Chapter 11

Skadi

I pickedup my mug and took a sip of the peppermint tea I"d made myself when I"d been unable to sleep. I leaned back in the comfy chair that"s presence made the selection of books I had into a proper library. The only thing it was missing was a fireplace with roaring flames and woodsmoke, but when I"d outfitted the cabin, it hadn"t felt like a sensible thing to put into a cabin.

I turned the page of my book, my eyes dancing across the page and very little of what was written there sinking in.

A creak on the stairs made me look up. Erik stood at the top of the stairs with his hair in disarray and a bottle of water in his hand. "Hey."

"Hi," I responded. "I thought you were asleep."

"I was, but I got up to get a drink and saw the light on up here and wanted to check you were all right."

"I couldn"t sleep," I said.

"Ah." He hesitated. "I guess I should go back to bed."

"Or you can stay if you want." I gestured to the second chair.

He nodded and took a seat. "What are you reading?"

"One of the only romance books I have," I said. "With everything you said the other day, I kind of wanted to try one and see if I could work out what I was missing."

He chuckled. "And?" He sat down and made himself comfortable.

"Maybe I"ve been too harsh on it." I slipped my bookmark inside and set the book down on the table next to me. "Though I still maintain that people do foolish things for love."

"I don"t think anyone"s going to disagree with you."

"And yet you believe in romance."

"I make my living writing and singing love songs, it would be bad if I didn"t believe in romance."

"So you write your own songs?" I leaned forward, intrigued to learn more about him.

"I do."

"Now I"m intrigued to hear one."

"I can play for you tomorrow."

"I"d like that." I smiled at him, already looking forward to it. I leaned back as a hint of green shone through the large circular window that dominated the wall over the library.

"I haven"t seen the Northern Lights in years," Erik said, getting to his feet and drifting over to the window.

I got up and made my way to stand beside him. "I see it all the time, and it never ceases to amaze me."

Green lights flashed against the skyline, looking like a wave breaking up the night sky and reflecting against the snow. There was something magical about it, even if it had nothing to do with me, and I always felt like it was enchanting.

"It makes me think of home," he said. "When I see them, I know that I"m in the right place."

"I know what you mean. I saw them less when I lived by the sea and it never felt right."

"And that was because of the lights?"

"No. That was just an easy way to see that things weren"t right. I know it sounds ridiculous..."

"It doesn"t," he assured me, turning so he was facing me. "It makes so much sense. I feel that way when I"m travelling. And even when I"m at my apartment in the city, it doesn"t feel right."

"You"re a mountain boy through and through."

He chuckled. "You can"t talk."

"No, I can"t. The mountain is my home, I don"t want to leave." I looked up at him, feeling something strange fill the air.

Erik stepped forward and reached out to brush some of my hair away from my face. The lights still danced outside, illuminating us both and only creating a more intense moment.

My lips parted and he closed the distance between us, lowering his face to mine and capturing my lips with his. The kiss was sweet and fleeting, with the promise of more lingering between us.

We broke apart and I looked into his eyes, seeing all kinds of things there.

I reached out and took his hand in mine. "Come with me?" I stepped backwards, making it clear where I intended for us to go.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice hoarse and full of something I couldn"t name.

"Yes."

This time when I stepped backwards, he came with me, neither of us saying a word until we were at the threshold of my room.

"The socks stay on, right?" he asked.

I laughed softly. "The socks stay on, but everything else can come off." I stepped back and grabbed the hem of my jumper, pulling it over my head. The thin shirt underneath came with it accidentally, but I supposed that didn"t matter, the whole point was that I wouldn"t be wearing anything.

Erik"s eyes glazed over with desire as he looked at me.

I bit my lip, which seemed to spur him into action, but I put my hand against his chest. "Your turn." I nodded to his shirt.

"It does seem fair," he responded, pulling his shirt off and dropping it to the floor, showing the lean but toned physique beneath.

"I took off two pieces of clothing," I teased.

"I"m only wearing two things."

"All the better," I responded.

He chuckled. "All right, but I don"t think there"s any smooth way to take off sweats."

"Maybe I could try?" I stepped forward so we were almost touching.

He raised an eyebrow. "And exactly how are you intended on doing that?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his. This time, the kiss was deeper than before, more intense than before and I could feel the stirring of something deep inside me that I wasn"t used to. His fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of my waist, sending delightful shivers through me.

I trailed my own hand over his chest, feeling his response in the way he was kissing me. I got to the waistband of his sweats and broke the kiss so I could pull them down, stumbling and nearly falling as I did.

Erik laughed, and I found myself giggling away, even as I landed on the floor.

"Okay, so there"s no good way of doing that," I said.

"Maybe not." He held out a hand and pulled me to my feet. "Your shorts on the other hand..."

I looked down. "What about them?"

