Viking Bride (5 page)

“Elbrand, go take a stroll down the beach for
a span or so.”

“Yes, chief.” The man sprang up, and jogged
to the gangplank.

He’s just a boy,
Eliza thought.

“He’s a good lad. My brother’s son. Going on
his first raid.”

“You have a brother?”

“Had. He’s been dead four or five years. I’ve
been keeping an eye on his boy. If the lad is half the warrior his
father was, he’ll be a welcome addition to any crew.”

Kelnar strode to the rear platform and
perched on the edge. The first flurries started to fall. Eliza
stood a few paces away, watching him in the dim light. Little
flicks of snow framed his broad shoulders and craggy face. Even
there, alone, in the dark, he oozed power and confidence. It was no
mistake he had come to lead the village, that was for sure.

Eliza went over and sat beside him. She
snuggled in close when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I think they respect you, not fear you,” she
said.

“Who?”

“Everyone I’ve seen. Even Bor’s people. One
of the crones in his group stood up for me after I killed him.”

“That’s good. His group have little enough
love for me, but they recognize strength.”

“Me, too.” She turned her head up toward his
and met his lips.

The cold air was forgotten as they kissed.
Kelnar pulled her into his arms and held her gently. Thoughts of
Angmar and Bor flitted through her mind, and she appreciated
Kelmar’s gentleness all the more for having learned firsthand what
the other men could be like.

Her fingers found their own way to Kelnar’s
belt, and before she realized what she was doing, she had his
trousers untied.

He rumbled approval, his hands exploring down
her back, and then around to her front.

Eliza pulled away, just far enough to speak.
“Why don’t we go back to the longhouse and continue this where it’s
warmer?”

“Nonsense. Look here.” He reached under the
platform and withdrew a pair of enormous fur covered blankets. One
went on the wooden planks of the platform, the over them both, a
giant tent.

Eliza tugged his trousers away, then slipped
out of her own dress. Her body ached with lust, ached for Kelnar’s
release. He seemed to have the same idea, and soon the only things
touching her skin were flesh and the fur of the blanket.

She placed a hand on Kelnar’s chest and
guided him back to the deck, then climbed on top. Her sex was
soaked, ready. Kelnar was hard, a second mast for the ship. She
settled onto him, moaning as he entered.

The air under the blanket grew heavy. Kelnar
clawed it away, leaving the edge draped over Eliza’s shoulders. The
cool air blew in, making her nipples harder than the steel of her
dagger. She lowered herself, pressing her chest to his, covering
them both with the blanket.

It took moments to find a rhythm, then she
rode him with need. Strong hands gripped her ass. Her lips crushed
his mouth. Pure lust roared through her, erasing all thoughts of
anything other than the feeling between her legs.

Kelnar rocked her up, thrust into her harder
and faster, taking their rhythm to new heights. Eliza tore her
mouth from his, sucking in great gasps of frigid air that met the
heat rising from her core in the most exquisite agony.

Her body shuddered. A pulsating orgasm rocked
through her, every nerve screaming with fire and ice.

Kelnar bucked beneath her, and distantly, she
heard his groans mixing with her screams. Nothing else mattered but
that one perfect moment.

Eventually, she fell forward, her full weight
on Kelnar’s chest. They panted together, their bodies slick with
sweat.

“That was unexpected,” Kelnar rumbled.

“You didn’t complain.”

“And never shall I.”

He wrapped his arms around her, let her
snuggle against him. After a spell, Eliza pushed herself up. The
cold air bit into her, bringing gooseflesh to every surface of her
body. She scrabbled for her shift and her dress, pulled them under
the blankets and dressed herself.

“Shall we return to the longhouse?” she
asked.

“Aye.”

“Good. I’m not through with you yet.”

He laughed at that. “It’s music to my
ears.”

They made their way back across the village,
both with an extra bounce in their step. Kelnar opened the door of
the longhouse, let her go in before him.

