BARBARIAN Jaid Black Chapter 1
January 7, 878 A.D. Chippenham, Wessex "Nay," she murmured. Color rapidly drained from her cheeks as she watched the grisly sight unfold. Her breathing grew labored and her heart dropped into her stomach as she saw one of her sire's men fall to the ground, decapitated by a Viking's sword. She felt nigh close to fainting. "Nay," she whispered again, pulling the heay cloak tightly around her. !ady len of #odeuart was too shocked and horrified to say aught more. Neer had she thought to see her family's mighty stronghold fall to the heathen Northmen, yet it was precisely what was happening. "$loody infidels%" !othar of #odeuart swore. His nostrils flared as he stood upon the parapet with len watching the mayhem below unfold. "&he king should hae known the saages would break their word%" len turned her worried gae to her eldest brother. She fought with the ferocious icy(cold wind to keep her long blonde curls from lashing into her face. ")*) thought +ing lfred paid the Northmen much -anegeld to leae esse/ and return to 0ercia." Her lips were parched, her throat dry. "!othar, )'m afraid." She breathed. "hat do we*" "Stay here, len," he cut in, reaching for his sword. ") shall return for you the soonest. -o as ) say and keep yourself from harm's way." "!othar*nay%" 1anic engulfed her at the thought of her brother confronting the Viking marauders. Her heart pounded against her chest as she reached for his tunic sleee and pulled. ") beseech you not to go down there% lready 2ather is lost to us. ) could not bear it were you to*" "len," !othar said with gentle insistence, ") must go." Her eldest brother was an unsmiling, stoic man, mayhap, yet len could see his loe for her there in his eyes. ") will return to you. ) swear it." She nodded, her breasts heaing up and down in time with her labored breathing. "0ay #od be with you and mighty esse/." Her apprehensie gae followed followed !othar until he was well out of sight. len's attention returned to the carnage below. hen first she had heard tell that the saages had stormed Chippenham last ee, she had known deep within herself that the #odeuart holding would
be one of the first attacked. Verily, the keep was built entirely of stone, a rarity in the region and one that underlined the wealth of her family. She had known the Vikings would attack her ancestral holding, yet len had neer truly belieed her beloed home would fall. )t was falling. was falling. 3apidly. nd, what's more, there was only but a handful of +ing lfred's men left to defend it. Neer in all of her nineteen years had len witnessed a slaughter the likes of which she was seeing this morn. Her brother, !othar, had mayhap been oerprotectie of her since 1apa's death, but then len was one of only four #odeuart progeny*and the only daughter*to hae suried past childhood. Sweet $eatri/ had died of feer at the age of two. #isela had died at birth along with their mother. Verily, out of the nine children !ady Helene had carried in her womb, only len and three of her brothers had endured. Such was the reality of their world. fter the death of their father, f ather, sser, in a bloody battle with the Vikings a year past, !othar had been all the more determined to marry his sister off to a warlord with ast holdings who was in faor with the king. He wanted len's protection from a man capable of giing it. $aron illiam !enore, !othar had decided, was to become len's husband. nother battle had broken out a scant month before her betrothal was to be decreed. &he betrothal had neer come to pass and illiam's whereabouts were presently unknown. She didn't didn't know if her intended betrothed was dead, or alie and in hiding. She could only wish the marriage alliance had already come to pass so that illiam !enore might throw his soldiers behind !othar in the fight to sae their stronghold from barbarian hands. &hat wasn't to be. nd now, the saints sae them all, it looked as though the most heaily fortified stronghold of Chippenham was a stone's throw from falling. "0ilady%" len whirled around atop the parapet. She closed her eyes briefly and opened them on an e/pelling of air, grateful to see that her beloed nurse, &heodrada, &heodrada, was alie and well. &heodrada had been caring for her since she was but a babe, the elder woman now well into her forties. len ran toward the woman. "1raise #od lmighty you are well% hat goes on below4" She felt desperate to hear that her brothers were alie. Her youngest brother, rnulf, was deep within esse/ at the king's court, and therefore hopefully safe. Still, that left !othar and !ouis here in Chippenham, possible death lurking 5ust around eery corner. "ell4" &heodrada's breathing was heay, her blue eyes wide and haunted, as she stopped before her mistress and clutched at both of her arms. "!ouis took a sword through the side, milady." She ignored the horrified cry from len and continued. ")t looks deep, but mayhap the saints will smile on him. ) packed the wound with herbs before ) came to find you." "nd !othar4" &he old woman shook her head. ") know naught of !ord #odeuart."
len felt ready to omit. &he temperature was nigh unto freeing atop the parapet due to a rogue 6anuary snow that had eneloped the region, yet her heart was pumping so mightily her forehead had broken out with beads of sweat. "Come%" she called out to &heodrada as she loosed from her hold. #rabbing her skirts, she ran from the tower into the keep proper. "e must aid them%" "We must We must aid them4" the serant incredulously retorted as she followed on her mistress's heels. "0ilady, we are but women. hat are you thinking we can do4" len didn't know, yet she felt sure they could do something. t this point their interference could hardly hurt. ") know what to do%" she said, coming to a halt and whirling around to face &heodrada. 2inally all the boring talk of battles she'd been sub5ected to oer the years at countless feasts would sere her, and hopefully !othar as well. "#ather me together fie strong slaes and go to the kitchens the soonest." "&he kitchens4" "-o not 7uestion me, &heodrada% -o as you are told%" &he serant inclined her head before dashing away. len ran as 7uickly as she could below stairs. Seeral minutes later, as len had known she would, &heodrada entered the kitchens with fie of the #odeuarts' strongest slaes. &heodrada 7uirked a black eyebrow as she watched her mistress churn a cauldron of boiling hot wa/ oer an open spit. len's nostrils were flaring as she glanced up. Her outer cloak had long since been remoed, yet sweat plastered her modest green gown to her body from the labor of working the heay spoon back and forth within the bubbling wa/. She didn't care. len was tired of the bedamned Vikings, tired of losing men she loed to their greed and pilfering. +ing lfred had paid them well to leae esse/ alone. &he word(breakers had taken the offered -anegeld and agreed to return to -anish 0ercia, a barbarian stronghold. &hey were liars, unholy saages, the lot of them. ") need pitch and ) need tar," len commanded the slaes without breaking breaking from her task. "#et them and bring them to me anon." &hirty minutes later, len smiled to herself as she watched the male Celtic slaes pour the wa/, tar, and pitch concoction they'd created together together into seen large urns, one for each of them. )t took eery bit of strength, grunting, and groaning len had in her to pick up her urn, but she was angry enough*and worried enough about about her elder brother !othar*to do it. "&o the high walls%" she beseeched them. "Now%" &he slaes followed 7uickly, all of them as much in a freny as len to see their 5ob done. &hey knew as well as their mistress did that should the keep fall to the Northmen, the Vikings were as likely to slay them all as they were to claim them for slaes of their own. ll of their lies could ery well depend on ictory. len's green eyes widened in horror as she glanced down the high wall and saw flaming arrows shooting toward the keep. Her heart beating rapidly, she instructed the slaes to set the urns down upon the wall until she signaled them to spill it upon the enemy below. &hat done, she frantically searched for !othar. She didn't find him.
Nay% Nay% she thought, terrified. terrified. Lothar Lothar * please be alive alive % $atting long blonde curls out of her line of ision, len got her first good look at the enemy. She stilled. &here were at least thirty of them and they had the keep surrounded on all sides. hat's more, the Viking heathens were as huge and formidable as legend bespoke. &hey might hae sat atop their warhorses, but een seated it was easy to surmise that not a one of them would be below si/ feet in height*most of them much taller. ll were heaily muscled, battle scars riddling their broned bodies, and be5eweled gold bangles delineating the musculature of their biceps. 0any of them sported foreign braids plaited against either temple at the sides of the head*some een wore those braids in their beards. &hey were the heathens +ing lfred had called them. &hey were the nightmare the Church decreed them. &hey were the pestilence !othar had sworn to destroy. len's gae collided with one of the Northmen's, a colossal barbarian who stood out from the other giants by irtue of the night(black hair that fell past his shoulders. He wore the same odd dress* bare chest despite the freeing weather, leather brais, gold bangles clasped unforgiingly about either arm, and two braids plaiting the hair back from his temples. &here the similarities ended. 0ost of the others were fair of hair and eye. &his warlord's hair was darker een than the elsh &heodrada, his eyes a chilling, fathomless black. len shiered. &he saage looked ruthless, merciless. He held his sword high into the air and bellowed a war cry that sent a deeper chill coursing down the length of her spine. His men responded to whateer heathen word he'd yelled, and two warriors on horseback came charging toward the front of the circle, a battering ram held between them. Sweet saints * nay% nay% &error 7uickly eoled into anger. Her 5aw clenching, len stared challengingly down to the black( haired Viking as her hands seied either side of the urn. His dark gae narrowed as he wondered at her intentions. "Now%" len called out to the slaes, her eyes neer leaing the barbarian's. "+ill them all%" She had assumed the saage wouldn't understand her tongue. She had been wrong. &he giant's eyes widened as he watched len and the #odeuart slaes pick up the urns and prepare to heae them oer the high walls. He called out a warning to the others as he backed up his warhorse*bedamn warhorse*bedamn the heathen to the fir es of hell anyway% 8et much to len's satisfaction, the warning hadn't come in time to sae them all. )n fact, she thought, her breath shuddering as the feeling of ictory surged through her and warmed her, the Viking's warning hadn't saed nigh unto a doen of them. &he two warriors with the battering ram f ell screaming to the ground on contact%
&he warlord cursed as pandemonium broke out around him. arriors were screaming, their scalps and backs burning, as boiled wa/, tar, and pitch clung to them, the concoction refusing to let go. &hree more men collapsed in agony. Seeral more threw themseles to the snow(dusted ground and wallowed around in it like helpless pigs, screaming as the brew ate at their f lesh. len smiled with a satisfaction that bordered on maniacal hysteria, her gae straying back to the warlord staring daggers at her. &hese barbarians had killed her sire, in5ured her cherished younger brother !ouis, and the saints only knew what horrors had befallen her beloed elder brother, !othar. &o her way of the thinking, the Northmen had this day coming*and then some. "-ie%" len spat, tears that refused to fall springing to her eyes. )n that moment, all of her fear, all of her rage, and all of her hatred coalesced into a warbled cry that reached the earshot of the mammoth giant whose soulless black eyes tracked her eery moement. ") pray to the heaens that eery last one of you ie%" ie%" &ime stood still as the Sa/on lady and the Viking warlord stared each other down. $oth sets of eyes were narrowed, both sets of nostrils flaring, and both 5aws clenched. len's heart drummed in her chest. She shiered as it occurred to her that the warlord was assessing her as though he mayhap wanted to kill her with his bare hands for this slight. )t was of no conse7uence. conse7uence. ere !ouis and !othar to die, len thought it 5ust as well to 5oin them. !ong moments ticked by. Carnage and mayhem surrounded them9 screams permeated the air. nd then, finally, after what felt like long hours, the raen(haired warlord broke len's stare. $ellowing a foreign word that she took to mean retreat or something e7uialent, she watched watched with satisfaction and elation as the Northman and his suriing men rode off from the keep and away from Chippenham. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. len clutched her stomach and gasped, the reality of what she'd 5ust accomplished catching up to her as she used a shaking hand to support herself against the wall. She had done it. Her plan had worked. "0ilady%" &heodrada laughed, her hands clutching either of len's shoulders. "8ou saed us all% ) can scarce beliee it, yet ) saw the saages retreat with mine own eyes%" ") know," len rasped, r asped, her gae round and disbelieing. ")t worked," she added in a dumbfounded murmur. "1raise the saints." &heodrada's chuckle deepened. deepened. She hugged her mistress tightly to her. "$ecause of you, my heart. ll because of you%" len's thoughts briefly returned to the chilling black eyes that belonged to a certain Viking. She swallowed oer a lump of worry in her throat, stark fear that he would seek retribution momentarily oertaking her. She discarded the thought almost as 7uickly as it came to her. &here would be no sense in attempting yet another raid on the keep. &he barbarians were remoed from their stronghold in -anish 0ercia. &hey would return there. $y the time they came back with reinforcements*if
indeed they eer returned with reinforcements*len would see to it that the keep was a eritable fortress. len's smile came slowly, but when it came it was luminous. "e did it," she breathed. She began to laugh, dancing around with an elated &heodrada. She was certain her father could see her from the heaens and that he was smiling down upon her. "e won%"
&ired and bone(weary, len paid no attention to the girl washing her hair. Her thoughts were miles away, or more to the point, four rooms and one floor away. Her younger brother !ouis's in5ury was far more seere than what &heodrada had informed her of atop the parapet. She supposed &heodrada, someone she thought of more as mother than serant, had told len what she thought she needed to hear to endure until the Vikings had retreated. 0ayhap &heodrada &heodrada had the right of it. 0ayhap len would hae been too oerwrought with grief to keep her wits about her had she known her beloed !ouis would be dead by morn. nd then all would hae been lost to them*the keep, their way of life, mayhap een their ery lies. !othar, her elder brother and lord of the #odeuart estate, had taken a large gash to the shoulder. He wasn't looking too well himself, yet he did seem to be faring far better than young !ouis. She could only pray !othar suried his in5uries. len wasn't certain she could bear it were she to lose two brothers within one ee. nd, she realied, tears gathering in her eyes, only a miracle from the angels could sae !ouis now. Seated naked in a barrel with lukewarm water insulating her from the cold bedchamber, bedchamber, len brought her knees up closer to her chest and tightly wrapped her arms around them. Her brothers oft teased her that she wasn't gien to weeping at the drop of a hat like 'twas said females are wont to do. 0ayhap not in front of others. 8et there were many an ee after 1apa died, like tonight, when len took to her chamber and wept until her head ached. !apa, why i you you have to ie" ie" Why# $ am so alone alone an so terribly terribly %ri&htene# "0ilady4" the sweet(tempered twele(year(old slae, 0arda, whispered. She stilled her hands in len's wet hair. "0ilady, what ails you4" len thought to comfort her, for the distress in the child's oice was obious, but by then she was weeping uncontrollably, uncontrollably, her body shaking and nigh unto conulsing from the iolence of it. nd really what could she say to young 0arda4 :nly things the girl already knew. She missed 1apa. She knew in her heart !ouis would be dead by morn. !othar might possibly die too. nd all because of the bedamned Vikings and their heartless greed% len's nostrils flared as the tears, little by little, dried up. Hatred and rage coalesced once again 5ust as it had out on the parapet. &o hell with the saages% &o hell with eery last bloody one of them%
Her only consolation, len knew, was that some of the heathens had died amidst their pilfering. $ut not enough. Nay, not nearly enough.
