A Viking's Peace: Futuristic Science Fiction Romance (Vikings in Space Book 1) (5 page)

I will like that
, she responded.
I think.

Have you never watched a man pleasure himself?

No.

Gods. I have no words to tell you how much that pleases me. Meeting now, more later.
 

Shaken and halfway to a climax she didn’t see coming, Ashleigh stripped off her clothes and stretched out like a cat in heat on the bed. She took herself the rest of the way there, imagining Reinn’s fingers were working the oil into her breasts and down her torso, between her legs and into her…

She tried to imagine his vocabulary. Would he say pussy? Cunt? Something more poetic? As she spread her legs wide, she pictured him at the foot of the bed, watching her. She wouldn’t be the first woman spread out like a feast for him. She ignored the angry scratch of jealousy. This couldn’t be anything other than a fling. There’d been women in his past, and there’d be more in his future. But right now, he seemed to only have eyes for her and that would have to be good enough.
 

Ashleigh
, she imagined him saying, closer now, like he was beside her. That serious tone that shook her to her very core. The filthy, unexpected words that inevitably would follow.
 

Dr. Reinn Ragnarson, as she’d learned he had a right to be called, was proving to be an interesting combination of man and mind. An agricultural scientist who spent most of the year outside the city, living on the Flats. More straight-laced than his compatriots, but still so much dirtier than Ashleigh could ever imagine. Dirty for her.
 

Again the jealousy flashed, but this time a new kernel was at its core. That maybe he wasn’t always like this, but that she awakened a beast inside him. She didn’t want to share that passion with anyone else, present or future.

Reinn was hers and she didn’t want to let him go.

Her thighs clenched tight around her hand as that single, potent realization triggered an orgasm that left her spinning, searching for solid ground.

Oh, no. No, no, no.
 

And yet even if her panic, she couldn’t pledge to herself that she’d give him up.
 

— —
 

Reinn told himself to stay away. The risk of getting caught together before they’d had a chance to discuss how they would take their relationship public—because he wasn’t going to be able to hide how he felt about her much longer.

So it would be smart to wait until they arrived in Aulbjerg. But those text messages had heated his blood to the boiling point, and when his father broke out the
akvavit
, he thought he was sure to crawl into bed with a raging hard-on and Ashleigh’s text messages—good, but not exactly what he wanted.

No, what he wanted was his prim and proper Earth officer on her knees, lips wrapped around his cock. He wanted her riding his face backwards, watching as he fisted himself. He wanted to pin her down on that ridiculous big bed of hers and take her hard and slow from behind, whispering dirty words in her ear the whole time.

When his father’s right-hand man, Sigard Luftson, thumped him on the arm, jerking his attention back to the conversation, Reinn realized he had no clue what they were talking about.

“Boy, you need to take more of an interest…” his father said, laughing.

“You take enough interest in Ny København for the both of us, father,” Reinn reminded him carefully.

“And it’s paid off! We’re hosting those Earthlings in a manner they’re accustomed to, are we not? They’ll be impressed.”

“Not when they head to the settlements and see how many of us are still without reliable energy sources. How far people need to travel for medical care.”

His father lifted his hand dismissively. To his right, Rolf tipped his glass back and did his best to stay out of the conversation. Reinn knew his brother didn’t feel the same way, but there was no point in the both of them being seen as idiots, tilting at windmills. Even if his tilting was grounded in reality and backed up with study after study. It was the only reason he was going along with this liaison mission—he didn’t have enough allies on Midgard. Maybe in all of the wheeling and dealing, he could negotiate a better deal for his kindred spirits on the Flats.

Somewhere in the last two hundred years, they’d lost their sense of community and it saddened him greatly.

“Reinn, I wanted to show you the funding mock-up for the greenhouse subsidy.” Sigard nodded to the anteroom where he kept his office. The older man was capable and quiet—a true prince among men, and given Reinn’s privilege, that was saying something. Sigard gave him an appraising look when they reached his desk. “What has you so distracted?”