"Lie down." Promise dripped from his voice.

I made my way over to my bed, feeling the excitement build within me in response. There was something about this moment that felt different from the way I normally did in this situation.

The bed dipped as Erik joined me, leaning over to kiss me deeply as his finger circled my nipple. I let out a soft whimper and pushed myself into him more, desperate for more of what was to come.

He broke away and started kissing down my neck. The moment his tongue joined his fingers, I knew there was no way I was going to last very long. He moved on, his lips brushed against the soft skin of my stomach, feeling almost ticklish in response. He kissed along the waistband of my shorts, and I sucked in a breath, trying to resist the urge to hasten him along. As much as I wanted that, I also wanted to savour the situation for what it was.

He pulled back and hooked his hands over the waistband of my shorts. I lifted up my hips, allowing him to quickly draw them down my legs, baring me completely to him. He dropped them on the floor and returned his attention to me.

His hand landed on my knee and I parted my legs without thinking, the anticipation growing with me as he moved higher, his hot breath tickling my skin. My breathing became laboured as he settled between my legs and leaned in.

I cried out, my fingers curling in his hair as he touched me with his tongue, swirling and teasing, driving me crazier than I"d ever anticipated.

He hooked his arms under my thighs and pulled me closer to him, changing the angle. The pressure had pleasure curling up within me, already threatening to explode.

A moan slipped from my lips as he found a particularly sensitive spot. He must have heard me as he doubled down, swirling his tongue around.

Pleasure threatened to explode from every part of me, and it was next to impossible for me to keep any of it in.

"Erik..." I wasn"t able to say anything else as I tipped over the edge. My body began to shake and I cried out as the world faded away and the only thing that I could focus on was how good it felt to have him between my legs.

He didn"t stop, even as I came down from the high, and another release started to build. A small part of me wanted to tell him to stop so we could enjoy some other things. The rest of me wanted him to carry on and send me even higher.

There was no stopping the second wave of pleasure that crashed over me, sending me even higher than the last. I was reasonably sure I made a strange succession of noises, but I had no control over any of it.

I collapsed back against the pillow, my whole body tingling.

Erik moved up the bed, but didn"t touch me.

I rolled over. "You"re still wearing these," I said lazily, tugging at the top of his sweats.

"I didn"t want to make any assumptions," he responded.

"I didn"t invite you in here just so you could get me off, this is supposed to be fun for us both."

He grinned. "Oh, I had fun." He leaned in, his lips hovering above mine. "I"ve never had a goddess fall apart for me before."

I gave him a lazy smile. "It was entirely my pleasure."

He laughed and closed the gap to capture my lips with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him so he was over me, the heat of his body crowding against mine in the most delightful way.

I pushed up against him, feeling skin against skin, and the truth of his words through the fabric of his sweats. He"d had a lot of fun it seemed.

I broke the kiss and pressed my hand against his chest. "You should finish undressing."

"I should." He got up, letting the cool air prick my skin again and reminding me of his absence.

I sat up and pulled open the drawer of my bedside table, pulling out a condom and holding it up so he could see what I was doing.

"I hope you have more of those," he said.

I laughed. "We might not need them, what if the sex is terrible?"

He shot me a lopsided smile. "Do you really think that"s going to be the case?"

My whole body still tingled with the after-effects of his earlier attention. "Probably not."

"Then I think we"ll be fine." He climbed back onto the bed and took the condom from me, opening it swiftly and using it to sheath himself.

Anticipation rose within me despite the fact he hadn"t even touched me yet. I didn"t wait for him to do anything else and rose, straddling him where he sat.

Erik groaned. "You"re going to make it very difficult to last."

"That"s what the other condoms are for," I murmured, reaching between us and taking him in my hand. His eyes closed and his breathing became shallow as I guided him into me.

A moan escaped me as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pushed in deeper. Erik"s fingers dug into my hips as I rocked back and forth, already feeling as if I was going to explode.

His hands slipped down until they were under my thighs and he used his position to flip us over so he was lying above me.

My lips met his, but the kisses were haphazard, with both of us a little lost in the pleasure this was bringing. I wrapped my legs around his waist and lifted my hips, allowing him to move deeper. I slipped my hand down his chest until it was between us.

I touched myself, feeling my whole body hum in response. As good as it felt for him to be moving inside me, I knew it wasn"t going to get me to another release. But this could.

Erik shifted slightly, his rhythm changing a little as he came closer to the edge.

I cried out as I started to reach my own climax, but could barely focus enough to continue.

"Let me," Erik whispered against my neck, already slipping a hand between us and finding the exact spot I needed him to.

Almost as soon as he found his destination, I fell over the edge. This release even more intense than the last. I raked my fingers down his back, aware of nothing and everything all at once.

My whole body was given over to sensation, and I let go, knowing that this wasn"t going to be the last release tonight.