Naked Shorts (8 page)

Reluctantly, he followed her down the labyrinth of corridors and stairs. But no matter what she said, he wouldn”t leave without his men. However, first he had to get as far away from the cell as possible.

When they turned a corner, voices suddenly drifted to them. Selena spun around, pushed him into an alcove and followed him.

His arms automatically went around her waist, pulling her flush against him. The voices came closer, and he pressed Selena tighter to him. Her soft breasts flattened against his chest, and his thigh insinuated itself between hers. His body reacted to her in the only way it could: his cock rose against her stomach pressing into her. When she looked up at him, he realized that she”d noticed it too.

Without thinking, Leif took her chin and pulled her face to him. His mouth descended onto hers. His kiss was hard and demanding and while she struggled at first, she didn”t make a sound to alert the people coming closer. He knew he was at an advantage, but considering what these women had done to him earlier, he didn”t see anything wrong with taking his own pleasure now. He pressed against Selena”s lips and licked his tongue against them. A moment later, her lips parted on a breath, and his stroke of the tongue was answered with one of hers.

He sank his hand into her rich auburn hair and relished in the feel of its silken softness.

The feel of her soft body made him soften his kiss, infusing more tenderness into it. He swallowed her soft moan, realizing she”d forgotten about the voices close by. But Leif hadn”t.

They were still in the corridor, so while they were out there, he and Selena were trapped in the shadow of the alcove. Never one to waste an opportunity like this, he roamed her body with his hands. He could feel her stiffen, but she didn”t fight him. This was what he wanted, seducing the green-eyed beauty on his own terms, not being forced to copulate with her dominant sister like a prized stud.

This woman had passion, and her kiss confirmed it. There was no scheming in it. After her initial resistance, her kiss was open and giving. He swept his tongue through her mouth, exploring her delicious caverns, just like he wanted to explore her other caverns.

When the voices moved on and he finally released her from his embrace, she was

breathing heavily.

***

Oh, Lord, this warrior could kiss! Selena tried to get her body under control, but it was to no avail. She was completely flustered. She shouldn”t have allowed him to take such liberties with her. She should have fought him. But a fight would have alerted the guards, and then all her efforts would have been for nothing. Yes, she could justify that she”d allowed him to kiss her.

Had she not, they would have been detected for certain.

“You have to help me free my men,” he demanded, his voice low so it wouldn”t carry far.

She stared at him. Had the kiss even affected him in the slightest? It didn”t appear so. All he could think of was freeing his warriors.

“It”s too dangerous. It can”t be done. Save yourself.”

“Then I”m not leaving.”

This man was stubborn. “You have to. Once they notice that you”re missing, your

chances of getting away will diminish.”

“No. You”ll hide me, and then we”ll work out a plan to free my men.”

Selena wasn”t sure why she agreed to his ludicrous demand, maybe it was the fact that she knew that his warrior would be enslaved if he stayed, but maybe it was the aftereffect of his kiss. “My chamber. Follow me.”

From corridor to corridor she led him through the old castle. She”d hidden in every corner of the old stone building as a little girl and knew it better than anybody. Hide and seek had been her favorite game.

Her chamber would be the only truly safe place for him. Nobody entered it without her permission, not even her sister.

When she slammed the heavy door shut behind them and turned the key, she was alone with the stranger whose name she didn”t even know.

“What do they call you?” Selena asked.

He smiled for the first time, a smile that spread over his entire face. “Leif, they call me Leif.”

“I am -”

“Selena,” he interrupted. “And you were the only one who didn”t look at my cock when that woman touched me.”

“The
vekker
, yes.” She felt herself blush at the recollection.

“The
vekker
? You mean it”s not her name?”

She shook her head. “A
vekker
is a woman who arouses men so they can perform their duty. It is what she does. We have several
vekkers
in the castle. She only did what she was told when she made you spill your seed.”

Leif put his hands onto her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She knew she should shake off his hands and take a step away from him, but she saw the deep blue of an ocean in his eyes, and with his sandy hair and his golden skin he looked like a Norse God.

