Viking Warrior (11 page)

Reaching out, Wulf removed her cloak and released the fastenings at her shoulders. Her tunic dropped to her waist. She removed her belt, tossed it aside, pushed her tunic down and stepped out of it. Then he released her undertunic. It slid down her body into a puddle at her feet. Wulf stood back and stared at her, his eyes kindling with desire.

Wanting Wulf as naked as she was, Reyna pushed his vest over his shoulders. He shrugged out of it as she undid the strings of his tunic. He pulled it off in one smooth motion, revealing a massive chest rippling with muscles. Reyna nearly lost the ability to speak. Wulf was magnificent, everything a warrior should be and more. She gasped aloud when he removed his boots and shrugged out of his hide breeches. He was fully aroused, his staff rigid, the tip purplish blue and weeping.

Instead of reaching for her, Wulf turned toward the water barrel, removed a bucketful of water and threw it onto the hot rocks. Steam rose up in thick clouds; humid air swirled around them. Wulf grasped Reyna’s hand and led her to a bench. He sat down, pulling her onto his lap.

“What has changed?” Wulf murmured into her ear. “Why are you not denying me? When you lived in my hall, you avoided me like poison.”

“I am no longer your thrall,” Reyna replied. “You cannot order me to your bed. What I do now is not forced upon me. I can do what I wish without surrendering my pride.”

Wulf frowned. “Do not think you are forcing this upon me. I am not your thrall, so making love to you will not offend
my
pride.” He lowered her to the wide bench and followed her down. “Even if it did, I would still make love to you.”

Lowering his head, he licked the sweat that pooled between her breasts, then laved her nipples with the roughness of his tongue. Their bodies were slick and hot and beaded with sweat. Wulf sipped the moisture from her navel. When the combined warmth from the steaming rocks and their heated bodies became unbearable, Wulf rose, fetched a bucket of water from the barrel and poured it over Reyna. Then he cooled his own body with a second bucket of tepid water.

When he returned to the bench, Reyna sat up and ran her fingers through the wet strands of his blond hair. Then she pulled his mouth down to hers.

His mind thickened and darkened. Need to be inside Reyna shot through him like a bolt of lightning. His loins swelled and his cock filled with lust. Hunger rode him but he fought for control. He wanted so much more than a quick tumble. He wanted to taste her, to bring her to climax with his mouth and hands before thrusting his cock inside her. He wanted to hear her cry out his name while he watched her break apart. What was wrong with him? He had never felt this way before, not even with Astrid.

Wulf groaned against her mouth, their lips clinging as he shifted until he was lying between her spread thighs. Grasping her ankles, he raised her legs until her feet were flat on the bench on either side of him, her knees wide apart. He broke off the kiss and looked into her eyes. She returned his gaze, her green eyes heavy-lidded and unfocused.

His eyes shifted downward, to the pale fleece between her legs and her pouting nether lips, rosy and inviting. His hands slid from her ankles upward, skimming over the sensitive flesh of her calves and inner thighs to her weeping center. He caressed her, opened
her, and pushed two fingers into her. When she arched against the pressure of his fingers, he began moving them in and out.

Her sheath was incredibly tight and wet, gripping his fingers hungrily. He nearly lost it then, and had to force himself to concentrate on Reyna’s pleasure rather than his own.

He lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “Come for me.”

“I want you inside me,” Reyna panted.

He ignored her, his fingers pushing harder, faster, in and then out, her juices spilling over his hand. He felt the pulse of her wildly beating heart. His heart beat with hers, harder, faster. And then she was there, her body tensing, her muscles tightening against his fingers. He took her cries into his mouth, his fingers moving inside her until her climax eased.

“Why did you not come inside me?” Reyna gasped once she caught her breath. She glanced down at his thick cock. “You did not…”

“In good time,” Wulf choked out. He had almost lost it. How long could he endure? He was determined to find out. “We have the whole night ahead of us.”

Reyna shook her head. “I must return to the hall before someone notices my absence.”

“Your family has retired for the night.”

Her eyes still fixed on his erection, she said, “My brothers oftentimes roam during the night.”

It was as if he hadn’t heard her. “I need to taste you.”

