Page 82 of The Last Viking

“For a certainty.”

“Do female Vikings ever have male slaves?”

His eyes lit up with understanding at the train of her questioning. “Yea, some do.”

“Hmmm. Perhaps you might be willing to reverse roles and—”

“Aunt Mer,” Thea shouted from upstairs, “what’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

Rolf swore softly at the interruption, and Meredith scurried to pull up her slacks and hide her damaged bra.

“Yea, Merry-Death, I am starved, too.” Rolf strolled over to help button her slacks because her fingers were trembling so. Their eyes locked for a moment before Thea came barreling into the kitchen.

It wasn’t food he was hungry for, and Meredith shared the hunger.

With a chuckle, as if reading her mind, Rolf swatted her on the behind. “Never fear, sweetling, a Viking always satisfies the appetite of his lady.”

She clucked at his play on words, and he winked at her.

“Of course, a Viking man partakes heartily of the feast, as well. We are renowned for our lusty appetites. Then, too, we are equally renowned for our hospitality.” He paused dramatically. “’Tis not polite to let a lady eat alone.”

All hell broke loose that night, and the dispute she and Rolf were having over marriage faded in importance.

Bam!

Meredith jackknifed into a sitting position in her bed. Thea, as usual, slept like a rock. Maybe it was just a dream. No, she’d been dreaming about male anatomy. Specifically, Viking male anatomy of the gluteus maximus variety.

Bam!

“Oh, my goodness! It’s a gunshot. And it’s coming from the side yard,” she murmured.

“What was that?” Thea slurred sleepily.

“Nothing, honey,” Meredith said, already up and rushing for the door. “Go back to sleep. I don’t want you coming downstairs. Do you hear me?”

“Um-hmmm.” Thea rolled over and fell back asleep.

Meredith took the steps two at time and didn’t bother to snap on the lights or grab a flashlight as she unlocked the front door and hurried to find…she didn’t know what. The sounds of raised voices, grunts, and tussling emanated ominously from outside. Some peril threatened them; she sensed that much.

What if…? Oh, gee, a little more than a week ago, a stranger from another time had invaded her home. Maybe a whole darn shipload of time travelers were storming her keep now. She fought back a wave of hysteria at that ridiculous notion and rounded the corner of the house.

“Oompfh!” She tripped over a black-clad body and almost fell. There was only a half-moon tonight, and all she could make out was dark shoes, pants, gloves, and a ski mask. A gun lay on the ground near the open hand of the unmoving perpetrator.

A gun? Oh, my God! Was he dead?

One of Rolf’s wooden spears rested where it had landed near the person’s head. Having no point, the stick couldn’t have broken the skin’s surface. At least, she didn’t think so. But maybe a head trauma from a blunt object thrown with force might be fatal. She should check for a pulse. No, no, no. First, she had to find Rolf.

Scuffling noises, accompanied by guttural curses, came from the back of the house. She picked up the spear and rushed forward. Another black-clad figure, much bigger than the one she’d just found, wrestled on the grass with Rolf, who wore only a pair of jogging pants. Rolf must have been sleeping in the longhouse tonight.

In delayed reaction, she gasped, then put a hand over her mouth and screamed.

Startled, Rolf looked up and shouted, “Go back, Merry-Death. ’Tis not safe. I’ll handle these assailants.”

The attacker took advantage of Rolf’s surprise and managed to scramble free, raising a gun. And, oh, dear Lord, he was aiming it at Rolf. Acting instinctively, Meredith grasped the spear like a baseball bat and swung. It was heavier than she’d expected; so she didn’t have much momentum. To her dismay, at the last minute, the creep ducked. And she hit Rolf smack across the stomach.

“Oompfh!” Rolf fell backwards on his butt and the assailant’s gun went off accidentally. The bullet didn’t seem to have hit anyone.

For a brief second, Rolf and the attacker gazed at her as if she was a crazy woman. She was. But Rolf was in danger, and she couldn’t let anything happen to him. Weaponless now, she made a leap for the jerk with the gun, but he spun about and with a twist of his body had an armlock around Meredith’s neck. He pressed the gun to the side of her head.