Chapter 2
") wish no part in this%" the warlord mund bellowed to another Viking leader called #uthorm. "0ercia is ours and my warriors wish to settle it. 8ou waste our time and aluable Viking lies with talk of oertaking esse/. !oki keep it*) don't coet the wretched place%" )ar Hrolf's gae flicked from his half(brother mund to the frowning #uthorm. #uthorm was a formidable leader and a warrior who wanted to see their people con7uer the whole of Sa/ony. )ar doubted #uthorm would put down his sword and call peace the soonest9 he would return to Chippenham and besiege it before con7uering the whole of esse/. )ar was of a mind to settle in the Viking(controlled 0ercia like his brother, yet could he also see the sense in #uthorm's plan. &he Sa/on king, lfred, had shown his idiocy when first he had offered -anegeld in e/change for the warriors' leae(taking from esse/. true leader would hae fought to the bitter end in the name of his people and land. &he weakling lfred was undesering of his title. 0ayhap #uthorm should be made the king of esse/. )ar didn't care which of the warriors preailed and ruled there, only that a Viking claimed it for his own. ;ntil last ee, )ar had wanted no more a part in returning to Chippenham than mund did. )ar possessed, possessed, after all, his own stronghold in 0ercia and nigh unto thirty slaes to see to his bidding. He wanted to settle his new lands as much as mund did. He did not need or coet the Chippenham stronghold*until last ee. $ut then until last ee )ar had neer watched an icily beautiful wench all but single(handedly defeat a Viking raid party. &hat was a slight that could not be let go. ") will go with #uthorm." ll eyes in the long hall turned to )ar. mund frowned. "hat nonsense talk is this4 ;ntil the raid on Chippenham you*" "&he whispers hae reached our ears already, already, brother." )ar's 5aw tensed. ")'e no desire to go further into esse/ than the border town of Chippenham. ) leae the rest of esse/ to #uthorm. ) will return to 0ercia upon claiming the Chippenham stronghold for mine own." His ne/t words were slow, methodical. "nd upon claiming a certain 'lady' as mine own slae." mund grinned, his gae flicking back and forth between his brother and )ar's men. "She is a lady. &empting though it might be, especially considering she is but a lowly Sa/on, you cannot enslae a wench of gentle breeding. ere it done to one of our own, we'd demand engeance engeance and rightly so."
"She killed ten of our men and maimed two more," )ar murmured, the reminder forcing the smile from mund's lips. "ith her own two cunning hands." His face didn't betray emotion, yet his eyes were blaing, the muscles of his biceps bulging with barely controlled fury. "She is no gentle lady," )ar bit out. "She is a deil spawned of !oki." $eautiful she might be, but it was but a ruse to coer up the demon within. "She will be will be my slae." Silence. "Very well," mund conceded. "2ollow #uthorm to Chippenham. Con7uer it and take your woman *" )ar slowly shook his head. His black eyes narrowed. "0y slae, not my woman." "&ake your slave then," slave then," mund oerenunciated. He frowned. "$ut be 7uick about returning to 0ercia. ) gie you leae to be gone but a f ortnight. fter that, you are to e/ert your control as lord oer the lands ) hae gien to you. ) will not hae the people there forgetting that our kind now rule them." )ar nodded. 0emories of last ee flooded through his mind. She had wanted them to die*all of them. ere she a man, he would hae paid her back by the taking of her life. )nstead she would sere him until she took her last breath*in the bedsheets and out of them. ") need but a sennight," )ar murmured. ":ne week and she*and Chippenham*will Chippenham*will be mine."
"&hey haen't had the time to rebuild," )ar coldly predicted as he walked a wide circle around the seated warriors. He was as well known in Sa/ony as he was in the Northlands for his ruthlessness, for his willingness to oerpower at all costs. 8et not een those who most feared )ar Hrolf would beliee any warlord could rebound in such a short amount of time. "Chippenham will neer e/pect us to return within three ees." #uthorm frowned. "&hat fortress is made of stone. 3arely do we come across such a keep as that one. :ur arrows were of no conse7uence. new plan is needed." )ar inclined his head. "nd )'e one at the ready." "#o on." )ar continued his wide stride around the seated warriors. He wanted to proceed the soonest, con7uer the soonest, and return to 0ercia and his beloed adopted 6orik the soonest. "&hose stones are impenetrable mayhap, but smooth they are not." #uthorm's face scrunched up. "h4" )ar ran a hand oer his 5aw, his e/pression intense. intense. "&he stones aren't cut smooth. &here is plenty of space for foot f oot notches upon each one." "8ou wish to go in 7uiet4" )ar's man :laf in7uired. "!ay siege from within instead of from without4"
"ye." :laf nodded, impressed. " worthy plan of attack, milord." "Surprise is on our side and will work to our adantage," )ar concluded. "s are the gods," #uthorm barked. He spat on the ground, his eyes narrowed. "&he saage, smelly Sa/ons will lay at our feet like the dogs they are before the sennight passes%" Cheers erupted. "8ea" and "praise :din" echoed throughout the long hall. $arely clad female slaes scurried to refill trenchers and goblets. #uthorm kept his most bu/om and beautiful slaes in so little clothing that )ar wasn't at all surprised when one bent oer to fill a trencher and he could see from behind what she had to offer between her legs. )ar's eyelids grew heay with arousal as he stared at the thrall's pretty pink pussy. She wasn't so beautiful of face as )ar's soon(to(be slae was, but she would do for an ee. He found himself wondering if #uthorm was of a mind to share one of his thralls. s if he'd read his thoughts, #uthorm winked at )ar. "n5oy," he chuckled, standing up to retire to his chamber until morn. "Her cunt is all yours tonight." )ar spent three hours riding the luscious slae's body like a man possessed, then another four hours sleeping. &he warriors took to their mounts early the ne/t morn, determined to reach esse/ by sunset. s the Viking entourage stealthily made its way toward Chippenham, )ar felt the familiar surge of impending con7uest course through his blood. He hadn't gien much thought to the witch of esse/ after declaring to his brother she would become his slae, for after that )ar had been too preoccupied deciding on strategy to gie the wench herself much thought. $ut now as they rode, their plan of attack firmly ingrained, he had time to think on her, to dwell on what she'd done. He'd neer seen a woman like that one*neer. He half hated her and, he begrudgingly admitted to himself, half admired her. $ut admiration or no, that witch was responsible for his brother gnar's incapacitation. She might not hae been the one who heaed the brew that maimed him, yet she had definitely been the one who gae the order to her thralls to do as much. " 'ill " 'ill them all%" all%" she had raged. " Die%" Die%" ll he could think about now was that wench, the witch who would soon be his to do with what he would. )ar cared not about controlling Chippenham*he would leae some warriors there to ensure its sub5ugation, but his main goal was the wench. He wanted to make her pay for the ten deaths and two maimings she'd brought to his people. )ar had seen warriors as cunning and deadly as the Chippenham lady, but neer had he witnessed such a thing in a wench. She was an abomination. &o the Sa/on one(god and to the Viking gods who ruled Valhalla alike*she was an abomination of all that was sacred. )ar found himself looking forward to bringing her to heel, his heel. He was en5oying the mental image perhaps more than he should hae. His blood shouldn't boil with need at the thought of claiming her as his chattel, yet it did. His cock shouldn't be stone(hard at contemplating all the wicked ways she would sere him, especially as well(used as it was from last ee, yet it was.
"&hey say," #uthorm informed him on a chuckle as they rode side by side on their destriers, "that witches who belong to the Sa/on deil make for great bedsport." He grinned as )ar's men chuckled with him. "!ucky Viking dog." )ar snorted at that. ") cannot imagine a wench so icy as that one will make for much amusement in the bed(sheets." "Should be fun to thaw her out, though," )ar's man, :laf, 7uipped, earning him a few guffaws. "!ick her 'til she melts%" " (mmm mmm mmm," mmm," #uthorm said, wagging his bushy eyebrows. ") can't say )'d mind being the one to lick her all oer. il she might be, but a finer wench the gods hae neer made." ll the more reason she was an abomination to )ar's way of thinking. !ike the song of the bu/om sea creatures that lured seafarers to their early demise, the wench was beautiful, but she was also deadly. )ar turned his concentration back to the task at hand, his muscles cording in reaction to the impending raid. $y morn word would go out that the Vikings had seied Chippenham, that their lady had been enslaed, and that all of esse/ would be brought under Viking dominion. )ar didn't care about the rest of Sa/ony. He cared only of Chippenham. nd of enslaing the witch of esse/.
!ady len gently patted her brother !othar's head with a wet cloth, her heart in her eyes as she tended to him. &heir younger brother !ouis had died of his in5uries last ee. She had held him tightly, sobbing onto his chest as he'd passed from this life and moed on to the ne/t. len had begged him not to leae them as she told !ouis of her loe for him, but in the end the choice hadn't been his to make. !ouis #odeuart, fourteen, was dead. Her younger brother, her father*both dead at the hands of saages. Now all that was left of the #odeuarts were !othar, rnulf, and len. nd !othar she couldn't be certain of. "8our in5ury is not nearly so deep as !ouis's was," len murmured, a reassuring smile forming on her lips. "8ou will heal. :f this ) am certain," she lied. !ying was a sin, mayhap, but in this instance she decided it was less a sin than the tr uth. !ater she would beseech the priests for forgieness. &his ee she would tell !othar any lie he needed to lift his spirits. ")*)'m sorry ) did not protect you, len," !othar weakly mumbled. ")*" "Shhh," she softly chastised. She bent her neck to kiss his forehead. "8ou were outnumbered. 8ou fought hard and made 1apa proud. No man could hae stood against such numbers sae #od himself."
"$ut you did," !othar whispered. He found his first smile, though len could tell it pained him to make one. ")f 1apa is proud of me, he is fair bursting with pride at you." len's chuckle was soft. "-esperate times call for desperate actions. '&was no more cunning than that. Now be 7uiet and rest before ) tar you, too," she teased. He snorted at that*then winced from the pain the slight action caused. He offered no resistance when his sister held a chalice to his lips and ordered him to drink. few minutes later, len sighed as she watched her brother fall into a deep sleep from the herbs in the mead she'd gien him to drink. She hadn't slept in days and the f atigue was at last catching up to her. &ired or not, she refused to leae !othar's side. Her brother needed her. nd so long as !othar re7uired her support and aid, she would be there to gie it to him. chill worked up and down len's spine, the sort of eerie foreboding one e/periences e/periences when they sense they are being watched. She glanced up and saw no one, so she shook the feeling off. She turned her attention back to her brother. len's hand shook as she reached out to !othar. She didn't know whether the trembling was born of fatigue, fear of his possible death, or both. Her fingertips lightly brushed oer a lock of dark gold hair plastered to her brother's forehead from sweat. "1lease come back to me," len whispered, tears that did not fall gathered in her eyes. "-o not leae me alone, !othar. e are all the other has left." Her breath caught in the back of her throat. "1lease do not leae me*) loe you." &he doors to the chamber came crashing open, startling len. She 5umped to her feet, whirling around to face the intruders. &he skirt of her costly, green woolen gown swirled in time with the moement, long golden curls cascading down her back and oer her shoulders. "ho goes there4" she furiously whispered. She didn't want anyone disturbing !othar's healing sleep. He needed eery moment of it. Neer one with much talent for diining more than silhouettes from nigh unto darkness, the single candle burning at !othar's bedside was not enough to aid her. She bent to light another one, then held the beeswa/ candle up so she could see which serf it was she would be taking to task. len's breathing stilled. Her heart all but stopped. &here was no serf standing there. &here were free men*fie huge, unsmiling men who had no business being in !othar's bedchamber. nd one of those men, len thought, swallowing roughly as their gaes clashed, was far too familiar for her peace of mind. He was as heay with muscle as he was long with height. #old bangles clasped around each bulging bicep, strong thighs showed een from beneath the brais he wore. His eyes were blacker than the tar she'd used against him three days hence, and 5ust as fathomless. &here was no mercy in those eyes, no sense of compassion or pity. &here was only ruthlessness*a desire to win at all costs. Sweet saints aboe. &he heathen had come back. nd somehow len knew* )new knew* )new *he'd come back for her.
*his isn+t possible# $+ve hear no ry-outs %rom the servants let alone the lan&in& o% swors# "Nay," she gasped, unthinkingly backing up until she all but stumbled into her brother's bed. Her green eyes widened with horror as she watched the black(haired giant of a warlord look his fill at her body before turning his attention to her face. Her heart was beating so rapidly she felt certain she might swoon then and there. "h #od*nay%"
Chapter 3
"+ill him," )ar coldly instructed his man :laf, motioning with his head toward the witch's felled loer. )ar spoke in Sa/on, that the wench would know his intentions. She cried out as he'd supposed she would, her hand flying up to shield her mouth. 6ealousy and rage the likes of which he'd neer before e/perienced assaulted )ar the ery moment he'd witnessed the icy witch speak so sweetly to her in5ured loer. atching her all but cry now, knowing her Sa/on co(conspirator was about to be put to his death, only made the 5ealousy that much more acute. 3idiculous, mayhap, mayhap, yet )ar considered her to be his. 2or much longer than he felt comfortable remembering. '&was of no conse7uence. hat was of conse7uence conse7uence in the here and the now was that she could kill ten Vikings and smile. &he death of her loer, howeer, made her ice melt. )ar's 5 aw clenched. "1lease*nay%" "1lease*nay%" the witch cried out. Her oice trembled as she pleaded with him. ") beg you to spare his life, milord%" )ar's nostrils flared as they once again locked gaes. "+ill him," he softly repeated to :laf without glancing away. "Now." &he witch began to sob as she ran across the chamber and threw herself prostrate at )ar's feet. ")*) *nay%" she cried. cried. She sounded a bit hysterical and, despite the 5ealousy he was e/periencing, )ar felt something inside the icinity of his heart soften 5ust a bit. He had neer thought to see a wench so cold as this one melt for any man. He had e/pected her to plead for her own life, but not for the life of any other. &he wench threw her arms around )ar's cales and looked up to him with tears in her eyes. "0y lord, ) beg you to spare my brother% +ill me for your retribution if you must, but please*show mercy to my brother%" )ar stilled. !earning that the felled man was the witch's brother sered to lessen his 5ealousy, but not the barely controlled rage that bubbled 5ust below the surface. "&he same as you showed mercy to my brother4" he hissed.
