Chapter 4 #2
“No, nothing.” She shook her head. “The merchant was…er…questioned but it was obvious he really had no idea where Osberga could be. All he knows is that she vanished during the night three weeks ago.”
Questioned. Haakon could easily guess that her father’s men had done more than ask polite questions. If that were the case and the man still had not revealed anything, then it was likely he was telling the truth. He really didn’t know anything.
“You know, you never did tell me how you found out my name.”
There she was again, asking questions that put inappropriate ideas in his mind. He knew her name because Alberic had thought she was about to marry him. And the man didn’t doubt the lie because he had seen them share a kiss. And not just any kiss. A hot, decadent, scandalous kiss.
Damn. The memory of it made him stiffen. Made him want to do it again.
“Your father told me and Wolf that your neighbor, Alberic, had told him his daughter Gytha was set to marry one of his sons. It made no sense to us, until I realized that he must mean me.”
“Yes. I see.” She frowned. “But how could Alberic think I was engaged to one of Wolf’s sons? Eadhild said that I was betrothed to you. And he did see us kiss.”
Enough with that kiss! Was she trying to kill him? His groin stiffened further. Anymore and she would be able to see what was happening in his body.
“He will have assumed that since your father often has dealings with Wolf, I had to be one of his sons. I don’t know!
The man is a fool, by all accounts,” he exploded, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation.
Could they not talk about something else than that kiss which had haunted his thoughts for far too long?
“And we Norsemen all look the same, remember?”
“But you don’t.” Gytha’s frown deepened.
“No, I know we don’t, but to him—”
“I mean, from what I saw earlier, Steinar and Sven do look remarkably alike, but then again, they are brothers, so their similarity is to be expected, I suppose… The third brother, Torsten, is very different though. I think everyone, even Alberic, would agree. He doesn’t even have blond hair or blue eyes.
So much for all Norsemen being the same. ”
Haakon stared at her. How did she know his friends’ names? And why did she have such decisive opinions about them? Something in his chest started to gnaw at him, a beast he had felt all too often.
Jealousy.
Before he could comment, Gytha carried on, looking as serious as if her life depended on her ability to give the most accurate description of the men.
“The blacksmith’s sons eyes are gray rather than blue, a most striking color, and Arne, though almost as tall as Eirik, is nowhere near as muscular. His beard is also the bushiest.”
She was trying to kill him, he decided. She had been observing the men closely, too closely, if she had seen deep into their “striking” eyes or guessed what was hiding under their clothes.
He clenched his jaw. She had described everyone but she had left one man out, the most important one, in his opinion.
“What about me?” Haakon asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He might not have striking gray eyes, but he was just as muscular as Eirik, damn it! Had she seen that? “Do I look like any of them?”
Gytha went such a red color that the beast in his chest roared in triumph. Perhaps he didn’t have to worry about how he compared to his friends.
“Of course, you don’t, she said curtly. “Didn’t I just say that I thought it ridiculous to think that all Norsemen looked the same? I’m not Alberic.”
That was it? She thought he would be satisfied with such a brief answer? “What, no comment on the color of my eyes or the state of my beard or the size of my muscles?”
“No. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that everything about you is perfect!”
It could have sounded like a compliment, but the infuriating woman made it sound scathing, as if he worried too much about his appearance and had forced countless women to tell him just how appealing they thought him.
He had not. Well, not recently, at least. In his youth he had rather enjoyed getting their attention. But then he’d grown out of it.
So what in the name of Odin was he doing, trying to make this little Saxon admit that she was attracted to him? Or to his physique, at least? He wasn’t even sure she liked him. Surely she wouldn’t snap at him so often if she did?
“Anyway, I could ask you the same.” She raised her chin in defiance. “Do I look like any other Saxon woman?”
He wanted to tease her, he really did, make her feel as frustrated as he was feeling. But the answer that came out of his mouth took him by surprise.
“I’ve never seen anyone like you.”
Haakon could tell he had shocked her but that was the truth.
He didn’t just mean physically either, even if he had never seen eyes as bright or a smile as compelling as hers.
It was her attitude. With her he could not relax, or drop his guard a moment, for fear she might skewer him with one of her barbs and he still wasn’t sure if he liked that or not.
All he knew was that it made him feel stimulated in a way he had rarely been.
They stared at one another for a long moment. Then she took a step back, making Haakon realize they had not moved after she’d taken the necklace from him.
“I should go,” she said, casting a glance back to the hut. “Eadhild will be wondering where I’ve gone. We still have a lot to do. Thank you for the necklace.”
He nodded and watched her go.