Inga paused as she looked at Ivar, trying to determine if he was mocking her or offering her a chance. She raised her chin and glowered at him before stepping in front of him. She pressed her body against his before cupping his groin. Ivar stood still as she ran her hand over his rod, but nothing changed. Inga stepped back in disgust, her pretty face turned sour as she looked at the bulge in Ivar’s pants. It was no more noticeable than any man’s resting cock. Nothing had happened when she attempted to arouse him. Ivar’s laughter once more mocked her as she spun around and rushed for the door. Ivar’s longer legs carried him there faster, blocking her reach for the bar.
“Oh, no. You and I shall remain here until you can prove to me why you want to stay. So far, you can’t claim it’s because I want you, nor can you claim that I can satisfy you. You say you deserve to be a frú, but there are any number of tribes you could marry into to do that. You want me to believe that you are doing me a favor by becoming my wife; however, that makes little sense if power is what you want. If you won’t admit you don’t want to stay because of pride, then you shall live a life of humiliation if you stay here. I will never touch you. They will scorn you as a failure as a woman if your husband won’t bed you. If you fall pregnant and everyone knows I won’t fuck you, then they will label you a whore and your children killed. You will be nothing here. So once more, why do you want to stay?”
Inga lashed out, her nails scraping along Ivar’s cheek as her fist drove into his groin, causing him to double over. Ivar lurched forward, knocking them both to the ground. They landed in a tangle of Inga’s skirts with Ivar between her legs, his cock resting against her mound. Inga stretched, trying to rub her mons against him. Her immediate arousal made Ivar’s brow quirk. He realized she would have acquiesced to any demand, her pupils dilated, her hips straining, and her fingers digging into his backside as she whimpered. He palmed her breast, squeezing it before using the pad of his thumb to circle her nipple.
“Even when I mistreat you, you still want me,” Ivar murmured near her ear. “But I don’t think it’s me who you want. You just want any man who will pleasure you. And that makes you an even more worthless wife. I can never trust that you aren’t letting other men leave their seed within you. You can’t fight to defend my home. You’ll never care for my people more than you care for yourself. And you’re more likely to fuck my friends and my enemies than you are to be loyal unto just me. And that is why, Inga, you will return home.”
Inga tried to push Ivar from her, but the more she moved, the more she slipped toward release, her body reacting to her closeness to a man. While Ivar’s body remained disinterested, Inga’s hungered for his continued contact. She closed her eyes as she strained to move her mons against him. Ivar froze and let Inga do what she wanted until a gasp and a sigh signaled Inga had found what she needed.
“Perhaps I should be flattered into thinking you desire me that much, or perhaps I should be intrigued by a woman whose body is so highly responsive. But instead, I have already told you I will never trust you. So, let me now explain what will happen.” Ivar grasped both of Inga’s arms and lifted them over her head, pressing his weight against her as she whimpered. He rocked his hips, knowing that he had complete control over her.
“You will retract your accusations against Lena. You will remain in this chamber except for meals. You will not speak to anyone other than your family. If I discover you have had any visitors other than your family, I will kill whoever it is. You make it clear to your father that you want this marriage to end and that you want to return to your home. If you attempt to leave this chamber or convince anyone to help you leave, I will beat you. You want to be my wife, well, now you get to live as such. You are my possession to do with as I please. You are not your father’s daughter any longer.”
“You are not a man who beats women. Everyone knows that.”
“No one knows any such thing. I have been with one woman in my life, and I love her. Who is to say how I would treat other women? You should heed Rangvald’s warning. You don’t know what my temper is like. If you prefer not to find out, then do I say. If you don’t like this arrangement, then convince your father to leave. But either way, you want to be my wife for now, so you will have to live the way I demand. And no one can say otherwise.”
“I am a free woman. I have my rights.”
“Exactly. Leave if you don’t like it. But if you stay, then you agree to this marriage on my terms. I am the man in this marriage. I can do as I like. And what I’d like is to not see nor hear from you, nor do I wish for anyone else to see or hear from you.”
“You would make me the prisoner when it is your whore who’s locked up.” Inga regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The look in Ivar’s eyes would surely freeze her blood.
“You have a poor memory. I just told you, you will retract your accusations. Lena will be free. She has no husband, so she can do as she pleases. You, on the other hand, do, and you will do as I tell you.”
“My father will never stand for this.” Inga fought in truth to get free of Ivar, and with little effort, Ivar rolled away from her.
“Then tell him it’s time to go home.”
“Never,” Inga spat at Ivar’s feet.
