Chapter Seven

     The Viking camp was like nothing Candy had ever seen.  The
closest thing she could think of was the pictures she'd seen of Woodstock,
the hippie music-fest of the seventies.  But Woodstock had been peaceful. 
Everything about this camp spoke of war.  The rays of the setting sun shone
off hundreds of weapons.  There were tents of every color and texture
scattered about the field where the Vikings had chosen to make their camp.
For as far as the eye could see, men prepared for war, sharpening their
weapons, polishing their armor, testing the laces and buckles on their gear. 
The warriors from Dolph's ship joined with others who had arrived earlier,
and began transforming before her eyes into a formidable war machine.
     Candy's curiosity would have taken her exploring the camp,
examining all the different weapons and other equipment of war, had Dolph
not had other ideas.  After issuing several quick orders to one of his men,
he took a firm hold on her arm and steered her toward a black tent with red
markings above the door.  He leaned down and stepped inside, pulling
Candy in behind him.  She didn't need to lean over to clear the doorway.
     Once inside, Candy had a scant minute to take in the furnishings
before she was pulled tightly against a steel-encased rock-hard body.  In that
minute, she saw that it was quite a large tent.  In the center lay something
that resembled the black velvet pillow in Silky's cage, only this one was on
steroids.  It must have been seven feet square.  Against one wall of the tent
sat a large black box of unknown purpose.  It was probably some sort of
storage chest.  Candy wasn't sure, and Dolph didn't seem to be in a talking
mood.
     After lowering the tent flap to protect their privacy, and tossing his
helmet and sword to the ground near the door, Dolph wrapped his arms
around her back and, lowering his golden-maned head, brought his lips
down on hers in a kiss that clearly spoke of his plans for the near future.
     Candy's head was still spinning from seeing all those men and
weapons.  She wished that he would just slow down a little and let her get
her bearings.  Silky came to her rescue.
     Hearing a disgruntled growl, Dolph straightened and smiled, though
his eyes remained passion-fired.  He took the mesh cage from Candy's
hand, brushing her palm with his fingers as he gripped the leather handle,
sending a jolt of pure electricity up her arm and down her back.  He set
Silky's traveling home atop the black box.  This put Dolph far enough away
from Candy for her to feel like she could breathe.  His closeness seemed to
take her breath away.
     "What is that thing?"
     Dolph opened the tiny cage to let Silky stretch his legs.  The little cat
immediately jumped from his small velvet pillow and began exploring the
top of the box.  He walked to the edge and considered jumping to the
ground.  At Dolph's low warning, "Silky!", he arched his back and
cat-stretched, walking away as though jumping had been the furthest thing
from his mind.  Dolph turned to Candy.
     "This is my war-chest.  It contains my shield, extra weapons &
clothes, should I need them, and Silky's battle rations.  You open it by..."
     He had turned back to the chest to demonstrate.  Instead, he looked
sideways at Candy, then faced her, looking stern.
     "Can I trust you to know better than to try to raise a weapon against
me?  You would only get hurt and damage my trust in you."
     Candy hadn't even considered that she could take a weapon from
the chest.  What would she do with it anyway, try to kill him?  The vision of
Dolph lying on the ground bleeding flashed in her mind, sending a stinging
pain through her stomach.  No, she didn't want his death.  She still wasn't
certain what exactly she did want from him--except to take her home, of
course--but she knew that she didn't want to cause him any pain.
     "I don't want to hurt you, Dolph."
     She didn't realize how gently her words had come forth until she
saw his eyes soften, the wary hardness replaced by a deep warmth.  His lips
slowly spread into a smile that lit his face like the sun.  His voice was husky
with some as yet unidentified, at least in Candy's mind, emotion.
     "Then come to me, my lady, and I will show you how to gain
entrance."
     He lifted his hand, palm up, toward her, beckoning her to his side. 
Candy realized how natural it was to take his hand.  It was scary.
     Feeling her small hand slip into his, Dolph glanced sideways at Star
and said in a playful tone, "Perhaps you would do the same for me?"  It
took her a minute to catch the meaning of his lewd remark.  When she did,
she muttered, "In your dreams, Viking!"  Dolph smiled and whispered,
"Aye, lady, I am certain it would be a dream come true."
     The tent was becoming uncomfortably hot to Candy.  She grimaced
at him.
     "Are you going to show me or not?"
     Her words were much softer than she had intended.  Dolph placed
her hand on the top of the chest at the middle.  She could feel the slightest
dip in the smooth surface.  He looked into her eyes as he spoke, his breath
fanning her cheeks.
     "Feel the catch?  When you press it, the top will open."