Leaning in, he softly sucked on her earlobe. Her hands trailed up his chest to wind around his neck. His hands found her breasts, molding them, covering them completely with his palms. Then he lowered his head to suckle her nipples, making her cry out with renewed desire as she grasped his head and arched her back for
more. When both her nipples were hard and throbbing, he moved down her body, to her spread thighs. With his mouth just inches from her exposed sex, he breathed against her. He felt her shiver. Emboldened, he pressed his open lips to her, his tongue delving into her feminine folds, finding them slick and tasting like honey.

He spread her with his thumbs, his tongue finding the sensitive button above the opening of her sex and suckling it gently into his mouth.

She cried out, her fingers clutching hard at his hair. “Wulf, you are driving me insane!”

“I want you to come with my tongue inside you. Do not hold anything back,” he mumbled against her swollen flesh.

He kissed and laved, licking and devouring her while his hands clutched and molded her breasts. When his tongue thrust deep inside her wet sheath, she gave a sharp cry, undulating her hips, abandoning herself to his greedy mouth and the emotional impact of her climax.

Wulf was beyond arousal, beyond any other sexual experience in his entire life, and he was no novice when it came to women. He was also hard as stone, thick and aching…and at the end of his endurance.

Spreading Reyna’s legs wide with his hips, he pushed his cock hard and deep inside her. He groaned. Her quivering sheath felt hot, wet and welcoming. Holding nothing back, he began thrusting and withdrawing. He was far too aroused to be gentle, but Reyna did not appear to want gentleness. When she began responding, meeting him thrust for thrust, he became even more aroused, if that were possible.

“Hurry, Reyna, I am almost there,” Wulf groaned into her ear.

He needn’t have worried. Reyna was with him all the way. He felt his climax begin down in his toes and travel
up to his groin. Then he erupted; shouting her name, he emptied himself inside her, thrusting again and again until he had no more to give. Reyna was still quivering in the aftermath of her own climax when he collapsed on top of her.

They lay without moving a long time, sweat plastering their bodies together. Though the fire had burned down to embers and the steam had long since dissipated, their wild coming together had produced a fiercer heat.

At last Wulf shifted his weight off of her and rose. He walked to the water barrel, dipped a bucket inside and splashed water over his head and body. Then he refilled the bucket, carried it to Reyna and dumped it on top of her. Reyna yelped and sat up, sputtering.

“You could have warned me.”

“We both needed cooling off.”

Wulf set the bucket down and pulled on his clothing. Then he found Reyna’s discarded garments, including her cloak, shoes and stockings, and tossed them to her. “Don’t bother putting them on, I intend to carry you back to the guest hut and take you again there.”

“I will freeze,” Reyna protested as Wulf scooped her off the bench and into his arms. Her protests went unheeded as he carried her out the door.

Hugging her clothing against her chest, Reyna felt cold air hit her and sucked in a startled breath. But she needn’t have worried, for Wulf sprinted across the yard and had her inside the hut before she could form a protest. He set her on her feet, tossed some wolf pelts on the floor and left her there while he built a fire in the hearth with the last of the wood.

Then he stalked back to Reyna and lowered her onto the furs.

She started to rise. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I should leave.” She peered up at him beneath golden
lashes. “I cannot stay here with you, Wulf. You are a thrall and it would not be fitting.”

Wulf’s body tensed and his expression darkened. He looked so fierce, Reyna sidled away from him.

“What must I do to convince you I am a guest and not a thrall?” Wulf growled. “Once my danegeld arrives, I will be free to return to my home.”

“You will have to convince my brothers of that,” Reyna huffed. “You would be dead had I not intervened. I asked them to give you to me as my thrall instead of killing you. They know you took me to Constantinople and sold me. I told them about my time in the harem. They believe you used me as your bed slave after Hagar brought me to your farmstead, and I fear they will not forgive you for that. They will never treat you as a guest. My mother would rather see you dead than ransomed.”

“I did not use you, Reyna. Our enjoyment was mutual. You know in your heart you were never my thrall, no matter how many times I insisted otherwise. You saved my life and that of my brother. Even Olga came to appreciate your skills.”

