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He leaned forward, resting his palms on his powerful thighs.
“We converse easily together and laugh,” she added.
“Is that what you truly want from a man?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yes.”
“You are not being completely honest with me.” He stood, tilting her chin so she was forced to look up at him. “I’ve never met a woman who desires so little from the man she loves.”
“I didn’t say anything about love.”
“No?”
“No.” Why did he continue to press her?
“Companions—that’s what I envision for my future life.” She hoped fervently he’d leave her alone.
He shook his head. “I would expect more from the woman who had the fortitude to follow me outside and offer comfort so selflessly.”
“You think I acted out of sympathy?”
“Did you not?”
She gaped at him. Twas a stranger standing in front of her now, not the emotionless man she’d known before. Uncomfortable with him towering over her, she scrambled to her knees, positioned very close to the edge of the mattress. “Although I am sympathetic about your past, believe me when I say I had different motives. My body aches for you.”
“You’d betray those feelings to marry a boy you don’t love?”
“Domarr is as much a man as you are.”
His furious expression could scare the dead in Hel. “I’ve warned you before to take care in what you say.”
“I must trust my instincts, Captain Marteinn. Marrying someone my temperament is compatible with will help ensure a peaceful existence. I don’t want to spend long days and nights struggling to be happy. Love will follow, eventually.”
He grasped her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Answer my original question,” he demanded. “If you could have any man you wanted, who would you choose?”
It almost pained her to reply. She’s already told him that her body burned with lust for him; why should she give him the satisfaction of knowing her heart equally suffered?
“Speak.” He shook her again.
“You.” She went limp in his hands.
He nodded—his expression grim. “Forgive me for what I’m about to do.”
Before she fully comprehended what he meant, he let her go, then walked to the heavy wood door. Glimpsing over his shoulder at her, he unsheathed his ax, then pounded the door violently with its handle.
“Captain Marteinn …” She flew off the bed, then grabbed a fistful of his tunic. “Please. Stop. You’ll wake the whole household.”
“And the gods if I’m lucky.”
Chapter Twelve
“Open the door!” Tyr roared from the hallway.
God have mercy on her soul … she’d never be able to explain why she let a man into her room. “Please, Marteinn.”
He stopped pounding.
Tyr forced his way inside, his gaze moving between them. “What is going on?”
