Chapter Twelve #2
When he stopped and frowned in confusion, I stopped too, clasped his shoulder, and met his eyes. “I need you to remain here, not only to watch over our people in my absence but also Freya, for she carries the spirit of the bear and wolf within her womb. She carries my child. This tribe’s child.”
A variety of emotions churned in his gaze, from frustration to disbelief to hope, which did my heart good, given he had yet to warm to her. “Truly?”
“Aye, truly,” I said, never so certain, considering she had grown ill the past few mornings. “So you see why I need you here protecting her.” Shaking my head, I could not hide the emotion in my gaze if I tried. “For nothing is more precious to me.”
“Nor should it be, my friend,” he said, his voice rough with just as much emotion. And though it was hard to agree to this, he did, because we loved each other like brothers. Not just that, but he knew what an enormous responsibility it would be if I did not survive.
“Of course, I will stay and watch over her and your babe with my life if you think it best.” Ivar lowered his head in respect. “’Tis a true honor, Soren.”
“Thank you.” Relieved to hear it, I squeezed his shoulder. “I would also have you two oversee our tribe together in my absence and, worst case, until a new earl is voted in if anything were to happen to me.”
He lowered his head again in compliance. “As you wish.”
“Very good,” I said, pleased to hear it when I thought mayhap this conversation would not go so smoothly. “Then let us return to the village and share an ale before we retire for the eve, for ’twill be earlier than usual.”
In agreement, we did just that, laughing and sharing old memories before I sought out Freya.
She had been absent for hours now, and I worried about her, yet I sensed she was well enough, and she was.
Or should I say she wasn’t ill but mayhap not as happy to see me as she might have been when I found her leaning against the towering tree behind our lodge, staring up into the branches swaying in the wind.
Pausing a moment, I admired her red locks flowing down around her shoulders like they had the night we married, and how her crème-colored dress hugged her tempting curves.
Her skin was aglow in a new way, radiant in the last soft dewy rays of sunlight cutting down through the leaves, making her appear truly mystical.
“I wondered how long it would take you to seek me out, husband,” she said softly, her gaze still trained above until her eyes dropped to me, and I saw not peace within their fiery depths but the shield-maiden come for my warrior’s soul.
So, when she made a come-hither motion with her finger, I was helpless to do anything but go to her.
Helpless to do anything but let her press me back against the tree, then lower to the ground into a warm patch of grass when she urged me to. Helpless to do anything but watch her hike her skirts and straddle me when I should be telling her how things would be.
Telling her she carried our child.
Instead, when she cupped my cheeks, closed her lips over mine, and ground against me, all I could do was run my hands up her soft, firm thighs and grasp her backside.
I had lain with several women over time, including, of course, my late wife, but nothing felt like taking Freya into my arms. Nothing so intense and unforgettable as filling her time and time again, desperate for her even after I’d just had her.
Pulling back, she looked at me without saying a word, freed my cock, and sank onto it so slowly I thought I would die then and there at the incredible sensation of her tight sheath grasping me.
Bracing a hand on the trunk beside my head, she fully seated herself, and though her eyelids fluttered and her mouth fell open at her pleasure, she never lost eye contact.
Instead, she shook her head slowly and rode me gently at first, ordering me not to let go too soon, and hell if I didn’t comply because she had that kind of power over me.
A magical hold that did not let me go as she rolled her hips, bringing me close to peaking before she slowed several times, driving me insane.
Eventually, however, it became too much for her as well, because she leaned close and whispered in my ear.
“Do not go, Soren,” she pleaded, moving faster as our pleasure built. “Don’t leave me and our babe.”
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised she had figured everything out, but I could not counter her if I tried. All I could do was grip her firm backside and drown in all she made me feel. Sink into her seduction as she continued repeating those words over and over, the faster she moved.
Yet as we peaked at the same time and I wrapped her up in my arms, both of us trembling with the intensity of our release, I knew I had no choice but to leave her and our child safely on these shores.
And I found the voice to murmur it in her ear soon after because I had no choice.
We had no choice. Even if I were not devoted to king and country, saying no to King Hákon would turn Norway against our tribe, and I could not have that.
“Nor should you,” I said softly, saddened when I finally pulled back and looked at her, only to find her cheeks glistening with tears.
“Did you expect to find anything else?” Freya wondered when I murmured that she should not cry and brushed them away.
She rested her hand over her womb and shook her head, pleading with her eyes.
“I can’t say what will happen, but nothing good will come of you leaving us, husband, and ’tis crucial you believe me. ”
“So you know about our little one,” I said gently, resting my hand over hers.
“Ja, I know,” she confirmed. “So please don’t go.”
“Yet I must,” I repeated, reminding her of all the reasons why, dropping a soft kiss on her lips, followed by another and another. “And I think deep down you know it.”
“I know it could very well mean your death,” she murmured against my lips. “That we might never see you again.”
“Then let us make this night last,” I said between soft kisses. “Let us forget the world around us and be together tonight as man and wife. As dear friends. As lovers and warriors.” I deepened my kisses yet still peppered words in between. “As the Norns, Wyrd, and all the gods would have us.”
While I thought she would continue fighting me with seduction and words, she ended up doing the last thing I expected.