Viking Warrior

by Connie Mason

  Rannulf’s intense blue eyes returned to Reyna. Their gazes collided in startling recollection. Rannulf’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and then an unexpected flush started at the base of the Norseman’s neck and traveled upward.

  Reyna’s hand flew to her mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to erupt from her throat. It was as if a curtain had been lifted from her memory. This Norseman, this man named Rannulf, not Wulf the Ruthless as she’d wrongly assumed, had brutally ripped away her innocence and left her lying hurt and bleeding on the ground. Although Wulf had sold her into slavery, he had not physically harmed her.

  Staggering to her feet, Reyna clung to the table’s edge, trying to find the strength to stumble away. Beside her, Wulf lurched upward, grasping her about the waist to steady her. Though Reyna felt everyone’s eyes on her, she saw no one save Rannulf.

  Her conflicting feelings for Wulf, her desire for a man she should hate above all others, had plagued her. Now that she knew the truth, it was as if a weight had been lifted from her.

  “Are you unwell, Reyna?”

  Wulf’s voice released her from her shocked paralysis. She returned her gaze to the brutal Norseman sitting at the family table.

  “I…want to leave,” Reyna gasped. She released her hold on the table and backed away. Unfortunately the shock had been too much for her, and she started a slow spiral to the floor. She heard Thora call her name and felt Wulf’s arms sweep her off her feet.

  “What ails Reyna, son?” Thora asked, concern coloring her words.

  “Do not worry, Mother. I will take care of her.”

  “What is wrong with her?”

  He sent a pointed look at Rannulf. “I will explain later.” Whirling on his heel, he headed out the door with Reyna resting securely in his arms.

  Reyna regained her wits the moment the cold air hit her hot cheeks. She felt herself floating and opened her eyes. Relief swamped her when she saw Wulf’s face close to hers and realized she was in his arms. She lifted her own arms, slid them around his neck and turned her face into his hard chest.

  “What happened?” she mumbled.

  “What do you remember?”

  “I…sweet Freya, it was Rannulf! Why did you not tell me?”

  “I tried to tell you I did not do what you accused me of, but you refused to believe me.”

  “What was I to think? You refused to supply the name of the man responsible.”

  “Rannulf is Olga’s brother. I feared you might confront Olga about her brother’s depraved act and upset her. I worried that a confrontation might cause harm to my brother’s heir. Olga is a volatile woman.”

  Wulf opened the door and carried Reyna inside the hall. Both Uma and Lorne came running up to them.

  “Master, what is wrong with Reyna?” Uma asked.

  “Reyna is fine, Uma. You and Lorne may take your ease in the volcanic pool; I have no further need of you to night.”

  Uma sent a venomous look at Reyna. “Lorne can go; I will remain behind to assist you.”

  Wulf brushed past her. “I do not need your help. Do as I say, Uma.”

  Lorne grabbed Uma’s hand and dragged her out the door. Wulf proceeded to his sleeping alcove, placed Reyna on the bed and pulled the curtain shut behind him.

  Wulf stood over her, gazing at her with an expression Reyna found difficult to interpret.

  “All these weeks I believed you a monster,” Reyna whispered. “You should not have let it go on so long.”

  Wulf subsided onto the edge of the bed. Reyna moved over to make room for him. “I am not without guilt, Reyna. I did sell you to a foreign master.”

  “Why did you take me aboard your dragonship? Why did you not leave me behind?”

  “If I had left you, others would have taken Rannulf’s place. You looked so vulnerable, so hurt, that I could not think beyond removing you from the path of danger.”

  Reyna sent him a puzzled look. He had paid so little attention to her during the voyage to Byzantium, she could have been invisible.

  “I know what you are thinking. Believe it or not, I did not see you as a desirable woman then. You were the enemy. I was still mourning my wife; my rage was so great that vengeance was all I cared about. The sooner I rid myself of the enemy the better.”

  “Yet here I am, with the very same man who wanted nothing to do with me. Do you not think it strange?”

  “Beyond strange,” Wulf agreed.

