Avila sat silently in the wagon, idly toying with the slapdash seam she had used to mend her skirt. Brynja had not spoken a word today either, so Avila was left to ponder her captor's menacing words from the night before. Although he had promised to give her great pleasure, she knew better than to believe him. She had heard men boast of their prowess in bed before, but her sister had explained to her that women sometimes pretended to enjoy their attentions to so that the men would finish sooner. Avila could not deny the warm tingle she felt when Thorlaf kissed her, but her sister had prepared her for that too. Inga had always said she found kissing her husband agreeable, but that it did not lessen the pain of the marital act. Avila remembered the discomfort she had felt taking just two of her captor's fingers inside her, and she was terrified of the pain his manhood could cause.
"After I have made you writhe in ecstasy, only then will I take your maidenhood," he had said. Was there a chance he would leave her alone if she found his ministrations as distasteful as she expected? Perhaps he would make a show of keeping his promise out of pure vanity, but it could only buy her a few days time at the most before he tired of trying to impress her. Would it be enough time for her to flee? Avila gazed despondently at the warriors surrounding her. She wished she had paid more attention when the men in her village discussed war, but she had always found such talk somehow boring and grotesque at the same time. The village had never been attacked before in her young life, so raids had always seemed the stuff of stories. But all the tales in the world could not prepare her for the situation she found herself in now.
Avila clenched her jaw. She had to face the reality that she would probably not be able to escape the Danes before Thorlaf had his way with her. At least it was only one man she had to contend with, so long as he kept interest. She swallowed nervously. What if he did not enjoy defiling her as much as he hoped? Would he turn her over to his comrades to be passed around like a horn of ale? Maybe she had better feign pleasure when he violated her so as not to damage his pride. She glanced over at her captor, with that cocky smile plastered on his face again, and it made her want to vomit. No, she would not—could not give him the satisfaction.
Avila wished the party would keep riding forever. But the hours seemed to rush by like minutes, and suddenly Magni was calling for a halt. She wished the evening meal could go on forever, but that too seemed to be over almost before it began. Before she knew it, she found herself staring into an empty bowl, wishing the heavy stew could have soothed her fear as well as her hunger.
"You look tired, little wildcat."
Avila jumped. She hadn't even noticed his approach, so consumed had she been by her own racing thoughts. Just the sound of his voice was enough to make her pulse rise.
"Perhaps it's time for us to retire," Thorlaf continued silkily, reaching down to draw her up from the stone she was perched on.
Avila put down the bowl and stood stiffly. He grabbed one of her hands and started off away from the campfire. In a daze, she let him guide her to the tent and usher her inside. He followed her in immediately and deftly fastened the tent flap before discarding his leather armor. Then he turned to her.
"I've been looking forward to this all day. Well, two days actually," he said cheerfully. He reached out to touch her cheek, but she flinched away from him.
"Are you still so afraid?" Thorlaf asked.
She raised her head to meet his gaze for the first time that night, and he could see the dread plainly in her eyes, even if she would not admit it.
"Please don't do this," she whispered.
Thorlaf's face hardened. "I have already waited to have you far longer than I would have liked, and I can see the delay has not assuaged your fears at all. Eventually, I am going to ravish you, and the longer we draw it out, the more the anticipation will torture us both," he said coldly. "I have already promised you great pleasure, and I mean to fulfill that promise. If you fight me, however, I will have to force you, and I will not be gentle. Either way I will take your maidenhead. But you can choose between ecstatic pleasure and excruciating pain."
Avila squeezed her eyes shut and took a long, shaky breath. It seemed her ruin was indeed inevitable, and she did not doubt it would be much worse if her assailant were enraged. She opened her eyes and forced herself to look at him again.
"Are you going to cooperate?" he asked.
She nodded meekly.