Reyna bit her lip. Everything Wulf said was true. Except for the first few days after she’d arrived at Hagar’s farmstead, she had been treated like one of the family. Still, her brothers were protective of her and angry at Wulf. If not for the danegeld he would bring to their coffers, he would be dead.

“I will try to convince them to treat you as a guest, but it will not be easy. It may cost your brother more danegeld.”

“Hagar will pay what ever is demanded of him for my safe return.” He pushed her down and rolled on top of her. “I want to love you again, and I know you want me too.”

She pushed at his chest. “Arrogant Norseman. Get
up. This cannot happen again. What if my brothers catch us?”

Reyna had to admit that making love with Wulf this time was different from how it had been when she was his thrall. Before, she had felt degraded, embarrassed, powerless. But now that Wulf was the powerless one, she felt redeemed and emboldened.

Making love with Wulf to night had been her choice. She had wanted it. She could have screamed and her brothers would have come running to her rescue, but she didn’t want to be rescued. She wanted Wulf to love her without the yoke of slavery hanging over her, and it had been an unbelievable experience. But she now realized she could not let it happen again. Birthing a Norseman’s babe after he was ransomed back to his family would bring new shame to her.

Wulf reached for her. Reyna pushed him away and leapt to her feet. Plucking her undertunic from the floor, she tugged it on, keeping a wary eye on him.

“You cannot sleep here to night without my family’s permission.”

“I care not about your brothers. I am sleeping here to-night,” Wulf persisted.

“Our thralls sleep on benches in the hall.”

“Has naught I’ve said gotten through to you? I am not a thrall. Go find your bed, if that is what you want. I will hash this out with your family on the morrow.”

Well aware of Wulf’s stubbornness, Reyna saw no way to change his mind without using force. And since she had no weapon and would not have used it against him even if she had one, she shrugged on the rest of her clothing, threw her cloak over her shoulders and returned to the hall.

As luck would have it, both her brothers were pacing the hall, waiting for her return.

“Where have you been?” Borg growled.

“And where is the Norseman?” Dag added, pointing to his empty bench.

Reyna raised her chin defiantly. “I gave Wulf permission to sleep in the stillroom.”

“Are you mad?” Borg demanded. “The Norseman is a thrall, not a guest, and should be treated accordingly.”

“Are we not demanding danegeld for his ransom?” Reyna asked.

“You know we are.”

“It occurred to me that since he is a jarl’s brother and we intend to ransom him back to his family, we should treat him as a guest. Therefore, I gave him permission to sleep in the stillroom.”

“I knew letting the Norseman live was a mistake,” Dag complained to his brother. “Now he is demanding guest privileges.”

“Wulf has agreed to do his share of work until his ransom arrives,” Reyna explained. “He has also promised not to attempt an escape.”

“And you believe him?”

“Aye, I do. Where would he go? He cannot sail a ship without sailors. Who here would help him?”

“I do not like it,” Borg rasped.

“Wulf is mine,” Reyna persisted. “You have no say over where he sleeps or does not sleep.”

The brothers exchanged knowing glances. “You were with him to night. Did you let him…” Borg stumbled over the words.

Reyna bristled. “I merely showed him what I want done in the stillroom.”

Obviously neither brother believed her. “Fetch your weapon, Dag. ’tis time we paid our ‘guest’ a visit. Stay here, Reyna,” Borg ordered.

Reyna watched helplessly as her brothers fetched a
variety of weapons from their sleeping alcoves and strode out the door.

“Do not forget how much he is worth to us alive,” Reyna called after them.

Wulf had just dozed off when the door burst open. He was fully awake in an instant, reaching for Blood-Seeker; unfortunately he no longer had his trusty sword. Cursing, he glared at the open door. Two brawny men stood illuminated by the dying fire, fully armed and poised for battle.

Tossing off the wolf pelt, Wulf rolled to his feet, his fists clenched, his body a mass of bulging muscles and flexing tendons. “What do you want?”

“You do not belong here,” Borg growled. “Thralls sleep in the hall on benches. They are given no special favors.”

