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She opened her mouth and drew him in. She buried her hands in his hair and was surprised to find it damp.
She drew back. ‘You had a bath?’
‘I went swimming. I had no desire to stay in that room without you. And I knew you weren’t in your old sleeping quarters.’
‘How did you know that?’
‘They were given to our guests. Even you would balk at sleeping amongst those men.’
‘I found it impossible to sleep.’ She turned her mouth to his. ‘But I missed this more.’
He instantly deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled and teased as their hands roamed freely all over each other. He started to pull her gown up, but she shook her head.
‘My time.’
Slowly she traced a line down his throat and chest until she reached his trouser band. She rapidly undid it and allowed him to spring free. Then she stroked his arousal, hot, heavy and just for her.
He groaned in the back of his throat. ‘Where did you learn this?’
‘I put your lessons to good use. I know what your touch does to me.’
He grew in her hand, pulsating. Slowly she lowered her mouth to the tip of him and traced the head, catching the tiny bead of moisture on her tongue.
‘Please.’ His hands dug into her shoulders as his body bucked upwards. ‘Ride me. Let me be in you.’
They fell to the bank and slowly she straddled him, impaling herself, feeling her body open to welcome the full length of him. His hands cupped her hips, holding her steady. Slowly she began to move, calling the rhythm, faster and faster until they reached the same shuddering climax. She collapsed, spent, on to his chest as he pumped his seed into her hard.
Silently they lay there with his hand gently rubbing her back.
* * *
Hrolf closed his eyes and made a memory as Sayrid slept in his arms with the green boughs above them and the water of the fishing pond gently lapping near them. It was as close to perfection as he had ever experienced on this earth.
It frightened him how much this woman had come to mean to him in the past few days.
Last night, he had kept searching for her, unable to settle. And now she was here. She had awakened so many emotions within him. They scared him. He was fast becoming like his father, dependent on someone else. And when his mother had died, his father had been like a lost child, not eating or drinking properly until they had found him curled in a ball, frozen in the winter snow. His uncle had taken him in and taught him that women should be enjoyed, but not given any power over his heart.
He kissed her naked shoulder. She turned over and her arm went about his neck. He knew then that she had his heart. She had taken it that first night when she defied him by jumping into the river. He needed her in his life, challenging him.
‘You appear to be very serious.’
The words spilled out of him about his mother’s death, how his father had behaved and his vow about keeping the women in his life separate, but how he no longer wanted that. She listened quietly.
‘We won’t make the same mistakes,’ she said into the silence. ‘You’re not your father.’
‘We need to return. People will be wondering where we are.’
She stretched. ‘I’d like to stay here forever.’
He laughed softly in his throat. ‘I would as well, but there are others to think about. And I take my duty seriously.’
She rolled off him and started to dress, suddenly all businesslike, and the passion they had shared replaced by another passion. ‘Do you think there is a traitor?’
‘We will be safe here. Lavrans will make a mistake. He dislikes waiting.’
‘You think he will strike Kettil before you.’
Hrolf nodded. ‘Bragi is an excellent warrior and the men respect him. He won’t let me down.’
‘And if he should strike here first?’ A cold shiver went down her spine. She had little doubt. ‘Even though all the weapons are locked up, I don’t trust those travellers who arrived with Regin and Blodvin. If only Regin would open up like he used to.’
‘They will be gone today, probably before we return to the hall. I gave my men strict orders. They are to provide an escort to the edge of our lands. The swords can be returned there.’ He put his finger under her chin. ‘We will find your brother a farmhouse where he can begin to make a new life. He will speak to you then.’
‘You really don’t trust them.’
‘I stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago. The only thing I thank the gods for is the way you constructed that blockade. Even if Lavrans wanted, without a guide, his ships would run aground.’ He put an arm about her. ‘I feel like I’m missing something. A tiny piece which will make everything become clear. Was it our marriage that caused Lavrans to make his move?’
