Page 117 of My Fair Viking

"Wedding or no wedding, I will be betwixt your hairless thighs by nightfall. That I promise you, you silly wench."

"Nay, you will not." She lifted her chin stubbornly. "And do not dare tell anyone about this. I swear, if I hear Bolthor compose a saga about this atrocity, I will blame you. And I had absolutely better not hear any chicken jokes, or your life is in peril."

"Ch-chicken jokes?" he sputtered out.

"Yea. I can just hear it now. 'What chicken laid that egg in the courtyard?' 'Oh, never mind, 'twas just Tyra.' "

She had shocked him with her bluntness, she could tell.

"This really bothers you?"

"Did I not say so?"

He stood suddenly and kicked his chair aside. Then he began to remove his clothing. His belt, his tunic, his boots, for a start.

"What are you doing?"

"You will see."

When he was totally naked—and what a sight that was! The man was too handsome for his own good-—he walked over to a table on which were a pitcher, bowl, and jar of soft soap. With deliberate care, he lathered the hairy region around his manparts. Then he walked back to her and handed her a sharp dagger which had been in his belt.

"Shave me," he ordered.

She dropped the dagger to the floor. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Nay, just my heart," he said with such simplicity it melted all her resolve.

Just my heart. Did the man know how much those words would mean to an affection-starved woman such as herself? There wasn't a woman alive who didn't yearn for a special man to say those words to her. And Adam was special. Very special.

"If it will make you feel better to have us both be hairless, it is a small price to pay."

She jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders, kissing every part of his face. "I love you. And not just because of that sweet gesture. I love you. I love you. I love you."

"Does that mean I will remain unshaven?" he asked against her ear.

"It does."

"Whew!" he said. "Two plucked chickens in one bed is a bit too much."

She smacked him for his teasing.

He tried to tickle her… in the area of her mortification.

She really did punch him then, and while he wrestled with her to restrain her pummeling, he lowered himself to the bed, taking her with him. Then he rolled over smoothly so she was on the bottom.

He held her face in his hands as if she were a delicate object to be cherished. He laid his lips carefully over hers so they fit perfectly; then he breathed in and out, putting his breath into her mouth, taking her breath into his.

It was a brief kiss, but more than that. It was a kiss that promised so much. Forever. It was a forever kiss.

"I have missed you so much," he said. "There was a time, not so long ago, when I cherished my aloneness. I thought that I wanted nothing more than peace and quiet. But now"—he shrugged—"now I cannot imagine living in this cold, dark keep without you and all the turmoil that surrounds you. In truth, I cannot imagine living anywhere and being happy unless you are there. Eirik and Tykir and Rurik have all warned me that when a man meets the right woman, it will feel as if they are soulmates. I never believed them… till now."

Tyra felt as if her heart were swelling and swelling. The man aroused so many emotions she could scarce breathe. He knew just the right things to say while she stared at him in dumb wonder that he could care for a woman like her.

He began to undress her then, article by article. Despite her protests and struggles, he persisted, the whole time speaking softly to her. "Tyra, I do not want to hear any more about those thoughtless words I spoke regarding you and motherhood. I do not want to hear how you must be a soldier. I do not want to hear how the only way your sisters can marry is if you are disinherited. I do not want to hear how unattractive you think you are. I do not want to hear about any of the problems that you and I have." He had her totally naked now, and he was gazing at her… all over.

She closed her eyes in shame.

"Open your eyes, Tyra." When she did, he told her,