Free Claimed by Her Viking Wolf by Doris O'Connor Page B

brushed hers. Even through the combined layers of their clothing, his
heat and scent branded her, called her to taste, to just give into the
overwhelming chemistry between them.
    ****
    Asger filled his lungs
with the scent of his mate. The action calmed his agitated wolf. If he’d had
any doubt at all that this kona was his mate
the almost physical ache in his guts when he was forced to be apart from her
for any length of time confirmed it. The slight touch of their thighs helped,
but it wasn’t enough, not by a long shot. He needed to claim her, to make her
his, but he couldn’t do that here and now. Not after he’d given his word.
    The soft touch of her fingers on his made him
uncurl the fists he hadn’t been aware of clenching. Asger looked at her.
    “ Why
didn’t you tell me?” she asked, making him sigh. “Tell me, please.”
    She tightened her hold on his fingers, and he
squeezed back.
    “ I’d
have thought you want to go back as quickly as you could, and to hell with what
you’d have to do to get there.” Heat rose in her cheeks when she said that. Kim
didn’t seem to be able to look at him. A rush of affection and protectiveness
swamped him. Letting go of her hand he framed her face in his palms and tilted
her head until she had no choice but to look at him.
    “ Contrary
to popular belief, where I’m from it is not customary to force oneself on
unwilling women.” He smiled at her sharp intake of breath, as he sensed the
inner struggle in her. She bit her lips, and her heart rate kicked up as she
mumbled the next words.
    “ I
don’t think I would have been unwilling.” The softly spoken words were music to
his ears and soothed the leftover ache in his guts.
    “ Maybe
not, but there is more at stake here than sinking my cock into a willing cunt.”
    Kimberly frowned and pulled away from him. While
every fiber in his body screamed at him to keep hold of her, he let her go.
    “ There
is no need to be so crude.” Kim hugged her arms around herself in a move he
recognized well by now.
    “ I
didn’t mean any offence, minn kona . My point is I want more from you than mere sex.”
    When her expressive eyes sought his, he smiled and
nodded.
    “ You’re
my mate, but I’m also aware that you have a life here. A family who loves you.
I couldn’t take you away from all of that. Not without your full consent. I
sensed you weren’t really that close to your sister, but…” He paused and smiled
at her when she glanced at him. The fact that she didn’t contradict him spoke
volumes. Hope flared in his chest and made breathing difficult.
    “ Lisa
and I are complicated. We want different things from life. Always have done. I
do love her. She’s my sister, but I don’t like her very much. I guess, I
wouldn’t miss her overly much if I didn’t see her again. I very rarely see her
now, to be honest. That makes me sound careless, right? Especially having heard
how you talked about your sister. You must be desperate to get back to her.”
    Kim glanced his way. When he patted the seat next
to him, she sat back down again.
    “ Yes,
of course I miss her, and I worry.” He paused to swallow down that very real
lump of fear that always lodged itself in the back of his throat when he
thought of Guta . “She was very heavy with child when
I was pulled into your time, and the birth of our young is always a dangerous
time for a female.” He smiled grimly at her sharp intake of breath, glancing
her way.
    She was still too stiff and worried for his liking,
as though she would run for the hills if he touched her. So he crossed his arms
over his chest and forced himself to wait for her to process what he’d just
said. His wolf whined at the worry he sensed in his mate. Worry not directed at
him, but at a woman she’d never met. A testament to her kind and caring nature.
As his mate she would need to embrace all aspects of his life, his clan,
village, and family. That tendril of hope that had started to blossom