Mastered by the Berserkers (Berserker Brides #8) - Lee Savino Page 0,17

arms. I tried to draw my legs in and roll away, but Fenrir squeezed me, gently but firm enough to hold me in place. At my feet, Jarl growled and gripped my feet. His strong hands massaged up my frozen calves.

“Please,” I wriggled to face Fenrir. His long hair streamed over me, a black curtain. He was most assuredly naked too. I dared not look down. “We shouldn’t lie like this, we can’t—”

“Shhhh.” He set a finger to my lips, then traced it over my brow. “There’s a storm out there. We hunted last night, and there’s plenty of wood. No reason to leave.”

“I shouldn’t be here.” It was hard to argue when Jarl’s fingers stroked magic up my legs. My thin shift was no barrier to either of them.

“Mmm,” Fenrir didn’t seem to hear. He was too intent on smoothing the line of my jaw, brushing back my hair.

I was drowning. Already my eyes were heavy, my body warm and sinking into the pleasurable, dreamlike sensations.

From faraway, I heard myself murmur, “I can’t do this. I can’t be what you want.”

“You do not know what we want,” Fenrir murmured. His thumb teased my lips. When I opened my mouth to speak, he slid a long finger inside, and then another. His two fingers invaded my mouth while I sucked, my eyes wide.

“Shhhh,” he soothed. His two fingers stroked my tongue, and I felt the echo of their touch between my legs.

Meanwhile, warm breath curled over my ankle. Jarl gripped my feet, nibbling gently up my leg. My core contracted in anticipation and I closed my eyes. What was happening? Who was I?

A cold gust blew straight into the lodge, strong enough to send the deer swaying. Both warriors rose, cursing. Jarl went to secure the meat, and Fenrir followed, muttering something about needing a door and a fire.

And I lost all my sense.

Grabbing the nearest pelt, I scrambled off the bed, threw it around my shoulders, and dashed to the back of the lodge and out the door.

The cold hit me like a stone wall. I cried out and staggered, hissing as the cold sliced my skin. The frozen ground was like knives on my bare feet.

I’d gone no further than the edge of the clearing before shouts followed me.

“Juliet! Juliet!”

I crashed into the brush, mindless. I had no more wits than a frightened pheasant, flying up before the hunter. I half ran, half fell down the rise.

A white shape flew into my path and landed in front of me. I scrambled back from the white wolf blocking my path.

Then a strong arm clamped around my chest. “Got you,” Jarl snarled. I struggled, but his arm tightened like an iron band. Then he tossed me up into his arms and ran back up the mountain.

Back in the lodge, the warmth smacked me in the face. Jarl plopped me on the bed again, but remained, gripping my shoulders.

“You little fool,” he shook me. My teeth were already chattering, but my heart leaped in fear. “What were you thinking? Running out into a storm? With no boots?”

The white wolf slipped inside and barked.

“She needs to think,” Jarl snapped at the wolf before turning back to me. “Is your god so cruel he would have you to die before you submit to us?”

I was sobbing, my chest tight with strain. This morning, last night, the past few months all weighed on my understanding.

The wolf growled, its white fur standing on end. It stalked forward on stiff front legs, its teeth bared at the warrior.

“You talk to her, then,” Jarl raged. And he stomped out of the lodge.

I crumpled on the bed, curling into a ball. My feet ached. My nose stung as if the tip had nearly frozen off. And my heart was a pile of ash. I felt like the statue in my dream, cracked from head to toe. One blow and I would shatter.

A huge shadow sailed over me, landing on the bed. The white wolf used its bulk to shift the pelts over me, then lay down. Its fur was chilled from the air, but I sank my hands in it anyway.

“I never asked for this,” I warbled. I sounded pitiful, crying like a child. But I was lost. I felt small and fragile as a leaf, fallen from the tree into a great river, instantly swept away. I was drowning and my feet would never again touch the ground.

The wolf turned its great head toward me. After a