Page 14 of The Barbarian’s Claim (Not-So-Savage Barbarians #4)

Fourteen

EINAR

H e meant what he said. I could see it on his face.

He did not expect more from me than my protection.

And yet a part of me still felt guilty. It was possible he would have found someone in another clan willing to give him both love and protection.

I worried so much for his safety, I’d denied him the opportunity to try.

And ever since, he had been in danger at my side.

I did not wish to make things worse by giving him false hopes.

I could give him sex if he needed it, but it would not be more than that. I was too damaged to feel more.

“I am not a loving man,” I admitted. “I have sex for release, nothing more.”

He nodded slowly, like he understood but was confused on why I was telling him that. I sighed, considering how to explain myself better.

“You know of Rath and Finn, yes?” I waited for him to nod before continuing. “You have seen them together?”

Again, he nodded, still frowning.

“That will not happen with us. I cannot give you that. I can take care of your needs and keep you safe. Nothing more.”

He tipped his head, his brows furrowed thoughtfully. “Y-you held me w-w-while I s-slept,” he pointed out.

He still didn’t understand the difference. Perhaps the concept of a loving relationship was foreign to him. He’d lost his family when he was young. Had he not seen loving couples since then? Did he even remember his family? Or were his parents not outwardly loving that he would not recognize it?

It didn’t matter in the end. I would be careful not to lead him on, but my desire to touch him again outweighed my unwillingness to muddy the waters.

Pulling him tighter against my front, I murmured, “You enjoyed it.”

It was comical, how quickly his face flushed.

He was thinking of the first time I touched him intimately, I could see it in the way his pupils grew large and his breathing stuttered.

That had been only a tease of sex, there was more I could show him, but not here.

We were out in the open and exposed. Creatures could wander up to us while we were distracted.

It was better to find some place to camp first.

When I pulled away from him, he whimpered and took a step back to keep himself pressed against me. I bit back a smirk, shaking my head.

“Not here, zoragar. I will find a place for us first to rest for the night.”

The desire clearly written on his face was like kindling to a flame.

It made me want to grab him and pull him underneath me, to see what other sounds I could drag from him.

It was only my need to protect him that stayed my hand.

I would first find a safe place for us. Then I would give Matthew what he needed.

MATTHEW

We didn’t need to go far before Einar found an empty cave that we could rest in.

He checked every inch of it before allowing me inside, making sure there was nothing in there that could hurt me, then lit a fire just at the entrance.

It would prevent creatures from coming in and gave the smoke a place to escape.

He explained it all to me, but my mind kept shifting to the heated look he’d given me before, the way his voice dropped to a more husky growl as he pulled me against him.

It took every ounce of self-control not to jump on him, especially when we cleaned up at the lake and I saw peeks of his body.

I’d never felt that needy before. I didn’t want to wait even another minute to experience the kind of pleasure he’d given me before.

Einar was in no such hurry as he set up the bedroll and prepared our meal.

I was antsy, my gaze trailing constantly to his lips or his hands that had brought me so much pleasure.

My cock ached between my legs, and I worried I would come just from my overactive imagination alone.

Just imagining what Einar could do to me made me breathless.

When he stood after the meal was done, my breath caught in my throat, and I stared up at him hopefully. A flash of a smirk crossed his face, just a glimpse of it, but it made my heart skip a beat.

“Take off your clothes.”

My stomach flipped with a mix of eager anticipation and nerves. Being touched by Einar had felt wonderful, so I hoped for more of the same, but I worried about repeating the few times I’d tried to have sex before. It had hurt last time.

Still, I trusted Einar to stop if I asked it of him, so I pushed to my feet and pulled off my clothes with shaky hands.

I cupped myself to hide my embarrassing erection, ducking my head to avoid his gaze.

When he stepped up to me, shirtless and so beautiful, I nearly forgot my nerves in the face of my need. I wanted so badly for him to touch me.

A firm hand cupped my jaw, forcing me to look up at him. “Do not hide from me, zoragar.”

My brow furrowed. “W-w-what does that w-word m-mean?”

His thumb trailed along my bottom lip, causing my breath to stutter. “Is that really what you wish to discuss right now? Language?”

I shook my head rapidly, my eyes locked on his mouth. I wanted him to kiss me, wanted to feel his mouth against mine. Would he kiss roughly, like his image suggested? Or would he be gentle like how he treated me when I was hurt or upset?

When he dipped his head, my eyes fluttered shut automatically, but he did not kiss me. Instead, he used his grip on my chin to tip my head to the side, nipping lightly on my earlobe before trailing his tongue down my neck. I shivered at the contact, leaning into him.

“Turn around,” he demanded in a rough purr against my ear. “Hands on the wall.”

Eager and breathless, I spun where I stood, moving to get closer to the wall of the cave. His hands on my hips stopped me, and I frowned at him over my shoulder.

“Hands on the wall, Matthew,” he growled again.

I had to bend over to reach it, which might have been his goal. The position exposed me to him, and I gasped as he dragged his finger along my crease and over my hole.

His warmth left me, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at him, but he stayed just out of sight.

I wasn’t sure what he was doing, and I wasn’t willing to disobey by straightening again to find out.

I heard the rustle of clothes, the clatter of wood as he added more to the fire, making it crackle and hiss.

I squirmed where I stood, my cock throbbing between my legs.

I wasn’t even sure I’d like it, but it didn’t make me want him any less.

His roughened hand slid down my spine, making me shiver. “Good boy,” he crooned.

My eyes squeezed shut on the praise, my whole being lighting up. I hadn’t known I needed to hear that until he spoke the words. When was the last time someone praised me?

I wished beyond anything that I could see what Einar was doing, to better prepare myself for what was coming. I felt the air shift as he moved, felt his hands on my ass as he squeezed the globes. Just the simple touch lit me on fire, so I wasn’t prepared for the slick wetness against my entrance.

At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. I’d never felt anything like it before. All I knew was that it felt amazing, and I didn’t want him to stop. It wasn’t until I felt his breath that I realized what he was doing.

“E-Einar!”

He licked my hole, laving the flat of his tongue against it before tracing the rim with the tip of his tongue.

Sensations I didn’t know existed coursed through me with each touch, and if I had more leverage, I would have thrust back against him.

Bent in half as I was, I could only wiggle and moan, begging for more.

“P-plea—” My ‘please’ was cut off when his tongue breached me.

I cried out in surprise, lifting onto my toes automatically.

He fucked me with it, the slick member teasing in and out in a mimicry of what he intended to do afterward.

At least, I hoped that was what he planned.

If just his tongue could feel so good, I was more than curious about his cock.

I wasn’t sure how long he kept me there, his face buried against my ass.

Long enough for my cock to start leaking with need and my muscles to tighten until they shook.

I felt close to that same amazing feeling Einar had pulled from me while stroking me in the bedroll.

It wouldn’t be much longer until I found my release.

He pulled away, and I let out a wordless protest in response. I did not wish for him to stop.

A thick digit pressed inside me, stealing my breath away.

There wasn’t any pain like I expected, only pleasure as he pushed until the second knuckle.

He sawed it in and out a few times before adding another.

That time had a bit of a bite, just a pinch, but it eased after a few drags of his finger, and I moaned when his tongue licked around his fingers at the same time.

There was a familiar feeling of fullness without the ache and burn I remembered.

Einar was in no hurry to get his cock inside me.

He added a third finger, going slow to give my body time to adjust, and just when I worried it was too much to bear, his fingers slid along the front of my passage, and an explosion of pleasure slammed into me, sending me careening over the edge with a cry.