"Excellent." He came to kneel in front of her and pushed the hair away from her brow. His fingers barely brushed her, but they burned like hot coals against her skin. Thorlaf leaned down and pressed his lips softly against hers. She held her breath, fearfully anticipating the moment when the ferocious warrior she had seen at their first meeting would reemerge and start to hurt her. She did not know how to react to such a delicate touch. He savored this tender contact for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her to deepen the kiss. His mouth moved passionately over her own, pushing her lips open and dipping his tongue between them. Avila felt a spark in her chest as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth to rake it with his teeth. She realized she was kissing him back, and then thought perhaps she should keep doing so to avoid incurring his wrath. He noticed her response and kissed her harder still, pushing her down onto her back and moving over her to straddle her legs.
He slid his right hand up her ribcage to palm her breast through the fabric of her dress as his left hand gripped her waist tightly. His fingers seemed to reach nearly halfway around her midriff and she quaked at the reminder of how much larger and stronger his body was than hers. Suddenly, he broke their kiss and nuzzled his head into her throat. He licked and kissed and suckled his way up to her ear before catching her earlobe in his warm, wet mouth. When he released her ear again, the cool tingle of his breath on her glistening skin sent a shiver down her spine.
Thorlaf tugged open the laces of her bodice and pulled it off her shoulders and down below her bosom. He dipped his head to lavish kisses across her right breast and capture a pale pink nipple in his mouth. Avila tried to squirm away, but he brought a hand to her other tit, squeezing and massaging it firmly. Now assailed from both sides, she couldn't help but notice a tingle spreading across her skin. Thorlaf began to pluck at her left nipple with his fingers and nibble at the other tip. Avila realized with shame that they grown as hard as hailstones. He seemed to notice too, flicking his tongue and thumb back and forth over them in light, rapid strokes. A shock ran down Avila's spine, and she had to suppress a moan. She had no idea it was possible for her breasts to feel like this, but Thorlaf's attentions made them throb with sensation.
With a groan, he pulled away from her bosom and descended on her mouth again. His kiss was even rougher this time, battering her lips as he yanked her arms out of her bodice. He grabbed her thighs and forced them open, moving between her legs to grind his pelvis against hers. Even through both of their clothing, Avila could already feel his manhood hardening.
Thorlaf sat up and pulled the furs off his torso. "Your beauty is astounding," he said, whipping his shirt over his head. He reached for her ankles, grazing his fingers up her legs and slowly pushing up her skirt. "I could barely restrain myself from plunging my cock into you the moment I saw those tits for the first time last night."
Avila shivered as he slid his hands over her knees. Plunge his cock into her...was that what he was about to do now? She wondered furtively how long he would toy with her before he finally took her. His fingers crept even higher, skimming over her outer thighs. He leaned down to catch her lips in a kiss just as his hands came to her ass. He squeezed her cheeks roughly, pulling her hips up against him as he ground into her.
He withdrew with a grunt to kneel in front of her. "Sit up," he commanded. "Take off your boots." She complied as he tossed his own into the corner of the tent. Next he pulled her dress and slip over her head, almost ripping them in the process. He pushed her back on the bedroll and lay down beside her. Caressing her bosom once again, he brought his lips to her ear.
"Open your legs, Avila." She had instinctively closed them again without realizing it. She forced herself to do as she was told. His hand trailed down her body as he pressed kisses into her neck. "Wider," he whispered, and with a whimper she obeyed. His fingers brushed over her mound and inner thighs, making slow, lazy circles around her pussy. Gradually, the circles became smaller and smaller, until he was skimming over her outer lips. His finger dipped between them to probe gently at her opening, and he chuckled smugly as he found the wetness there. Humiliated, Avila turned her head away from him and tried to think of something else. But he would not let her. He stroked her inner lips a few times, then began to circle her the nub at the top of her sex.
Thorlaf propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her face. She might not be willing to give voice to the sensations she felt, but he could read the expressions that flitted across her face as clearly as the stars in the night sky. He pressed his finger over her clit, sliding the hood back and forth across the little bundle of nerves. After just a few seconds, her cheeks began to flush.