***

Eliza stood on the shingle, her mother on one
side, Cordith on the other. Kelnar’s ship was pushed out first, and
the men didn’t bother to wave their farewells. They went about the
business of shipping their oars and rowing into the bay while the
other ships hurried to join them.

“Do you think they’ll be back?” Eliza
asked.

“Most of them.”

“Kelnar?”

“Certainly.”

“Do you think we’ll still be here when they
return?”

Karna shrugged. “That’s the question now,
isn’t it.”

They turned, headed back toward their part of
the village. Eliza couldn’t help but notice the looks the other
women were shooting their direction. Schemes were afoot, and if she
was going to survive the next month until the chieftain returned,
she was going to have to be smarter and tougher than anyone else in
the whole damn country.

She relished the challenge.

The nights felt bitterer with Kelnar gone.
Eliza paced around the yard, her fur cloak pulled over her
shoulders. The wind whipped her collar against her face and twisted
her hair in its icy grip. Cold winters weren’t unusual near the
Seine, but they had nothing on what the Norsemen experienced.

Nearly four weeks he’d been gone, and they
felt like an eternity. The village was growing restless, and she
wasn’t sure how much longer they’d stay mollified. The news about
her had spread quickly, and just as quickly the men left behind had
begun to jockey for position. Twice already they’d try to kill her,
but her wits and Kelnar’s dagger had proven to be up to the
challenge. At least she hadn’t had to shed blood again.

“Eliza!” her mother cried into the wind from
the door of the longhouse. “Come inside!”

Her mother the witch. Kelnar’s father had
stolen her away from their home on the Seine when Eliza had been
just a babe. For nearly fifteen years Eliza had been raised by her
father and the women of the village before the Vikings had come
back for her. And now she was reunited with a mother she couldn’t
acknowledge.

Karna approached, shivering. “Come inside,
child. Cordith says the soup is ready.”

Cordith.
The old gal had taken her
capture in stride, even if the warriors had taken their liberties
with her. She hadn’t been sad for Eliza to kill the old boar that
had claimed her, though, and she’d taken to cooking and cleaning in
Kelnar’s longhouse with gusto just as soon as she’d had a chance to
bathe and don new clothes.

“In a moment,” Eliza said. She gazed at the
brooding clouds scudding overhead. Each time they obscured the
moon, if left the yard in nearly impenetrable darkness. A
particularly heavy thunderhead crawled into view, casting
everything in shadow. “I’ll come in when the moon returns.”

Her mother matched her gaze. “That could be
hours, dear. Days.”

“Then I’ll come in when I’m ready.”

The older woman’s brow furrowed, but she
didn’t argue. Their reunion had been short and sweet. Her mother
had learned quickly that Eliza had her own mind, and Eliza had
learned just as quickly that’d she’d be so much human chattel if it
weren’t for her mother’s foresight in convincing Kelnar to protect
her.

Of course, once Kelnar had spent some time
with her, he’d been eager to protect her. Eliza had seen to that
herself.

“I have my dagger, mother. If anyone comes
for me tonight, he won’t find me an easy victim.”

“It’s not the men that concern me. Not
tonight. It’s the cold. There’s snow in the air.” Her mother patted
her shoulder, then made her way back to the house.

Eliza watched her, then studied the clouds.
Snow indeed, and plenty of it. It didn’t take a witch to see
that.

A shadow moved on the far end of the yard. It
hugged the wall, but it oozed forward just the same.
Gods,
another one?

She gripped the dagger that hung between her
breasts and waited. The shadow stopped, blending almost invisibly
into the wall. A few minutes passed without it moving, and the
chill wasn’t growing any less brutal. Eliza hurried toward the door
her mother had entered.

She stopped on the step and searched the side
of the longhouse. Shadows abounded, but none looked particularly
out of place. With one last glance at the clouds, she let herself
inside.
Is my imagination getting away from me?

She wasn’t even asleep yet when the hand
clamped over her mouth. The smell of pig grease and salt so was
strong she could practically taste it.

“Shh,” a voice whispered in the guttural
Norse tongue. “I am here to warn you, not harm you. Men are coming
for you tonight. They mean to take you away, not murder you. Nod if
you understand.”