“She didn”t make me spill my seed,” he protested.

“But, I saw -”

“You did.”

“What?” She didn”t understand what he was trying to tell her.

“You made me come.”

His admission made her heart flip. It was silly, it was stupid, and it was impossible. The
vekker
had touched him, so the
vekker
had made him spill.

“No.” She wasn”t a wanton creature. All her life she”d fought against what society wanted her to do: to use men for her pleasure. She”d slipped several times and allowed the male
vekkers
to touch her, but she”d conquered those urges.

Leif tipped her chin up. “Yes. It was you. The moment you looked at me, it was as if you touched me. I lost all control because of you.”

Selena stepped back and hit the door behind her. “I didn”t do anything.” She could not be made responsible for what had been done to him.

He shook his head and took a corresponding step toward her, then pressed his body

against hers. His muscles were hard and hot. His male scent wrapped around her, cocooning her in a blanket of desire.

“You”re doing it right now,” he claimed and grabbed her wrist. Before she knew what he has about to do, he”d led her hand to his loins and pressed it against his hard manhood.

Underneath her palm, the long piece of flesh throbbed. She didn”t pull away. She couldn”t. No man had ever shown this boldness with her, and she liked it. It made her feel weak in the knees and queasy in her stomach. And it made her feel like a real woman. It scared and excited her at the same time.

With all her strength she pushed against him and slipped from his embrace. Leif looked at her in surprise.

“I thought it was what you wanted, what all of you want.”

“I”m not an animal. I don”t take what”s not meant for me.” Selena wouldn”t sink so low as to do the same thing her sister was trying to do: enslave a proud warrior to serve her with his body. With his very tempting body.

“So you”re different from your sister then?”

The insinuation that she was as power-hungry and as obsessed as Aurora inflamed her. “I am nothing like my sister. I despise her refusal to let our society change, and I hate my cowardice because I”m not doing anything about it.” She let herself fall against one of the thick wooden posts of her bed.

“You”re not a coward,” Leif claimed. “You freed me against your sister”s orders. That”s brave.”

“And look how far it”s gotten you. You”re still in the castle. You”re not free yet.”

He shook his head and looked around the room. “This is many times better than my dark cell. And besides, I like the company.”

“You”re crazy. Don”t you realize that I can enslave you just as much as my sister can?

Don”t you see that I can change my mind any moment and scream for the guards?”

Leif crossed the distance between them with several long strides, stopping only inches from her. “And don”t you realize that all you”ll be doing with this beautiful mouth of yours is kissing me? The only sound that”ll come over those plump lips in the next hours will be moans of pleasure and, if I”m lucky, the occasional scream of my name when I make you come apart in my arms.” His knuckles brushed lightly over her cheek.

A bolt of lightning shot through her core as she imagined what it would be like to be in his arms. “But you didn”t want to copulate -”

“Not with your sister, no. But you are an entirely different package. You, I want to fuck day and night. You, I”ll willingly give my seed to.”

Selena tried to pull away, but Leif wrapped his arms around her and the bedpost. “I”m not allowed to get with child.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“Until Aurora has a daughter and can take the throne, I as the second in line for the throne, am not allowed to produce an heir.” Nobody had ever penetrated her. But it wasn”t because of the royal edict of not being allowed to produce an heir. No, her refusal to be penetrated had had an entirely different reason: she wanted to copulate with a man who wanted her for her own sake, not because he was a breeder and had to do what she wanted.

Leif ignored her protest and kissed her neck. “That”s really not something I can control, my sweet. But you will be mine tonight, and you will take my seed.” When he lifted his head from her neck to look at her, she noticed how his eyes had darkened. Her breath hitched at the realization that he would take her, and he would be the one in charge.

“You do want me, I can see it. Don”t deny it. I could see it in your eyes when you looked at me when the
vekker
touched me. I knew it then that you wanted to be the one who touched me.”

