Page 79

Spinning her abruptly in the water and moving her to face the lip of the pool, he bought her knees up to rest on the small bench beneath the surface of the water.

She was barely even in the water now except for her thighs and lower.

He gently eased her forward onto the cave floor before running a reverent hand down her tattooed spine and positioning himself behind Maude.

Her heart took off, desire taking full control of her body and mind.

She became liquid under his touch as his fingers made their way to the apex of her thighs.

He ran one finger through her wetness, swirling the tight bud of nerves at the apex, causing her to shudder in pleasure and arch her back.

"There's my good girl," he whispered as Maude let out a breathy moan.

The praise ignited outrage that cut through the hazy fog of lust she had been enveloped in but only lasted a moment as Herrick slammed into her, seating himself fully .

They both groaned as she adjusted to the size of him. Herrick gripped her hip as he wrapped her long hair around his wrist with the other, yanking her head back just enough for it to bite, but she welcomed it.

" Fuck , I've been dreaming of this," Herrick sighed in her ear as he bit down on the lobe gently.

He paused a few moments as they each absorbed the feel of each other, the rightness of it.

"Move, gods damn you," she breathed as he moved to run his nose up her neck.

He let out a dark chuckle. "Always so demanding."

Whatever retort Maude might have come up with dissolved on her tongue as Herrick withdrew his length until the tip of his cock barely rested inside of her and then slammed forward again, earning another deep moan from Maude.

Soon, she was lost in his movements; the relentless pace that Herrick pounded into her drew all thought from her mind and breath from her lungs.

His fingers found their way to her clit again, and quickly, she could feel her orgasm building as he teased and circled the swollen nerves.

The stone scraped at her forearms as Herrick moved inside of her, but she didn't care.

His pace was an answer to a call she didn't know she had been sending.

Just as she was about to reach her climax, Herrick slowed and withdrew his fingers. She may have whimpered. Her hair was still wrapped around his wrist, so when he pulled her further up to stand against his, her back to his front, she had to obey.

With no one else could Maude allow herself to be at their mercy. No one but Herrick could dominate her like this. His lips barely touched the curve of her ear before he whispered, "You will not leave me behind again, minn eldr . We are in this together now. I am yours, and you are mine."

He growled the last word, and it sent waves of pleasure through Maude, the possession in his words igniting a deep, savage satisfaction in her. Her stubbornness, however, would always prevail.

"I can't promise that," Maude replied as her frustration built .

She spun out of his hold, his hand releasing her long hair as she knew he would. Moss green met deep gold, their hue soft in the darkness of the hot springs.

"I did what I did to protect you," she said, her voice low, as she put one hand on Herrick's chest. "And I don't regret that. If you hadn't followed me to the palace, you never would have been captured."

She pushed him toward the bench on the other side of the pool, taking each step slowly and deliberately as the water broke around them.

Herrick smirked, the shadows around his face deepening. "I don't regret chasing after you. I never do."

The back of his knees hit the edge of the natural bench, but Maude continued to guide him down onto it.

He sat and leaned back, never taking his hungry eyes off Maude as she prowled toward him.

Settling herself over him, the stone beneath her knees biting into her flesh, she pushed his curls back from his face as she lowered herself onto him and rolled her hips.

Herrick moaned again, his forehead falling to her shoulder as she threw her head back. One of his arms wove under her arms and gripped her shoulder, pulling her onto him as she continued to ride him.

"This is where you belong," Herrick growled as he brought his mouth to her neck and bit down on the soft skin there. "Wrapped around my cock and begging for more. Always with me."

"Yes," she breathed as his grip tightened, bruising her.

She delighted in knowing he was making his mark on her, that he was still this possessive of her.

"When I get my revenge for what they did to you," she said softly, her tone so at odds with the threat. "They'll regret ever being born."

He did not recoil from her violence but grinned. "You are vicious, minn eldr ."

"Yes," she said again as she reclaimed his mouth.

Sooner than she would have liked, Herrick broke free from her lips.

"Will you have me, minn eldr ? All my broken pieces are yours if you'll have me," Herrick whispered against her neck, his touch reverent as his fingers glided over the supple curves of her body, one that had only ever belonged to him .

Maude found control of her hands in time to place them on either side of Herrick's face, bringing his eyes to meet hers in the soft darkness of the cave that surrounded them.

Shadows lingered in his eyes, which had never been there before, and she knew that they were only the start of what she would see from Herrick as he gave himself over to the same fury that ran through her veins.

He was joining her in the jaded darkness of those spurned by the fates and at last, Maude didn't feel so lonely anymore. The ragged edges of their damaged souls seemed to fit together easily, their rough pieces melding together until they were one again.

"Yes, beast," she breathed, a slight curve of her lips hinting at a smile. "You are mine, and I am yours. Broken pieces and all."

Maude tried to capture breath in her lungs so her next words would sound as serious as they were, but she failed.

Breathless, she whispered in Herrick's ear, "When we get our revenge, this entire world will feel it."

She lifted herself up and sank onto his length again, her hips grinding against his, groaning as he filled her so perfectly.

"The gods will feel our wrath."

She moved again, Herrick's hands gripping her hips so hard that she could feel the bruises already forming. She tipped her head back, long hair falling behind her in a wave as violent as the beginnings of her orgasm.

"And they will all regret the day they took you from me," she finished, the last word escaping as a soft moan as Herrick leaned into her to taste the skin on her neck, the sweat that was mixing with the steam in the air and the rage in her blood.

Their lips met again, silencing any other words that might be said in the heat of their passion. Maude rode him until her legs almost gave out, their frenzied joining coming to an end too soon as her muscles began to tighten around him.

"I want you to come for me, minn eldr ," Herrick whispered roughly, lips tracing the shell of her ear. "I want you to surrender to me, to feel me every time you move."

She moaned at his filthy words, his words spurring her to yank Herrick's head back by his hair.

He smiled at her control, his pace increasing even as she ran her tongue down the long column of his throat before biting the soft skin where his neck met his shoulder—marking him just like he marked her.

His thumb reached down to swirl around her clit again as she began to tighten around him, the size of him thinning the breath in her lungs with each powerful thrust. Her hands tightened around his shoulders, her fingers wrapped in his curls, pulling his head back further.

Their lips hovered over each other until Maude went off like an explosion of colliding elements, her gasps escaping through parted lips that Herrick immediately swallowed as he kissed her, as if he needed to taste her climax again.

Following her orgasm, Maude gently bit his lip as Herrick's sawed breathing ended in a groan as he came.

As their breathing started to slow and they found their voices again, Maude placed soft kisses over each of the burns and scars Herrick had suffered, and with every touch of her lips, she promised death to their enemies.

Later, Maude would reflect on how, for the first time since they had freed him from the palace in Logi, she felt that they were going to be okay. In the days to come, she would realize how wrong she was.