  “ ’tis as if the gods preordained our meeting again. I did not know Hagar and he did not know me. We happened to be at the same place at the same time. And now I am your thrall.”

  Reaching out, Wulf smoothed a silken strand of pale hair away from her forehead. Reyna felt a jolt of awareness where his hand lingered, and then a surge of heat spread through her body.

  “You are so beautiful,” Wulf said, his voice low and strangely hoarse. “How could I have failed to see what I had in my possession? Had I not been wild with grief, I would not have sold you. I would have kept you for myself.”

  “How long will Rannulf remain here?” Reyna asked, trying to distract herself from the intense pull of Wulf’s nearness, which was wreaking havoc on her senses.

  “Hagar asked Rannulf to stay the winter. He has expressed his desire to court and wed Helga.”

  Reyna lurched upright in bed, her face a mask of horror. “No, never say ’tis true. The man is a monster. Helga deserves a man who will appreciate and love her.”

  Wulf’s arms came around Reyna in an effort to soothe her. “Rannulf is not a bad man. ’tis a Norseman’s nature to lose control when his bloodlust runs high.”

  Reyna pushed Wulf away. “My father and brothers do not harm women.”

  Wulf sent her a look of disbelief. “Do you know that for a fact? Have you been with them when they raid?”

  “My brothers are traders and my father is a farmer. They have never raided property belonging to another.”

  Wulf had the grace to flush. “We are Norsemen; we go a-Viking because it is our way of life. Some of us are traders, like Hagar and your brothers. But many of us raid to acquire fertile land and for plunder and slaves. ’tis a harsh life we lead.”

  Reyna remained mute, quietly digesting everything Wulf had told her. At length she said, “And what of your women? How do you treat them?”

  “Norsewomen are strong and resilient. They can fight alongside their men when the need arises. They run our homes and bear our children. Norsemen revere their wives, mothers and sisters.”

  “I noticed thralls are not included in your list of those you respect.”

  “I have the highest respect for you, Reyna. You have won over my entire family.”

  “Obviously I have not won you over for I am still your thrall.”

  “I no longer think of you as my thrall. You saved my life.”

  “Then why have you not freed me?” she asked bluntly.

  “Are you sure you wish to hear the truth?”

  “I prefer it to a lie.”

  Wulf found her hand, turned it over and stroked her palm with the roughness of his thumb. “So be it. The truth is that I want to keep you for myself. I want you in my hall and in my bed. Letting you go would give you the freedom to leave and find a man more to your liking. I know you cannot like me, for I tore you away from your home and abandoned you in a foreign land.”

  Reyna touched his cheek, feeling the roughness of a sprouting beard. “In an odd way you saved my life. Being abused by countless men would have taken the will to live from me. During the voyage to Byzantium, I learned a great deal about myself. I was stronger than I realized. That introspective time on your ship lent me the courage to face my new master with newfound confidence.

  “I challenged him and he backed down. He never touched me during those months I spent in his harem. His decision to sell me was the best thing that could have happened to me. Now I am returned to my own part of the world.”

  “Now you are mine,” Wulf whispered.

&n
bsp; Grasping her shoulders, he pulled her against him. He felt her stiffen and wondered if it was every man’s touch or just his she could not bear. Then he recalled her previous response to his kisses and smiled. Though Rannulf’s assault might have made Reyna skittish with men, she had accepted his kisses eagerly before.

  Wulf stared into her wide green eyes as he slowly brought his mouth down on hers.

  Reyna allowed herself to relax as soft, full lips moved over hers, tasting her, letting her taste him. She felt surrounded by his male scent, his very essence, the power of his need. He exuded sexual musk as he deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking into her mouth, hot, fierce, determined. Then terror overwhelmed her. The memory of a hard body smelling of blood and sweat threw her into a panic and she began to struggle.

  Wulf pulled back from the kiss and stared at her. “I am not going to hurt you, Reyna. I am not the ravishing beast you think I am. I want to make love to you. Though it has been a long time for me, I know how to be gentle. Are you frightened of me?”

