Page 33 of The Viking’s Captive

“How much longer?” He could tell she immediately regretted her hastily blurted question.

He waved a hand airily. “Oh, five minutes or so. And tongues should be involved, of course.”

Her jaw dropped open, and her eyes went huge, before she gasped out, “Five minutes? Tongues? Are you mocking me?”

“Nay,” he replied. Then, “Well, mayhap a little.”

“Lackwit,” she snapped and stormed out of the bedchamber.

Adam went back to his journal, but he was smiling now.

If kisses could talk, there would be some story!…

Moments later, Rashid announced cheerily, “He kissed you.”

Tyra was leaning her forehead against the corridor wall outside Adam’s bedchamber, trying to slow her heartbeat and make sense of the knave’s effect on her. Thus far, she could find no sense in it … just nonsense. ‘Twas naught more than teasing, of course. But she’d been teased before, and her heart did not go boom, boom, boom, boom like a battle drum.

And now the Arab wanted to discuss the ignominious subject.

“Yea, the teasing toad kissed me. But ‘twas just a jest on his part. Do not make a big thing of this, Rashid.”

“Big thing? Big thing? How can I not make a big thing of it when my master has remained chaste for two years? And now he has kissed a fair maiden.”

“I am not a fair maiden.” She thought a moment. “Did he kiss some other woman, too? A fair maiden?” Disappointment rippled through her at the idea. Was it one of her sisters? Or a serving maid? Perchance one of her soldiers’ ladies?

“Nay, just you.” Rashid was smiling from ear to ear.

Elation such as she’d never experienced before replaced the disappointment.

“Next step will be a harem … you wait and see,” he said. “Praise be to Allah! I will be home afore springtime, I wager. And we have you to thank, my lady Viking.”

“A harem? Are you saying that this kiss was a ploy to get me to join some gaggle of quacking sex-women?”

“Well, I cannot speak for my master, but, yea, kisses can be tools of seduction. And women can be seduced into joining harems. That is not to say that Master Adam—”

Tyra stomped off before he could finish.

‘Twas all much ado about a kiss.

Starting now, she was going to stop thinking about the kiss. For some reason, though, she couldn’t stop touching her lips.

Why is everybody always picking on him? …

“You kissed her,” Rashid charged Adam and grinned as if praising a wee child.

“Bloody hell! Why is everyone making such ado about a single kiss?” Adam set aside his book and glared at his assistant.

“You’ve heard that old Arab proverb about kisses, haven’t you?”

“Nay, I have not,” Adam admitted, knowing he was going to hear the proverb whether he wanted to or not.

“A wise man once said, ‘First comes a kiss. Next come the harem veils.’”

“You bloody fraud! You made that up. There is no proverb that says any such thing.”

Rashid ducked his head. “Well, there should be.”

Adam shook his head at Rashid and his never-ending attempts to put together a harem for him. “Help me gather together the instruments for tomorrow’s operation.”