Page 88 of The Outlaw Viking

Gyda’s face stiffened into a hard mask. “I do not begrudge Selik his revenge against Gravely. I would kill the devil myself with my bare hands if I could. But I agree with you that Selik’s rage may diminish his abilities to fight off such a fiend.” She studied Rain’s face carefully. “What will you do?”

“Ella has agreed to help, but I’ll need your assistance as well.”

Gyda nodded and Rain went on to explain details of the plan. They both agreed that time was of critical importance, since Selik might leave at any moment.

By that evening, not only was Gyda’s house back in a reasonably clean and secure condition, but initial preparations had been completed for Selik’s “kidnapping.” Ella dropped by, offering additional advice, and between the three of them, they made arrangements to have men sent to repair the barn on Selik’s property. Gyda sent a servant to purchase the herbs Rain specified, along with some basic household supplies.

And rope. Rain asked for super-heavy-strength rope.

But Selik never returned that day, nor sent any word of his whereabouts. And he didn’t return the following day, either. When Rain went to bed the next night, her nerves were strung so tight she couldn’t sleep. She walked over to the narrow slit of a window and looked out at the moonlit night.

Where was Selik? What was he doing? Was he even alive? Oh, God, please keep him safe.

Selik leaned against the doorjamb, watching Rain as she unconsciously spoke aloud. Her whispery words drifted through the air to him.

Bloody Hell! The wench is praying for me, Selik realized with a start. He was not sure he liked the idea.

He rubbed his fingers across his eyes with weariness. Holy Thor! He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. He had spent the past day and a half trying to elude the Saxon soldiers, leading them on a dangerous chase away from Jorvik, killing one more of Athelstan’s loyal followers in the process. And he must leave afore first light if he was going to pursue Steven of Gravely.

A dull sense of foreboding nagged at Selik, unlike anything he had ever felt before. Was it a premonition that he would not return alive from this confrontation with Gravely? Or something else?

“Selik!” Rain had turned and noticed him standing in the doorway. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you let us know where you were, you stupid jerk?” Rain’s tearful voice of concern contrasted oddly with her insulting name for him.

And, even as she chastised him, Rain launched herself into his arms, almost knocking him over in his exhaustion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, as if she would never let him go. Then she kissed his neck and cheek and eyes and brow and chin and lips—all small, frantic kisses. At the same time, her hands touched him everywhere, as if testing that he was really alive and well.

Something new and intense flared deep in his soul, and for a brief moment, Selik hugged her back, relishing the exquisite smell of her clean hair and the warmth of her smooth skin. Finally, he forcefully put her away from him, holding her at arm’s length.

“Missed me, did you, wench?”

“Yes, you brute,” she said, looping her arm through his and leading him over to the pallet. “Sit down before you fall down, you silly man. Have you slept at all since I saw you last?”

He shook his head, but obeyed her orders, intrigued by the picture of Rain fussing over him.

“Take off your clothes. You smell like a bear.”

Her words carried no lascivious intent, but still Selik’s lips tilted upward as he removed the filthy garments, except for his loin cloth. In truth, he did not think he could rise to any occasion. Even his bones ached.

His grin grew wider, though, when she lit a candle and returned to the pallet. Kneeling beside him with a bowl of water, she lathered a square of linen cloth with hard soap and began to wash his face and neck and arms with gentle care. Even his malodorous underarms and dust-covered feet.

Selik cocked his head slightly, trying to remember the last time anyone had cared enough to wash his flesh. As a child, abandoned at the court of King Harald in Norway, he was forced to manage on his own. And when he married Astrid, he cared for her, being stronger and unneedful of such ministrations.

But being cared for felt good, Selik realized. So very good.

When she finished and dried him off with a soft linen cloth, she inquired solicitously, “Are you hungry? Shall I go downstairs and get some food?”

He shook his head. “Nay, I just want to rest.” He lay down on the small cot, then shifted his weight to the outer edge, away from the wall and motioned to her. “Come, lie with me. Just for a short time. I feel so cold, and I need your body warmth.” He still wore only the brief undergarment, and the autumn air chilled the skin.

Surprisingly, Rain did not protest in her usual shrewish manner. Instead, she complied without hesitation, smiling shyly, and squirmed her way into the narrow space he had allotted for her against the wall. He pulled a wool blanket up over them both.

Selik closed his eyes with a sigh as he adjusted their bodies, his chest to her back, his manhood to her buttocks. Her head rested against the inner side of his left upper arm, while his right arm wrapped around her waist. Without thinking, he moved his hand upward and laid it over her left breast and kept it there. Rain accepted his possessive gesture without resistance, seeming to hold her breath. He did not question his good fortune, wondering silently if the wench had suffered a blow to the head. In the past, she would have clouted him by now for such effrontery.

Thank you, God. Or Odin, he whispered in his head with wry humor.

You’re welcome.

Selik smiled at the tricks his mind played on him of late and snuggled closer to Rain. In the stillness of the night, as everyone in the household slept, he felt an overwhelming sense of peace, of being right with the world. For now, he could not think of his misspent past, the turmoil of the past few days, and certainly not the lifeless future ahead of him.

Selik relished the sheer pleasure of just holding Rain in his arms. In this moment out of time, he wanted to experience each of the heightened senses expanding and flowering inside him like the petals of a delicate flower.