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He twisted away with Maude still in his arms and walked them over to the pile of furs being used as a bed.

He dropped her onto it and withdrew his galder from the door.

As he pulled the galder back into himself, he felt the rush of life from the vines he'd been controlling, and a shiver of pleasure ran down his spine.

He had gone too long without the force of water or vitality of earth in his blood.

"You better be that excited about me and not the return of your galder ."

Maude's voice pierced his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

In his distraction, she had risen to her knees so she could face him and mostly stand eye to eye with him like she usually did.

Except Herrick could not hold her eye, not when she was this gloriously naked in front of him.

The ship rocked below them gently as it navigated over the choppy waves that were famous north of Veter.

Any unseasoned sailor would be tripping over themselves, but Maude…

She was completely at ease in front of him, her predatory focus on him as he stripped the tunic from his chest. If they were in the middle of a hurricane, Herrick wasn't sure she would notice. He occupied her every thought in that moment just as she occupied his every cell.

Distantly, he could hear someone knocking at the door, but their words were lost to the thick tension building between him and the stunning goddess in front of him.

Maude raised her palm to face the door without breaking eye contact, and as if he'd blinked, night descended around them.

All sound had been cut off as a perfect sphere of shadow swirled around them.

At first, Herrick was startled because of the sudden darkness, but as he ran his hand through the shadows that protected them, he realized that they were warmer than he thought possible.

Like the shadows burned with the same heat that enveloped Maude.

As he continued to trace a gentle hand through the shadows his eldr had pulled around them, a small moan escaped from her lips. He watched her as he caressed the curious shadows and saw how she shivered with pleasure just as a tendril of night wrapped around his fingers playfully.

He went to withdraw and reach for her when Maude whispered, "Wait, don't stop."

She opened her eyes and moved closer to him until she stepped off the bed; the forest green hue of her eyes glittered as the dark circle of black around the pigment seemed to darken. Without touching him, she slowly flicked her fingers toward him.

Warm ropes of shadow reached around him, their silky embrace similar to how Maude's fingers felt when they traced patterns on his skin. They roamed over the planes of his naked body, every dip and curve, their trails of darkness leaving the faintest hint of cedar smoke and jasmine in their wake.

Releasing a shaky breath as her hands tightened into fists at her side, Maude whispered, "I can feel you. "

Herrick watched her feelings about her easy control of shadows cross her face at a remarkable speed. He was almost unable to keep up with her. Before he could say anything, however, he felt something wrap around his waist before lifting him in the air and spinning him toward the bed.

He arced over Maude, the smirk in her eyes clear to him even in the speed at which she used her shadows to toss him around.

His back finally hit the soft furs, their smooth surface cool compared to how his skin tightened and burned for this woman whom the gods had gifted him with.

She prowled toward him, dark swirls of shadow twisting around her body and her arms. As she climbed on top of him, he reached for her only to have his arms yanked back to either side of him by ropes of shadows.

"No touching, beast," Maude said with a dark smirk, her eyes devouring him as he squirmed beneath her. "It's my turn."

Maude watched as his eyes widened slightly before he smiled, his lips tipping up in the corner until his damned dimple was showing.

"Do with me what you will, minn eldr ," he said, his voice slightly smug as he settled into the furs.

"Who said I was going to do anything to you," she replied sweetly as she sat back where she straddled him.

Already, she could feel him ready behind her, but she wasn't done playing with him.

The submission she had given him when he'd taken her up against the beam had turned out to be a singular experience that she had yet to be able to form a coherent opinion of.

The only thing she knew was that she had loved it.

Just when the darkness started to creep into her vision and the world had started to grow more hazy, Herrick had released the pressure on her throat, and air had flooded her lungs at the exact time she had orgasmed.

Riding the crest of that pleasure as air filled her lungs had been ecstasy.

But now it was her turn to make him submit.

Maude ran her palms over Herrick's chest, her nails digging lightly into his skin as she brought her hands to her thighs before running her hands up her stomach, over her ribs, until they skated over her peaked nipples.

The tight buds were already sensitive as she pinched one in between her fingers.

She could feel Herrick shift beneath her, and when she looked down, she found his face serious as he watched her tweak her other nipple.

His eyes were ravenous. She felt him pull on the shadows that were binding his arms down to the bed, but the effort it took to keep him subdued was only a small scratch at the back of her mind.

She smiled slowly at him struggling as she palmed one of her breasts and skated her other hand down to where she straddled Herrick's thighs until her fingers dipped into the wet heat that was building again at her center.

She threw her head back and moaned as she swirled her fingers around her clit, her hips bucking until she was grinding over Herrick's muscular thighs.

The friction made her lower belly go molten.

Below her, Herrick's hips bucked as he started to breathe heavier.

His golden stare was glued to her every movement.

"Do you want to touch me, beast?" she asked, her voice breathy and uneven as she continued to pleasure herself over him.

"Yes," he ground out, his words gravelly as he spoke through clenched teeth.

Tipping her head forward, she gripped his chin to capture his attention again before releasing it and sitting back. With her free hand, she ran her fingers lightly over her neck and shoulder as her hair tumbled around her.

"Here?" she asked.

He nodded roughly.

Her fingers moved to the swells of her breasts, the sensitive skin there, before tracing over her nipples.

"And here?"

"Yes," he whispered as he swallowed hard .

His voice grew darker with each tease. He pulled against the shadows holding him back again, their tension making her blood heat. She knew if she released him, he would pounce on her.

"What about here?" she breathed as she ran her fingers down over her stomach until they teased the apex of her thighs.

"Gods, yes," he groaned as his hips bucked again.

She was getting close to her climax the longer she teased him. It was almost time to bring her game to an end… but she was having too much fun.

"But what if I wanted to touch you instead?"

In front of her, Herrick's cock was hard as steel and just begging for attention.

Her mouth watered at the thought. Before she could change her mind, she pulled back until her mouth hovered over him.

With a wicked glint in her eye, she took him into her mouth deeply until the tip of him touched the back of her throat.

The fur bed beneath them rumbled with Herrick's deep groan as she pulled back and ran her tongue over the head of his cock before taking him deeply again.

That bright, saltiness of him tickled her tongue and made her thighs clench together.

In her distraction, her control over her shadows slipped just enough for Herrick to break free from her restraints.

He surged forward and scooped her up until she hovered over him again, his length teasing her entrance.

Hands on her hips, Herrick impaled her on his cock with one swift movement.

Her breath was stolen from her lungs, and Maude did the only thing she wanted to at that moment.

She started to move over him, her hands planted against his chest for purchase as they moved together.

Herrick's hands gripped her hips, the strength in his hold bruising, but she didn't care. He could never hurt her; tonight showed her that more than anything else. They were equals, always.

A better match for either of them could never be imagined. He was made for her.

Too soon, they would be arriving at the northern coasts of Veter where they would travel to their home to defend it from Helvig through the Lamenting Woods. Too soon would the blissful bubble they had been wrapped in be disturbed by the gods' plans for them .

But for now, they had the warmth of each other bodies to keep away the frosty unknown fate that lie outside the ship.