She stilled. ide green eyes flew up and then narrowed as she swiped a tear from her cheek using the back of her hand. "8ou attacked my home, warlord. ) defend what's mine." dark eyebrow 7uirked. "8ours4 )f your brother is abed still alie, this keep is not yours but his." ")t's my home," she said calmly, but with a sense of loe and loyalty that could not be mistaken. She rose to her feet and straightened her spine. ") defend what's mine." dmiration. &here it was again. He s7uelched the traitorous feeling, recalling the maimed brother who lay abed. ")t's no longer yours," )ar murmured, making her eyes round once again. "&his keep and all of Chippenham are now mine." She isibly shiered, yet her pride would not allow her to betray further fear. )ar supposed she was wondering 5ust how the keep had been seied when no battling had transpired. &his time the Vikings had besieged the stronghold from the inside out rather than from the outside in. )t took but one well(aimed arrow through the heart to kill the lookout atop the parapet, and the rest had been like child's play. Scaling the walls had taken een less effort than )ar had supposed it would. &he walls were made of stone, but as he predicted, their weakness was in their lack of smoothness. Her face pinched with fear, the witch backed away from )ar and returned to her brother's bedside. "+ill us then and be done with it," she spat, the hatred and determination he'd witnessed in her atop the wall at last rearing its head. "!othar would rather die than be sub5ugated to barbarians and your heathen gods*as would )%" )ar's black eyes gleamed. "8ou do not decide your fate, slae," he said softly. "8our 0aster decides it." Her lips worked up and down but no words came out as )ar's intentions at last dawned on her and took hold. She gasped. "$($ut ) am a lady," she breathed out. "!ady len of #odeuart. Surely not een a saage would mean to*" ") mean to," he murmured. His 5aw tightened as he glanced around the bedchamber before returning his gae to his captie. "8ou best take a long, hard look at that pretty gown you are wearing, slae. )t'll be the last time ti me you see a garment for a long time*if eer again." Silence. &he witch's eyes rolled back into her head precisely one second before she swooned. :laf chuckled as he watched )ar sweep her limp form up into his arms. )ar glared at him. "&here is something amusing4" "Nay," :laf snorted. "&here is nothing amusing at all about watching a wench faint dead away at the thought of you mounting her."
&he other three warriors had a laugh at that. )ar didn't smile, but he was well humored. "0ayhap she was oercome with gratitude," he 7uipped back. :laf wiped tears of humor from his eyes. "ye," :laf laughed. "0ayhap so."
'&would take fie days 5ourney to reach the enemy's stronghold. &hankfully, len had been gien leae to care for her sorely in5ured brother during the tr ek. -ue to !othar's shoulder wound, and unlike the other men and women taken as slaes by the barbarians, len and !othar were permitted to ride in the wagon instead of haing to walk beside it. &he barbarian warlord, whom len had since learned was called )ar Hrolf, had gratefully kept his distance from her so far. &he first ee they made camp, len was left to sleep beside !othar in the wagon, though Viking guards slept around it, ensuring that she wouldn't escape. s if she could leae her brother behind. Nay, she would rather die with him than leae him to saages. len suspected the barbarian, )ar, realied that to be true. She couldn't fathom another reason that he would be troubled to bring an in5ured and mayhap dying Sa/on lord with him. )t only made the 5ourney that much much slower and longer. ;nless, of course, course, he meant to barter barter !othar for more -anegeld from +ing lfred. !othar was, after all, one of the king's most trusted nobles. &he Viking had left her alone thus far, yet occasionally len had caught him stealing glances at her. She didn't know if he did so to keep a watchful eye oer his captie or because he was contemplating all the godless things he meant to do to her. He meant to make her a whore. &he whore of a dog. She hated him. Her stomach fair e/pelled itself 5ust thinking of the giant taking her as a bed slae. len hadn't much knowledge*any knowledge really*of what a bed slae did, but she was certain she wouldn't hae a care for it. She was worldly enough and had been possessed of brothers long enough to realie that whateer it was men did with bed slaes it would put an illegitimate babe in her belly. Verily, she knew of at least two babes the bed slae Hilda had bore her brother !othar. Hilda had been a slae from birth to when she died bearing !othar's second daughter. !othar had not been permitted by their father to take Hilda to wife, yet he had made it known to their sire and throughout Chippenham that his daughters were not slaes and hence were not to be treated thusly. 1apa had respected !othar's wishes. ate was ate was not a strong enough word for her captor, len decided. &he Vikings were responsible responsible for the death of her father, the death of her brother !ouis, and 7uite possibly the death of !othar. Now the giant saage meant to enslae her, too. len had trouble sleeping that first ee een though her brother slept 7uietly beside her. &he still of the night gae her too much time to think, too much time to remember that the grim )ar Hrolf planned to make a bed slae out of her. )t was humiliation. Sheer, unadulterated humiliation.
Her cheeks fair flamed with embarrassment at knowing her fate. No man sae a saage would make a slae out of a lady. len stared at nothing, her eyes unblinking. She would be no man's slae. Not now. Not eer.
$y the second day of their 5ourney, !othar was swimming in and out of pained consciousness. consciousness. &he small moans made len wince for her brother, yet she was glad to hear them for it meant he was on the mend. t least, that's what she hoped. "len," !othar weakly rasped. "len." "Shhh, ) am here," she whispered, keeping her oice a hush as she bent her neck and kissed him. She didn't want the Vikings to know her brother had awakened. She feared they might purposely in5ure him further, torture him in the name of !ord Hrolf's maimed brother, gnar. "len," !othar muttered. Sweat slicked his forehead. She feared the icy wind hitting him there would gie him a feer he would neer recoer from, so she 7uickly wrapped a fresh wool blanket around him. "Shhh% ) am here, brother. ) beg you to rest." "len," he mumbled, ignoring her. "8ou must find the king." Her eyes widened. !othar's oice was so weak as to be barely audible, yet she'd heard his command without trouble. "scape4" she whispered. len stilled. ") cannot leae you, !othar. ) cannot*" "len, please," !othar rasped. ")'m already dead. &hey will kill me do ) not die from my affliction. &his you know." She closed her eyes against his words. 1ain clawed at her gut. Hatred seethed through her blood. "$($ut my daughters. nd esse/<" His unfinished sentence hung there between between them. )f len didn't escape and warn the king, lfred might not know Chippenham had fallen until it was too late, until the saages had wreaked haoc haoc on the king's own stronghold deep in esse/. &he entire kingdom could fall. ery gently bred lady stood to be reduced to the status of a barbarian's bed slae, eery nobleman put to his death. nd her nieces* Sweet saints, she could not let that happen to them. ") loe you, !othar," len 7uietly gasped. ") loe you so much it fair hurts."
)t took eery bit of strength her brother had to smile up to his sister, but he did. ") know, len. s ) loe you. 2lee this ee as the Vikings slumber. 2ind illiam !enore. He will take you to the king does he lie." He winced, the pain 5arring. "2lee knowing ) will always loe you." He grabbed for the sleee of her cloak, though his grasp was weak. "Swear to me now you will go, len. Swear it by esse/ and lfred." 0ost noblemen didn't place merit in the sworn word of a wench. !othar did. 8et one more reason to loe him as she did. She was 7uiet for a long moment, and then, ") swear it." len took a deep breath and slowly e/pelled it. "$y +ing lfred and mighty esse/ ) swear to escape do ) die in the trying." "No dying," !othar murmured, his eyes closing to rest. "6ust escape."
Chapter 4
len's eyes widened in shock as she watched four naked Viking warriors emerge fr om a nearby* and icy cold*body of water. She wasn't certain if she was more taken aback by the fact they'd bathed in such freeing weather or that they weren't een trying to conceal their manparts from her. len knew there were differences between males and females that went beyond height and muscles. She 5ust hadn't known that certain parts on a man got so long, and so swoon(inducingly thick. !ord Hrolf walked oer to stand in front of the wagon, his dark eyes neer leaing len. She gulped as her worried gae flicked up and down the length of his steel(hard body, simultaneously praying this ee would not be the night the saage decided to make bedsport out of her. She e/pelled a breath of tentatie relief when he made no motion to manhandle her. Sweet saints but len was suddenly glad !othar had commanded her to flee% +nowing what she did now about barbarian manparts, she owed she would neer become a bed slae to this one. She would die first. &hen again, she thought, her 5aw dropping as she watched !ord Hrolf's manpart grow impossibly longer and thicker, she would mayhap die anyway. "hy does it do that4" len asked without thinking as the Viking dried himself off using a fresh blanket. She was too stunned to consider the impropriety of her words*or her gawking. &he saage smiled*an eent eent as noteworthy as that manpart of his that could grow of its own olition. His smile sered to shake the cobwebs from len's mind, forcing her to recall the fact that she was asking 7uestions about something something she didn't want to know the answers to now or eer. 2orcing her, too, to remember that she hated him and the whole of his kind. Her eyes narrowed. "Neer mind," she said haughtily, glancing away. She pulled the blankets tighter around her before looking back to her captor. " '&is no concern nor care of mine."
His oice was thick, his eyes hooded. "He grows because he wants you," !ord Hrolf murmured. &he smile was mayhap gone, but len warily noted she still held his rapt interest. "He4" she asked. Her lips pursed. "hat mean you that he*" She stilled, then cleared her throat. ":h," she said dumbly, her cheeks suffused with heat. &hat bedamned smile again. &his time len noted a small dimple denting one cheek. She 7uickly looked away. He was a handsome man, she begrudgingly admitted to herself. Had her captor been a Sa/on noble who had peacefully ridden into Chippenham to re7uest her hand in marriage from !othar, she would like as not hae swooned with giddy happiness at her good fortune. $ut !ord )ar Hrolf was no Sa/on nobleman held in high esteem by +ing lfred and esse/. He was a godless heathen, a saage who meant to enslae her and her people. "Come here," !ord Hrolf instructed. His oice was hoarse, the tone of his words foreign enough to len that she glanced up to see what ailed him. Her eyes bulged in fright when she saw that his manpart had swelled nigh unto the sie of a child's arm. plump child at that. "$y the saints," she muttered, her words tripping out one after the other, "5ust kill me now rather than split me asunder." He grinned. She gulped. ") take care of my chattel," !ord Hrolf Hr olf murmured. ") won't hurt you." len's teeth gritted at his use of the word hattel, hattel, a not so subtle reminder as to her new and unwanted status. His black gae saw eerything, she was certain. She doubted she'd managed to school her features before the saage realied he'd gotten to her. She supposed her clenched 5aw and enomous e/pression could gie her feelings away to any imbecile. nd an imbecile he was not. "Shouldn't you retriee your garments before that thing of yours freees up and falls off4" she bit out. Her nostrils flared as she glanced away. "Not that )'d care if it did, mind you." His eyebrows shot up as he otherwise ignored her words. "Come here," he said again, holding out his hand. "Now." len hesitated as her heart began to pound in her chest. "Now, len," the warlord said in a harder, louder oice. "-o not make me ask again." She wet her parched lips and glanced down to !othar. )f the Viking's words grew louder he would like as not wake up her brother. nd !othar, maimed or not, would try to defend his sister from their captor's assault. !othar could not possibly surie. Not now. Not in his weakened state.
She ignored her hastily beating heart, ignored too the lightheadedness that threatened to make her swoon, and scooted off the wagon that she might stand before the warlord. Her gae downcast, she said nothing, only stood there and, seething with fury, waited his ne/t instruction. &aking her by the hand, !ord Hrolf led his frightened captie into a nearby tent. fter barking at a grinning :laf to get out, he shooed len inside and let the flap fall shut. ") will not be mounting you this ee," her captor remarked as he turned away from her and lit a beeswa/ candle inside the animal hide tent. "So calm yourself." len's e/pression was at once angry and more than a bit nerous. Her gae trailed from his chiseled buttocks to the wide and scarred e/panse of his massie back. She licked her dry lips. "&hen why bring me in here4" He turned around on his knees, giing len her first look at his front in fairly good lighting. Her 5aw took to dropping again as she couldn't help but to stare. His rod was long and thick, and 5utted up to his nael from a nest of curls as black as the hair atop his head. thin line of dark hair trailed up from his nael and toward a chest as huge, defined, and battle(scarred as his back. Her gae drifted upward to a masculinely elegant neck, then farther up to a face that was as chiseled and rugged as it was primal and beautiful. :r it would hae been, len forced herself to recall as she coughed into her hand and glanced away, had it not belonged to a barbarian saage. ") brought you in here to feed f eed you," !ord Hrolf told her. :ne eyebrow rose. ":laf informed me that you hae not eaten since this morn." ") wasn't hungry," she said 7uietly, her gae still turned away. "nd )'m still not. 0ay ) return to my brother4" she asked in a small, hopeful oice. "Nay." Her heart sank. She had known before asking that would be his answer, yet she'd permitted herself one last hope at being able to escape before the warlord split her asunder with that wicked beast of a thing. len folded her hands in her lap with what she hoped looked like gentle patience, her gae cast toward the ground. "0ay ) leae after ) eat4" "ye." Hope surged anew. "&ake your dress off." Hope plummeted anew. ") thought you didn't mean to mount me this ee," she breathed out. ") do not."
