Page 56 of Blood Red Rage

“Again.”

“What?”

“My name.” I kissed her harder. “Say it again.”

“Viking.”

A growl rolled through my chest as the sound of her voice vibrated through my body. I pulled her tighter against me, my hands roaming over her with desperate familiarity. Every inch of her felt more intense tonight, every breath, every tremble, every little sound she made when my mouth found a sensitive place.

The women had warned her. I could tell by the uncertainty mixed with anticipation in her eyes. “You knew this would happen,” I murmured.

Her cheeks flushed. “They told me some things.” My eyes narrowed.

“Things?”

“About vampires and their mates.” Her fingers traced one of the tattoos over my shoulder. “About what happens during a woman’s cycle.”

I went completely still. “They told you?” That meant that she knew what to expect.

Her lips parted as she nods her head. That single fact nearly destroyed what remained of my control. She knew, maybe not completely, maybe she couldn’t possibly understand what her scent was doing to every instinct inside me, but she’d known enough to call. To tell me. To wait for me.

My forehead dropped against hers. “Bryn.”

Her hands settled against my face.

“I love you Viking.” She whispers against my lips before lifting her head slightly and kissing me lightly. My eyes closed.

For centuries, I had believed strength meant control. That nothing should ever be allowed to matter enough to command you. Then this woman had walked into a nightclub and destroyed every belief I’d ever held.

“You should never say things like that when I’m trying to behave.”

A tiny smile touched her lips. “Are you trying?”

“No.”

She laughed.

I kissed the sound from her mouth. Her laughter dissolved into a gasp as I gathered her closer, and the bond between us seemed to ignite. Heat rushed through it, hers and mine twisting together until I could barely distinguish where one ended and the other began.

I could feel her passion, not because I demanded it but because she chose me. That distinction mattered more than I could explain. I drew back enough to look at her.

“Tell me.”

Her breathing was uneven. “Tell you what?”

“That you want this.”

Her expression changed as the teasing disappeared, her gaze held mine. “I want you, I burn for you.”

The berserker inside me went utterly, dangerously still. “Again.”

“I want you, Viking.”

I kissed her, there was nothing gentle about the hunger behind it, but underneath that hunger was something far more dangerous. There was devotion. I could conquer cities and tear enemies apart with my hands, but this small human woman could bring me to my knees with three words.

She pulled me closer and I went willingly, for the next stretch of time, the outside world ceased to exist. There was only Bryn beneath my hands, my name on her lips, and the bond blazing between us until it seemed impossible that either of us had ever existed separately.

I worshipped her the only way I knew how, completely, possessively. Without restraint in the things, I could give her safely. Our naked skin against each other, my fingers rubbing her pert little nub, making her whimper, her head thrown back as my fingers feel her juices wetting my fingers.