Page 27 of Heart of the Wolf

Chapter thirteen

Brielle

Ceremonial cloaks long forgotten in the hall, Leif lowered Brielle to her feet. She swayed, and not from too much wine. The pad of Leif’s thumb brushed the hinge of her jaw, and a shiver slithered through her limbs.

All that remained in the hearth were smoldering embers and ash. Two palms rubbed a blazing trail down her arms, warming her before he pulled away, a knowing grin pushing at his eyes.

Anticipation zipped across her fingertips. Leif kneeled beside the fire, stoking it with enough logs to last well into the morning. His tunic hung open around his throat, hinting at the taut muscles underneath. Strands of hair fell over his eyes, daring her to brush them from his face.

Cool metal slid under her fingers as she stroked the wolf engraved on her brooch, drinking in the sight of her husband, growing more impatient with each passing second.

He tended to the fire with more care than her, and she wanted him to make good on his promise to fill her with his child. A tiny noise rumbled in her chest, finally earning his attention.

With a thud, he dropped another log onto the fire. Amusement glittered in his smile as he rose, moving to her side and grinning at the neediness darkening her eyes.

No matter how often he looked at her like she was the reason for the stars, it never failed to make her stomach swoop. He towered over her, casting his handsome features in darkness. Callused fingers ghosted over her clavicle before they loosened the golden threads of her gown.

Leif said nothing, his eyes dark and laden with desire as he licked his lips. Deep, guttural sounds fell from him while he undid the intricate ties of her dress. He nipped at her ear, her jaw, and her throat as he continued his unhurried disrobing of her.

It was too slow. Far too slow. She needed more. Impatient as she was, however, she didn’t rush him. Content to stay quiet and let him have her any way he wished.

Once he released the final swath of ribbon, the gorgeous gown pooled at her feet. He clenched his teeth, his patience faltering. A brutal tear split the delicate fabric of her shift as Leif tore it apart, exposing all of her to him. She gasped, watching the linen fall in tatters on the ground.

“Leif,” she said, half-shocked, half-moaning.

“Brielle,” he growled back, his icy eyes more wolf than man.

Her nipples pebbled under his devouring glare, looking at her like she was the prey to his wolf. Gingerly, he removed the headpiece from her curls, placing it down with much more care than he showed her dress.

Those scarred hands brushed along her body, taking their time to memorize every dip.

Leif groaned into her ear, kissing his way down her body as his thumbs swept along the supple underside of her breasts.

Pleasure traveled from his touch like a shockwave straight to her center, making a garbled moan escape her.

He paused his exploration to rub a palm over her belly. A reverent sound purred in her ear. Her lips hovered over his jaw, and she kissed the bearded trail, running her fingers through it.

Leif chuckled, walking her backwards until her knees buckled at the edge of the bed. One hand rested at the hollow of her throat, his gaze following the path his other hand took. Between her breasts, down to her navel, stopping at the crux of her thighs when he gently nudged her.

“Lie down, my wild girl,” he said in a velveteen command that was impossible to resist.

Doing as he said, she fell into the thick furs.

She scooted back, leaning forward as her legs dangled off the edge.

The whites of his teeth gleamed like the fangs of his wolf, twinkling in the firelight as he slowly removed the brocade fastenings from his overshirt before loosening the ties of his tunic and pulling it off by the collar.

Beaded braids kissed his shoulders. Whereas Brielle’s hair was a wild mane of curls haloed around her.

His ravenous gaze never left her flushed form as he stripped, his length springing free and slapping against his toned abdomen.

The pad of his thumb swept over the glistening bead at the head, unhurriedly pumping himself.

“Look at you,” he said, sounding almost awe-stricken. “Glistening for me.”

Gooseflesh tingled over her shoulders as he ran a finger through her slit, making her hips buck.

“Will you take what I give you tonight?” he asked, his timbre dropping an octave.

“All of it,” she said, her breathy voice tinged with a new sort of confidence.

Leif stood, pressing his knees into the bed and wrapping his hands around her thighs. She yelped as he yanked her toward him until her bum teetered on the edge, with Leif standing between her legs.

“Good girl,” he crooned, making something in her brain melt at the praise. “And what I will give you, Brielle, is my devotion.” He lifted a leg and rested it on his shoulder, kissing her calf. “I will worship you like the Dróttning that you are. I weep for you. Do you not see it?”