Selena wanted him, and she knew she”d use all her power in this society to keep him, but it wouldn”t be a life he would want. Leif would be a slave. She couldn”t let him do this. “You should leave before it”s too late,” she begged him.

“It”s already too late, Selena.”

Chapter Three

The woman in his arms fought against herself. Leif could clearly see it in her eyes. Selena wanted him. Her entire body responded to him: her nipples were hard little peaks that pressed against his chest, her lips parted in invitation, and the sweet scent of her arousal drifted into his nostrils, filling his lungs with her essence.

“You don”t understand. If you stay here with me, if you touch me, I won”t allow you to leave. You”ll become a slave.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“My sweet, it is you who doesn”t understand. I will be nobody”s slave. And by the time this night is over, you will be mine. And I will be the one who won”t let go of you. I will plant my seed in you until it takes hold, and your belly grows with my child.”

“No, I can”t. They will kill my child.”

He shook his head. “Nobody will kill our child. Because you and I and my men, we”ll return to my clan where you”ll be safe. Now, my sweet, stop struggling and let me love you.”

“You”re taking me with you?” Her surprise stunned him. Had Selena really thought he”d plant his seed in her and leave her behind?

“As soon as we free my men.” Leif pried her away from the bedpost, lowered her onto the bed and climbed onto it himself. “Do you have more dresses like these?”

“Many more.” Her voice was a mere echo.

“Good. Then you won”t mind this.”

“What?”

He gathered the fabric in his hands and ripped it in the middle, exposing her full breasts to him. She gasped, and he smiled and ripped the fabric further south until her bellybutton came into view. Another short distance and her triangle of auburn curls was revealed to his hungry view.

“You are more beautiful than I dared imagine.” Never had a woman”s body spoken to

him like this, roused his every cell, ignited his blood, and brought it to boil. This was the woman who was made for him and for him alone. It mattered not that she was from a clan whose philosophy was so different from his own. He would teach her how men and women were supposed to live together - neither master nor slave, merely equals, the man charged with guarding the woman”s body, and the woman charged with guarding the man”s heart.

It was how it was done in his clan - his mother was equally powerful as his father, because she held his heart while he held the sword. While to an outsider it may have looked like his clan gave no more power to women than Selena”s clan gave to men, it wasn”t so. Once he”d brought her home, she would soon realize that she wasn”t giving up any of her female powers.

“Leif, our men are not like you.”

“What do you think I”m like?” He sunk into the mattress next to her and trailed his fingers over her nude torso.

“Strong, powerful, and dominant.”

“Are you afraid of me?” His hand captured her breast and he kneaded it in his palm.

“I”m afraid that I don”t know how to handle a strong man,” Selena whispered between moans.

He flicked her hard nipple with his fingers, and she nearly lifted off the bed. “My sweet, you”re not going to handle me, because you”ll be too delirious to do anything at all for the next few hours. So just lie back, and let me pleasure you.”

Leif sank his mouth onto her taut nipple and sucked greedily. What a perfect body she had. Her skin was as soft as a baby”s, her curves feminine, her breasts so full and responsive, he could get lost sucking on them. His tongue lapped over her hot flesh, working her nipple into an even harder pebble, before he sucked it back into his mouth and suckled the way his babe would one day.

The thought that this woman would bear his children made his cock harder and his balls tighten in anticipation. His hand slipped down to her belly, stroking her tenderly. Selena arched into his touch. “Patience,” he whispered against her breast. “I”ll give you everything you need.”

“Yes, Leif, please.” Her response was breathless.

When his hand moved further south and reached the apex of her thighs, she opened her legs to him, allowing him free access to her womanly charms. “Touch me.”

Leif stilled his hand and released her breast to look at her. “Selena, did I not tell you earlier that the only things I want to hear coming over your lips would be your moans of pleasure and my name, preferably screamed while in ecstasy?” Leif grinned. He”d teach her to order him around.

A sheepish smile curled around her lips. “I just wanted to tell you that I allow you to touch me.”