“Very well.” Ivar walked to the door without looking back. He stepped into the passageway and locked the door, pocketing the key. He heard Inga’s curses as she banged on the door and rattled the handle. Ivar walked back to the gathering hall with threats of the gods forsaking him at his back.
Seventeen
Lena looked around the village square, huddled into herself as she attempted to block the wind from further chilling her. She had not seen Ivar since he left her with Eindride, Rangvald, and Lorna. When Ivar and his family, along with Inga and hers, went into the jarl’s longhouse, the guards had overpowered Eindride and her friends, dragging her to theníðstöng. Members of the village she had known her entire life heckled her and lobbed insults at her. Children threw spoiled and rotting vegetables at her while the guards shackled her to the post. She refused to look away, forcing each person to look her in the eye as they tormented her. Her silent calm unnerved many, but a few continued to antagonize her.
Jan had gone to fetch their father when they rode back into the village. Tormud brought blankets and furs for her, but the guards had refused to allow her to take them. Rangvald stepped in, and it was only the fear that the skirmish between tribes would start again that convinced the guards to defer to Rangvald’s orders. Despite the misery of being cold, filthy, and humiliated, Lena refused to overlook the fact that she was still alive. Soren could have had her killed the moment she returned, and Thor could have demanded any number of types of justice for the alleged crimes. So, while she shivered and stank, she was grateful that she was not already dead or being tortured.
“Lena.”
Lena twisted around to see Ivar running toward her. He was almost within arm’s reach when guards stepped out to block his way. Eindride pushed away from the wall against which he had been leaning.
“Ivar, you can’t.” Eindride came to stand in front of Ivar, blocking him Lena’s view. “We have to wait to see what the jarls decide. If you interfere now, it will only make it worse. She’s safer here than anywhere else. No one can get near her without anyone and everyone seeing. You have to wait.”
“She’s freezing, Ein. How can you think I’m going to walk away?”
“Because you have to. Let the tribe see she is strong enough to endure this. The whole point of fighting for her to be your wife is because you love her, and part of the reason you love her is that she will be a leader people will talk of for generations. She has to prove that on her own now. Let people see in her what you always have. There’s no choice but to let this play out now. Let the people see her endure with strength of mind and body while Inga wallows in pity and accusations. Let the people see the true difference between them. They will decide what is right. But if you swoop in, you will make Inga look like the ill-used bride and make Lena look like little more than a bed warmer.”
Ivar ran his hand through his russet hair and shook his head as he looked past Eindride’s shoulder. His friend was right. Nothing was going as it should. Ivar could not have imagined even if he had tried that he would ever see Lena manacled to the shame-pole, nor could he have imagined that defying his spiteful bride would have put the woman he loved in such jeopardy. Ivar had gravely underestimated Inga, but he would not make the same mistake. He had already found Rangvald and Lorna on their way to look for Lena and Eindride. Ivar explained to Rangvald and Lorna what he intended to do with Inga, and he had placed guards outside his door and windows to ensure it was impossible for Inga to leave. He selected men who would not betray him. Ivar chose men who feared their wives cutting off their bollocks if they succumbed to Inga’s attempts at seduction. He arranged for Einar to ferry reports to him from the guards. Ivar would keep Inga in virtual house arrest until Thor agreed to end the marriage.
“I still need to speak to her. I need to hear for myself that she is all right. I won’t leave without doing so.” Ivar tilted his head as he looked at his best friend. “Wouldn’t you do the same if it was Brenna?”
Eindride nodded and stepped aside. Ivar crouched before Lena, pulling the furs more tightly around her shoulders. He pushed hair away from her face before cupping her cheek. He noticed the blue veins beneath the surface of her cold lips. Ivar brushed his own warm ones against hers before pressing a kiss to her chapped lips. Their mouths fused together as they gave and took strength from one another.
“I will get you free of here as soon as I can. I will not allow this to go on.” Ivar whispered against Lena’s lips.
“Do what you must for the long haul, not just what you think I need right this minute.” Lena’s lips stung as she spoke, the dry skin cracking further. “I will survive out here. We have both been through far worse. Do you remember when we were ten, and we raced Eindride across the frozen fjord? He and I made it, but you were too heavy. The ice cracked sucking you in before we reached you. Ein and I got you out, but then I lost my balance and fell in. I got stuck under the ice and couldn’t find the hole. You and Ein pulled me free, but then the ice splintered too much for us to walk back. The three of us sat shivering together for an hour before our fathers found us. I have no idea how we didn’t freeze to death, but my backside has never been warmer than after the paddling my father gave me. We survived that. We will survive this.”
