Chapter 11
Sven moaned, trying to shake the torpor from his body and the last vestiges of sleep from his mind.
Unless he was having the most realistic dream of his life, someone’s hand had taken possession of his cock.
The hand gave a squeeze. No, he was not mistaken.
Someone was indeed holding his cock, and stroking it.
A woman. There was no mistaking the softness of the fingers and the gentleness of the grip.
In any case, he couldn’t think of a single man who might want to sneak into his hut and stroke him so intimately.
Whereas there was one woman who might want more of what he could give her.
Eahlswith.
He’d thought something had changed that morning.
Was that what he had seen in her eyes? The decision to come find him in bed?
His groin caught on fire at the thought.
Finally, after their discussion, she had come to see that she didn’t have to fight the attraction between them, that she could let go of her guilt and give the two of them a chance.
How long had she been in his bed, stroking him?
He was hard so he guessed she had not just arrived, but had been here long enough to coax his limp member to tempered steel.
He moaned, delight and anticipation flooding his veins.
Should he let her finish what she had so boldly started?
There was not much risk. Even if she brought him to release, the idea that she was finally acting on her desire for him would ensure he was hard again in moments, ready to take her.
And in the meantime, he could return the favor and pleasure her.
Yes. That was what he would do. Her caresses felt too good for him to ask her to stop anyway.
When he opened his eyes, intent on enjoying the sight of her worshipping his cock, he didn’t see anything.
It was too dark in the hut and Eahlswith had brought her head down, her intentions clear.
Except that the hair brushing against his stomach glowed in the moonlight, instead of blending into the shadows.
He bolted upright, too late to avoid the heat of a tongue on the head of his shaft.
“What the hell!” Scuttling away as fast as the tangled blankets would allow, he stared at the woman whose face he still couldn’t see. The woman who’d been about to pleasure him intimately. “Who are you?”
Not Eahlswith, for sure, whose hair was as black as the surrounding darkness. Eahlswith, who would never have come to his bed uninvited. Of course, she had not. He really was a fool for thinking she might have done so.
The woman raised her head just when a moonbeam pierced through the window. And then he did see her. Very clearly.
“Freydis?”
He had bedded her for a few days two years ago, and had hoped to build something with her.
But then she had left for Denmark, not having thought it necessary to tell him she’d decided to leave months before they started sleeping together.
It had stung but, as he’d thought never to see her again, he had overcome his disillusion.
And now, here she was, apparently ready to resume their affair as if nothing had happened.
“Sven.” She beamed at him. “I’ve missed you. Did you miss me?”
Her naughty smile wavered when she saw that his shaft, rock hard a moment ago, was now too limp to stand straight. It wouldn’t be long before it was completely soft.
“Does this answer your question?” he asked, nodding at it.
Her face fell. Admittedly, he’d been very blunt but really… What did she think she was doing, sneaking into his bed and taking possession of his cock without even letting him know that she was back?
“There was a time when me using my mouth pleased you,” she whispered, looking rather stricken.
“Yes. But that was before you left without warning.”
Even in the dark it was obvious that she’d paled.
Sven sighed. Evidently she had no idea she had hurt him when she’d left.
He had the honesty of acknowledging that she had not broken his heart, claiming so would be a gross exaggeration.
But he had liked her, and he would have liked to be given a chance to see how things could evolve between them.
Except that now she was back and she wanted him, he didn’t care.
There was another woman he wanted in his life.
“I did leave, but Denmark was not what I had hoped for, so I came back,” she said unnecessarily. He could see that she was here. “And I thought we could—”
“No, we can’t.” He would not allow any room for hope. She needed to know where things stood. “In fact, you need to leave now. But I promise we’ll discuss this later.”
Without knowing quite why, he couldn’t bear the idea of Freydis being in his hut.
At least she was still dressed so he wouldn’t have to wait until she put her clothes back on.
Not bothering to cover himself since she had seen his naked body countless times, he walked over to the door, opened it, and signaled that he was waiting for her to walk out.