“This trip.” At least he could answer honestly. “We’re on the cusp of big changes. I want them to benefit everyone, not just—”

“If you want to lead, then you need to get your head in the game.”

He jerked his head back and glared at Sigard. “I don’t.”

“You care more than your brother does.”

“It’s his birthright.”
And I don’t want it
.
 

“He wouldn’t be the first to step aside.”

“He wants it, end of story. And this is not a conversation to have here, or anywhere.” Reinn glanced back over his shoulder. “I will serve him as you have served my father.”

“Then you need to stop dreaming.”

Reinn laughed. “Will it reassure you that I wasn’t thinking about work?”

“Ahhh, a woman?” Sigard crossed his arms over his big, barrel chest. “I’d given up hope, my boy.” And that was the difference between Sigard and his father. They both struggled to fully see him as a man, but at least Sigard put
my
before
boy
.
 

“It’s complicated.”

“The young liaison officer.” Sigard rolled his eyes at Reinn’s shocked expression and shrugged. “She’s beautiful, I don’t blame you.”

Reinn gritted his teeth. “It’s not like that.” Fear slithered down his back, feeling a lot like a cold sweat at the thought that he’d been so obvious in his affection for Ashleigh. And now they’d opened the floodgates.
 

“Of course it is. Get it out of your system.”

“No.” He leaned forward and waited until Sigard stopped chuckling and focused on his face. “I will claim her in good time.”

“You can’t.”

“Of course I can.” He straightened, enjoying the extra breadth and width he had over the other man. “Not a word to my father.”

“He already knows about what happened at the welcome reception. There was security footage.”

Reinn closed his eyes and cursed himself for being stupid. “Does he care?”

“No, and he won’t as long as he thinks you’re just—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” he growled. He didn’t want anyone thinking of Ashleigh like that, and definitely not his father and Sigard.
 

He turned and headed back into his father’s common room, pausing only at the door to strap on his weapons. Behind him, Sigard made apologies and offered to pour another round of
akvavit
. Reinn didn’t look back.

Eight minutes later, he arrived on the other side of the City Core and prowled silently into Ashleigh’s inn. His ID chip let him in the side entrance, but instead of swiping, he waited for a maidservant to come out. She gave him a polite but disinterested smile and held the door for him. Just to be on the safe side, he slid his metal wrist cuff over his chip as he passed through the entrance. It might not shield his presence there, but it couldn’t hurt to think a little. Even if it was probably too late.

He paused in front of her door. He hadn’t thought this through. They were heading north tomorrow, where they’d have space and privacy. But he’d wanted to hold her before he knew his secret was out of the bag. Now he
needed to
, in case it was his only chance.
 

He knocked softly, three light taps that thundered around him.
 

Enough time passed before she swung the door open that he worried she was asleep, but one look at her pleasantly surprised—and flushed—face told him that wasn’t exactly the case.

She blushed as he smiled at her, slow and knowingly. “What are you doing here?”

“I can’t stay away.” Partial honesty. He’d get to the rest in a bit.
 

Desire and concern warred on her face. He waited on the threshold. It would have to be her choice to invite him in.
 
“Anyone know—”

“I don’t think so. I snuck in.” It was all he could promise.
 

She sighed and stepped back. Not quite an enthusiastic welcome, but then she mumbled something under her breath that more than gave him hope.

“Pardon?”

“I said, you might as well come in, I was imagining you were here with me anyway.” She glanced back at him, her gaze obscured by a heavy flutter of lashes, but the curve of her smile gave her away.

His rapidly stiffening cock led the way into the room and he nudged the door shut behind him as he snagged her by the waist and pulled her close. No sooner had the latch clicked than he had her pressed against the heavy wood, his hands in her hair and his lips on hers. She tasted even better than he remembered, like warm spices and melted sugar. “Tell me more,” he muttered, licking his way down her neck. She was always so buttoned up, seeing her like this in a robe and—Gods—
nothing
else, he discovered as his hand slipped between the silky garment…it was too tempting for words.
 