Her forehead wrinkled as she at last glanced up. "Saages eat naked4" she asked incredulously. He didn't so much as crack a smile, yet she saw amusement there in his eyes. ":f course," he drawled. "-on't the saage Sa/ons eat naked4" She gasped at the slight. "Nay% nd we are not the saages%" "8ou'e lesser weapons, lesser armies, and lesser ways. Saages, ) daresay." daresay." len had no re5oinder to that. &he Vikings had, in fact, bested the Sa/on armies on more occasions than she felt comfortable recalling. "ell," she snapped, "at least we'e the sense to wear clothing in the dead of winter. nd not to eat naked%" &hat bedamned smile again, she noted. 2ollowed by that bedamned dimple. "ating naked is far superior to eating clothed." She frowned. ") somehow doubt that." dark eyebrow 7uirked. "&hen you hae eaten naked before to know this4" "ell, not precisely, yet am ) certain*" "&ake your clothes off," !ord Hrolf murmured. His oice grew thick again, his gae once more taking on that drugged look. "Now." len hesitated. She worried her bottom lip. &houghts of hatred and escape momentarily fled as she concentrated on the frightening aspects of the present. "Now," he softly but firmly repeated. "-o as ) tell you, len." She took a deep breath and shakily blew it out. She wanted to run*to scream and refuse his order *yet also did she see the wisdom in letting the brute think she she was 7uick 7uick to demure. '&would be that much more the shock when she ran. nd oh how she would en5oy besting the saage% She hated his murdering kind*and him in particular. 0ayhap !ouis and 1apa would smile down upon her from the heaens when the Viking marauder was bested by her. 0entally conceding that she didn't hae much of a choice, len prepared to obey !ord Hrolf's command. 3efusing to look at her captor, her 5aw tightened as she remoed her outer cloak and tossed it behind her. "Now the boots." &he boots were ne/t discarded. &hey were her best pair so she was careful to set them down with care, though the thought of hurling them at the grim(faced beast was fair tempting. "nd your gown," he said hoarsely.
len closed her eyes briefly, willing herself not to blush. She would show no weakness to this Viking. 3eaching for the skirt of her green dress, her eyelids drifted open. She pulled the hem up aboe her head and struggled with the garment. Her breasts were on the large side, and so got caught up in the wool a disgruntling moment, but finally they sprang free. Her will not to blush lasted until the moment she heard the Viking's breath suck in. She couldn't be certain what such a sound signified*disgust or desire*yet both possible results disheartened her. -isgust because it in5ured her pride een if she shouldn't care. -esire because it meant she wouldn't leae the tent a irgin and any hope at a marriage with illiam !enore would be an7uished. "!ie down on your side." Her eyes rounded. "$ut ) thought*" " slae does not 7uestion her 0aster. 8ou best learn that now, len, for any hope at happiness." Her pride smarted at his use of the word slave, slave, but she took to her side and lay on the animal pelt( coered ground without further comment. Her skin began to goosepimple and her nipples stiffened to the point of aching from the chill in the ground, which the animal pelts only minimally thwarted. ")'ll hae you warm in a moment, my beautiful len," !ord Hrolf murmured, apparently noting how cold she was. He turned on his side, too, so that he faced her, then reached to a place between them and aboe his head where len noticed food for the first time. $read. 0utton. Cheese. en a tart. Her mouth watered, hunger pangs assaulting her for the first time since her detainment. Her captor placed a tiny wedge of cheese between a thumb and forefinger then held it to her lips. ":pen your mouth," he softly instructed her. hen her full lips parted, he placed the tangy bit of cheese on her tongue. His gae watched her mouth as she slowly chewed. She nerously swallowed, her eyes widening when his finger gently traced the outline of her lips. &he sensation did an odd thing to her belly, making it clench in an uncomfortable and foreign way. "!ike silk," he murmured. His dark eyes trailed down to her breasts. "!ie on your back," he said thickly. ")t's my turn to eat." She blinked, not understanding what that had to do with lying on her back, but she did as she'd been bade without 7uestioning him. len watched the Viking place food bits all oer her body. wedge of cheese on each 5utting nipple. piece of bread on her belly. nd, she blushed, a bit of tart on her golden(curled mons. Saages, she determined, had decidedly embarrassing eating habits. -espite her resole not to 7uestion him, len opened her mouth to do 5ust that. She f ound breath rushing from her throat instead of words, howeer, when a strong, warm tongue curled around one achingly stiff nipple and drew it into a hot mouth, cheese bit and all.
He apparently wolfed the cheese wedge down 7uickly, 7uickly, for one moment it was there and the ne/t her nipple was being licked and laished with nothing guarding mouth from flesh. She whimpered as teeth and tongue tugged at her nipple before his demanding mouth suckled it. len moaned, the odd clenching of her belly growing worse. 2ire siled through her blood as her head lulled back and her breathing grew heay and labored. $y the time her captor's mouth claimed the other bit of cheese, her body was fair screaming for*something. She knew not what, only that she felt as though there was more to the sensations than this. !ord Hrolf's breathing looked to be as heay as her own, len thought, as she watched his chiseled chest rise and fall through hooded eyes. &rapping her bodily beneath him, he used his knee to separate her thighs and settle himself 5ust aboe her. len's breathing stilled. &he Viking's mouth doe for her nael, the bread there 7uickly chewed and swallowed. She panted for air as his tongue swirled around her belly, licking around her nael before trailing lower toward her mons. "So beautiful," her sub5ugator murmured. "8ou are a bedeiling little witch." His words were nonsensical to len, so worked up her body was. She gasped when she felt his mouth kiss her there, there, her eyes flying open and rounding as he ate the piece of tart. She lifted her upper body and supported it with her elbows as she glanced down the length of her and toward the face a scant breath from her intimate place. &heir gaes locked and neer waered. Not een when !ord Hrolf's tongue snaked out and licked at a piece of len's flesh she hadn't realied until now was een down there. She gasped, her already 5utting nipples stabbing impossibly farther out. &he warlord licked faster, their eyes still locked, as his tongue rapidly darted back and forth on that curious, wondrous piece of flesh. len's head felt too heay to hold up. She fell onto her back, her eyes closing, on a moan of pleasure. !ord Hrolf growled low in his throat as his mouth latched onto that sensitie, swelling bud and suckled it in the way he'd first suckled her nipples. "Sweet saints," len groaned. "hat are you doing to me, Viking4" He sucked harder and more ferociously, growling into her flesh as her hips instinctiely bucked up and her moans grew increasingly loud and wanton. len cried out as the biarre clenching of her belly coiled so tight she was fair certain she was about to e/plode. nd then she did. "/hhh%" /hhh%" len screamed, her body inoluntarily conulsing for her captor. $lood rushed to her face, heating it, and to her nipples, elongating them. " /hhhhhh%" /hhhhhh%" )t was long moments before len could think let alone speak or een moe. She'd no notion as to what had 5ust transpired within her, but sensations such as those she'd neer before e/perienced.
Her breathing was labored as her eyes slowly opened and her gae once more sought out the warlord's. He looked to be haing difficulty breathing too, for his warm breath came out in pants against her heated skin. :h, aye, len resolutely determined. Saages had decidedly embarrassing eating habits. 8et she was unabashedly certain that she could grow accustomed to them. She swallowed roughly as she stared at her captor, determining that she needed to escape the soonest.
)ar's cock had neer been so hard. He fed his beautiful witch from the palm of his hand. She took nourishment from him like a little baby bird, her lips parting to eat all that t hat he gae her. His muscles had neer felt so tense, his breathing neer heay like this. He had seen thirty years, the bed of countless thralls, and been widowed two times, yet not eer had he felt 7uite like this. fter she'd finished the cheese, bread, and mutton, he took to his back, lying down flat upon the cold ground. He placed a bit of tart on the tip of his cock and held it there before snagging her gae with his. "at," he rasped out, already nigh close to spurting. Her green eyes widened in the way she had about her that was at once innocent and bedeiling. 0uch to his approal and astonishment she then, like any obedient bed slae would, followed his command without 7uestion. len's pink tongue darted out and took in the piece of tart. She 7uickly gobbled it down, then obiously recalling what )ar had done to her, licked at the head of his cock, flicking at the tip with rapid darts. He moaned, his breath stuttering in at the e/7uisite sensation. "-oes it feel the same way4" she whispered between licks. "&he way you made me feel, milord4" His 5aw clenched. ")t will when you suck on all of him," he hoarsely informed her. She hesitated one brief moment, apparently long enough to think his words oer. nd then finally, blessedly, blessedly, she wrapped her full rouge lips around the head of his cock and suckled hard. "&hat's a good girl," )ar ground out. :ne calloused hand found the back of her golden head and prodded her closer. "Suck all of him, len. ery inch." She took more of his cock in. nd then more and more and more. "h gods," )ar groaned, mere moments away from spilling his seed. His new slae learned at an ungodly rate, for in his ne/t heartbeat her mouth, lips, and throat were feerishly working up and down the length of his stiff cock. &he sound of suctioning lips meeting rigid flesh permeated the tent. He moaned long and loud as he watched her suckle him, her head bobbing up and down at a wicked pace. )ar's nostrils flared as his body prepared to spurt. ;nable to stae off his clima/ for een another heartbeat, the ein at his neck bulged as he gritted his teeth and came with a bellow.
&he milk from his cock must hae surprised her, for len's bedeiling eyes rounded when his li7uid hit the back of her throat. She didn't refuse his seed, though, arousing him impossibly more. She drank all he gae her, eery last drop, before she unlatched her swollen lips from around his cock with a popping sound. His breathing heay, )ar stared at his captie for long moments without speaking a word. He briefly considered ordering her to stay the whole of the ee with him, but realied if he did her maidenhead would be seered before the morn. She was a irgin*he was certain of it. He'd been sure since the moment he got a good look up her tight pussy. He'd neer mounted a irgin before, had neer possessed a wench no other man had taken to the bedsheets. nd that, )ar conceded, e/haling slowly, he wanted to saor. No rushing, no 7uick fuck. He wanted to spend an entire ee glutting himself full of his prie. !oathe as he was to admit it, 'twas more than her maidenhead that aroused him. He coeted it because it belonged to this icy witch in particular. "8ou were a ery good girl, len," )ar murmured. :ne hand reached out and brushed a golden curl away from her brow. "3emoe yourself from your 0aster's tent anon lest the need to mate this ee oerwhelms me." )ar frowned, his gae tracking her moement. He didn't know whether he should be content or disheartened when his slae did as she was commanded without a word.
Chapter 5
len had neer been so angry with herself in all her nineteen years. !ast ee she was to hae escaped. )nstead she had slumbered slumbered the sleep of the dead, fair snoring from the deepness of it. She suspected the spell that had ensorcelled her body was a conse7uence of that curious thing !ord Hrolf had done to her in his tent. He had called her a witch, yet len had since decided the Viking was mayhap a warlock. &hankfully, !othar had slept most of the day and so hadn't 7uestioned len's presence and whether or not she had tried to escape. &his ee she would make !othar proud. &his ee the saints would smile on her and she would be free. Her thoughts strayed to her nieces, !othar's children. She prayed they fared well under Viking dominion. She would get to them and help them escape as soon as she possibly could. len's thoughts ne/t turned to &heodrada. She wondered how she was faring. &he Viking captors had decided to leae &heodrada in Chippenham to oersee the daily production of the keep. Sobbing, len had been forced from the mother of her heart's side. !ooking back, she wished she had not cried in front of &heodrada, for in reaction the slae openly and publicly wept*something wept*something she'd neer before done.
"1lease show my mistress mercy%" &heodrada had begged !ord Hrolf, coming down on her knees before him. ") beseech you, milord, to show her mercy%" Something in the Viking's gae had gentled, or so len had thought. $ut a blink of an eye later the ruthlessness was back in those black depths as if that moment of rare r are compassion had neer been. She'd hence decided she'd dreamt it. )t didn't matter. Not really. &ender or merciless, !ord )ar Hrolf was the barbarian who meant to enslae her. &he farther they rode from esse/, the closer his plans came to reality. She had to escape the soonest. small moan was issued by !othar, gaining him len's undiided attention. 2orgetting for the moment the task of escaping, she placed her brother's head in her lap and comforted him. "Shhh," she whispered, softly stroking his brow. "ll will be well, !othar." She bent her neck and kissed his forehead. "8ou will heal and all will be well."
)ar couldn't take his eyes off the comely witch. She held a fascination for him he wished she didn't. len was a curious creature filled with surprises and contradictions. $ut that, he conceded, most likely accounted*at least in part*for her allure. He rode near to the wagon, pretending obliiousness to her presence whilst feeling anything but. atching len with her brother, seeing for himself the tenderness and caring in all that she did and all that she said where !ord #odeuart was concerned* His 5aw clenched as he firmly told himself it didn't matter. 0ayhap the witch of esse/ had a few attributes, yet ice still ran through her blood. len was not only a Sa/on, but she was also a #odeuart. Her father had been responsible for atrocities against Viking families that could neer be let go unpunished. -eath, rape, annihilation* all of that and then some. '&was said that an apple neer falls too far from its tree. )n )ar's e/perience, that like as not tended to be true. 0ayhap 'twas no falsehood that Norsemen were ruthless, yet yet still there was a reason to all that they did. !ord sser of #odeuart, when alie, had no greater purpose behind the atrocities committed by his hand sae that he en5oyed the doing of them. *he apple never %alls too %ar %rom its tree0 )ar's muscles tensed as he spurred his steed into a gallop and away from the witch of esse/. He would do well to remember that.
)ar laid in the tent, unable to sleep. He tossed and turned, his cock steel(hard with memories of what len's naked, aroused body looked and tasted like. He wanted to know more. Namely, he wanted to know what she %elt like. like.