“I do not consider myself a thrall.” How many times had he heard Reyna say those very same words? “Your sister gave me permission to sleep in the stillroom.”

“How did you convince her?” Dag asked with a snarl. “I say we kill him, Borg. He used our sister’s vulnerability to get what he wanted.”

“Kill me and you can forget about the danegeld my brother will pay for my safe return.”

Dag whipped out his sword and advanced toward Wulf. Wulf braced himself. Naked and weaponless, he had never felt more vulnerable.

Borg grabbed Dag’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. “No, brother, you cannot kill the Norseman. We need
the danegeld to buy more thralls and help the kraalls repair their huts. We suffered a major loss during the Norse raid. They stole our valuables and scattered our livestock. The Norseman’s life is valuable to us.”

“Can’t we rough him up a bit?” Dag asked. “He has to learn to keep away from our sister. ’tis still possible that Ragnar will wed her.”

“Would you rough up a valuable guest?” Wulf asked.

“Though you may be valuable, you are not a guest,” Borg growled. “Nor are you allowed to dally with our sister. She is off-limits to you, Norseman.”

“I will fight you for my status as a guest,” Wulf challenged. “Give me a weapon.”

“Nay, we are not stupid. Putting a weapon in your hands would be dangerous as well as unwise.”

“I will fight him with my bare hands,” Dag said, dropping his sword and the other weapons he was carrying. Then he advanced toward Wulf. Wulf met Dag halfway, wrapping his arms around the Dane as they tried to wrestle each other to the ground.

It didn’t take long for Wulf to gain the upper hand. Reyna’s brothers were strong, but they were traders, not warriors. Wulf had been fighting his whole life against one enemy or another.

Both men were pretty well bruised by the time Reyna burst onto the scene. “Stop it!”

The sound of her voice put a damper on the fight and the men fell apart.

“What are you doing here?” Borg growled. “I thought I told you to remain in the hall.”

“Why? This involves me as much as it does you. I gave Wulf permission to sleep in the stillroom. You should both be ashamed of yourselves. You came here fully armed to fight a weaponless man.”

Dag rose to his feet. “Why are you defending the
Norseman? He has openly defied us and insulted you with his unwanted attention. When you asked us to spare his life and make him your thrall, Borg and I thought you intended to punish him for his foul treatment of you. Granting favors is not punishment.”

“Do you have feelings for the Norseman?” Borg asked. “ ’tis the only explanation I can think of for your preferential treatment of our enemy.”

Reyna glanced at Wulf, refusing to answer. Instead, she said, “I am of an age to live my life as I please. I need not answer to you.”

Borg shook his head. “I do not understand you, Reyna. Consorting with the Norseman will not gain you a husband. Once he leaves, you will never see him again.”

Wulf listened carefully to the interchange. Did Reyna have feelings for him? They certainly bore a great deal of lust for each other, judging from their explosive bouts of lovemaking. The thought of never seeing Reyna again caused an odd pang in the vicinity of his heart.

“I know I will never see Wulf again once he leaves,” Reyna admitted, “and have accepted it.”

Was that a catch Wulf heard in Reyna’s voice? he wondered.

“Is it your wish to treat the Norseman as a guest instead of a thrall?”

“Aye, that is my wish. If you recall, I already told you Wulf has agreed to do his share of work on the farmstead, and that he’s agreed to remain with us until his danegeld arrives. Whether you call him thrall or guest makes little difference, except in Wulf’s mind. The Norseman is a prideful man, though no more prideful than I was in his position.”

She glared at Dag. “Fighting will gain you naught. Though I love you and Borg dearly, Wulf is the superior warrior.”

While they bickered among themselves, Wulf pulled a pelt from the bed and wrapped it around his waist. He looked longingly at the sword that Dag had tossed aside but decided to wait for the outcome of the argument between brothers and sister before taking any action.

“Can we all agree on Wulf’s status as a guest so we can seek our beds?” Reyna asked.

“I do not like it,” Dag complained. “How can you forgive what he did to you, to all of us?”

“I forgave him for selling me and have naught else to forgive him for. His raid was in retaliation for a raid by our own countrymen that killed his wife and unborn child. Grief can change a man and drive him to commit grievous misdeeds.”

