Page 124 of A Tale of Two Vikings

“Let’s not.”

And sometimes not. “Are your nipples more sensitive now, sweetling? I have heard that pregnant women have exceedingly sensitive breasts.”

Before she had a chance to slap him away or clout him on the side of the head, he placed a cool hand on her warm breast and fondled the large nipple.

She groaned. He could tell that she did not want to groan, but that his brief ministration had been more pleasurable than she could resist. Like any good soldier who knew to take advantage when given an opening, he flipped the bed fur downward and placed his mouth over one of her breasts and at the same time fondled the other. Wet and hot, he laved and flicked at her till the only words out of her mouth were, “Oh, Vagn.” And somehow—more thanks to the gods—her hands were at the back of his head holding him in place.

He moved his face lower then. There was something he’d been wanting to do for days now. He placed his mouth against her belly and whispered, “Hello, babe. Here I am. Your father. Are you a handsome fellow like your father? Or a pretty girling like your mother? I cannot wait to see you. I will be here when you come, that I promise, little one.”

When he moved over her then, belly to belly, chest to breasts, he noticed that she was weeping silently. “What?” he asked, wiping away some of the moisture with a thumb.

“You do wear a lady down, Vagn. I swear, you could charm the fleece off a lamb.”

He took that as his cue to do some more charming. He unlaced his braies, then spread her thighs with his own, resting himself on the cradle of her hips. He would be a fool to risk getting off the bed and removing his clothing, giving her a chance to have second thoughts. With no forewarning, he slid into her welcome sheath and remained still for a moment. “I think I felt the babe move,” he murmured with awe.

“You dolt!” she said. “That was me.”

“Even better.”

He made slow, adoring love to her then. No words were exchanged. They seemed unnecessary. He showed her with his body how very much he had missed her. When they both reached their peaks, he asked again, “Helga, will you marry me?”

And she asked that infernal question of hers, “Why?”

It occurred to him that there might be some magic answer that he could give which would unlock the door to her acceptance, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“I would be a good husband to you and father to our child. I would take over your father’s estates when he is gone, if that is what you want. I would not take any authority from you if you did not want me to. I would help you with your merchant business.” He looked expectantly at her.

“And?”

“We could have a good life together. Partners, that is what we would be. Husband and wife, but partners.”

“Nay,” she said with a deep sigh of disappointment. “I will not wed with you.”

Chapter Fifteen

A medieval Ann Landers…

The next morning, Alinor found Toste and Vagn out in the stables, sitting in an empty stall, swilling down mead.

She did not blame them for trying to escape the crowded keep. More guests kept arriving, and the din of talk and laughter was overpowering.

“Why the long faces, you two?” she asked, dropping down to the clean straw next to them. Vagn handed her the jug and she took a long swallow, then wiped the back of her hand over her mouth.

“Neither of us is having much woman-luck,” Vagn revealed.

“Hard to believe, is it not?” Toste added.

Yea, ’twas hard to believe that these two accomplished womanizers had met their own personal stumbling blocks.

“Helga will not marry me, even though she carries my babe,” Vagn said.

“Esme has forgiven me for the captive business. In truth, methinks she liked it, though she would not admit such…yet. But she wants me only as her castellan at Evergreen.”

Alinor stared at the two brothers, so very identical in appearance, so bone-meltingly handsome. “Do you love her?” she asked, looking pointedly at each of them in turn.

They both turned red-faced at her blunt question.

“Well, yea, I suppose I do,” Toste said finally.