A stuttered sort of squeak pulsed through her as she nodded. Clutching the furs, she watched him swirl the pearlescent bead of arousal around the head as he stroked his length. He notched the tip at her entrance, moaning with a smile as he took her other leg, tossing it over his other shoulder.

One hand rested on her hip, where he drew circles around the jut of it. His other hand caressed her calf, his lips following the trail of his fingers, peppering reverent kisses in their wake.

Sweat beaded on her brow, errant curls sticking to her temple as her knuckles turned white. Brielle bucked her hips, her center clenching around nothing, aching to be filled. Leif chuckled, lightly swatting the thigh draped over his right shoulder.

“úlfr,” she pouted, hoping the name would make him see reason and put her out of her misery.

Icy shards of blue flashed in his gray eyes, a wolfish grin pressing into her calf. “Is this what you want?”

A strangled cry tore from her chest as he sank into her in one hard stroke, making it difficult to breathe. Brielle’s back arched off the bed as the burn of his stretch quickly gave way to that fullness that made her flutter.

Little whimpers spilled from her mouth as she kept one hand in the furs, the other squeezing his forearm near her hip. Leif didn’t move, torturing her. Desire coiled tight in her belly, desperate for him to do anything.

“Made for me,” he purred, his teeth grazing her calf. “You were made to take me. Molded so perfectly, stretching so prettily.”

His broad tongue licked a fiery trail up her calf, making her shudder.

Circling his hips, he ground his pubic bone against her clit, and stars flickered behind her eyes.

Slowly, he dragged his length back, the tip gliding along her walls until only the head sat within her entrance.

With a low growl, Leif snapped his hips, filling her again with one smooth stroke that made her sob.

Brielle dug nails into his forearm as her body lurched forward.

The palm on her hip slipped over to her belly, where he pressed down, his thumb stroking just below her navel.

“So sweet and flushed with need,” he growled.

Each snap of his hips was unhurried and impossibly deep.

The next thrust pulled an inhuman sound from somewhere in her chest that she didn’t even know existed.

Leif continued to worship her, sucking and nipping at the thin skin of her calf until his marks covered her skin.

Her hand never left his forearm, holding on as he drove her higher with each rock of his hips.

Each pump hit that spot inside her that made her vision blur.

The burn in her belly built slowly, never quite cresting.

He was cruel, her husband, drawing out her pleasure until the burn of it consumed her.

Leif was intent on seeing how far she could go, how tight she would coil until she snapped.

Sweat dripped from her legs as they trembled softly on his shoulders. His pace didn’t falter as he continued to sink into her with languid, precise strokes.

“Leif. Leif,” her voice wobbled. “I… I—please.”

Her heart hammered in her chest far too fast for the slow, methodical snap of his hips.

Moans vibrated in her throat as her breath started to heave in stuttered pants, not just her legs shaking, but her whole body.

It would destroy her. Her climax would annihilate the very fiber of her being when it broke free.

There would be nothing left, like the ashes and embers of a forgotten fire.

“Shh,” Leif soothed. “You are going to come for me, and then I’m going to fill this.” He stroked her belly with his thumb, still pressing down on her stomach. “Watch as you grow round with our baby. Glow with the beauty of it.”

Oh. She wanted that. Wanted his child. Wanted everything with him.

Despite how she deteriorated around him, Leif kept his meticulous pace.

She was so close.

Molten heat flooded her abdomen with the next snap of his hips, and Brielle tumbled into oblivion as light exploded behind her eyes like the dying sun.

She tried to rock off the bed, but Leif’s hold kept her pressed into the furs.

Instead, her back arched as she clenched around him.

Every muscle tightened as the ripples of her orgasm seized her.

“That’s it,” he praised, not faltering, the deliberate circle of his hips dragging out her release. “My perfect kona, coming so hard for me.”

Hot sweat clung to her burning skin. His hands caressed her legs along every curve until he settled at the dip of her waist. Tremors of her climax shuddered through her. He stilled inside her, pulsing as she fluttered around him until her muscles relaxed and her head fell back.

Leif leaned forward and kissed her belly, then her breasts, before claiming her mouth in a soft kiss that she melted into. Willingly, she parted her lips and sighed into him, welcoming the swipe of his tongue against hers.