She wanted to help and besides, it would give her something to do besides obsessing about Torsten, the kisses they had shared, and even more pointedly, the kisses she hoped to share in the future. As they had agreed to keep on pretending he was interested in her, there would no doubt be more to come. The mere idea had been enough to keep her awake long into the night, and she already predicted it would be no better tonight.
Shortly after dawn the next day, half the village had assembled outside Thorfinn and Rowena’s new hut. Inevitably,since she was staying in their house, Edita had come with Sigurd and Frigyth. Aife braced herself for the moment when her cousin would see her, and indeed, a moment later, she was by her side. This time, though, Aife didn’t mind, as it might give her an excuse to go to Torsten.
The two of them were folding pieces of linen and placing them into a chest when Thorfinn joined them, a smile on his face. Every time she saw him, even if she no longer entertained ideas about him, Aife could not help but reflect that it was no wonder she had fallen under his charm. He really was very handsome and personable.
“Thank you for your help,” he said, nodding both at her and Edita. “Thanks to everyone’s contribution we’ll be able to sleep in the new hut tonight.”
“You’re welcome, ’tis only normal.”
“I hope to repay the favor one day.”
Repay the favor? Aife’s heart missed a beat. Did he mean that he would help when she moved into a new house with her husband because their family was expanding? At the moment such a thing seemed like an unattainable dream.
An image suddenly popped into her mind. She was standing in front of the firepit at night, looking at the glowing embers, cradling her stomach that was swollen with child. A man was holding her from behind, his hands on top of hers, his mouth at the crook of her neck. With no small amount of shock, she realized that the man’s long hair was brown and he bore Torsten’s features, not Sven’s. This was rather unexpected. Or perhaps it was not, since she had seen Torsten earlier that morning, whereas Sven, who was in town with his father, had been unable to come.
Yes, she decided, that had to be the reason for this disconcerting image, because as she knew, she was onlypretending to be interested in Torsten, whereas she truly intended to seduce Sven.
Before she could answer Thorfinn, Oddvarr, one of his friends, called out to him.
“You’re a lucky bastard, do you know that?”
Thorfinn smiled. “I know I am. Rowena is everything I could have?—”
“Come, I’m not talking about that!” Oddvarr guffawed. “She’s a woman like any other. I’m talking about the fact that people are making a home for you. I’m a year older than you and I still live with my parents.”
“Well, go get married, father a child or two, and people might build a house for you too,” was the spirited reply.
“Humpf, I’m not that desperate, thank you very much. I quite like to dip my cock in different waters each night.”
The men around him laughed at the crude jest and Thorfinn rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. It was an endearing gesture coming from someone so virile. He really was a good man, she thought, considerate and helpful. Rowena was lucky to have found him. Not that she had found him, exactly. He had always been part of her life. With their fathers working together at the forge, they had grown up together. Just then her gaze flicked to Torsten, who was suspending a chain over the fireplace, ready to hang the cooking pot.Hehad always been inherlife…
As had Sven, of course, she reminded herself sternly—and too late for comfort. Damnation, what was this? Why did her mind automatically fly to the wrong brother, the one she was not trying to seduce, the one she was only pretending to be interested in?
The one who kissed like a god.
“Forgive him,” Thorfinn was telling Edita. “He can be quite crude, I’m afraid.”
She noticed that he was not trying to justify Oddvarr’s crudeness to her, with reason. She already knew the man was a lecher.
Like Sven.
This time she did think of him first but her mind instantly rebelled, because it was not fair. Despite appearances, Oddvarr was not like Sven. Sven was not a lecher, he enjoyed the company of women, and made them feel good, which was not quite the same. He never disparaged the ones he was sleeping with to get a laugh out of his friends, talked about “dipping his cock,” or boasted about not being ready to settle.
Yes, it was completely different.
“Don’t worry, it’s already forgotten,” Edita told Thorfinn with what could only have been described as a simper. Then she tilted her head in consideration. “Soyou’rethe famous Thorfinn. Now I understand.”
“What do you mean?” A frown. “What do you understand?”
Aife’s stomach fell, because she had a very good idea of what her wretched cousin was talking about.
“Now that I’ve met you, I understand why Aife would have?—”
To Aife’s profound relief, Thorfinn interrupted Edita mid-declaration. He didn’t seem interested in the least by what she had to say. A small miracle. “If you’ll excuse me, I see that the twins have woken up. If they’re hungry, Rowena will need my help.”
He left after one last nod in their direction. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Aife turned to Edita, fury making her voice crackle. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you mean?”
