His eyes traced the movement of her tresses as they settled into the water they were crouched in now. She could feel Herrick's cock pressing against her stomach as he quickly captured her mouth again, the taste of her sex muddling the thoughts in her head. She lowered herself to her feet without breaking their kiss. They stood this way for a few moments before Herrick brought his lips to her cheek, and then her throat, before making his way down to her fatemark.
Kneeling in the shallow water, he placed a gentle kiss on the tattoo ofYggdrasil, his tongue tracing the gentle swirls of the Valkyrie wings that outlined it, making her heart race. When he reached the five burning red runes that Aeric had revealed when she was in stasis, Herrick paused. Crouched before her, his hands gripping her hips so intensely that a kiss of pain radiated fromhis hold. The air between them grew still. It felt as if the entire world had halted as he took in her fate and what it meant for them.
One hand released her hip, and the rush of blood flow to that spot was almost painful. Maude didn't notice; she only saw Herrick trace the rune that lay directly underneathYggdrasil'sroots with his fingertip.Gebo. The rune that had made her flee Dagsbrun so hastily.
Sure that he was going to pull away, Maude tensed. But Herrick surprised her by placing a gentle kiss on the rune once, twice, before pulling away and looking up at her. On his knees before her, Maude could only get trapped in his presence. The air that had stilled seemed to swirl and weave around them as if the Norns were watching this particular private moment in real-time.
She could drown in him, she realized. Would die happily sinking into the golden brown depths that seemed to become molten when he looked at her. Her lips parted with a soft gasp as it became clear that there would never be anyone else for her. He had ruined her, thoroughly and efficiently.
Herrick watched this play out on her face, his supple mouth slowly picking up in the corners until he smirked fully at her. Before she could respond to his rapid change in demeanor, he moved as fast as lightning.
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.