It didn’t, not particularly, but it was the opportunity he’d been waiting for to spend some time with Bera. Magnus arched a brow but didn’t comment. Instead, he handed him the axe and went back to his anvil.
“I thank you,” Bera said when they were alone once more. “I will admit the axe looks awfully heavy. But you’re so strong it shouldn’t be a problem for you…”
With this comment she placed a hand over his chest and looked at him from under her lashes. Well. It seemed that they were going to kiss as soon as he had delivered the axe, whether he liked it or not. Not sure what to make of that, he nodded toward Elwyn’s hut and started walking. Bera followed, making sure to stay close and throwing heated glances his way.
By the time the two of them had reached their destination, Torsten was having second thoughts. The idea of kissing this woman who was nothing to him and too forward for his taste suddenly seemed not only absurd but also pointless. He already sensed it wouldn’t achieve anything, save make him feel wretched, because her attitude was exactly the one guaranteed to make him recoil when the moment came to tumble her onto the floor. What had possessed him to think it would be so simple? He should have thought instead of rushing out of the door while still recovering from his explosive release. Everyone knew men were not at their best in such moments. But rushed he had.
And now, here he was, with a woman about to pounce on him.
That she was so desperate surprised him, for he wasn’t even sure what he’d done to attract her. What was certain was that he didn’t know how to handle this situation. Unlike his rogue of a brother, he’d never been skilled in the art of wooing women. With Aife, it had been easy, natural even. There had been no need to do anything to provoke her desire. No, indeed, because he had not exactly wooed her, had he? Their kiss had not been provoked by desire, or anything of the sort. It was not the same and he should not compare the two situations—or the two women.
Yes, enough about Aife. He was here with Bera, for a reason, and he should not lose sight of it.
With decision, he raised his hand and knocked on his friend’s door.
“Ah, thank you.” Elwyn took the axe he was handing him. “Sorry, I would have offered you a drink but Bee and I were about to leave for town,” he added, glancing back to where his wife was fastening a cloak over her shoulders.
“It’s all right,” Torsten assured him. Evidently fate had decided that he would have to face Bera alone and live with the consequences of his rash decision. “We’ll leave you to it.”
“How can I thank you for coming to my rescue, Torsten?” Bera whispered, as soon as the two of them started heading back toward the forge.
Her rescue! Really, not only was she bold, but she was not afraid of sounding ridiculous. “There’s no need to thank me. I carried an axe, nothing more,” he could not help but point out. Surely the feat deserved little praise. But, far from being put out, she placed herself in front of him, forcing him to come to a halt.
“Yes, you did carry the axe for me. Allow me to show you my gratitude.”
There it was, the moment of truth. Better get it over with. After all, it was what she wanted, and what he wanted too, he reminded himself. But as soon as he drew Bera into his arms, Torsten knew he would not bed her. He could probably have kissed her, given her this satisfaction, at least, but the problem was, he didn’t even want to do that.
She smelled all wrong, she looked all wrong, she felt all wrong against him. Too tall, too soft, nothing like?—
He clenched his jaw before he started comparing her to Aife again. This wasnotwhat it was about, he told himself. It was not his attraction to Aife that made it impossible for him to contemplate kissing Bera; he simply disliked the brash and silly way she behaved.
“I’m sorry,” he said, loosening his hold on her. Going to her had been a mistake, he saw that now.
“What are you sorry for?” she whispered, grinding herself against his groin, her intent obvious.
“I think you want something from me…” he started, unsure how to extricate himself from the trap he’d created for himselfwithout hurting her feelings. She had done nothing wrong, this was his issue, not hers. “Something I cannot give you.”
Her face underwent a transformation when she sneered. Suddenly she looked almost ugly, much older than her twenty summers and almost mean. “I see. Not only are you incapable of bedding women, but you also lack the balls to kiss the ones who want you.” To his shock, she cupped him intimately, the gesture rough rather than seductive, and brought her mouth to his ear. “I’d heard as much and I refused to believe it, considering how manly you look. I can see now that it was no exaggeration. You’re as limp as a worm when a real man would be hard as rock with a woman in his arms, touching him thus.”
Torsten gritted his teeth. There was no wondering whom the rumors had come from, but he was still shocked to see that Bera, who had only just arrived in the village, had heard them. Either they were spreading fast or she knew Sigrid’s friend personally. It was just his luck. But no wonder he was, in the woman’s words, limp as a worm. This time it was no cause for concern, as he knew exactly why his body had refused to stir. He felt no real desire for her, to the point that he had not even been able to kiss her, and she was holding him in a grip that was anything but sensual.
All in her bid to humiliate him.
By the gods. Now he knew why she had been so eager, why it had been so easy to woo her. She had not felt real desire for him either, she had just wanted to see if what she’d heard about him was true. And, unfortunately, it was.
“Well, let me go and see if I can find another man to see to my needs,” she hissed. “Surely not everyone is as useless in this village.”
With those words she finally let him go and headed in the direction of the bridge. He was about to call back to her when a roar from behind him caused his blood to freeze into his veins.
“You bastard!”
Fuck.
When Torsten finally dared to turn around, he found Moon glaring at him from the corner of his hut. His heart fell because there was no wondering what the reason behind his friend’s ire was. He would have seen him holding a woman tight, their faces inches apart, and her murmuring words in his ear while she cupped him intimately. It would look damning, as he’d not heard that she was actually disparaging him for his lack of interest in her.
Before he could do anything, Moon had launched himself at him.
“No!” Torsten cried out, blocking the blow aimed at his jaw. “It’s not what you think!”
