After all,Agnar had said he wanted only what waspromisedand that had been the crown of Thrudheim. He had that now, with or without her. Was taking her tonight his final triumph?
I want power, he had said, and now he had it. Marrying her had simply given him validity in his claim. She was older than him by ten years and close to the end of her childbearing years. It had never concerned her before—even when Heimdall began to lose interest in her, she hadn’t been overly bothered. Especially as she’d also grown bored of their couplings, and was confident Astra was strong and healthy enough to live past the dangerous early years.
Why should Agnar’s lack of attraction bother her?
Because you do want him.
She flinched at the dark whisper in her mind. It was true, she had found Agnar attractive—in an oddly dark and sinister way. But that was probably just curiosity and the drama of their first encounter after so many years apart. He had changed from a boy into a man. If it hadn’t been for his green eyes she might not have recognised him.
A creak of Heimdall’s bed reminded her that she’d been worrying about it for far too long. She decided the best course of action would be to neither encourage nor discourage him. Sometimes it was better to do nothing and see what came of it.
Skadi strode out from behind her screen, trying to appear confident, but her steps faltered at the sight of Agnar. Naked from the waist up, he sat with his back against the headboard, the blankets and furs draped over his lap. The scars on his chest and arms were numerous, but his muscles were well defined and his stomach as flat as marble.
His long silky hair fell around his shoulders in a soft contrast to the hard masculinity on display. The runes of wrath and endurance that covered his heart rose and fell steadily with each breath. She had seen him bare chested before, but she’d been about to face him in battle then. Now, he seemed to be waiting patiently for her, as if he cared very little about what would happen next.
Would he be better or worse than Heimdall?
He would certainly be very different and facing the unknown always made her nervous.
At her arrival, his eyes swept slowly up towards hers, taking in the long linen shift as if he were looking at a dull tapestry. His sable brow lifted with amusement, ‘You wear more tonight than last night.’
‘I was preparing for war. The shorter shift was to accommodate my armour.’
The amusement didn’t leave his face. ‘I would like to see you in armour.’
Was he mocking her?
‘You seem comfortable considering,’ she said mildly, staring down at him, reluctant to climb inside the bed. She would wait until he insisted—that would grant her some dignity. Showing reluctance on her part, without making a foolish scene.
To her annoyance, he didn’t insist, and her feet began to chill on the stone floor.
‘What?’ he asked, weary irritation causing his forehead to crease.
She took a deep breath. ‘Are you truly comfortable sleeping inmy Heimdall’sbed?’
He dropped his head against the wooden headboard, the carving of a serpent-like monster roaring open mouthed beside his neck. ‘He’s dead. Why should it bother me?’
‘Some people might not want to sleep in a dead man’s bed…especially not one that he’d killed. I thought warriors were superstitious. I imagine most would baulk at the idea…’Probably more so than the thought of sleeping with a dead man’s widow, she thought bitterly.
Agnar shrugged. ‘The dead do not have opinions.’ Then he looked up at her and asked, ‘Does it upset you?’
‘Upset me? Why should it? I have nothing to be ashamed of.’ Skadi bristled as if he’d called her a coward and with a flick of her wrist, she spread open the covers. She’d done it a bit more forcefully than she’d intended to, though, because the length of Agnar’s naked leg and hip were revealed and she gulped, grateful that the gods had been kind enough not to embarrass her with hisfullnakedness.
As if bored, Agnar’s gaze flicked down to his displayed flesh and then back up at her again. ‘Are you getting in or not?’
‘I just thought you wouldn’t want to take me in the same bed I shared with Heimdall!’ she snapped. ‘But I am sure you care very little about such things.’
She climbed into the bed, her body stiff as a plank of wood. The ropes beneath the mattress creaked like the sails of a ship, as she squirmed down beneath the covers, her toes like blocks of ice, and she wiggled them to get the feeling back.
Silence filled the space between them and she stared up at the ceiling, waiting for him to roll towards her and begin. She wasn’t a frightened virgin, perhaps she might even enjoy it? If she could just focus on the act itself and not who she wasdoingit with.
‘I will get a new bed,’ Agnar declared. She heard him shifting down beneath the covers to lie beside her, close but not touching. The heat radiating off his big body was like a fire trough along her side. A moment later, he added, ‘Try not to kill me in my sleep… It will only irritate me and I have a lot to do tomorrow.’
Skadi took a peek at him from the corner of her eye and, sure enough, Agnar had turned away from her and was apparently going to sleep. Untroubled by the lack of consummation in their marriage.
He doesn’t want me.
‘I will go and sleep in another chamber,’ she said briskly, opening the covers and about to get out, when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into bed with such speed she gave a little cry of surprise.
