The Temperate Warrior (13 page)

Gustaf tapped Æsa on her shoulder and pressed his finger to his lips to indicate her absolute silence. With another quick gesture, he and his men rose from the fire and quietly took their stance, unsheathing their swords in the most delicate fashion.

Æsa’s heart sped up and beat wildly behind her ribs. The light of the fire made it impossible for her to see anyone that might emerge from the trees. She shook with fear, the icy chill of danger creeping under her already goose-pimpled skin.

A bird’s call erupted from the silence, followed by the sight of Jørgen and Snorri on horseback materializing from the darkness. An immeasurable sense of relief overcame her. The other six men, standing poised and rigid in a defensive posture, dropped their sword arms like lead weights were tied to their wrists.

Gustaf sheathed his weapon and eyed Jørgen as he rode up beside him.

“‘Tis done,” Jørgen uttered in a low voice, disclosing the number of men that lay dead in Skíringssalr with only one word. “Five.”

Gustaf sighed as he glanced over his shoulder at Æsa. He said nothing to reveal his joy, but she guessed he was more than elated.

She watched him praise his loyal duo with discreetness and helped them tend to their horses, while she was left to tend the mixed emotions plaguing her mind. She drew comfort in knowing Gustaf had been exonerated from his toils of keeping her safe, but she also knew a number of men had died to make it happen. Their deaths were more unsettling than she realized.

****

Gustaf finished looking after his men’s horses and joined them at the fire. He noticed Æsa had reclined upon the hide with his wolf-skin cloak draped atop her body, her hands sweetly tucked under her head. Since Jørgen and Snorri returned, he also noticed something had changed in her and she barely spoke. He assumed it had a lot to do with the news of the five fallen men. Women were often too tenderhearted to stomach such violence, and he knew his Æsa was no different.

He was at a loss how to comfort her and decided it was best to just hold her, without the hurdle of saying the wrong thing. Curling up behind her, he pulled her close and melted into place along her soft, curvy backside. His body instantly responded to the feel of her round bottom nestled against his groin, but he tried to ignore the upshot of his lower half.

Not now
…

Despite his efforts to will his erection away, he couldn’t help but recall how he’d taken her last night in this very position, with his men in relatively the same proximity. The pleasant thought nagged at him. The blasted memory of burying himself in her warm, wet flesh played havoc over his solid length. He couldn’t lie this way much longer without ravishing her in front of his men. As good as it sounded to satiate his lusty needs, he was not a barbarian.

Frustrated, he rolled over and tried to get some sleep. They had a long few days ahead of them. The amount of time they’d need to spend astride a horse would prove difficult for the seasoned rider, much less a woman who was not used to the aches and pains of the saddle. Enter in the treacherous terrain of Norway’s mountains, and he knew the going would be slow.

As he closed his eyes, he felt Æsa stir behind him. She covered him with the wolf-skin and snaked her arm around his chest. Her dainty puffs of breath tickled the nape of his neck and the soft globes of her breasts pressed against his back. Lying together beneath the cloak, she stroked his forearm.

“Sleep well, m’lord. At least, try.”

Her words made him smile. Obviously, she’d felt the magnitude of his struggles and wasn’t offended by its ill timing. He turned his head to look into her eyes. “I shall sleep better knowing you are no longer in danger. I know ‘tis difficult for you to think about what has happened this day, but know that I issued their deaths only to protect you. They were far from innocent men, Æsa. The ring they planted by the stream was a strong indication of how ruthless they could be. They wanted to strike fear into your heart with its powerful message and they succeeded. I would have been a fool to let them carry out the rest of their wicked plan, whatever that may have been.”

“I know,” she whispered.

He rolled onto his back and pulled her into the swathe of his arms. He cradled her head in the pocket of his shoulder and stroked her hair. “I will not let anyone hurt you. Ever. You are safe with me. Close your eyes and find sleep.”

It took awhile for her to relax in his arms, but gradually she started to sink into a deep slumber. “I love you, my temperate warrior.”

