“I see.” Aoife took some time to digest this. Tormod’s arms around her were a comfort. “But the other villagers…”
“The whole situation is uneasy. We knew it would be before we came here. We must deal with it and learn to live here, whether that is in peace or not.” Tormod let go of her, kissed her lightly on the head and then stood. “We will visit your father next month.”
She gulped.
“Why not sooner?”
“We are waiting for another group of settlers to arrive. As there is always safety in numbers, we will wait until they have arrived to give us a stronger force to take with us and a stronger force to leave here. Then we will sail to Car Cadell.”
“Do you plan to confront my father directly about these attacks?” Aoife asked. “Or pretend the alliance still holds?”
“Directly,” Tormod said. “And we must assume that there will be other attempts on us before then. But he is going to see that his plan has failed. That you are very much alive and the village is nottheirs for the taking. We will leave as soon as we are ready to face him and take the prisoner with us. If he refuses to tell the truth about the attack in front of your father then he will be executed.”
“What will you say about our marriage, about the alliance?”
“There is nothing to say. I have a wife who understands these lands better than we do and who I am willing to fight to the death for.”
Aoife’s heart lifted when she heard his words.
“It may take a week or two before we are ready,” said Tormod
She saw the earnestness in his face and knew he spoke the truth. “And what about the others?”
“The others?”
“Björn and Ulf and Arne.”
“Any of them will fight for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Tormod grabbed her hand and held it tightly. “Even if they will not do it for you, they will do it for me. Your father may think he has tricked me into this marriage, but even if the alliance is worthless, I still have you.”
“But what am I worth?”
“You are still his daughter, and he will still have to see you in the arms of the enemy.”
She pulled her hand from his, uncomfortable with what he was saying. She had thought perhaps he cared for her, but now it seemed she was merely a way for him to win against her father. “So, because you have me in your bed, that is punishment enough for him? My stepmother will be happy to see I am being bedded by a barbarian.” Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Is that what I am?” His measured tone gave away little of his feelings, but she had felt him tense.
“It is how my stepmother sees you, yes.” She couldn’t make herself look at him. What had possessed her to say such a thing?She didn’t think of him that way at all, but she knew her kinsfolk did.
“And is it how you see me?”
She shook her head, but closed her eyes and turned away from him.
He sat down beside her and she turned back to him. He took her into his arms. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she managed to breathe out before his mouth closed over hers. The kiss was not at all gentle. There was a dark, possessive power underneath it which made her want to cling to him forever.
All too soon he broke the kiss, but stayed close to her and whispered in her ear. “Then how do you see me?”
“As my husband,” she whispered. “You have never hurt me, not the way I was hurt or punished before—and even though you know you have been wronged, you are still not punishing me for it. My father would not be so forgiving.”
Tormod’s hand slid beneath her skirts and she shuddered as his fingers ran along her bare skin. When he touched her like this, it was easy to think he wanted her, needed her. Abruptly, he lay down, taking her with him. He kissed her again, then kissed around the edge of her face, her neck, while his fingers sought to loosen all the fastenings on her clothes he could reach. He soon gave up and pushed her skirts up, loosened his own breeks and entered her. He pulled one knee up and used it to angle himself inside her, his eyes on hers as he sought to maintain a steady rhythm.
Aoife raised her head and kissed him, pleased when he responded. Somehow, it seemed so much more intimate than their other connections. His arms slid around her back, hauling her up against him and changing his angle of entry. Soon, his steady thrusting was hitting just the right parts of her. She gasped and shuddered through an intense climax but, and this time he stayedinside her as he came. Then he abruptly stood and fastened his breeks.
