He turned onto his side and gathered Laren into his arms. The scent of the warm wolf fur and the feel of her soft flesh against him made him harden instantly. He licked back the tendrils of soft hair and kissed her earlobe. But he didn’t wake her.
He was on the edge of sleep when she screamed. She was frantically struggling against him, her breath coming in short painful gasps, and she was crying, helpless cries that made his guts churn even as he shook her hard.
“Wake up, Laren, come, it’s a bad dream, nothing more.”
She blinked at him, shuddered, and sniveled, trying to still her tears.
“The same dream?”
She nodded.
“You haven’t had the dream for a very long time. It’s about the men who took you and Taby?”
“I can see their faces very clearly, Merrik. Do you think they’re still in Rouen?”
“No, not those same men, but others. Aye, there will be others. By all the gods, I shouldn’t have listened to you. I should have left you safe at Malverne.” He cursed long and fluently.
“I will be safe with you. Doubt it not. I’m sorry I woke you, Merrik.”
“Do not be sorry. You will be safe with me, dammit. If men come after you, I will kill them. Hush now, the night is still upon us.”
She nestled against him, seeking the heat of his body. She whispered against his chest, “Do you miss Taby?”
“Aye, overmuch. It is a sorrow and a joy I will have all my life. Were it not Rollo to hold claim to him, I would keep him with me.”
“You have an excellent eye.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was a sniveling, filthy little boy and yet you wanted him the moment you saw him. You saw what he really was and accepted what you saw immediately, regardless of the other.”
“ ’Tis true, though I had no thought to his parentage. You were just as filthy and so thin I could have snapped your neck with my hand, yet I also took you and saved you and made you into a skald and married you.”
She raised herself on her elbows, trying to see him in the darkness of the tent. She felt his warm breath on her face. “You are a good man, Merrik.”
“Is that all I am to you?”
She shook her head, kissing his chin, saying, “Nay, you are also my lover, even though it is said that you need more practice.”
His hand was on her buttocks, lightly slapping her, then quickly caressing instead.
She arched into his hand, saying, “What will happen to Sarla? I do not know your customs for a widow. Uncle Rollo would marry her to another man of his choosing, use her for his own gain.”
“But that is not my way nor was it my father’s. A woman may refuse to wed any man. It is true that fathers arrange matters and negotiate for goods and a dowry, but the woman may still refuse, the man as well.”
“I am relieved to hear that. You forget that Uncle Rollo became a Christian when he swore fealty to King Charles. He says often that he doesn’t mind this heathen religion for it grants him many privileges he didn’t have before. And all the Christian monks bless him for actions the Viking gods would never allow.”
“Such as treating women as chattel and as puppets to gain what he wants. Your uncle is a smart man and a very ruthless one.” There was admiration in Merrik’s voice, and Laren punched him in his belly. He grunted, then grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed each of her fingers, then her palm. She stilled. Gently, he drew her back down against him. “If Sarla wishes it, I will return her to her family.”
“She loves Cleve and he loves her.”
He tensed. “I hope you aren’t right about that. It would mean that she betrayed my brother and that I cannot allow to pass. My brother didn’t deserve to have his wife betray him.”
She rammed her fist against his arm, this time in anger. “Betray him! By all the gods, Merrik, your brother took both Megot and Caylis to his bed—in front of Sarla’s nose! You speak of betrayal, what of him?”
“A man can take women unto himself. A woman cannot take a man other than her husband, for if she conceived, then the child born could be a bastard. It isn’t allowed, Laren. Did Sarla bed with Cleve?”
“No, I am certain they did not. They are both honorable. They feel guilty about their feelings, but they won’t act on them, not for a long time.”