He could certainly get used to hearing that every night. With his worries behind him and his men so close to being united with their families, he had no trouble falling asleep beside her.

Chapter Fifteen

Morning came like a thief and robbed Æsa of her sweet dream. Her eyes fluttered open upon hearing muffled voices and neighing horses. The blaze that had kept her warm through the night was nothing but a smoldering fire beside her, the rancid smell of smoke and ash slipping up her nostrils.

As Gustaf had promised, he lay beside her, his heavy arm draped around her waist. He stirred as she did, but his eyes remained closed. She raised her head and saw that his men had deserted their beds and began moving about. There was a sense of excitement in their movements as each man made preparations to pack. Everyone seemed ready to mount up and journey onward, except Gustaf. He pulled her back down to his chest and snuggled closer, flipping the wolf-skin cloak over their heads.

Æsa giggled at the childlike behavior of her bold warrior and stroked his beard. “Hiding beneath your cloak will not trick your men into letting you sleep longer.”

“I am willing to try.”

“But they have been looking so forward to going home,” she empathized.

“As have I,” he concluded sleepily. His hands idly rubbed her arm until his palm accidentally brushed across her breast. Like a man who could barely control his urges, he lazily cupped her and smiled. “Can we not wait a little while?”

Someone kicked at Gustaf’s back, causing his eyes to flash open. “Nay, you may not! Now, on your feet before I jerk you out by your ankles.”

Æsa recognized Jørgen’s voice at the same time Gustaf peeled the covers back and glared. He didn’t proceed to argue with his friend, but he didn’t make haste to move from his sprawled position either.

She ran her hand down his chest and over the flat of his stomach. “Be not so grumpy,” she asserted mildly. “He has been deprived of the pleasures you have had.” Beneath the cloak, out of sight of his men’s attention, her hand coiled around him, causing his head to snap in her direction.

“Easy woman,” he warned. “That is early morning wood you have in your grasp. ’Tis a bit more responsive than the others.”

“Is that so?”

In an instant, Gustaf seized her wrist and rolled on top of her, his impressive erection pushing against her sex. “Seems a pity to waste it.”

At least she had some sense of nonchalance when it came to seduction. He might as well have had his way with her given the suggestive pose he managed to flaunt. Embarrassed that she and Gustaf had become a spectacle, she shoved at his chest but failed to budge him. She hid her smile behind pursed lips and gave up. “M’lord?”

He dipped his head to her neck and nudged the shell of her ear with the tip of his nose. His whisper came hot against her skin. “It pains me to release you, but I promise this will not be last time you feel my arousal at dawn. One morning,” he vowed, “when we are without eyes, I will have you.”

With great effort, Gustaf pushed himself off her and stood. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet, his stunning blue eyes daring her to challenge his promiscuous oath. She’d be a fool to contest him, for if there was one thing she knew about Gustaf, he was a man of his word. That alone excited and scared the heck out of her.

****

Gustaf limped from the woods, where he’d struggled to relieve himself under the duress of a hard-on, and began saddling his horse. He was glad his men didn’t slake their desire to ridicule him about his current condition, though he knew they were dying to. He figured their silence had a lot to do with a woman’s presence and a slim sense of courtesy. Either was fine with him. He could certainly go all day without having to hear their jokes.

As he hoisted the saddle upon his horse’s back, he noticed Æsa returning from her morning ablutions, the golden light of the morning sun sparkling in her hair. He watched her comb her fingers through the tangled locks and braid it over her shoulder as she walked. A song was on her lips, a cheery melody he barely heard over the busy work and chatter of his men behind him. When he listened close, he realized she had a beautiful voice, one that reminded him of his mother.

Pain of knowing he’d never hear his mother’s lovely voice again kept him from mentioning it to Æsa. Instead, he went back to fastening the girth and gathering his belongings.

“What can I do to help?” Æsa asked as she rounded the horse, her hand resting on its rump.

