Page 54 of The Very Virile Viking

"Not this woman."

He gazed at her as if trying to figure her out. "Methinks this is all about lust. Methinks you are as randy as a mare afore being mounted by her stallion."

A full-body flush swept over her at his words. "There may be a little truth to that, but that's not all of it."

"Ha! And do not dare be embarrassed. I am in the same condition. You could say I am randy as a springtime bull whose blood has been heating all winter long. And believe you me, it has been a long winter for me."

How could she respond to such an earthy comparison… both on his part and her own? Magnus was different from any man she'd ever met, and that was a good thing.

"Well, what's your answer?" she prodded.

"You have discussed your terms. Now I will discuss mine. Do not look surprised, sweetling. Didst think I was so lustsome for you that my brain was too muddled to understand all the implications of what you offer? Well, actually, I am that lustsome, but that is neither here nor there."

Uh-oh! Have I backed myself into a trap here? "Get to the point, Magnus."

He grinned at her impatience. "I would love to engage in this half-lovemaking with you, and I will, but you must accept some things, as well."

"Like?" she asked suspiciously.

"Like you are my destiny." He put up a hand to stem her protests. "I have no idea why I am here in this country, but an inner voice keeps telling me that it is you who drew me. At the same time, I have no idea how long I will be here… mayhap a day, mayhap forever. So commitments are not within my promising power, anyway. And lastly, this buzzing in my ears… this breathlessness I feel… this speeding of my heart every time you are near… well, I have ne'er felt it afore with any other woman. It has to mean something, does it not?"

Angela wanted to disagree, but she was experiencing many of the same symptoms. And all for a man who was presumably uneducated… who had eleven children, for God's sake… who carried a sword like some modern-day gladiator (except he was lots better-looking than Russell Crowe)! She had never felt this instant chemistry with any other man. What could it be but destiny?

"Is it settled then?" he asked.

She nodded.

He stood and kicked aside his chair and the one next to it. Then he slid the table over.

She stood and kicked her chair aside, too. There was empty space now between herself and the most handsome hunk she'd ever met in her life. And she was going to make love with him… sort of. She had to smile at the prospect.

He cocked his head to the side in question. But a grin of anticipation crept over his lips. Magnus was obviously waiting for her cue in this strange love game they were about to play.

"Oh, I forgot," Angela said suddenly. "There is one last term I forgot to mention."

Magnus put his face in his hands. "Spare me, Odin. The woman is going to talk some more."

"Now, now," she teased. "I just wanted to say that you can't touch me unless I ask. You have to let me be in control."

"Cannot touch you? Cannot touch you?" His voice was harsh with outrage. "I refuse your terms."

Don't be so hasty, Magnus. Wait for the other shoe to drop. "I will do all the touching."

"You? You will touch me?" She could see his glower change to a twitch of a smile as the implications of her words sank in. "Well, I might reconsider…"

"It will be better than the best sex you've ever had." I cannot believe I just said that. Where is all this nerve coming from? I must be operating on hormone overload here .

"Hmmm."

"I will even…" She said something then that was so provocative, Magnus's eyes widened, and she wondered if she even knew how. Yep, Hormones "R" Us .

"Agreed," he said before she had a chance to reconsider. "Unless you change your mind, of course, about wanting my touch. I ever was persuasive in the bedsport." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Angela did the most brazen thing then—so brazen she surprised even herself. She untied the cloth belt of her silk robe and stepped out of it. She was totally naked… except for tiny red lace bikini panties.

Magnus gasped. She was pretty sure he was as surprised as she was.

"M'lady, if you are not my destiny, then the gods are playing a cruel jest on me."