He had owed unto himself that he would not take her maidenhead until he was back in his stronghold. He didn't want to take her here, like this, yet 'twas all his lusty mind could dwell on. Does she eserve eserve somethin& somethin& better %or her %irst matin& than this tent" tent" His 5aw clenched. Nay, she didn't. &here was more to their history together than the slight she'd dealt him atop the walls, maiming and killing his men. len's hand in marriage had been promised to )ar. She was the only daughter of !ord sser of #odeuart, the man who had been, before his death, the wealthiest landholder in the border town of Chippenham. )ar was the second eldest son to a Viking 5arl with ast holdings in both 6orik and the Northlands. '&was a good betrothal and one that had been arranged by their sires in an effort to bring peace between their two holdings by 5oining them through marriage. nd, eentually, when len begat )ar's sons, through blood as well. )ar's sire had belieed sser #odeuart would hold true to his word. &he Sa/on lord had, after all, turned down the offer to make len the third wife of )ar's elder brother, mund, whose holdings were superior to )ar's because mund was their father's heir. &he terms of the betrothal were such that sser would accept only an unwed or widowed son of the Viking 5arl who had been gien a holding of his own, and that len would be that son's one and only wife. Such was the way of the Sa/on world*one wife to one husband, as the Sa/ons belieed belieed polygamy to be unholy. )ar's sire had accepted the terms and decreed that )ar, twice a widower, would take !ady len to wife. !ord sser of #odeuart had broken his ow. )ar doubted he'd eer meant to keep it. &he Sa/on lord had ridden into the Hrolf stronghold in 0ercia under a ruse of peace. 3ather than deliering )ar's bride, as e/pected, he instead held up his sword and laid siege with his accompanying accompanying warriors to the Viking fortress. He didn't succeed. sser's subterfuge had, ineitably, resulted in his death. Neer would )ar forget the words that had last bubbled from his mouth as he lay on the ground, a sword through his stomach, blood and salia gushing from his mouth. "8ou will neer hae len," sser had muttered, his eyes maniacal. "She refused the betrothal. 0y daughter would rather take her own life than bear spawn of the deil with an unholy saage." Spawn of the deil. ;nholy saage. &he slights should hae burned, but they didn't. &he only slight that had e/ed )ar in the least was hearing from sser's own ile lips that the Sa/on's daughter had refused him as a husband. *hat was was a reaction uncommon amongst wenches where !ord Hrolf was concerned. )ar was not gien to conceit, yet did he realie his position in life, coupled with the strong, dark looks he'd inherited from his 1ersian mother, made him the sort of potential groom any bride(to(be would coet for her own. Not len. She despised him.
+nowledge of the hatred and disdain she harbored toward him should hae kept )ar's shaft limp. )nstead, much to his irritation, his long, thick cock was painfully hard, pre(cum leaking out the head with thoughts of possessing her.
Chapter 6
len lay abed the wagon ne/t to her brother. !othar was fast asleep, the herbs she'd been gien leae to feed him making his deep slumber all the deeper. &he Viking guards surrounding the wagon were tossing and turning on their sides a bit more than what len had a care for. Such was hardly the ideal scenario when a lady needed to escape. !erhaps $ shoul shoul have snu) snu) herbs in their their mea as well0 She closed her eyes in sad resignation, the realiation that this ee was not ideal for escape like a punch to the belly. She had to get out of here* ha to. ha to. She had owed as much unto her brother. hat's more, she feared that !ord Hrolf would ask her to dine with him again. &he way her body had responded to the giant was beyond humiliating. &he last time he had let her go with her maidenhead still intact. hat of the ne/t time4 len felt as though she was being disloyal to $aron !enore eery time the Viking touched her. 0ayhap the Sa/on noble was already dead, but until she had confirmed as much, for all intents and purposes she was still to become his betrothed, and eentually his wife. '&was likely illiam would refuse the marriage if he learned of the carnal sensations her captor had forced upon her. :r of the wanton way len's body had responded to the barbarian's touch. She sighed, forcing thoughts of )ar Hrolf away. She needed to focus on $aron !enore, not on the Viking. illiam was the only man her sire and brother had selected for her to take as a husband. &o think on any man but him was blasphemy. nd yet, unbidden, her thoughts continually strayed to the giant. He, her enslaer, had made her feel things in her mind and body that len had neer before e/perienced. e/perienced. '&was as confounding as it was humiliating. Closing her eyes, she forced her mind ablank. She needed to sleep. :n the morrow, she would re7uire eery bit of energy and cunning she could muster. hether or not the ne/t ee seemed ideal for escape, len would attempt to flee regardless. /n the morrow, 1len. /ne more eve an you will be %ree0 /r ea.
-eep in slumber's grasp, len whimpered a bit as she dreamt she was being touched and fondled by the Viking's demanding, calloused hands. She sighed as he kneaded her breasts and sucked on her 5utting nipples. )t felt glorious. ickedly, wondrously delicious. " (mmm," (mmm," her captor purred from around a stiff nipple. "8ou are being a good girl for your 0aster this ee." 2rowning, her eyelashes slowly batted open. len tensed up as her conscious mind realied 'twas no dream. Somehow, the Viking had carried her to his tent whilst she slept. He was naked and on top of her now, his muscled body intimately positioned between her splayed thighs. len's green dress had been pulled down to her waist, e/posing her large breasts to him. "hat are you doing4" she gasped. Her heart rose and fell in her chest as she watched !ord Hrolf greedily suckle at her breasts. Half aroused and half terrified, she didn't know whether to scream for help or moan like a wanton. &he Viking didn't answer her with words, but with deeds. His dark head lifted up and his heay( lidded gae drank in the sight of her as he tugged at her dress until it was all the way off. His breathing deep and heay, the warlord took to his knees and began to intimately fondle her, touching her where and how he pleased, as much as he pleased. Her nipples, her nael, her mons, the flesh between her legs< len's eyes went wide. He was letting her know with nary a word that she was his possession. He would do with her what he would and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him. 2i&ht him, 1len# Don+t Don+t let him ta)e you# :ne part of her wanted to resist, for she knew that after this ee transpired illiam !enore would shun her if she didn't tell her future betrothed a sinful lie and let him beliee her to be an untouched irgin. 0ayhap the least she could do to assuage her conscience was put up a brae resistance. $ut the other part of her, the far more primal piece of her being, wanted the barbarian to hae his carnal way with her. $oth for reasons of surial and, loathe as she was to admit it, for reasons of immoral desire. !ord Hrolf made her body and mind feel sensations she hadn't known possible before being captured by him. She was fair tempted to see how far these sensations went, to know all there was to know of being possessed by a man, before she made good on her escape. -esire won out. "ill you kiss me like you did before4" len breathed, her oice throaty in a way she didn't recognie. She arched her hips, giing him an e/plicit iew of her flesh. "-own there, milord4" ery muscle in )ar's body tensed at her lusty words. er since the ee their two sires had agreed on a betrothal between them, he had spent countless hours thinking on the things he would do to his beautiful irgin wife when at last she was his.
He had heard the stories of her beauty from those who had ridden to Chippenham, but hadn't known whether or not the tales were true. He had f ound himself obsessed regardless, regardless, eager to see for himself the untouched prie he was to collect from the marriage bargain. len hadn't become his in 7uite the manner )ar had planned, and yet here she was*naked, untried, and lying submissiely before him. 2orgoing words, he answered her with actions. $urying his face in her tight, wet pussy, he all but came from naught but hearing len moan. Suckling her little clit in the way he knew she liked best, )ar groaned against her flesh as her legs shook from around his head. "0ilord," she gasped, grinding her drenched cunt into his face. ")*)'m about to*to<" She didn't know the word for the sensation, mayhap didn't een know what it was. $ut he knew she wanted it. len came on a loud moan, her entire body shaking as she used her legs to pull his f ace as deeply into her flesh as she could. His eyes open and peering oer her flat belly, he watched her nipples stab up as her head lulled back on her neck. His breathing labored, )ar gae her hole one last suck before relin7uishing it. &he head of his swollen cock found the entrance to her irgin flesh as he palmed both of her large breasts and freniedly began sucking on her nipples. Stiff and hard, they were delicious. He wanted to take his time and saor the feel of them in his mouth, but her continuous moans all but sent him oer the edge. "0ilord," len whispered, her hands buried in his thick, black hair, " !lease " !lease.. ) want*oh, )*)*this feels so good." rching her back, she thrust her chest up higher. )t was all )ar could stand not to plow into her as if she was a well(loed woman, instead of like the untouched wench she was. 3eleasing her nipple with a popping sound, his dark head slowly rose until their gaes clashed. 1erspiration dotted both of their foreheads, their breathing mutually heay. ")'e been waiting for this moment for years," )ar rasped. len blinked, but said nothing. She looked confused by his words. He didn't know what to think of that, so he ignored it. His 5aw tight, )ar rested his weight on his left elbow, using his right hand to perfectly position his cock at her opening. "8ou are mine, mine, len," he ground out, pressing the tip in 5ust a bit. "8ou hae always been mine." Her green eyes widened. "0ilord4 ) don't understand<" His 5ugular ein bulged, possessieness possessieness engulfing him. :n a groan, )ar seated himself to the hilt, tearing through her maidenhead, branding her as his. She cried out, her eyes s7ueeing tightly shut. ")t hurts," she whimpered, her eyes flying open as she tried in ain to push him away from her. ") do not desire this anymore. 1lease, !ord Hrolf*"
"Shhh," Shhh," )ar consoled as best he could through a clenched 5aw. h gods, her cunt was so fucking tight. He felt nigh close to e/ploding already. '&was the middle of winter, yet sweat dripped off of him. "8ou will feel good in a moment, beautiful len." She gaed up at him with the most innocently frightened e/pression on her face. )t did things to his heart he wished it didn't. "!ie still," he said thickly, his eyelids as heay as his breathing. ") promise ) will not hurt you." )ar began to kiss her, soft, gentle kisses that he knew would arouse her. :n her shoulders, on her neck, eerywhere that would make her want him again. His muscles were corded, the desire to fuck her hard nigh unto oerwhelming, but he didn't moe within her, 5ust let her grow accustomed to the feeling of him possessing her. $y the time her body went limp and she began to 7uietly gasp, )ar was more than ready to moe his throbbing cock in and out of her. He began making loe to her, long, slow strokes that were as branding as they were pleasurable. "len," he ground out, "you feel so good. ) loe how tight and perfect you fit me." She said nothing to that, but her soft gasps let )ar know she was en5oying the sensations. He began to moe faster, pushing his hard cock in and out of her sticky, glorious flesh. ":h #od," len moaned. "0ilord*oh*ohhhh%" "-o you like this4" )ar asked thickly, arrogantly, his nostrils flaring. He sank into her faster, one hand territorially grabbing a fistful of golden curls. "&ell 0aster how much you like him to be inside you." ") like it," she gasped. Her lips parted on a groan, her hips rearing up. ") loe the way you make me feel." "0aster," he gritted out, fucking her harder. He slammed in and out of her, oer and oer, again and again. "Call "Call me (aster." (aster ." She refused to speak the word. t least for now, he was beyond caring. &aking her the way he had oft dreamt of riding her, )ar ruthlessly pumped in and out of her pussy. He moaned as he fucked her, eery stroke more pleasurable than the last. &he sound of flesh slapping against flesh heightened his feror. &he tangy scent of combined arousal permeated the tent. He took her harder, faster, deeper, branding her as his. :er and oer. gain and again and* " Ah &os * 1len." 1len." )ar's entire body stilled atop hers, then conulsed on a roar. He kept up the pace, fucking her hard as he came, letting her tight cunt milk him of all seed. His cock 5erked inside her, cum spurting out in a series of gluttonous throbs. "len," he rasped, his heart beating like mad in his chest. He had spent himself so hard he felt nigh ready to collapse. "len, thank you."
She stiffened beneath him, causing )ar to recall their roles here. 0aster and slae. Con7ueror and the con7uered. He was not her husband, he was her enemy. *his is what you wante, rol%. $sn+t it" )ar's grim, dark gae clashed with a wide green one. She was as surprised by his declaration of gratitude as he was. 3olling off len's body, he took to his side. "#et some sleep, slae," he said gruffly, refusing to look upon her, refusing to deal with anything but the fact that his body coeted hers. "8ou'll need it."
len stared up at the tent, seeing nothing, hearing nothing. She had neer been more confused in her life. &he talk of haing waited for yean for yean to to be 5oined with her, had that been naught but an e/aggeration of time in a feered f eered moment of passion4 )t made no sense. She could con5ure up no e/planation other than that one. nd* He had than)e her. than)e her. len blew out a breath, stunned. &he barbarian had actually thanked her for their mating. She had not been e/pecting such thoughtful words from such a heartless brute. $s he a brute" e has never never harme you. 3y the saints, he hasn+t even even hurt Lothar# Contradictions. Nothing was black and white anymore. len supposed she should feel guilt for her lack of a maidenhead, but her only sense of shame was born from the fact that she didn't. She had wanted !ord Hrolf to touch her as much as he had wanted to do it. She could deny it, but what was the point4 He had captured and enslaed her, wanted her to call him 0aster, and yet she had still craed his touch. 0ore contradictions. &he Viking was mayhap sound asleep beside her, but len knew slumber would be a hard won boon for herself. She closed her eyes and tried not to think, desperately wanting this ee, and the biarre emotions and thoughts that had accompanied it, to end.
Chapter 7
" good bed slae is awake be%ore her be%ore her 0aster, anticipating his eery need." len's eyelids batted in rapid succession as she forced them open. beeswa/ candle flickered, drawing her attention. #roggy with sleep, it took her a suspended moment to realie it was still
nighttime. "0ayhap 'tis because the saints made me a lady and not a slae," she sniffed. ") will not make for a good bed slae at all." &here was a glint of some unnamed emotion that sparked in his unsmiling eyes. musement4 )rony4 dmiration4 She didn't know. He said nothing, only watched her. She frowned as she sat up. 3ecalling her nudity, she raised her hands to coer her breasts. 3idiculous, mayhap, considering there was no part of her body the Viking hadn't seen, and yet she did it anyway. "-o not shield what belongs to me." ") do not belong to you." ":h4" :ne dark eyebrow 7uirked. He glanced down at her golden triangle and then back to her face. "-o you not4" len blushed, the reminder of her wanton behaior nigh unto turning her entire body a horrid shade of crimson. "!ower your hands," he murmured. ") like looking at my slae naked." She lowered her hands, her blush deepening as she watched him stare his fill at her. His brooding gae wandered the length of her body, taking in her mons, memoriing the stiff nipples that 5utted off soft pink pads. &hat bedamned knot of tension that had a tendency to coil inside her belly wheneer the barbarian coeted her chose that moment to rear its sinful head. "hat do you do to me, Viking4" she whispered. ") do not understand this." Silence. len glanced up. &heir gaes met and locked. "&ouch yourself," )ar said thickly. "1lay with your pretty nipples until your pussy is sopping wet for me." She hesitated, uncertain what to do. "&ouch them," he murmured, his oice deep and aroused. "1luck them and pinch them." len slowly ran her hands oer her breasts. Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she listened to his breathing grow heay. ;ncertain as to e/actly what it was he wanted to see, but encouraged by his lust, she clamped either nipple between her thumbs and forefingers and began to pull at the hard peaks. )mmediately, she moaned, the knot in her belly coiling tighter. "+eep playing with them," he said hoarsely. "1ull them harder." She did. len pinched her nipples tighter, tugging them at the same time. )nstinctiely, her hips began to moe 5ust a little, the arousal she felt in her belly spreading to where he'd impaled her with his rod only a couple of hours hence.