     His eyes turned mischievous.  Moving quietly, he slipped Silky's
mesh box to the floor.  The cat didn't notice, since he was looking off the
back of the chest, considering jumping again.  Dolph grinned and pushed
on Star's finger.  She gasped as the top of the chest sprang open.  She was
sure the whole camp heard the yowl of fright as Silky was dumped to the
floor.
     Dolph tossed back his head and roared with laughter.  Candy
smacked him on the shoulder.
     "Oh, you mean man!"
     She was starting to smile as she hurried to the back of the box to
make sure that Silky was all right.  When she suddenly appeared at the side
of the treacherous chest, Silky jumped into the air and turned to face her,
landing on his toes, back hunched, tail fluffy.  He hissed at her before he
realized who she was.  Trying desperately not to laugh, Candy murmured,
"You poor thing, come here," and reached for him.  He shook himself as
though he had been defiled, then turned away from her and walked around
the box and into his cage with the dignity of an English aristocrat.
     Dolph's laughter increased with the little feline's display of pride,
forcing a giggle from Candy that grew to a full-fledged laugh. Through her
laughter, she chastised the Viking.
     "You are so mean to him!  You aught to be ashamed of yourself,
picking on a helpless little kitten!"
     Still laughing, Dolph pulled her off of her feet and into his embrace,
twirling her around and around.  His happiness was so real, so innocent.  It
filled the air like the smell of fresh-baked bread.  In his arms, Candy's heart
seemed to take flight along with her body, making her feel younger and
more free than she had since she was a child.
     If asked when she fell in love with her magnificent Viking, Candy
would site that moment as the time her heart opened and let him in.
     Dolph's foot hit the corner of the pillow, tripping him and sending
them both crashing to the velvet surface.  He turned their bodies in midair
so that she landed on top of him, then immediately rolled her beneath him. 
His hand was beneath her head, cupping it firmly.  His other arm held her
waist against his own.  They were both smiling as their eyes met and locked. 
Laughter turned to passion as naturally as caterpillar to butterfly.
     Gazing down into her beautiful blue eyes, Dolph brought his hands
to her face.  He marveled at the smooth softness of her skin.  His hands
completely engulfed the sides of her face, emphasizing how small she was
compared to him.  He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe forever.  And
to love her until the sun tired of climbing the sky.
     Her eyes held by Dolph's, Candy felt as though she had fallen into a
deep green pool.  It was warm and safe there, and she never wanted to
leave.  His large hands caressed her face, holding her still so that his lips
could find hers.  This time, she parted her lips instantly, wanting him inside
her, claiming her completely.  He thrust his tongue into her warm mouth,
boldly exploring the tender flesh there.  He withdrew, bringing a whimper
from Candy, only to thrust again.  Responding to a rhythm and desire as old
as time, Candy arched her hips as he withdrew his tongue from her mouth
once again.
     Dolph growled deep in his throat, sending a shiver running down
Candy's spine.  She couldn't believe all that she was feeling.  Had she been
asleep all of her life?  With the other men in her life, sex had been a
pleasant enough experience.  But even with Brett, whom she had thought
she loved, she had never felt such total abandon threatening to overcome
her.  At this moment, she thought--no, she knew--that if this powerful man
took her, thrust his wonderful body into hers as he was thrusting his tongue
into her mouth, she would explode in an ecstasy the likes of which few had
ever known.
     In a moment of blinding clarity, Candy knew that she would never
want another man.  She was losing something to this Viking, something that
was of no use to her.  And gaining something so precious that she
wondered if she were worthy to possess it.
     Whatever complications the future might hold, Candy didn't care. 
She wanted the paradise that Dolph was offering her with his kisses.  She
wanted to touch him, to feel his hot skin beneath her hands.  His armor was
a definite problem.  As she laid her hands against cold metal, a small moan
of frustration escaped her.  Dolph raised his upper body to look into her
eyes.  He sounded out of breath and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his
forehead.
     "I want to love you, Star.  I want to feel your sweet skin touching
my own, to pierce you with my shaft and feel your spasms of ecstasy.  I
took you in uncontrolled anger before, which I sorely regret.  I would know
that you want this.  That you wish to open your heart and body to me for
eternity.  Say it, Star, tell me that you are mine!"
     Candy looked into his eyes, shining now with a combination of fire
and yearning.  Although everything was happening at breakneck speed, she
felt in her heart that this was it, this was the one she had been waiting for
her entire life.  She had always been afraid that love meant giving up your
independence.  Now she realized that it meant something much more
important than that.  It meant giving your heart.  And you had absolutely
nothing to say about it, because it went where it pleased, when it pleased,
no matter how much logic was against it.  Love didn't care about logic.  It
only cared about hearts.  And hers and Dolph's were bound together as
surely as the sun rises.
