“Can I?” Inga whispered, and Einar reveled in silence at the perverse pleasure of knowing that he already controlled Inga’s mind and her body. It had taken but one day for her to accept that her body no longer climaxed without Einar’s consent. Einar would have thought her need for approval pathetic if it did not give him physical satisfaction and dominance over her.
“Yes, my little one. You may climax.”
On cue, Inga moaned as her core spasmed around him. Einar’s body tried to follow Inga over the edge. He pulled free and thrust into her sheath long enough to spill before pulling out. He swept Inga into his arms and carried her to the bed. Einar was surprisingly gentle as he slid between the furs next to her. Her eyes were closed as she panted, her body still trembling. He caressed her belly and breasts before cupping her mons. He stroked her pearl until Inga shuddered again and curled into his body. Einar lifted her chin and once again kissed her. This time, he realized, he meant the tenderness. Something shifted in his chest as he watched how trusting she was. She looked young and vulnerable, which was what he had intended. Though he originally wanted the vulnerability purely to manipulate her, now it made him want to protect her and care for her. Einar grazed his hand over Inga’s body until his palm rested against her backside. His thumb swept back and forth without his notice as he considered why his feelings for Inga shifted.
Einar still loved Lena. He wanted to possess her as much as he did Inga, but for very different reasons. He wanted to possess Lena for her unparalleled beauty. Einar wanted every man to know she chose him; he wanted the status she would bring him. He wanted Lena to depend upon him as he provided for her both emotionally and physically. As he looked down at the now-sleeping Inga, he wanted to possess her, and not only for the access her position afforded him. He wanted her because she understood his body’s needs because they were hers too. She submitted to him in a way he never imagined Lena would. Inga gave herself to Einar without question or hesitation, wanting to please him. In turn, he found he wanted to please her, too. His heart softened as he held Inga. He would never stop wanting Lena; his obsession had driven him too long, but he found that having Inga made him happy in a way he had not considered.
Soren no longer heard what the couple said after Einar’s first reprimand to Inga, but he did hear the unmistakable sounds of them coupling. He shook his head, knowing the rumors that even he had heard were true. Ivar had not needed to tell him that Inga was loose with her favors. He had overhead some of his men discussing how they had sampled her after the last visit. It tempted Soren to call off the negotiations. For better or for worse, Disa never would have disrespected him, herself, or their position within their tribe by bedding warriors he commanded. Inga seemed to not have those reservations. Now, she was coupling with a young man the same age as her. Soren understood what attracted them to one another, especially after Ivar’s shameful rejection, but he could not allow Inga to cuckold Ivar. He would not risk having Einar’s bastard inheriting his jarldom one day.
Soren turned and rested his back against the wall and shut his eyes for a moment as the sound of the couple finishing floated through the window. He shook his head and resolved the trial marriage had to end. Soren had already decided as much even before the ceremony, then Lena’s disappearance confirmed it and Inga’s infidelity necessitated it. He just had to figure out how. Soren made his way around to the entrance to the longhouse.
“Disa!” Soren called out.
Disa looked out from the kitchens and scowled. Soren normally would have felt his temper spike, but his wife responded as she did after years of him belittling her. He recognized that she was waiting for his words to strike. He held out his hand and waited. Disa’s head turned away as her brow flickered. She walked to him and looked down at his hand.
“Please. I need you,” Soren whispered. He flinched as Disa’s eyes took on a smug expression. He realized she assumed he meant he wanted to bed her, and he did after listening to Inga and Einar rutting, but that could wait. “I need to talk to you. I need your advice.”
Disa’s shock might have been amusing if it did not sting that admitting he needed her for something other than bed sport had such an effect on her. Soren remained silent until they entered their chamber. He bolted the door and dropped the bar. He led Disa to the fire and motioned for her to sit on the pillows before the hearth. Soren sank onto the fur next to her. As he watched the light from the flames flicker across her cheeks, her beauty struck him for the thousandth time, but the years had added lines and creases where they should not have yet been. He reached out a hand and ran his thumb along her cheek. Soren watched Disa’s gaze shutter as she assumed he only wanted to couple.