"1lease," she whispered, her eyes drifting shut as she massaged her nipples. "&his is making me ache, milord." che in a good way. He knew it, and she knew it, too. "-o you want 0aster to fuck you4" )ar murmured. "ye," she breathed out. $y the saints, she felt nigh unto feered. Her hips kept up a slow, steady undulation as she pulled at and pinched her nipples. "1lease, milord." Silence. len felt ready to e/plode, but couldn't 7uite bring herself to t he edge. She needed more. She tweaked her nipples een harder, hoping it would appease him, praying he would show her a bit of mercy and make the knot in her belly come undone. "1lease, milord." :h #od, how she ached% ") need your touch." "Nay," he said in low tones, making her whimper. "8ou will play with your nipples until you scream out my name and be& for be& for my touch." 0aster. She knew precisely what name he meant for her to call him by. len gasped as she played with her nipples, the ache growing worse and more torturous by the second. She s7ueeed s7ueeed her thighs together, hoping it would assuage the fire, but found that it only made it worse. &he game was oer. She had lost. " !lease," !lease," len pleaded, her oice sounding desperate. "1lease touch me, 0aster." Her eyes flew open and clashed with his. She clamped down on her nipples hard, causing her to gasp. " $ " $ be& you." you." His 5aw tightened, his arousal obious. "&hat's a ery good girl," he murmured. "Now get down on your hands and knees and offer my slae's pussy to me." len all but fell to the ground. $reathing heaily, she took to her hands and knees, her posture imitating a cat. Sweet saints, but she would hae meowed had he commanded her to*anything to end the ache. Calloused fingers dug into the flesh of her hips at the precise moment she was impaled from behind. len moaned, the inasion welcomed. She could hear his answering growl, a sound that only further intensified the longing within. He wasted no time in an7uishing her body, mercilessly slamming his long, thick erection into her with furious strokes. He pounded into her hard*harder* harer hard*harder* harer *causing the knot knot in her belly to e/plode. " (ilor * (aster%" (aster%"
len groaned as the iolent sensation ripped through her womb. He took her impossibly harder, her buttocks instinctiely meeting him thrust for thrust. &he suctioning sound of their se/es meeting resonated throughout the tent. "8ou are all mine," )ar gritted out from behind her, his fingers digging een farther into her hips. He rode her faster and harder, deeper and more ferociously. " /nly mine." mine." He slammed into her flesh once, twice, three times more before a loud growl echoed throughout the tent. arm seed flooded len's insides, snapping her back to reality. She could be pregnant. en now, !ord Hrolf's babe could be in her belly. Collapsing to the ground, len's thoughts raced as she panted for air. What i%04 i%04 )ar flipped her oer, kissing her senseless, and all fears immediately fled*5ust as they always did in the barbarian's carnal presence. 2rom somewhere in the back of her passion(drunk mind, len realied that she had to flee the soonest. &he longer she stayed, the harder 'twould be to leae. )n more ways than one.
#etting the capties back to 0ercia should hae been the priority. )nstead, the Vikings made camp for two more days and nights at )ar's command that he might glut himself full of len's body. len. He couldn't get his fill of her no matter how many times he took her. &he innocent way her eyes would round as she found her clima/, the se/y look she'd gie him from oer her shoulder while he rode her from behind, the tight, wet feel of her pussy s7ueeing around his cock. nd, he thought, blowing out a breath as len bounced up and down on top of him, the way her gorgeous tits would 5iggle as she rode him. He loed it all. &here was nothing about len, se/ually or otherwise, that didn't arouse him. She was his possession, mayhap, but she was also his obsession. &his wasn't how )ar had enisioned keeping len. 2orce hadn't been a part of the betrothal plans. He oul do oul do the honorable thing and marry her< She re%use the betrothal, une# 1len may be beauti%ul, but ie runs throu&h her veins. :r did it4 He no longer knew. &he loe len harbored for her brother, !othar, was obious in its purity. &he loyalty she held for her bedamned Chippenham was undeniable. &he protectieness and deotion she had e/erted toward &heodrada, her serant, and the moonstruck way she was looking down at )ar now< 4ou on%oun me, little &irl. $ o not )now the i%%erene between truth an %alsehoo anymore.
His nostrils flaring, )ar reersed their positions. He fucked len harder than he'd eer fucked her before, his rage, hatred, loe, confusion, and admiration coalescing into a single orgasm. She hugged him tightly to her as he came, further confounding him. ") wanted eerything from you, len," )ar growled, his battle(roughened hands sifting through her hair. "hy didn't you gie it to me4" She searched his eyes, her e/pression confused. "0ilord4" 0ilord. She hadn't referred to him as 0aster since their first morning together and, for reasons unknown, )ar hadn't pushed her to, either. "&he betrothal," he gritted out, his hands tightening in her golden hair. She blinked seeral times in rapid succession. ")*the betrothal4" She frowned, then lifted a hand to his head. ") think you'e the feer, milord. 8our words are nonsensical." )ar didn't hae the feer, but neither was he of a mind to play games. She had to know what betrothal he was speaking of. 2eigning ignorance of her past deeds made him hurt in a way he neer had before. "!eae my tent," )ar said coldly, rolling off her, giing her his back. "0ilord4" He heard her sit up. :n the morrow they could and would discuss this once and for all. 2or now, all he wanted was to be alone with his tumultuous thoughts. &ruly, he no longer recognied left from right, up from down. "8ou may sleep with your brother in the wagon tonight. #o to him, len." He could hear her hesitation. nd then, for the second time in )ar's life, he didn't know whether he should be content or disheartened when len did as she was commanded without a word.
Chapter 8
2eigning a deep, measured sleep, len waited for what felt to be days for )ar and his men to fall, one by one, into slumber. Her heart was beating so fast and mightily she could scarce hear anything but its steady pounding. #uilt consumed her. 2or one, were she to find illiam !enore, she would hae to confess her lack of a maidenhead to him prior to any betrothal taking place. He could ery well refuse to marry her altogether. $ut that wasn't the worst. &o len's way of thinking, the ugliest sin she had committed was in no longer caring if $aron !enore wanted her or not.
len realied that a part of her had changed, matured, those two ees in the tent with !ord Hrolf. &hat part of her, for better or for worse, would always belong to )ar. He wanted eerything from her, but she could only gie him that part. 0ayhap had he not wished to keep her as a slae. She shook the thought away. "0ayhap" meant naught. &he Viking i wish i wish to enslae her, no "mayhap" about it. Let him &o, 1len. e e wante you to leave his tent. Let Let him &o. She wondered if that was the real reason behind her choosing this ee in particular to finally make good on her ow to !othar. ere she honest with herself, )ar had all but slept like the dead the past two nights. Not once had she thought to escape him, let alone tried. $ut this ee* Her feelings were smarting. !ord Hrolf had in5ured her heart in a way she hadn't known the Viking could until it had happened. &aking a deep breath, she 7uietly sucked in a soothing tug of wintry air and forced herself to e/pel all thoughts of )ar from her mind. She had to calm down. len realied that if she wished to escape she would need her wits*and hearing*about her. *hey are asleep. *he 5i)in&s are all eep within slumber+s &rasp. '&was now or 'twas neer. $riefly closing her eyes, len offered up a 7uick prayer to the saints, silently begging for diine interention, for aid from #od that she might find her way back to esse/ and onward to +ing lfred. Her eyes flew open. She assessed once again that the Vikings were all aslumber. /h, my belove brother, how $ espise leavin& you here to su%%er at the meriless hans o% $var+s men# len hesitated for a brief moment as she glanced down at !othar, her heart in her eyes. $ut this, she realied, was what her brother wanted. 0ayhap all of esse/ depended upon her cunning. She ha to escape. 1ausing long enough to gently kiss !othar atop the head, len brushed back a stray blond curl from his brow, smiled down into his sleeping face, and 7uietly made her way from off the wagon. Her knees wobbled and her heart took to pounding again as she inched her way past more sleeping Viking warriors than she cared to contemplate. )f they caught her* Her gae flicked to the tent where !ord Hrolf was sleeping. '&was the last barrier between her and the shelter of the forest. 0emories assaulted her. 3ecollections 3ecollections of his touch, his kiss, the way he made loe to her womanhood with his mouth. &he way his swollen manpart sank inside her, filling her up, making her feel secure and wanted.
Cease this, 1len# $var oes not love you. 4ou are but hattel to him# len felt nigh close to swooning so furious was the pounding of blood in her heart. $eads of sweat caused her forehead to glisten. Her breathing grew heaier than what was healthy. Her breasts heaed up and down from beneath the green dress and wool blankets she hadn't donned for two days. Stay slow an stay steay. 4ou an o this. 4ou are ni&h into the woos alreay. 4ou must leave. leave. len found her resole and steadied her heartbeat once more. =uietly, oh so 7uietly, she crept soft( footedly past the slumbering warlord's tent and into the anonymity of the surrounding forest. She continued inching into the depths of the dark woodlands for what felt to be hours, but was mayhap only thirty minutes, afraid to so much as rustle a leaf for fear )ar's saages would awaken. s soon as the makeshift camp was well out of earshot, she began to run. &he bittersweet feel of ictory and sadness simultaneously surged through len, pounded in her eins. She ran and ran, faster and faster, her arms furiously pumping back and forth, her heart drumming against her chest. $ chest. $ i it# $ esape% esape% She had not yet made it to esse/, mayhap, mayhap, yet she had escaped. !ady len of #odeuart had owed unto herself that she would be no man's slae. part of her would always long for his touch, would mayhap een miss those two ees in the tent, but 'twas a pledge she intended to keep. 6oobye, $var. $ shall miss you more than you will ever realie. $% only the %ates ha brou&ht us toðer uner i%%erent irumstanes0 irumstanes0 len ferently reminded herself there was no time for "if onlys." &here was only time to keep her pledge to !othar.
)ar awoke to the sound of his men's angered shouts. He 7uickly blinked away the last remnants of sleep and ran a hand oer his eyes before e/iting the tent. 1ulling on his brais, he stood up and speedily made his way toward the wagon where :laf was currently manhandling the in5ured !ord #odeuart. :laf was fiercely angry, his face red, the eins in his biceps bulging as he picked the Sa/on up by the scruff of the neck. Spittle from words that were barely audible at such a distance spattered from his mouth and against the felled noble's face. )ar frowned. "hat goes on here4" he barked in their common tongue. ":laf%" he shouted, nearing the wagon. "hat goes on here4" :laf let go of the dangling !ord #odeuart, a groan issuing from the in5ured man as he fell back against the wagon. )ar's most trusted man turned to face him then. His breathing was labored, his face a mask of unadulterated fury. "She is gone," :laf ground out. )ar stilled. "&he wench escaped whilst we slumbered, milord." )ar was so shocked it took him a moment for :laf's words to sink in. 1sape" 1len 1len ha esape esape 4
nd then came the anger*fury*at the knowledge he had been bested not once, but twice, by the icily beautiful witch of esse/. :h, aye, she was cunning% 2eigning at submissieness and een the beginnings of a loe whilst plotting his humiliation all the while. )ar's 5aw clenched. 4ou tol her to leave your tent, iiot. Di you not bar) at her to remove hersel% %rom your presene" len had made him %eel. %eel. Something he hadn't wanted to do. Not with her. Not with sser #odeuart's daughter. nd yet* "here is she4" )ar bellowed, 5umping in the wagon with four long strides. His nostrils flared and his teeth gritted as he pulled !ord #odeuart's hair back and forced him to look up. &he muscles around the gold clasp that encircled )ar's arm bulged in his rage. "here," he bit out, "is she4" &he Sa/on's smile was weak but powerfully irritating. "!ong gone from here," !othar #odeuart rasped. "-o with me what you will. 0y sister is free." 2or all certainty, )ar was sorely of a mind to do with him what he would, yet he stayed his hand from causing the Sa/on further in5ury. He didn't know the why of it, but deeply suspected 'twas because he knew in his heart len would neer forgie him did her brother die at his hands. )t irritated him all the more that he should care. He was a warrior, for the loe of the gods% arriors did what they did without thoughts of how 'twould cause hurt to a wench's heart. specially a wench possessed of a heart as icy and cold as len's. ow oul you leave leave me" ow# $ was was &rowin& to love love you. 3eamn you# "here," )ar ground out, his teeth gnashing together, "is my thrall4" He tightened his hold on !othar's neck, causing the Sa/on lord to bellow in pain. "Speak%" ")*) don't know," !othar said on a gasp. )ar shook him. ") know naught%" "He'll know something before )'m through with him%" :laf spat. "esse/," !othar weakly admitted. He would say no more than what was obious. " '&is all ) know." )ar suspected he knew more, yet did he also realie this particular #odeuart would die before giing up his sister's intended whereabouts. :n one leel, he respected him for it*'twas more nobility than !othar's sire had eer shown*but on another and far more primal leel the Sa/on's loyalty was deeply frustrating. !ord Hrolf held up a palm when :laf looked ready to tear into the #odeuart heir. "c7uire as much information as you can from the other of our capties. -o it now%" )ar's 5aw clenched impossibly tighter. "&he wench mayhap has a fie(hour head start, yet she is on foot. e are not." :laf nodded, seeing the wisdom in his argument. 1ausing but long enough to throw a scowl !othar's way, he stormed from the wagon and to the other side of camp where the ten slaes they'd brought with them had been corralled.
)ar's black gae clashed with !othar's blue one. ") will find her," )ar growled, earning him a frown. " '&is doubtful your slaes* my slaes* my new new slaes," he said pointedly, "will share in your silence." !othar's eyes narrowed. )ar sighed, shook his head, and walked away.