  Reyna regarded him for a long time. She was frightened, but not of Wulf. She hated the act that had torn away her innocence and couldn’t imagine doing that again. But her body was in contradiction with her mind. Her body wanted the same thing Wulf wanted. The raw, purely sexual need to experience fulfillment with Wulf nipped at her senses. Her body told her there was pleasure to be had if she could overcome her fright and embrace it.

  “I do not fear you, Wulf the Ruthless. I may have at one time but no longer. That does not mean, however, that I wish to become your bed slave.”

  “Let me touch you, Reyna. I promise to do naught you do not wish me to do.”

  He was determined in this, Reyna realized, but in her heart she feared the pain and the degradation of being forced to a man’s will. Yet some small part of her wondered what a sexual experience would feel like if she were a willing participant.

  “What are you thinking, Reyna?”

  She stared at his mouth, recalling the pleasure his lips were capable of giving. She had suffered so much pain, why shouldn’t she allow herself a brief taste of pleasure?

  “Kiss me, Wulf.”

  He inhaled sharply. “I might not be able to stop with just a kiss. Are you willing to accept my loving if I promise not to hurt you?”

  Before Reyna could think about what she had agreed to, she nodded her head.

  “Thank Odin,” Wulf breathed. “It would have killed me to walk away from you. You won’t be sorry, Reyna, I promise.”

  Reyna couldn’t deny she wanted Wulf, wanted to know what it felt like to be made love to instead of being ruthlessly ravished. Dragging in a deep breath, she waited for the pleasure to begin.

  Wulf seized her mouth, claiming her with a passion that made her flinch, but then his mouth softened, coaxing her lips open and thrusting his tongue between her teeth. The kiss went on and on, softening at times then turning wildly savage as he took her deeply with his tongue.

  She felt his hands working on the ties of her tunic, easing it down her shoulders along with her undertunic. His mouth never left hers as he lifted her and skillfully swept away her clothing, tossing it on the floor. Her heavy woolen stockings and shoes followed. Before the rush of air could cool her body, he covered her with his own.

  “Wulf…” She trembled as he took a nipple into his mouth and suckled her. A wave of pleasure hit her. She arched upward, pushing more of her breast into his mouth.

  What she did next shocked her. She tugged at his leather jerkin, wanting, needing to feel his naked body against hers. One swift movement brought Wulf to his feet. He undressed swiftly, his clothing flying hither and yon. Then he stood naked before her, his body a flagrant statement of his masculinity. Reyna’s avid gaze swept over him, gasping when she saw his swollen sex bursting from the thick blond forest between his thighs.

  She gulped audibly. He would kill her if he tried to put that inside her. “Wulf, I do not think…You are so big…I am not sure.”

  Wulf dropped down beside her. “Don’t think, Reyna. Our bodies are made to fit together.”

  Then he kissed her. Despite her frayed nerves, Reyna returned his kiss, and soon she was drowning in a sea of bliss. Her fears floated away as if they had never existed as Wulf’s mouth found her breasts, his white teeth tugging on the succulent tips. A small cry of protest erupted from her throat when his mouth left her nipples and nibbled a path down to her abdomen. When his big hand sifted through the soft curls above her sex, a lance of liquid heat pierced through her.

  He palmed her mound, separating the damp petals of her sex and stroking her with his fingers. Raw, incomprehensible need flamed through her, and a yearning so intense she cried out his name. She began to tremble. This desperate woman she had become could not be her. The sex act was abhorrent to her. Then she gazed into Wulf’s expressive silver eyes and knew she had nothing to fear from him.

  She yelped in surprise when his mouth clamped on that tender place where his hands had worked their magic just moments before. “Wulf, what are you doing?”

  Wulf lifted his head and grinned at her. “You will like this, I promise.”

  She didn’t believe him. When his mouth returned to his succulent feast, she tried to push him away, but he was an immovable force, determined to have his way.

  Then his tongue came into play, stroking her tender folds and dipping inside her melting center. Reyna felt something loosen inside her, felt fire lick over her body, and making him stop was the last thing she wanted.