“I did these to you,” he whispered. “I caused these lines that should be here from laughing, not from tears and strain.”
Soren watched Disa swallow, but otherwise she sat like a statue. He swept the pad of his thumb along the lines that bracketed her mouth. Ones that might appear as though there were from laughing, but he admitted they were from years spent frowning. He tucked strands of hair behind Disa’s ear and noticed for the first time the gray hairs at her temples.
“Disa, I have failed you since before you even arrived. I was a child in a man’s body, and since I couldn’t strike out at my father for taking away my favorite toy, I took it out on you. I thought you were root vegetables when I wanted my sweets back.”
Disa spluttered, then chuckled. “You have called me many things, Sor, but root vegetables? That is too ridiculous to take offense at.”
“Root vegetables are good for me. They strengthen me and make me better. Sweets don’t last and aren’t worth much past the first bite.” Soren hoped his wife understood his horrible metaphor. When she stared at him, he thought he had offended her, but a gradual smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because our son has taken me to task and forced me to grow up. I may lead this tribe and may have been a man since I swore my fealty to my father, but I never fully grew up. Or perhaps I never grew out of my selfishness. Disa, I understand an apology doesn’t undo more than twenty years of disappointment and hurt, but I am sorry. I have been since early on, but not enough to swallow my pride. However, now that I see I’m sentencing Ivar to the life I sentenced you to, I wish I could go back. There is so much I would do differently, better.”
“And I wish it was as simple as saying I forgive you. I don’t know if I can.” Disa admitted as she turned to look into the fire.
“Dee, one day we will be grandparents. Ivar had my parents as models of a good and happy marriage. He didn’t have that with us. I would have his children see their parents and grandparents happy.”
Disa shook her head and frowned. “Even if we can make amends, I cannot believe there will ever be happiness between Ivar and Inga.”
“There never will be. She can’t stay, Dee. We have to send her back. You tried to warn me. I even saw the warning signs, but I was so certain I was making the right decision. That onlyIcould make the right decision that I ignored everything that told me Inga is the wrong choice. Now I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Dee, she’s rutting with Einar. From what I heard, it wasn’t the first time either. She is already cuckolding Ivar, and they haven’t even been wed a day.”
Disa’s eyes widened in shock, and she turned her head in the guest chambers’ direction as if she saw Inga through walls and space.
“No matter how much effort and time you put into teaching her, I doubt there is any chance she will ever mature into the woman you are. I’ve made your life hard enough. You don’t deserve that punishment. Not when there is already a woman who has proven repeatedly that she will one day run this household and village as well as you have since the day you arrived.”
“Who?”
“You already know, as does everyone else, even I have despite refusing to admit it. Lena.”
“Thank the gods you admitted it. But it’s too late.”
“No,” Soren denied. “It can’t be. We can’t let it be. We will return the dowry when she leaves. We have to make it her choice, but Dee, she can’t stay. A marriage between her and Ivar won’t benefit anyone.”
“Ivar, Harold, Rangvald, and Sven have become good friends over the past few months. I don’t think the feud will last beyond you and Thor. Even if things devolve, and Thor takes insult, neither you nor he will live forever.” Dee grinned at Soren’s mock gasp. “You’ll both move on to Valhalla or Fólkvangr, and it will be the boys who determine the next generation’s wellbeing. It’s better they are friends than merely neighbors who tolerate one another.”
“Dee, I have always trusted you and known I can rely on you. I’m grateful for that. I just wish that I listened to you on this instead of being so disagreeable. You’ve given me steady and worthy advice over the years, and one of the few things I’ve gotten right is listening to you. But this time, I wanted to be right on my own. I wanted to be right the more I realized my error in considering this marriage. I should have listened to you.”
“Are you admitting you were wrong? That even you make mistakes?” The teasing tone in her voice surprised Disa. There was something about seeing Soren humbled and almost vulnerable that eased the animosity she wore like armor.