She nodded.

“Good night, Eliza. Be safe.”

He slipped away, his heavy cloak disguising
his true appearance. Eliza twitched the blankets away, thinking
she’d follow him. Even with the fire glowing a dozen strides away,
a definite chill hung in the air.

“Be still child,” her mother said. “He speaks
truth. Content yourself with the knowledge that you have
allies.”

“I’m fine. I’m just going to check the door.
He had to trip the lock.” She slipped her dagger from under the
rolled up hide she used as a pillow and crawled from the sleeping
area out to the main walkway. The longhouse stretched out in both
directions with doors on each end and a fire in the middle. She
went in the opposite direction of the fire, following in the
footsteps of the man that had warned. The jewelry that hung halfway
down her chest jingled quietly as she moved.

Even as she approached the door, she could
see that the bar was in place.
Did someone let him inside? Or is
he part of Kelnar’s guards?
She hadn’t recognized his voice, so
she didn’t think he’d belong to Kelnar’s guards. It was more
frightening to think that someone had let him in, though. Everyone
in the house was under strict orders to keep the doors barred at
night.

She kicked the Viking that was supposed to be
on watch. His metal helmet was tipped over his face, blocking his
eyes. “Hey, wake up.”

A shake of his shoulders sent his head
lolling to the side. The helmet toppled to the floor with a clang.
Eliza’s eyes went wide as she absorbed the bruised sight of his
neck.

She glanced around, a knot forming in her
stomach. Had her warning just been a ploy? She hardly had time to
think it when a shadow detached itself from the wall. The thick
cord between the man’s hands swept for head, and it was all she
could do to get the dagger up, thinking she could cut her way
free.

The explosion of light that rocked her vision
sent her to her knees, a fierce throbbing emanating from the back
of her head.
There were two of them!

And then all she saw was darkness.

***

“Kelnar will never let you do this,” she
said, shivering. The man carrying her didn’t dignify her with a
response.

She tried screaming again.

It didn’t help. The wind carried away her
cries.

Maybe my mother will come for me
, she
thought. She knew better. Karna would be able to tell Kelnar where
to find her, but the witch had spent too many years keeping her
head down. She would send men to search, at least.

They stopped outside a longhouse Eliza didn’t
recognize, though she knew they had to be on the back side of the
village somewhere. The smaller man in front opened the door, and
her captor carried her in over the threshold.

It wasn’t much warmer inside the doorway, but
they went straight to the fire. The one carrying her dumped her
unceremoniously on the floor, and when she tried to scramble away
he cuffed her hard enough to knock her into an empty sleeping
area.

“Why are you doing this?” Eliza asked, tears
streaking her face.

“You are not worthy of being queen, and if
Kelnar has chosen you, his is not worthy of being chief.” The big
one squatted beside the fire, watching her alertly.

The little one came back with a rope, and
they twisted her around, binding her arms and ankles. A length went
to the nearest post, securing her much like Kelnar’s men had
secured her on their ship those many weeks ago.

“You girl are going to stay right here,” the
little one said, rubbing his hands together. “If you try to fight,
or you try to run, we’re going to have us a real good time with you
before we kill you.”

“Shut it,” the big one hissed. “She don’t
need to know that yet.” He flashed Eliza a crooked smile. “Of
course, if you can behave, perhaps an accommodation can be reached
with Kelnar.”

“Of course.” She was already looking for a
way to cut the rope. The edge of the closest pallet looked
promising if she could find a way to rub the rope against it
without them noticing.

“Watch her,” the big one ordered. He
disappeared into the gloom, and a moment later a cool breath of
wind hit her.

The little guy crawled down onto the floor
and stared at her from a few feet away. He had a face like a rat,
all pocked and twisted.

“You’re not from here, are you?” she
asked.

He shook his head. “Can’t say I am.” He edged
forward. She edged away. A knife appeared in his hand and swung
under her nose. “You just be still, girl. Maybe I’ll untie your
ankles.” The knife tickled up, touched her chin.