     Giving him a crooked smile, Candy tried to keep the quiver out of
her voice.
     "This is all crazy, you know.  I feel like I've stepped into the
Twilight Zone."
     Dolph tipped his head in curiosity.  Candy reached up and gently
touched his cheek.
     "Never mind, it was a TV show.  It doesn't make any sense, but I
think I love you.  Or at least I feel something for you that I've never felt
before."
     Candy sighed, frustrated with her inability to understand her own
feelings, let alone speak them.
     "Yes, Dolph, I want you.  You drive me crazy, the way you talk
dirty, the way you touch me.  I think I could have an orgasm just kissing
you.  But I'm so confused."
     Dolph leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, her forehead, her
eyelids, and her confusion began to fade like dew in the morning sun.  He
was her man.  They might be worlds apart, almost literally, but they could
overcome the obstacles before them if they truly loved each other.  Candy
was certain of it.
     "Why do you call talk of lovemaking 'dirty'?"
     Candy shrugged.
     "I don't know.  I guess that's just how people..," She just couldn't
bring herself to say 'from my planet',  "where I come from think of it.  It's
something to be done behind closed doors, you know?"
     Dolph shook his head, the ends of his long hair tickling her neck. 
He wore a curious expression, half disbelief, half sorrow.
     "You have some of the strangest customs.  I'm glad that my
ancestors were wise enough to leave when they did.  The joining of a man
and a woman is nothing to be ashamed of, to hide away as though you were
committing some crime.  The sounds of love tell all who hear them of your
love for each other.  Of your great pleasure in each other's bodies.  You
think of this as dirty?"
     Suddenly it didn't make sense to Candy either.
     "Okay, so we've got a lot of hang-ups about sex.  I get the idea that
isn't a problem around here."
     She shifted beneath him, rubbing her leg against his upper thigh. 
Dolph groaned and closed his eyes, savoring the nearly painful sensations
her touch evoked.  Her voice was a sensual purr.
     "Do you want to talk about it, or do it?"
     Dolph pushed his body up and off the field-bed.  He ran his eyes
over her lovely body, tightly outlined by the black jumpsuit that he had
known would look so good on her.  He quickly unbuckled his armor and let
it drop to the floor.  Standing with the perfect balance of a warrior, he lifted
his foot and pulled off one boot, then the other.  With a jerk on the laces at
his side, his loincloth joined the rest of his clothes on the floor.
     Standing proudly naked before her, Dolph offered his hand to help
his lady to her feet.  Face to chest with the tall warrior, Candy let her eyes
drop to his feet, then slowly caressed each part of his body with her gaze. 
From his feet to his neck, lust-tensed muscles pulsed with energy.  The fine
golden hair on his chest glistened with the sweat she knew she had caused. 
And lower, his rigid erection reached out to her for release.
     Enjoying the near-pain of waiting, and reveling in Star's attention to
his body, Dolph dropped her hand and inhaled deeply, throwing back his
shoulders, expanding his chest and further tensing his arm and neck
muscles.  Candy felt a strange fluttering in her stomach, something she had
never before felt without at least being in physical contact with a man. 
Lord, this Viking was dangerous, making her this hot just by breathing!
      Dolph brought his hand forward, slipping his finger into the closure
of the jumpsuit and slowly sliding it downward.  His body ached with need
as he let the back of his finger brush Star's soft flesh, revealing more and
more of it to his eyes.  He felt her shiver when his finger came into contact
with the semi-coarse hair on her lower abdomen.  Testing his control to its
limit, he continued until the hair became thicker and began to part.  He
knew that the suit could be opened all the way to the back of the collar, but
he had gone as far as he could without losing his mind.  Looking into her
soft blue eyes, he raised his hands to her shoulders and gently pushed the
material from her upper body to her hips.  Dropping to one knee, he placed
her hand on his shoulder for balance, and lifted each foot in turn to remove
her boots.
     The feel of his steel-hard flesh beneath her palm made Candy's
breath catch in her throat.  She brought her other hand to his back and,
leaning over him, slowly ran both palms down to his waist, loving the feel
of rippling muscle beneath her flesh.  Dolph groaned and stood, raising her
on his shoulder; then, gripping her bottom in his strong hands as she arched
her back, he let her slide down his body.  He ran his lips and tongue over
her stomach, nipping, licking, driving her crazy.  He lifted his leg until his
knee brushed the silver hair between her legs, put his foot on her jumpsuit
and stepped down, pulling it from her.  Looking into her eyes, his own
flashing dark green fire, Dolph spoke in a voice filled with passion and
desire.