Borg glared at Wulf. Wulf glared back. “What say you, Norseman? Is my sister right? Will you work beside us and not try to kill us in our sleep?”

“I have already said I would.”

“Will you keep your hands off our sister?” Dag growled.

“Do not answer, Wulf,” Reyna replied in his stead. “Your promise to work and remain with us until your danegeld arrives is all that is required of you.”

“You are being deliberately willful, Reyna,” Dag warned. He slanted a look at his brother and said, “We will agree to treat your Norsemen as our guest if you agree to wed Ragnar.”

“Nay!” Wulf shouted. “Do not agree to those terms, Reyna. Ragnar is not worthy of you.”

Reyna sent Wulf a speaking glance. “I agree to wed him if he will have me.” she said. “But Ragnar wants me no more than I want him, so I have naught to fear on that score.”

“We shall see about that,” Borg gloated. “Meanwhile,
’tis time we were all abed. Come, sister, our ‘guest’ needs to be up early to chop wood.”

“Aye, and to make the improvements to Reyna’s still-room,” Wulf added. “Sleep well.”

Reyna turned and preceded her brothers out the door. Wulf didn’t relax until the door closed behind them. Even then he remained alert, until enough time elapsed for them to have returned to the hall. Then he lay down and went over in his mind everything that had been said.

Obviously Reyna’s brothers knew that he and Reyna had gone far beyond what was proper. And Wulf knew those same brothers would do all in their power to see that Reyna wed Ragnar once he crossed the sea to his own home. Envisioning Ragnar and Reyna together left a bitter taste in Wulf’s mouth. Why had she agreed to wed the Dane? Wulf fell asleep wondering how soon he and Reyna could be alone again.

Wulf was out of bed and in the hall breaking his fast long before the family was up the following morning. Haley waited on him personally, placing a variety of mouthwatering foods before him. Wulf dug in, unaware of Haley’s shy glances.

“You did not sleep in the hall last night,” Haley said. “I saw you and Lady Reyna leave the hall together after the family sought their beds. When neither of you returned, I alerted the lady’s brothers. I feared something was amiss. Fortunately she returned shortly thereafter.”

Wulf glared at her. “
You
told Reyna’s brothers that Reyna was missing?”

“Did I do something wrong, Wulf?”

Her answer was forestalled when Reyna’s brothers emerged simultaneously from their sleeping alcoves. They stopped short when they saw Wulf.

“You are up early, Norseman,” Borg said.

Wulf shoveled the last bit of ham into his mouth and rose. “I am ready to chop wood.”

Dag glanced at Wulf’s empty plate and gave Haley a sour look. “It appears you fed our ‘guest’ well, Haley.”

“Guest?” Haley squeaked. “I thought…”

“You thought wrong, Haley,” Reyna said from behind them. “Wulf is our guest and will remain so until his ransom arrives.”

Haley’s face fell. “Wulf will be leaving?”

“So it seems,” Dag complained, “though I like it not. Bring us food, Haley. We are anxious to be off.”

“I am going with you,” Reyna said. “I want to see if there are any plants left to gather.”

“It is warmer here than in the north,” Wulf offered. “In my homeland the ground would already be frozen. Our wood has already been cut and stacked against the long house.”

Dag sent him a sour look. “Wait outside for us, Norseman. We will join you after we break our fast.”

Wulf returned his look with one of his own, then turned and stormed out the door. Haley followed him, calling his name. Wulf stopped and turned toward her.

“What do you want, Haley?” Wulf wasn’t too pleased with her right now.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Wulf? I could bring linens for your bed and an iron pot to heat water in, if you like.”

“Both would be appreciated, Haley.” He sent her a curious look. “Speak freely, what do you want from me?”

Haley licked her lips ner vous ly. “I want to return to my homeland and you can help me.”

“How?”

“Once your danegeld arrives, you could persuade your brother to buy me from Harald Fairhair.” Her face
crumpled. “I…I am Norse, like you, and miss my home and family.”

Wulf felt immediate empathy with Haley. His arm went around her and he patted her back clumsily while she sobbed against his jacket.

