Mated To The Vikens (Interstellar Brides Book 8)(22)

Rolf, with his golden hair and easy grin, leaned against the doorframe, wearing tight pants and leather of a dark green with furs lining his cloak to match. His chest was bare, draped only with the leather of his sword’s scabbard where it hung over his back. Every muscle of his lean frame so well defined I could trace them with my tongue. His pants hung low on his hips and his abdomen looked like a washboard, the outline of the erection just below that made me gasp and I tore my gaze away.

Beside him stood Erik, his long brown hair let loose to hang around his shoulders like a rock star god. He wore a similar outfit, but a dark, chocolate brown. He, too, was bare chested and magnificent. Thicker than Rolf, his chest and shoulders were broad and muscled, massive. All too quickly did I remember the feel of being pressed to him in the forest when he’d held me. I could still smell his skin where I’d pressed my nose to his neck and breathed him in.

Shaking now, I turned to Gunnar, who stood with his head tilted and his arms crossed. He wore black. Of course, he was in fucking black. The dark color matched his hair and dark eyes, but unlike the others, he wore no cloak. His chest and shoulders were bare. Thick leather straps circled his wrists and arms, straps that appeared to have no purpose, but somehow made him even more virile.

Rolf stepped forward first, holding out his hand. “Are you ready, love?”

I shook my head and tried to step back, but I had nowhere to go. “Not exactly. You three are a bit intimidating all at once. I'm just an art dealer from New York City. Viken is a little… overwhelming. Like you.”

Gunnar nodded. “Of course, we are. That is our job, to be intimidating. To everyone but you.” He pointed at Erik. “You, inside. Rolf, let us know when she’s ready.”

Gunnar and Erik disappeared back into my room and I breathed a sigh of relief, until Rolf stepped forward and put his arms on either side of me, trapping me in place.

He leaned down until he was eye level with me, and I could do nothing but stare into his pale gaze. Where Gunnar would most likely pin me down with rope or restraints, Rolf didn’t need that. He just needed to look at me and I was enthralled.

“I want to kiss you, Sophia. I’ve been burning with envy at Gunnar’s kiss for hours.”

That made me laugh, made my nerves calm. Somehow, just a few words from him had me at ease. Had me feeling beautiful and desired. I licked my lips in anticipation as he lowered his to mine.

The kiss was nothing like Gunnar’s instant domination. This kiss coaxed and explored. Where Gunnar was aggressive, hard, Rolf was gentle and reverent. I melted. My nerves shoved away as I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him back. He stepped forward, closed the small space between us and pressed me into the railing. There was no escaping him, not that I wanted to. Rolf’s attentions were meant to soothe me, to ease me into the claiming. He was foreplay for what was to come.

The connection with Rolf did set me at ease, erased all my fears, all my worries. I had no idea what to do with three men, but they seemed to know what to do with me. I belonged to them and could easily be overwhelmed physically by all of them, but they’d known I needed space, needed coaxing. And with just the one kiss, I’d received it.

But so quickly, knowing Gunnar and Erik watched made me eager to tease them. I felt powerful and very feminine. And so when Rolf pulled back, I nodded.

I was ready.

Rolf lifted a black length of silk. “This is for your eyes, love.”

I fought for air, so turned on by the idea of having that thick fabric over my eyes, my hands shook. “Why?”

He leaned down and nuzzled my neck first, then my ear. I angled my head to give him better access. “Because Gunnar said so.”

I bit my lip, fighting the empty pulse of my core at his stark words.

Because Gunnar said so.

“Do you always do what Gunnar says?” I whispered, eyeing the blindfold.

He chuckled, his lips tracing up the line of my jaw. “No. But when it comes to you, mate, Erik and I are content to give Gunnar what he wants.”

“And what does he want?”

Gunnar stepped out onto the balcony.

“You screaming in pleasure,” he said. His voice was dark, his bearing dominant, but the look in his eyes was tender. Hot.

I gulped at the intensity.

“Do you want us, Sophia?”

I nodded immediately. I ached for more than just one kiss. And after the hell I’d been through the last few hours, hell, the last few months, I was more than ready to forget everything but pleasure. Even more, I needed to feel connection to another person, to be anchored. I felt like a piece of driftwood in the sea for so long now, since my mother’s death. I had no immediate family, no business, no one to love.