sighed. He couldn’t just let the silence hang there. “You’ll have to ask Indulf.”
“What?” Katrina’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me that whatever is going on is happening because Indulf doesn’t want me to know? Why? I thought he liked me! No wonder Anna looked so uncomfortable—no wonder the others all looked at her. Well, this just takes the cake. I’m not standing for this, I’m going to—”
She wiggled against him, trying to free herself. The friction made him groan, and he planted another hard kiss to her lips. She melted against him again almost instantly. When they parted, she panted with a glazed look in her eye. That didn’t stop her from glaring at him, though.
“Don’t think that a little bit of kissing is going to distract me.”
There was a playful edge to her voice that had Thonis grinning. He pulled away from the wall. She adjusted herself, so she was holding herself up more on his shoulders as he walked toward the pile of furs that hid the straw mattress beneath it. As he walked, he dipped his head to kiss her neck.
“Then I guess I’ll have to do more than a little kissing, won’t I?”
“Guess so,” Katrina moaned. Another shiver ran down her body.
Thonis lowered her gently into the furs, then pulled back to let his hands coast over her body. Her teeth dented her lower lip, and her eyes were so wide and expectant that he had to grin at her. After such a long time of denying himself, he wanted to tear her clothes off her body, to taste her delicate skin and tangle himself so deep in her body that she wouldn’t know where she stopped and he started. He took a moment to regain control of himself. This was their first time, he couldn’t go into it like a bull in heat. They needed softness and control to become adjusted to each other’s bodies.
“God,” Katrina sighed, arching her hips to grind, fully clothed, against him. “It feels like I’ve been waiting for this forever.”
“Me too,” Thonis sighed.
Katrina arched a brow. “Why didn’t you ever make a move?”
“Because I was assigned to protect you. And I was keeping secrets from you.”
Katrina frowned. “But now since you’ve admitted you’re keeping secrets it’s okay, even without me knowing what those secrets are?”
“As long as it’s okay with you.”
Katrina’s hands ran over his chest, then reached under his shirt to brush her fingers directly over his skin. Thonis shuddered as her touch left sparks in his blood. “Yes. It’s okay with me. If you’re keeping secrets for Indulf… then I understand. And it probably isn’t a good idea for me to go barging into his room this late at night,” she winked, “so it’s best you keep distracting me.”
Thonis chuckled low in his throat and leaned over her again, pressing a searing kiss to her lips. He draped his body against hers, grinding gently as she pulled her legs higher over his hips. She tasted just as he imagined, warm and comforting with just a hint of smoky flavor. Hickory. He licked across her throat, craving more, and she bent her head, exposing more of her neck so he could continue.
Her hands roamed over him, pausing here and there to unlace this or unbuckle that. Katrina’s eyes glowed in the firelight, excitement, lust, and demand blazing in them. Thonis’ breath caught in his throat as she tugged his shirt over his head and took the opportunity to gently bite his pectoral. He’d never been with a woman as forward in her desires as this. He liked it.
“So strong,” Katrina moaned, pushing his pants down off his hips. Her hands explored his thighs and ass before one of them wrapped around him and slid down the length of him. A grin widened on her face. “And so big.”
Thonis groaned as she stroked him, propping himself over her. He buried his face in her neck and leaned on one hand to work at the buttons on her shirt. They came apart one by one as the muscles in his groin tightened. He stiffened in her hand, almost throbbing with need as he thrust forward gently in a steady rhythm. With her shirt undone, he shifted the fabric aside and bent his back, able to graze across her smooth brown skin. His free hand drifted down, pulling out the elastic of her pants to find its way into her panties and between her thighs.
A gasp, a moan and Katrina’s arched back rewarded him when he found his prize. He kissed her breast to the nipple, swirling his tongue over it before pulling it to hardness in a gentle suck. Her other nipple hardened at the stimulation; he watched it in fascination as he sucked the one in his mouth again. The little bundle of nerves under his fingers hardened, too, and he smiled.
It was his turn to gasp and moan when Katrina gave him an extra little tug. Her breast slid from his mouth, and he arched his back. His head fell back as she moved her hand faster. His whole body started to throb, and he growled. Fighting against his arousal, he pulled himself out of her grasp. She didn’t let him go that easily, following him up so that she could nip at his shoulder. With one motion, Thonis pulled her pants down, lifting her slightly so he could get them off all the way. He took a moment to get rid of his trousers, tossing them to join hers, then grasped her shoulders and pushed her back to the bed.
“I like it when you’re demanding,” Katrina purred.
Thonis cocked a brow and grinned at her. “Then let’s get demanding. I want you to lie perfectly still.”
Katrina grinned back and propped her head under one arm. Thonis ran his hands down her body before lowering himself over her again. He sucked on one breast then the other, then trailed hot kisses over her body, lingering at her navel for a moment before following the line of fine hair from her bellybutton to the triangle between her legs. He spread her legs, pushing her knees to her chest and licked along her length.
“Oh!” Katrina’s whole body gave a shiver. She dug her fingers in his hair with one hand as she looped her other arm around her knee, pulling it higher, and let her other foot run along his back.
“What happened to being still?” Thonis demanded.
“Oh. Right.”
Katrina let out a breath and forced herself still. Thonis could see her muscles trembling with the effort. That trembling only increased as he bent over her again. He loved listening to the soft cries and gasps that escaped her throat as he worked, starting gently but getting more pressured as she grew wetter. Soon she was unable to hold herself still, writhing beneath him as she panted for breath. When she started tugging at his hair, mewling wordlessly, he knew she was close.
He was no longer throbbing, but when he kneeled back and rubbed along his length, that overly tight feeling rushed back in full force. Keeping his eyes on hers, he slowly, gently, pushed himself into her. She tightened around him, making him close his eyes and growl against the need for release. The pressure was so high he thought he might burst just in entering her, but he ground his teeth and held it back.
“Gentle,” Katrina gasped, her fingers brushing his abdomen. “It’s been a while…”
“Same,” Thonis grunted, starting to move. He tested how smooth the movement was, pleased when he found gliding in and out of her easy.
Katrina’s mouth fell open to an ‘o’ as another shiver ran down her spine. Thonis kept his movements gentle and slow at first, gradually building momentum. His eyes remained locked on hers as his fires flared, another sort of warmth filling his chest. He had never felt this way before toward any woman; never looked so forward to seeing her pleasure, never been so enraptured at keeping eye contact. Katrina reached for him and he lay over her, so they could press gentle kisses to each other as they continued, her hips rocking in time with his.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, as though there was any danger of that. “Don’t let me go.”
“Never,” he promised. And in that instant, he knew the truth of it. No matter what happened, he would never let her go. From that moment on, he belonged to her.