     "Wrap your legs around me, Star.  Consume me in your fire.  Let us
burn together!"
     Twining her fingers in his glorious silky hair, Candy did as he asked,
leaning down to kiss him.  Even though it would seem she had the upper
hand, it was he that took her lips, he that controlled the kiss, teasing her lips,
laving her teeth and tongue with his own.  Before she was even aware of
what was happening, he had pulled her body tightly against his rigid flesh,
sliding easily into her excited body.
     Lifting her body with his strong arms, muscles bulging with each
stroke, Dolph made love to Candy slowly, exquisitely.  Each thrust seemed
to take a lifetime.  He would allow his body to almost leave hers, then
slowly lower her to fill her completely.  He kissed her everywhere he could
reach, her lips, breasts, the valley between.  As she ran her hands over his
face, neck, back, tangling her fingers in his hair, then combing them
through, he held her, loved her, possessed her.  His tongue trailed a path
from her right ear to her left breast that continued to burn with his touch
even after he had gone on to torture another part of her helpless body.
     And she was indeed helpless.  Helpless to stop him, helpless to
escape the volcano building inside of her, even had that been her wish. 
Candy had never felt anything like it.  As much as she wanted to fight it, the
realization that this man was different than any she had ever known forced
itself into her consciousness.  He was making her feel more than she had
ever felt before, physically and emotionally.  Maybe one sparked the other,
she didn't know.  Maybe when you started to feel something in your heart
for a lover, you naturally felt more in your body.  Whatever the cause,
Candy was rising so high, it was almost frightening.  And just when she
thought she couldn't get any higher, he started to talk in that baritone purr,
and she was lost.
     "My beautiful Star, I burn within you as though I were ablaze.  I
feel you squeeze me in your passion and it is as though I have been touched
by the gods themselves.  Give yourself to me completely, Star.  Give me
your heart and I will set your soul afire.  Yes, Star, oh, yes, my lady, lose
yourself in me and you will be found."
     In that second between fearing she was going to die, and exploding
in ecstasy, Candy looked into his eyes and saw the universe waiting for her
there.  She whispered his name, then something inside her body snapped,
and coherent thought escaped her.  She dropped her head back and
screamed his name.  Her muscles clenched so tightly about his body that
she was certain she would break his ribs.  Great shudders racked her body
as she cried out again and again, releasing all the pain and loneliness of her
life, replacing it with the security and warmth of Dolph's powerful arms. 
Spent, she fell limply against his shoulder.
     Upon hearing Star's whispered plea for release, his name falling like
honey from his lady's lips, Dolph knew that she was his.  In bliss and
triumph, he let his control disintegrate, his thrusts gaining in speed as Star's
muscles spasmed and caressed him with her release.  He was growling, then
yelling, the berserker of legend claiming his mate, declaring to the world
that she was his and his alone.  Letting his great body have its way, he
dropped his head back and roared, surprised by the sheer force of his
climax.  Star was still in the midst of her pleasure when Dolph thrust deeply
into her body and filled her with his hot seed.
     Dolph's legs were betraying him, the muscles shaking and
threatening to give way.  Star had gone limp, her legs hanging loose, her
arms limp at her sides.  Holding her close to his body, Dolph sank to the
velvet pillow, pulling her atop him.  Her hair of silver satin spread around
him, brushing his shoulders, sides, even his back.  He was wrapped in it,
like a silken cocoon.  Feeling his chest swell with pride, he thought how the
beautiful butterfly within was his.
     Dolph looked down at the porcelain cheek pressed against his chest. 
She was barely conscious.  He chuckled - the deep, soft sound causing her
to snuggle against him.  She placed one small hand beside her cheek, her
palm resting on his chest, and sighed with pleasure.  He wasn't much more
awake than she.  Still, he wanted to tell her his feelings now, before the
morning light forced his mind to thoughts of battle.
     Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her face upward.
     "Star?"
     Her eyelids fluttered, then a tiny bit of blue peeked from beneath
them.
     "Umm?"
     Even though she was nearly asleep, Dolph knew that Star, being a
woman, would remember his words.
     "Star, you are my love.  I pledge you my heart and my body, now
and forever.  Should I someday fall in battle, as all Vikings desire, it is your
face that I will see as I leave this life, your name that will touch my lips with
my final breath.  I will love you, my Star, till death claims me, and beyond."
     Dolph kissed her on the forehead, the only part of her he could
reach without disturbing her.  She smiled and snuggled.  Her voice was that
of a sleepy child.
     "I love you, too, Dolph."
     Smiling, Dolph placed one hand on the side of her face, the other
around her waist.  Thus protecting her from any enemy, he allowed himself
to fall into a light slumber.