At first, Freydis didn’t move. Then, seeing there would be no swaying him, she reluctantly rose to her feet. She didn’t make a scene, which he appreciated. Perhaps there would be a dignified way to end this. It had been a misunderstanding, nothing more.
“Go back home. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll…” he said, his voice quickly dying in his throat.
Standing in front of the hut was Eahlswith, her eyes huge with shock.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Oh, I’m so, so, so stupid!
Eahlswith could have kicked herself. To think she’d actually slipped out of Cwenthryth’s hut in the middle of the night to go find Sven in bed in spite of her best judgment…
And while she’d been tossing and turning, battling her conscience, wondering whether she could allow herself to see what could become of her feelings for this man, he’d been bedding another woman.
It was so pathetically predictable that she wanted to scream. What an utter, utter fool she’d been.
There was nothing else to do but leave.
Sven’s voice sliced through the predawn gray light. “Alva, wait!”
Wait? Was he serious? Did he really think she would want to listen to him now, when another woman’s scent was still on him?
She didn’t start running, turn her head or slow down.
She didn’t indicate that she had heard him in any way.
Let him come after her naked if he dared, she would not even dignify him with an answer.
There was a frightful curse in Norse and Eahlswith thought for a moment that she had won, and he’d given up. This victory, if victory it was, left her hollow.
A moment later, however, she understood that he had not given up. He’d only taken the time to cover himself before setting after her like a wolf after his prey. Before she could pick up her pace, a hand closed around her elbow, stopping her retreat.
“Don’t touch me!” she snarled. She, too, could bear a resemblance to a wild animal if need be.
Sven let go of her instantly, his attitude unusually earnest. “Alva, please—”
“I told you not to use this name!” Not now, not when she was already fighting tears. She didn’t want to be reminded that he was the only person other than Edwin who had given her a special name.
Seeing that there would be no escaping him, she turned to face him.
Dear Heavens, despite the freezing weather, he was bare-chested, bare-legged and barefoot.
The only piece of clothing he was wearing, if one could call it that, was a piece of fur wrapped around his loins.
It was a sight to behold, one of pure decadence and savagery, utterly dangerous, an attack on her womanly senses and a challenge to her reason.
Under her cloak, she shivered. His bare feet were half buried in the powdery snow and his hair was already crowned with tiny snowflakes. Forget Heimdallr, at the moment he was the very image of the god of the cold and darkness. Hoer, was it? Right now she struggled to remember.
“So, who is she?” she asked, lifting her chin. His beauty would not be allowed to sway her in any way. She was angry, she reminded herself, she had every reason to be. Instead of ogling him, she should make him feel guilty for hurting her.
To her relief he didn’t even pretend he had no idea who she was talking about. “Her name is Freydis. But I swear I had no idea she was in my bed. I was sleeping and I woke—”
“No idea? You were naked!” He still was, more or less.
“I always sleep naked. You of all people should know that.”
She did know that. But she had forgotten. In any case, that was not the issue right now. “I heard you tell her that you would go to see her tomorrow,” she accused. Surely he wouldn’t deny that?
“I do want to see her.” Once again he did not even try to lie.
“Because I want to talk about what she did, make her understand that I’m not available anymore.
She thought I might be, which is why she came to me.
But she needs to be told in no uncertain terms that I’m not and I didn’t want to do that while I was naked and angry at her presumption. ”
Her heart missed a beat. There was such earnestness in his voice that she could not help wanting to believe him.
Despite herself, she was impressed by his attitude.
He was not trying to pretend she had misread the situation or minimize what had happened.
He was even doing his best not to place any blame on Freydis.
What if it really had been a misunderstanding?
“Did you—”
“Eahlswith. I’m sorry but could we please do this inside?” He glanced at his feet. No doubt his toes would have lost all feeling by now. “I promise I will answer all the questions you have but, to be perfectly honest, I can’t feel my feet. Or my fingers. Or my…nose.”
She blushed. He’d said nose but he’d meant cock, she was sure of it. Oddly his effort at politeness caused something in her chest to melt.