)t took een less time than !ord Hrolf had surmised. here len's brother felt and displayed a loyalty toward his sister that cut bone(deep, the former #odeuart thralls felt loyalty up until the point where 'twas their own bones that would be cut. Such was the way of slaes and was to be e/pected. )n the end, the most aluable lead came from the mouth of a babe, a si/(year(old girl who was a eritable fountain of information without een realiing it. "-o you know where she might hae gone4" )ar murmured, s7uatting down on his thighs that they might be the same height. len was not so lack(witted as to return to Chippenham. Nay. )f there was one thing the witch of esse/ was not, 'twas lacking in smarts. "as she friendly with any Sa/on ladies perchance4 :r a nobleman mayhap4" &he little girl nodded. "ye, 0aster." "#o on," he said softly. ";m< well< ) forget his name, milord." )ar stilled. is stilled. is name4 name4 He forced a small, gentle smile to his lips whilst his gut clenched with hot 5ealousy. He shouldn't shouldn't care*he knew knew that. 8et he did. did. 1ossessing len's len's body, branding branding her with his seed, had changed eerything. eerything. "0ayhap if you think real hard ' twill come to you, wee one." &he little girl s7ueeed her eyes tightly shut, her concentration obious. )ar's blood churned and boiled on the inside whilst on the outside he e/hibited a patience he felt far from feeling. "$aron !enore," the little girl s7ueaked. Her eyes flew open. She smiled at him, her toothless grin making him smile back. "$aron illiam !enore was to be betrothed to milady." 6ealousy. 6ealousy. &here it was again. Hot and all(consuming. )t caused his heart to relentlessly pound and eery muscle in his body to clench and cord. )t wasn't to this illiam !enore len was to hae been betrothed*'twas to )ar. )ar inclined his head. "Seflik," he murmured to a nearby warrior, "take this girl to the tent and let her choose a tart or two." He patted the child(slae on the head before she skipped away. away. Standing up, he turned to :laf. "3eady our mounts." His 5ugular ein bulged. "e will find this illiam !enore the soonest."
Chapter 9
*wo wee)s later $attling and bloodshed had broken out eerywhere. '&was becoming harder and harder to find a illage the barbarians had not yet laid siege to within esse/. Chippenham, she'd 7uickly discoered, had already surrendered*not 5ust the con7uered #odeuart stronghold, but the whole of the illage. Such knowledge had dampened her already downcast spirits, yet she continued onward, deeper into esse/, her promise to !othar firmly etched in her mind and heart. 0aking her mission more daunting still, len was forced to keep to the woodlands more oft than not for fear of being discoered. lady traeling without escort be%ore the be%ore the Vikings had oerthrown parts of esse/ had been naught but trouble. $ut now4 &he fear of rape and enslaement made an already worrisome situation that much more terrifying. len's saing grace as it were had come in the form of a young boy, a thief of horses% /hausted from two grueling days of traeling on foot, she had gladly e/changed the single 5ade brooch she'd had in her possession for a healthy steed capable of taking her as deep into esse/ as she needed to enture. She'd named the horse !ouis, in deference to the fourteen(year(old brother she'd lost at Viking hands. &he days were long and tiring, the nights cold and lonely. )n the ees when len would make camp, her thoughts oft drifted back to her brother, !othar. nd, as much as she wished it otherwise, to the bedamned barbarian who'd captured the both of them. She wondered if her brother fared well, but realied what a bloodthirsty lot warring men were* Vikings and Sa/ons alike. en her sire, as loathe as she was to admit it, had seemed at times rather obsessed with battling. Surely her Viking captor was no different. 0ayhap worse een than len's sire had been. Such didn't bode well for !othar. He was a nobleman within the ery realm the Vikings sought to hold all dominion oer. +ing lfred had offered the saages much -anegeld to leae, to return to the Viking stronghold of 0ercia and forsake esse/. &heir 5arls*their kings*had accepted. &hey had lied. -anish 0ercia was indisputably theirs, but 'twas now Sa/on esse/ their heathen hearts were set on ac7uiring. len was weary of all of them, Sa/on and Viking. She had long since grown tired of the battling, bloodshed, and politics, yet at this moment she felt obligated to aid her countrymen in whateer way she could. :r, mayhap more to the point, she felt a sense of duty to keep the ow she'd made to !othar. !eastways, 'twas not about war and politics to len. '&was about the lesser of two eils. -id the Vikings oerthrow +ing lfred, eery Sa/on lady might ery well be sub5ected to slaery. nd, mayhap 5ust as sadly, the Sa/on way of life would die out, their entire culture reduced to naught but ashes and memories in the name of heathen gods and the polygamous ways ways of the terrible Northmen. nd, of course, there was her ow to her beloed brother, !othar, which needed to be kept. '&was his dying wish that she find illiam !enore, +ing lfred, or preferably both.
Sighing, len snuggled into the wool blankets she'd carried with her since her escape and lay down ne/t to the flickering embers of the warm makeshift fire she'd crafted. Her 5ade(green eyes stared into the flames as if searching them, though her mind was a blank slate of stone. Slowly, almost druggedly, her eyelids batted and closed. She fell into a deep, restful sleep, the hope that on the morrow she would find aid, her last coherent thought. &hat ee, like eery ee, 'twas not +ing lfred or $aron illiam !enore who called to len in her dreams. '&was the ruggedly dangerous yet beautifully masculine face of the barbarian who beckoned to her. nd memories of the wicked things he'd done to her body those nights in his tent. )t seemed a lifetime ago. Had the barbarian not meant to enslae her, her slumber(feered mind wondered how much of a fight she'd hae put up at being his.
sennight 7uickly, frustratingly, turned into a fortnight. Had the escaped wench in 7uestion been any but len, he'd hae gien up his hunt long ago*if indeed he would hae een bothered with one in the first. $ut len< She was his. She had always been his. She had been promised to him fie years ago, when she had seen but fourteen years. "0ilord%" )ar blinked, his thoughts returning to the present. He craned his neck, his dark eyes watching :laf stampede toward him. He was atop his warhorse, riding from out of the woodlands and into the makeshift camp they'd set up a few hours outside Chippenham. :laf had gone off scouting with two other of the Hrolf warriors. )ar prayed to the gods that this time his man had found some useful information. 6udging from the arrogant look on :laf's face, he suspected he had. )ar found his hopes rising for the first time in days. "ye4" "She headed north%" :laf shouted to be heard oer the sound of clapping hooes. He slowed his gait as he approached )ar. "&oward shdown." )ar's gut clenched. "8ou are certain4" "ye," :laf panted. He was breathing heaily, his speed at returning obious despite the cold weather slashing him in the face. ") finally got that old Celtic slae to talk." "&heodrada4" "ye." )ar's heartbeat sped up, though his features were schooled. "nd< 4" "illiam !enore's stronghold is in shdown. &he old slae beliees 'tis the only logical place to hunt for her."
)ar ran the bit of information through his mind. "&hat particular thrall seems more loyal than most. How do you know &heodrada isn't 5ust trying to throw us off her scent4" ") don't." )ar narrowed his eyes. "$ut<" "ye4" :laf scratched his yellow beard. ") can't e/plain it," he muttered, frowning. "6ust a f eeling." )ar 7uirked an eyebrow. " '&is 5ust something there in the old slae's eyes. fear. lmost as though she'd rather we recapture len than for the wench to find $aron !enore." )ar frowned. '&was odd. &oo odd that one so loyal as &heodrada would wish enslaement upon len rather than seeing her safely wed to this illiam. nd yet did :laf's instincts rarely run afoul. "nd there's more," :laf grumbled. t )ar's answering grunt, he sighed. "&he old slae claims len knew naught of any betrothal between you and her." )ar stilled. ")n fact, she claims 'twas the first she'd heard tell of such an arrangement. She doubts een len's brother, !othar, knew of it." )ar's gut clenched hotly. His pulse picked up in tempo. "-o you beliee her4" he rasped. He blinked, clearing his throat, not haing a care for the hint of ulnerability he'd heard in his oice. "-o you beliee her4" he asked louder, harsher. ") do," :laf asserted. He searched his face. "Her e/pression was conincingly dumbfounded, milord." )ar blew out a breath. )f what &heodrada had said could be belieed, then he was an een bigger fool than first he'd thought. He'd held len responsible for treacherous acts she hadn't known about, let alone committed. He wished sser was alie. Namely so he could be killed again. "0ilord4" a young warrior asked. "-o we ride4" )ar ran a punishing hand through his night(black hair as he absently glanced at the young Viking. &hey could continue to ride south where they belieed +ing lfred to be in hiding. &hey could head north on :laf's hunch that the old slae had spoken the truth to him. :r they could sit here at camp and do naught. )n that moment, )ar knew with all certainty there was nothing he wouldn't do, no lead too farfetched that he wouldn't act upon it, to get his witch back. He wanted her, was obsessed with her.
len haunted his dreams in a way no wench eer had before. '&was not her beauty, though surely that made the pot sweeter. )t wasn't een the broken betrothal, a slight from sser he doubted he could eer let go of. '&was a connection, and one he knew not how to e/plain. Not een to himself. "e ride," )ar decided. He slanted a look at :laf. &erritorial feelings toward len coursed through his blood, inducing his muscles to clench. "North. &o shdown."
Chapter 10
Ashown, one wee) later $aron illiam !enore wasn't dead. She'd yet to see him, but it had been confirmed for len by illiam's slaes that he was safely in hiding with +ing lfred. 2ie days ago, she had sent the only Sa/on soldier who had been made priy to his lord's whereabouts with an urgent missie informing illiam and lfred of what she knew and of the fact that she was currently at shdown. She doubted the ma5ority of her missie would come as a surprise. Not now. Not when all of esse/ lay under siege. 0ayhap the only part of len's message that would come as a shock at all was learning that she had escaped from her Viking captors. nd that, to the best of her knowledge, !othar was still alie* most likely to be held for ransom. She had begged the king to intercede on !othar's behalf, though she doubted anything would come of her pleading. &he king had other things to worry oer*like his own backside. nd the fact that all of esse/ looked close to falling. len slowly, aimlessly, strolled down a long corridor within the !enore stronghold that led toward the dining hall. shdown had yet to fall. &hen again, shdown had yet to be raided% She wondered how long it would take before a Viking army swept into the illage and con7uered the keep for their own. Does it matter" Coming to a halt before a large, well(polished siler plate, len sighed as she halfheartedly inspected her dress before the mirror. She looked like the restored !ady len of #odeaurt wearing an e/pensie, if borrowed, burgundy woolen dress. gold braided rope knotted around the swell of her belly and drooped directly aboe her mons. Her long, blonde curls once again cascaded cascaded down her back to her bum, a wreath wr eath of golden braids encircling the top of her head. len loo)e like loo)e like her former self. She 5ust didn't %eel like %eel like her.
'&was difficult at best and impossible at worst to care about much of anything when those she loed were either dead or captured. &heodrada*a slae mayhap, mayhap, yet still the mother of her heart* imprisoned within the walls of Chippenham alongside her nieces. !othar*her beloed brother and the true heir of Chippenham*enslaed, if not dead, at only the saints knew where within enemy territory. &he barbarian% len sighed. She had escaped from !ord )ar Hrolf three weeks hence, yet the image of him was permanently branded in her mind. 2or better or for worse, she would neer forget him. &hough her con7ueror, he was a solid presence in an uncertain world, the sort of larger than life warrior her papa would hae wanted her to hae as a husband. nd the way !ord Hrolf had created magic in her body* '&was a shame he had meant to enslae her. "0ilady%" len blinked. She whirled around to face the oice that had e/citedly called out to her. '&was a slae(girl, a beauty named rda who had mayhap seen eighteen years. She must hae been a disobedient slae, for the girl's legs were fair coered with whipping scars. "ye4 hat is it4" rda was beaming from head to toe. "&he 0aster returns% He returns with the king%" &he last declaration got len's heart to rapidly beating. )t pounded against her chest, inducing her breathing to hitch. "8ou are certain4" she murmured. "ye, milady% rnell has returned and brought word% &hey shall be here in two days' ride%" rnell was the Sa/on soldier len had sent to illiam and lfr ed with her missie. &he Sa/on king's hiding place must not hae been too far off since he had returned intact so 7uickly. len's smile came slowly. 0ayhap the king meant to take back Chippenham and all of esse/. 0ayhap he would een pay -anegeld to the Vikings that !othar could return home% &he possibilities made her mind swoon with giddy happiness. )f she couldn't hae all that her heart desired, like a certain Viking, then she could at least hae freedom. nd, most importantly, !othar. "&hen we shall make certain they return to a feast% Come%" len laughed, picking up the hem of her skirts to run. "!et us tell cook to begin preparing food immediately%"
len blew out the beeswa/ candle setting on the stand ne/t to her bed. She sighed as she lay down. '&was not the day she had been hoping for. &he king had not accompanied illiam to shdown as e/pected, so beseeching him for interention on behalf of !othar was not possible. $aron !enore was not what len had been e/pecting, either. )ndeed, were she honest with herself, the moment she first clapped eyes on him her heart had fallen with a certain sense of disappointment.
She had e/pected a strong warlord like her brother, !othar. :r like !ord )ar Hrolf> muscular, deadly, powerful, ruthless. $ut a slight, pale, be5eweled weakling who looked as if he'd neer held a sword in his life, not to mention use one4 use one4 How could this man protect his own keep let alone help her reclaim Chippenham4 Neertheless, len understood duty. !othar had wished to betroth her to $aron !enore. &here had to hae been a reason. !othar always had always had a reason. So illiam was something of a weakling*what of it4 His holdings were ast, which in turn meant his warriors were aplenty. +nowing her brother as well as she did, she realied that her future betrothed's holdings had to hae been the draw !othar saw coming from a union between the deuce of them. knock at the door startled her. Naked in her bed, len pulled the warm animal skins aboe her breasts and sat up. ho on earth would come calling so late in the ee4 She trembled as she wondered if shdown was currently under siege. "ye4" She half e/pected to see her former captor come stalking into the chamber% "ho's there4" she hesitantly in7uired, wetting her lips. She couldn't begin to imagine what sorts of hell there would be to pay if he caught he caught her. &he mere thought got her pulse to racing. "len," a male oice whispered. )t didn't sound like the barbarian. She blew out a breath*from relief, disappointment, or both4 She couldn't say. She stilled. )f it wasn't her former captor come to an7uish her, then what man would dare come into a lady's bedchamber in the middle of the night4 '&was indecent. &he saints knew nobody wore clothing abed% Her 7uestion was answered when the wooden door opened and the beeswa/ candle she'd 5ust e/tinguished was rekindled. nd then another candle. nd another. "$aron !enore," len breathed out, her green eyes round. &he strong scent of ale and omit wafted down from his mouth and into her nostrils. "hat are you doing here4" pprehension made her heart pound. hateer the reason illiam !enore had for entering her bedchamber bedchamber unannounced and uninited, she realied 'twould be no good coming from it. His eyes were bloodshot, his nose running. He was so into/icated that he could barely stand on his two twiggy legs. "len," he said again, his words slurring together, ") hae waited so long for you<" He made a motion toward the animal hides. )nstinctiely, she slapped his be5eweled hand away and held tighter to the skins protecting her naked body from his coetous iew. "illiam%" she chastised, keeping her oice as low as possible that others in the keep wouldn't hear. What in the name o% the saints is he about 4 about 4 She had done all she could to come to him clean, untouched. She had failed, but she had tried. Now he thought to manhandle her prior to their betrothal*let alone their wedding night4 nger consumed her. len was tempted to confront him with the truth of those two ees she'd spent abed with the Viking that illiam might r un off in disgust, but she held her tongue. 2or now.