He pulled out a cloak made of dense brown bear fur from one of his bundles. The warm hide was not something he cared to see Æsa wear given it was Ragnar’s. He recalled swiping it from the bastard’s wall as a considerate gesture to hide her nakedness the first time they met. Little did he know he would fall in love with her and escort her through the frigid mountains of Norway. It was all he had at the moment and this was no time for vanity. “Put this on over the wool cloak Diðrik gave you. You are going to need it.”

Her pleasant mood plummeted upon laying eyes on the fur. Likely, she held the same distaste for wearing Ragnar’s personal garments.

“I swear you will have a new one soon…made of wolf like mine,” he said, wrapping it around her shoulders. “But for now, this will have to do.” He pulled her braid out from underneath the dark sable pelt and smoothed it with the fur. She looked beautiful in the cloak, he hated to admit, and he actually began flirting with the idea that perhaps a bear’s coat would better suit her ivory complexion than the dull gray of a wolf’s.

“What are you thinking, m’lord?”

His mind wondered to the creamy globes of her breasts as he imagined her sprawled across the soft fur of the animal, her fiery red locks fanning in a halo of silky cinnamon. He clutched the fur beneath her chin and drew her closer, dipping his head to suckle her neck. “I am thinking how good bear would taste right now.”

Æsa’s giggle delighted him, despite her efforts to push him away again. He liked when she played the unwilling woman, probably far too much. He imprisoned her in his embrace.

“Either you two mount up or we are going to ride ahead of you,” Jørgen scolded impatiently.

Gustaf retracted his face from the haven of his woman’s throat and threw his friend a look. “Let me not delay you, my liege. By all means, carry on,” he said sarcastically. “I shall be right behind you.”

Jørgen rolled his eyes and kicked his horse onward, the other six men hot on his heels. Gustaf’s horse tried to follow, but Gustaf grabbed the reins in time, the animal lunging once around them. The steed continued to protest over its separation from the herd, pawing at the ground and tossing its head.

“I never thought I would say this,” Gustaf prefaced as he soothed the anxious equine. “But I pity Jørgen’s wife when he returns. I imagine we will not see the poor woman for days.”

“Poor woman, you say?” Æsa gripped the mane and mounted the horse as Gustaf held firm to its bridle. “I doubt a woman would consider herself less fortunate to be confined to her husband’s carnal needs.”

“Oh, my dearest Æsa. You say that now, but you have yet to endure mine.”

“And what may I ask have you been doing this whole time then?”

He waited until she governed the horse before mounting behind her in one swift leap. As he secured his footing in the stirrups, he wrapped his arms around Æsa’s body and pulled her tight against his chest. “Holding back.”

Intolerantly, the horse danced and toyed with the bit in its mouth, eager to be turned loose. Æsa spun her head around and gawked at him over her shoulder. “Think me not woman enough to endure all of you?”

Gustaf tilted his head back and laughed. “I know what my answer should be, but I suspect ’twould be more fun to disagree with you.” Before she could counteract his statement, he stole control of the reins and kicked the horse’s flank, jolting her body back against his chest. If he were a betting man, he’d wager his right arm that she’d spend the rest of their journey plagued with thoughts of proving him wrong.

****

The subsequent days trickled by slowly, each one melting into the next. The only moments Æsa could vividly recall were the few occasions when a spectacular view of a fjord, dotted by the colorful native wildflowers amongst the lush green landscape emerged before them. As breathtaking as it was, the ridge of mountains in the background made her realize they still had far to go. Eventually, the toll of sitting in a saddle for hours weighed heavily on Æsa’s body. The muscles in her back and legs grew stiff, and her bottom felt bruised with the constant bounce of the horse’s gait.

Gustaf had warned her that it wouldn’t be easy and insisted they would stop to rest whenever she needed to. But she didn’t want to be the one who delayed his men from seeing their families. She knew if it weren’t for her, they would have traveled at a quicker pace.