“ ’tis cold out here. You had better go inside. I will do my best to see you returned to your farmstead.”

“Return to your duties, Haley!” Borg barked from behind them.

Wulf’s arms dropped from around Haley when he saw Reyna and her brothers watching them. The betrayed look on Reyna’s face did not bode well for him.

Haley gave a yelp of fright, scurried past him and the others and disappeared inside the hall.

“Making conquests already?” Dag sneered. “Keep away from Haley. Is my sister not enough for you?”

“Dag!” Reyna scolded. “Mind your tongue. I am ready to leave when you are.”

Grumbling to himself, Dag led the way to the forest that lay beyond brown fields whose dying vegetation had been nipped by frost. Reyna and Wulf followed. Borg brought up the rear. Dag carried an axe in his belt and Borg carried two, apparently loathe to give an axe to Wulf before they reached the forest. Reyna bore a basket over her arm with a short blade resting inside.

The air was cold and clear. The men wore fur-lined jackets and high boots with fur on the outside. Reyna was dressed warmly in the fur-lined cloak Wulf’s mother had given her and her own fur boots. Wulf still wore the leather breeches and fur-lined jacket he had worn when he was captured.

Once they reached the forest, Borg reluctantly handed Wulf an axe. “Dag and I will cut the wood. Your job will be to chop the logs into pieces small enough to be carried back to the farmstead.”

“I shall wander off on my own,” Reyna said.

“Do not go far,” Wulf warned. “If you meet up with a wild boar, scream as loud as you can and I will come running.”

Dag glared at him. “We can take care of our sister without your help. Besides, there are no wild boars in these woods. Go, Reyna, just don’t wander off too far. Hakkon the Raider’s warriors could be lurking nearby.”

“Who is Hakkon the Raider?” Wulf asked.

“He rules the territory to the south and has harassed us for years, stealing livestock and sometimes a thrall or two caught away from the farmstead. He seeks to enlarge his territory by adding our farmstead to his holdings.”

Wulf scowled. “You should not let Reyna wander off by herself if Hakkon is a threat.”

“He usually confines his raids to summertime. Only rarely has he trespassed on our land at this time of year. Forget Hakkon and get to work.”

While the brothers cut down saplings and Wulf chopped them into manageable pieces, Wulf kept an eye on Reyna. Whenever she wandered out of sight, he grew anxious. He didn’t like the idea that an enemy might be lurking nearby and kept a wary eye out for trouble.

When the weak winter sun rode high in the sky, Borg called a halt to the wood cutting and gave a shout for Reyna. She appeared a few minutes later, her basket holding nothing but roots.

“The frost has already ruined most of the plants,” she lamented. “I hope we have enough medicinal supplies on hand to last through the winter.”

Each of the men grabbed an armful of wood to carry back to the hall. Reyna walked beside Wulf. “I am sorry about last night. My brothers are protective of me.”

“No harm done,” Wulf replied.

“What are you two talking about?” Dag asked from behind them.

“I am apologizing for your behavior last night,” Reyna replied.

Dag muttered grumpily.

“Haley appears taken with you,” Reyna said, tossing her head.

“I do not want Haley.”

Reyna snorted. “ ’twas not how it looked to me. Haley was falling all over you earlier.”

Wulf gave her one of his rare grins. “You are jealous.”

Reyna shrugged. “Bed whom you want. I care not.”

Borg walked up to join them, effectively halting their conversation. Leaning close, Wulf said, “We will continue this discussion later.”

Wulf carried an armload of wood to the stillroom, washed up at the well and joined the family for the noon meal. Though no one protested when he sat at the table, Wulf could see Maida struggling with his presence. Apparently Reyna and her brothers had spoken to their parents about Wulf’s status as a guest.

Immediately after the satisfying meal of bread, cheese and meat, Wulf, Harold, Dag and Borg returned to the forest to fetch the rest of the wood, stacking it up against the outside wall of the long house for use during the winter. Darkness came early. When the men quit for the day, Wulf returned to the stillroom to find Reyna covering his pallet of furs with clean bed linens. She had also made good use of the broom, started a fire in the hearth and brought an iron pot, which now sat on the hearthstone.