"8ou are drunk," len said with a calmness she was far from feeling. "!et us forget this incident eer occurred. Now please, remoe yourself from my bedchamber anon." He paid her no heed. len watched in horror as he stumbled toward the bed, and on top of her. She fought back like a wildcat. "Now, now," illiam gritted out, clasping her hands together oer her head and under one of his. He used his free hand to paw at the animal hides. "e are to be wed, beautiful len. No need to be shy." &ears stung the backs of her eyes. Neer had she felt more frightened or humiliated. en her Viking captor had not treated her thusly. He had been gentle, if demanding, with her. "Cease this at once%" she cried out, pain lancing through her when he grabbed one of her breasts and began pinching the nipple in a harsh manner. She fought to loose herself from his hold. &he slight man was stronger than he looked. Stronger, leastways, than len. "$aron !enore%" she pleaded. ") beg of you not to defile me%" "-efile you4" he raged, his nostrils flaring. He slapped her across the face, inducing her head to swoon. "8ou should feel grateful a man of my standing is willing to take the lowly heiress of Chippenham to wife%" *hat got got her goat. Her 5aw tightened. "4ou " 4ou are are the one who should be grateful that the lowly Chippenham heiress consented to take such a boarish pig as a husband%" &his was all wrong% How could !othar eer choose such a loathsome creature for her4 She wondered if he'd een made the man's ac7uaintance or if her brother had simply followed their sire's last wish. ";nhand me% Now me% Now%" %" 2ighting back only sered to heighten his arousal. He slapped her again, this time so hard she felt the inside of her cheek rip against her teeth. Her head lulled back against the bed, momentarily daed. "Stop," she gasped. "1lease<" He released her long enough to stand up and drunkenly remoe his clothes. len felt sick as she watched his small penis spring free and erect. '&was not at all like the Viking's. &he baron's manpart ooed pus from sores and was possessed of warts. Lothar, %or&ive me, me, but %or the %irst time time in my li%e $ hoose to e%y you. len's head was hurting from the slaps she'd been dealt, but she paid the pain no heed. 1icking up the brass holder the beeswa/ candle sat in, she held it before her like a talisman. "$e gone%" she warned, her heart pounding in her chest. ") will use this if you force me to%" He bellowed with laughter, then lunged. She threw the brass holder at him with eery bit of strength she could muster.
Her face paled as the candleholder struck him s7uare in the forehead. $lood trickled down from the wound as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor. $+m a mureress# mureress# /h ear 6o, 6o, $ in+t mean to# groaning sound issued from illiam's throat. Her eyes widened. He wasn't dead. flicker of relief passed through her, lasting only until she realied that if he woke up and could get to her, she would suffer a worse beating than those two slaps to the face. Still naked, her heart racing so fast she feared a fainting spell, she shuffled off the bed. len grabbed the burgundy dress, her boots, and her cape, but didn't waste time putting them on. She could do that later* )n the woods with no threats looming near.
Chapter 11
)ar's scouts knew that len was within the bedamned keep's gates. Some would think a warrior cray for laying siege to a stronghold he didn't een want in the name of recapturing a single wench within it. $ut if that's what it took to reclaim what belonged to him, then so be it. "shdown isn't nearly as fortified as Chippenham," :laf muttered beside him. "Child's play." )ar nodded, but said nothing. '&was his thought as well. "3eady the men. e attack at my signal." :laf was about to carry through on the warlord's orders when a curious sight reached his eyes. "hat in the gods4" )ar followed his line of ision. He s7uinted, barely making out what looked to be boots, then a burgundy dress, and then a cape being thrown oer the wooden gate that fortified shdown. His forehead wrinkled as he looked to :laf then back to the peculiar scene. He drew his mount in a little closer, careful not to leae the shield of the forest. !ord Hrolf's dark eyes widened as he watched an all too familiar face peek up oer the gate, and then, grunting something or another about "bedamned "bedamned splinters," went tumbling oer the side of it, long golden curls and all. She was naked. His 5aw dropped. Shock swiftly coalesced into 5ealousy, anger, and worry. ")sn't that< 4" "ye," )ar barked out to :laf.
"Holy :din," :laf muttered. &wenty Viking warriors sat atop their warhorses and watched from the trees as a naked, busty Sa/on lady picked up her clothing and ran straight toward their position without realiing who she was about to run into. Her large breasts bobbed up and down as she ran. )t infuriated )ar that his men were staring at her body open(mouthed, eyes glaed oer. His 5aw tightened. "Show respect," )ar hissed. :laf blinked. "&o a slave4" slave4" He raised an eyebrow. ") thought that's all she was to you." His eyes twinkled. )ar's nostrils flared. He said nothing to that, 5ust looked back to len and waited for her to reach the forest. &hey would enelop her as soon as she entered it. "t least she's making her recapture easy on us, milord," :laf whispered. )ar snorted at that, then waited in silence. ery muscle in his body tensed as he prepared to seie her. &he waiting was nigh unto killing him. len wasn't that far away, yet she'd stumbled twice already, thereby slowing her pace down. &hat wasn't like her. He frowned, wondering why she appeared too daed to walk, let alone run. pparently cold, len stopped long enough to 7uickly don the burgundy dress. She didn't bother with the boots and cloak, 5ust kept them under an arm as she stumbled toward the f orest. t last she was nearing their position. His gut clenched, adrenaline coursing through him. She entered their lair gasping for breath, sounding as bad as her walking looked. len appeared* Craed. s though her mind had been split asunder. )ar gae the signal and len was 7uickly eneloped by twenty Viking warriors. 0uch to the raiding party's surprise, she didn't attempt to scream. She didn't een look oerly horrified at the knowledge she'd been recaptured. ":h praise the saints," len muttered, her breathing harsh. She turned to )ar. ") neer thought you'd get here." His eyebrows shot up. "0y brother," she panted, "he is still alie4" "ye," :laf interrupted, his e/pression looking as stupefied as )ar felt to be. len nodded. "#ood." She began walking again, again, farther into the forest, twenty Viking warriors following dumbly behind her. "$ecause ) wish to kill him myself." len stumbled as she walked, realiing )ar probably thought she'd gone daft. 0ayhap she had. &here was, after all, only so much a lady could endure.
$loodshed. $attles. &he loss of her father and younger brother. $eing reduced from a lady to a bed slae. scape. Near rape. &he realiation that she'd fare better as !ord Hrolf's slae than as $aron !enore's wife. $ecoming an almost murderess. Scratching up her legs and repeatedly hitting her head on tree branches as she'd climbed up through them, naked, to reach r each the gate. ye, she had mayhap gone daft. hat's more, she no longer cared. She would kill !othar for choosing $aron !enore to be her husband and that was that. 1len# '&was the third time !ord Hrolf had called out to her thusly. ach time the summons grew louder, more insistent. part of her mind understood this, but the oerriding part of it paid him no heed. "len%" He grabbed her by the shoulders and whirled her around to face him. His fingers sunk into the flesh of her arms. "len4 Speak to me." His dark eyes roamed oer her features, noting the marks illiam's slaps had left behind on her face. Her mouth worked up and down. She tried to talk, but the words simply wouldn't come. She needed sleep. She needed Chippenham. She needed to go back to all that was normal. "len," he said in a low tone that sounded too gentle to come from him, "please speak to me." " $ won't won't marry him," len finally f inally managed, her eyes unblinking. "Not now and not eer. +ill me if you must, send me to the nunnery, or enslae me again. ) care not which. ) would sooner burn in hell with the deil himself than become illiam !enore's wife."
)ar motioned for his men to keep back. t last he was getting somewhere with her and he didn't want their presence to ruin that. &he gods' truth, he'd been worried she'd neer come back down. Sanity was slowly returning to her eyes after an hour of walking. 0ounting his steed, )ar held out a hand, motioning for len to come to him. She hesitated but a moment before permitting him to hoist her up onto the warhorse. 2or fifteen minutes they rode at a brisk pace until at last they were at the makeshift camp he and his men had erected. -ismounting, he held out his arms and waited for len to fall into them. ") would neer send you back to illiam !enore," )ar murmured, reassuring her. "Nor would ) send such a passionate woman as yourself to a nunnery." She blinked. Her head snapped up. "&h(&hen you will enslae me again4" His eyes searched her face. He wanted to 7uestion her about the broken betrothal, to know if she was truly the innocent he hoped her to be, but he sensed that she could endure no more this ee. "Nay. ) will not enslae you." len stilled. ") do not understand."
") loe you, !ady len of #odeuart." )ar's heart began to race as he watched her beautiful eyes round in that bedeiling innocent way they had about them. ") loe you and ) mean to marry you." Silence ensued. 2or a moment )ar wondered if he'd 5ust made a fool of himself yet again. $ut then len was in his embrace, her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. ")*) loe you, too," len gasped, s7ueeing him so hard he had to smile. "$y the saints but )'e missed you%" ithin moments they were inside )ar's tent, clawing at each other's clothing and falling to the ground to make loe. s he sank inside her, groaning from the e/7uisite feel of her tight pussy eneloping his cock, )ar realied that it didn't matter if len had broken their betrothal or not. She was his now*his always. &he rest didn't signify. ")'e missed you, too, len," he rasped, sinking farther into her welcoming, warm flesh. "8ou will always be mine."
Epilo!e
Jorvi), two years later )t had been a long, hard road to tr ael, but finally all was as it should be. &he Sa/on king and the Viking 5arls had made peace, Chippenham had been returned to !ord !othar of #odeuart, &heodrada now lied in 6orik with her mistress, and len was happily wed. )n a fortnight, the Hrolfs would celebrate two years of marriage. )n a few months, len would gie birth to their second child. :ut of all the happiness len had found oer the course of the past two years, 'twas but one thorn in her side that she suspected would take a long time to heal*finding out her sire was not the man she had belieed him to be. !earning of her broken betrothal to )ar had felt like a slap to the face. -iscoering that her sire had died for laying siege on the Hrolf stronghold rather than deliering her as a promised bride had both embarrassed and shaken her. !othar, too, had been stunned. )n fact, her brother had not belieed )ar when first he had told him. )t had taken him many months to come to terms with all the Viking admitted to him in confidence. )n the end, !othar's pride had relented and he had accepted the fact that there was a side to his and len's sire neither of them had been made priy to. &he relationship between )ar and !othar was still strained, but progressing. )n the beginning, after his release from captiity, len's brother had refused to accept a marriage between them*until he'd learned of his sister's pregnancy. )n truth, len realied that )ar would hae married her regardless of her brother's blessing, yet was she glad that !othar had granted it, begrudgingly or no. Smiling down at her sleeping two(year(old son, irik, len gently remoed herself from the bed, then walked to the balcony of her bedchamber. Serfs worked below, toiling in the crisp, wintry air.
ways down the courtyard, :laf shouted out commands to warriors, teaching them the battling ways of their race. $reathing in deeply, she sucked in the refreshing air, en5oying her new life in 6orik far more than she eer had in Chippenham. 2rom countless shopping stalls to rich foods bartered for at market, the city was ibrant with life. Her ancestral country home would always hold a special place in her heart, but naught could compare to the home she'd made with )ar*the home of her heart. "hat are you thinking about, my loe4" len 5umped at the sound of her husband's oice. She hadn't e/pected him to return from market so soon. He and fie Vikings had taken precious metals there to be sold for a goodly sum this morn, and he had told her he would more like than not be gone the whole of the day. She smiled as )ar wrapped his powerful arms around her, holding her close from behind. He ran a battle(calloused hand oer her burgeoning belly, belly, then let it rest there. ") was thinking how grateful ) am for our life together, of how much ) loe 6orik*and of how much ) loe you and irik." She turned in his embrace, her peaceful e/pression slowly dissoling into one of worry. "$ut !othar will be here the soonest for the birth of our new babe and )*" )ar held a forefinger to her lips. "-id ) not ow to act the gentleman, regardless to how your brother behaes4" len closed her eyes briefly, sighing. ") 5ust wish he would let go of 1apa," she whispered. ";ntil he fully accepts the depth of our sire's sins, ) f ear he will continue to behae the boar wheneer he comes to isit." "-uring his last isit, he insulted me but once a day instead of once per hour." len sighed. )ar's eyes lit up on a chuckle. "He loes you, len. nd for that ) understand his actions." "&hank you," she said softly. ") loe !othar with all of my heart." She smiled. "$ut ) loe you een more." His dark gae searched her face. "8ou are mine and ) loe you," )ar murmured. He pulled her back into his strong embrace, eneloping her in his familiar scent. 1lacing a sweet kiss atop her head, he assured her, ") will always loe you." )ar had told her long ago that she was his, that she would foreer belong to him. &hose words, once portent, now comforted. Her husband had long since become a sure presence in an uncertain world. hateer the fates had in store for Sa/on and Viking alike, they would face the future together. ")'m glad." len grinned against his chest. "$ecause did you try to leae me, 'twould be the last action you eer made in this realm."
") beliee you." )ar laughed and gae her a gentle s7ueee. "$y the gods, ) beliee you%"
