The Hermit Herbalist

Chapter 20 - Heat Of the Moment

The village was prepared for the raiders, but a week after the marauders had delivered their message, there was still no movement.  The forward scouts had sent word back that there was no movement at all in the surrounding hills.  The perimeter guards were still kept, but Ogen had allowed the rest of the village to enjoy a meal together after all their preparations had been made.  There was no music to accompany it, and there were somber undertones, but there was still some children's laughter and pleasant conversation.  Clint watched as Loki sat with Gyda and a few other women, keeping the children in line and eating their own food.  He took a sip from his tankard and sighed.  Loki had been acting antsy for a little while now and he was starting to get worried.  Her hands were cold, and she was always careful to not touch anybody.  Is her heat coming on? Clint wondered.

"What's eating you, lad?  You're awful quiet?" Lanh queried as he slapped Clint's shoulder.

"Right now, I think I'm eating the food," Clint responded and Lanh just gave him a look.  Clint sighed and tilted his head on Loki's direction.  "She's being very distant and irritable.  I've got no clue what the problem is and she won't talk to me," he finally answered.  

"Dealing with women like that is like dealing with an unpredictable doe.  You don't know if she's going to run away, or stare at you with her big eyes," Lanh said back.  Clint tilted his head and his brow furrowed.

"That doesn't make any sense in this situation," Clint countered dryly.  Lanh jabbed him in the side and that coaxed a smile from Clint.  

"Excuse me," they heard a voice say, and he looked up to see Loki darting towards the inn, where they were currently being housed.  Her hands were tucked under her apron and she was almost running at full tilt.  Clint quickly dropped everything and followed her.  Gyda made a move to go as well, but Ogen stopped her.

"Let them be.  It's between husband and wife," he whispered to her.

Meanwhile, at the inn...

Clint had run up the stairs after his wife, calling her name.

"Loki!  What's wrong?  You're scaring me," he said as he arrived at the door to their room, the same one where they had first consummated their marriage.  

"Clint?" came Loki's voice through the door.  Clint opened it and froze where he stood.

"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed quietly.  Loki was standing beside their bed, her clothes half off, and her skin a deep blue.  Her red eyes watched him closely and waited for his response.  He closed the door and slowly approached her.  "Is this your heat?" he queried and she nodded.

"I've felt it coming for days.  Clint!  I'm afraid!" Loki admitted, throwing herself at him and clinging to his sleeves.  Clint could feel the chill coming off her and he slowly slid her shift off her shoulders.  He beheld her in the flesh and his breath was stolen from his body.  Loki looked back up at him, some tentative fear in her eyes.  

"You don't need to be afraid, Loki.  I'll take care of you.  And once your heat passes, we'll have a baby," Clint whispered.  He pulled her close, kissing her deeply.  Her mouth was still deceptively warm and he massaged her tongue with his own.  Clint picked her up and deposited her on the bed.  Loki splayed herself out while Clint made short work of his clothes.  He noticed that certain parts of her skin were flushed purple: her cheeks, neck, and her womanhood.  Clint began to kiss and lick his way up her, marveling at the cool feel of her skin against his own.  He felt up the ridges and tribal marks and lines on her body.  They made her more responsive and sensitive to his ministrations.  Loki's entire body arched off the bed when Clint suckled her womanhood at the same time he fondled her breast.

"Ah!  Clint!  Just take me!  I've never been more ready in my life!" she growled.  

"Impatient much?" he posed before Loki suddenly changed their positions and gripped his throat in her hand.  

"I'm hungry, Clint.  I crave something beyond food.  And you will give it to me!" she hissed before she took him inside her.  They both gasped and Loki began to rock.  Clint's hands ran up her thighs and gripped her hips, urging her on.  Loki began to moan and her hands roamed over his chest and arms, her stomach muscles twitching as she moved.  She threw her head back and Clint got a good look at the markings going up her neck and curling under her chin.  He lurched forward, knocking her onto her back and pounding into her.  Loki started to bite on her knuckles, but that was when Clint claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss.  

"How many... times... do we... have to... make love?" Clint asked as he turned her head and licked the lines up her neck.

"As many... times... as it... takes," was Loki's panted response.  

"Sounds like... a plan... ah!" Clint cried out as Loki sank her teeth into his shoulder.  "You've got to stop doing that!"

"It's part of bonding during a heat," Loki countered before she bit her lip and trembled at a particularly hard thrust.  

"I think... we're bonding... plenty good... without it," Clint fired back.  Loki glared at him, her red eyes sparkling before she cried out as she came.  Clint followed her a few seconds later, and they lay there trying to catch their breath.  "You're still blue," Clint finally commented and Loki chuckled.

"If you thought you were going to do it in one go, you're insane," Loki whispered as she took his earlobe in her teeth.

"Easy!  Don't feel like losing my ears," Clint said as he pulled away.  "And you've already got your taste of blood for the evening, Count Dracula."

"And you're not getting out of tonight unscathed.  I will bite you and mark you as is in my nature," Loki answered as she took his hand and brought it to her mouth.  She kissed the top of his hand and the palm.  Then, she put his fingers in her mouth and nipped them.  Clint almost pulled the appendage away, but Loki ran her ridged tongue along his palm and he exhaled.

"My God!  You're trying to ruin me, aren't you?" he queried as she pulled him down again.  

"Trying?  I think I already have," came the retort, and then white, pointed teeth flashed behind blue lips.  

The early morning sun rays came flashing in through the window, and that was what woke Clint the next day.  He rolled over and groaned.  He was covered in bites and cuts; Loki had kept her word about marking him.  That was when his still muddled eyes looked over to where she was sleeping.  His vision was blurry and his brain did not compute the fact that Loki was back to being pale.  

He did compute the fiery arrow that came through an opening in the shutters.  "Shit!" Clint yelled as he leapt to his feet, grabbed the arrow, and doused it in a bucket of water.  He snagged his clothes and was out the door as Loki sprang out of bed.  She collected her own dress but stopped as she looked down at her hands.  

"Oh, Norns!" she whispered, before her fingers traced over her belly.  She was with child!