  She wanted…She wanted…Sweet Freya, she wanted something that had no name. “Wulf?” she cried out. “What is happening to me?”

  He raised his head. “Let it come, Reyna. Don’t hold back.”

  Her body burned, her skin felt as if it was stretched too tight over her bones. She arched and twisted, trying to escape the pleasure/pain of the unknown. Wulf’s hands held her hips in place as he continued to torment her.

  She was dying.

  And then life poured through her in an explosion of sensation so intense she would swear later that she had glimpsed Valhalla. Wulf waited until her tremors ceased, and then he parted her legs with his knees and came up over her. His engorged sex stroked her wet cleft before easing inside her, inch by excruciating inch.

  “Am I hurting you?” he asked in a strangled voice.

  She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him in place. “Nay, if you stop I could not bear it.”

  With a relieved groan he surged forward, driving his thick cock deep inside her. Reyna had prepared herself for the pain she knew would come, and when it didn’t arrive she embraced the pleasure, shifting to accommodate the weight and size of him.

  Wulf’s massive body surged forward, driving him deep, his hips flexing, pumping his engorged staff in and out. Reyna felt herself stretching to accommodate his rigid length and reveled in the sensation he created inside her. Her nipples rubbing against the soft hair on his chest sent tongues of flame racing along her nerve endings, and a sweet fire began in that place where they were joined.

  Caught up in the fierce sensations, Reyna met his pounding hips with wild abandon, each thrust bringing a delicious tightening to the very core of her being.

  “Wulf, please!”

  He grunted something unintelligible and picked up the tempo, driving her further and further into a kind of madness. And then something sweet and fierce gripped her insides, spreading liquid fire through her limbs. Tiny points of light burst behind her eyes. Powerful shock waves of pleasure shook her and she cried out his name.

  She felt Wulf’s muscles tense, heard his teeth gnash and felt his control slipping away seconds before the hot splash of his seed filled her womb. Moments later he collapsed against her, his breathing harsh against her ear. Replete, Reyna held him in place, but Wulf, mindful of his weight, lifted himself away from her and flopped down beside her. Long seconds passed. Her heart was still pounding madly as his arms came around her. She could hear his pulse thumping in
rhythm with her own.

  “Are you all right?” he rasped.

  “I…I had no idea it could be like that.”

  “It is when you are not being forced. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.”

  “It was…um…not what I expected.”

  “Was it better or worse?”

  “I believe you know the answer to that.”

  “Go to sleep, Reyna. You have earned your rest.”

  Reyna tried to rise but Wulf’s arm held her in place. “Where are you going?”

  “To my own bed.”

  “This is where you will sleep from now on. In my bed and in my arms.”

  “Is that wise, Wulf? What will Uma think?”

  “ ’tis not her place to think.”

  “Everyone will assume I am your bed slave.”

  “Everyone will be right.” When Reyna objected, Wulf rolled on top of her, spread her legs and slid inside.

  Wulf woke the following morning to the sound of voices coming from somewhere beyond his sleeping alcove. Glancing down at Reyna, he saw that she was still sleeping and he eased out of bed so as not to awaken her. Quietly he donned breeches and jerkin, parted the curtains and stepped into the hall. He was surprised to see Rannulf seated at the table, sipping a mug of ale.

  “There you are,” Rannulf greeted. “I have been waiting for you to wake up. We need to talk.”

  “Join me in the steam hut,” Wulf invited. “We can talk in private there.”

  Rannulf accepted Wulf’s invitation with a nod of his head and rose. Uma ran to fetch soap and drying cloths, handing them to Wulf as he and Rannulf walked out the door.

  “Master!” Uma called after Wulf, “shall I awaken Reyna and put her to work?”

  Wulf stopped and turned slowly. “No one tells Reyna what to do but me. Let her sleep.”

  The steam hut was empty when they arrived, though someone must have used it earlier for steam rose thick and hot inside the small enclosure. Wulf undressed, then dumped a bucket of water on the hot rocks. When a hiss of steam curled around him, he lowered himself onto a bench beside Rannulf.

  “What is this about, Rannulf?” Wulf asked.