He’d spent almost two weeks subtly analyzing the curves under her uniform. He knew exactly where the gentle weight of her breast began, and with unerring precision slid his hand up her side, nearly undone at the softness of her skin. He stopped just shy of where they both wanted his hand.

“Please,” she panted, arching against him.
 

“We should talk,” he muttered unconvincingly.

“About what?”

He didn’t want to tell her. He almost didn’t. But he wanted this woman to be more than a hard fuck against the door. And if he lied to her now, that’s all she’d ever give him.

“My father knows of my affection for you. Our secret is no longer a secret.”

5

“What do you mean?” Ashleigh scrambled to close her robe between them. Confusion flooded over her and she knew she needed some distance from Reinn for whatever he was about to say next, even if both her body and heart protested the rude interruption to the light speed seduction that had been about to happen.
 

He gave her enough space between their bodies to cover up, but kept her bracketed against the door with his strong arms and one long, thick thigh. Her hip brushed the inside of his leg as she adjusted herself and she wanted to lean into him. Savor his strength and trust that he had this under control.

But she hardly knew him. And if other people knew they’d been flirting, it wasn’t within his control any longer. So flirting would be where they’d have to draw the line, even if that felt like a strangely large sacrifice.
Because you know him better than you think you do. On another level.
She shook away the strange thought.

“Where did you go just now in your head?” He glowered down at her and she fought back her first instinct to reach up and smooth the frown lines away with her fingertips, then touch his lips and hope that he’d nip at her skin. Instead, she offered a frown of her own and placed her palms flat on his chest.

“Move,” she said quietly, her gaze never wavering from his face.

“You’re worried.” He stated it like the fact that it was. With a quick nod, he shoved off the door and paced away.
 

“No.” She dragged out the word, buying herself a few seconds to sort out what it was that she was feeling. “Tell me what you mean. Who exactly knows what and what exactly is not a secret?”

“There is security footage of us from the welcome reception.” He ground out the words like he wanted them off his tongue and out of his mind. Too bad that wasn’t how life worked. She closed her eyes and did a mental replay of her first night on Midgard. A kiss, then a long embrace as they watched the performance. A show which surely would demonstrate that what they had done was boring, practically nothing.
Lies
, she chided herself. Not nothing at all.

But it could be rendered as such, officially. She locked the ache away. “A momentary lapse in judgement on my part, but hopefully when we don’t do anything else, the watchers will tire of paying us any attention and move on to a more exciting drama.”

“You can just wipe our connection away like that?” He glared at her, incredulous disbelief rolling off of him in waves.

“I’m disappointed,” she admitted after a beat. “This would have been fun.”

He spun around, glower still firmly in place. He raked a look down her body and back up again. “Fun?” His dark brows hooded his gaze, but the intensity didn’t take a hit at all.
 

She stood her ground, even as it felt unsteady. “Sure. I don’t usually do this type of thing, but you seem like a nice guy and—”

“A nice guy?” He stalked toward her, not stopping until they were pressed hip-to-hip and nose-to-nose. “I try to be kind. And from time to time, I suppose I’m fun. But what I feel for you is neither light nor frivolous, and I won’t be tossed aside so easily.”

Nothing cloaked the hot, hungry way he looked at her now. She dropped her gaze from his eyes to his mouth, but that didn’t make it easier. “Then you’ve gotten ahead of me. I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked ever so slightly on the apology and she pressed her lips together, afraid to say anything else.

“I didn’t tell you this so you could shut down, Ashleigh.” He said her name like he knew her soul and he was pissed that she didn’t. Well, screw him. It was her damn soul, and if she wanted to lock it down tight that was her prerogative.
 

“Too late. I’m not interested in drama. I lost my head a little, but this was a good wake-up call.”

With the slightest of growls, he dipped his head and nudged her hair with his nose, not disguising his deep inhale nearly as well. “Oh woman, what am I going to do with you?”