Passion: His Savage Embrace

by Bobbi Smith

  “What exactly is it you heard?”

  “Sir Edmund plans to kill you regardless of his father’s plans . . .”

  “What plan does Lord Alfrick have?”

  Dynna applied the lather and then began to shave him as she spoke. “Lord Alfrick has sent an envoy to your father offering to ransom you back to him for five hundred pounds of gold.”

  Brage was shocked at this news.

  “Once they learned you were the Black Hawk, they knew you would be worth much to your people.”

  “So that is why you were allowed to heal me,” he remarked thoughtfully.

  “The envoy is due back any day now with your father’s answer. Lord Alfrick is certain he will agree to his terms.”

  Brage grew furious. He wanted his freedom more than anything, but it enraged him that his father would be forced to buy him back for gold. The news only reinforced his determination to escape as soon as possible. He would save himself, and he would save his father the ransom.

  Dynna continued to explain all she had heard as she worked with a gentle touch to scrape the whiskers from his cheeks. “Edmund, however, has another idea. As soon as they get the gold from your people, they will kill you and all those who came to ransom you.”

  Brage stiffened at her description of his deceit. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I have a bargain to offer you.”

  “What kind of bargain?”

  “As I told you, I am as much a prisoner here as you are, and just as I learned your life was about to end, I know that mine will soon be over, too. My situation is desperate. Father Corwin and Father Osmar have returned to the village earlier than expected. Last night, Lord Alfrick announced that Edmund and I would be married in one week.”

  “What does this have to do with a bargain between us?”

  “I will not marry Edmund.” The words were forcefully said, and her chin tilted in open defiance of the very idea. “I am leaving here before the day of the wedding. My offer to you is this: I will see you freed from this tower, if you travel with me as my guard to my parents’ home. Once I am safely there, I will guarantee you safe passage home.”

  Brage stared at her in disbelief. He understood her need to flee Edmund but he could not entangle his own escape with hers. Her plan was too dangerous. “Do you not realize how quickly they will miss you and how thoroughly Sir Edmund will search for you once he finds out that you have gone?”

  “That is why I need you with me. Together, we can escape the fates that are about to be forced upon us.”

  “I will not attempt this with you.”

  She was shocked and angered by his refusal. “How else will you save yourself? I am offering you freedom. If you do not come with me, you will be slaughtered.”

  “I have no intention of waiting here to be slaughtered. I was already planning an escape, but I have no intention of taking you with me.”

  “Why not? I know the land and the people.”

  “If we go together, Sir Edmund would chase us twice as hard. You are a female. You would only slow me down.”

  “I will match you step for step, Viking,” she told him, her gray eyes glittering with the challenge.

  “It would be too dangerous. If I am alone, I can fight freely. If you are there, I would worry about you.”

  “I will fight by your side.”

  “You could be killed,” he warned.

  “I do not care. I would rather die now, trying to reach my parents, than marry Edmund and spend the rest of my days in endless torment. What safe haven would I have? What love would I find in his arms?” She gave a harsh laugh at the thought.

  Her impassioned declaration gave him pause. He remembered his own desperation a short time before, and how he would have welcomed death rather than the chains and humiliation of being Lord Alfrick’s captive.

  She finished shaving Brage and stood up.

  Brage stared at her, seeing how proud and beautiful she was. He gritted his teeth against the image of her married to Edmund, forever in his power, forced to do his bidding, forced to bed him. He did not believe Sir Edmund knew anything of gentleness. Brage wanted to help her, but he did not want to endanger her. If something happened to her while she was with him . . . “Lady Dynna, you do not know what you are saying.”

  “I will not marry Sir Edmund. I am leaving this tower and traveling to my parents’ home where I will be safe. I am offering you the chance to go with me and earn your freedom. I have a potion I can use to drug the guard; I can get your sword and shield for you; and I have the means for us to get out of the tower. Without me, you will never escape.”

  “When I go, I will go alone,” Brage repeated, tom by the terrible thought of leaving her to Edmund’s mercy.

  Dynna was desperate. She hated coercing Brage into accompanying her, but she had no alternative. The look on her face was one of fierce resolve. “If you refuse to go with me, I will see to it that you will never escape this tower. I will have the guard take you right now and put you back in the chains with the dogs.”

  Brage’s anger at being backed into a corner was barely leashed. “You drive a hard bargain, my lady,” he ground out.

  “Only because you have forced me to it. I will do whatever I have to, to get away from here.”

  Their gazes met and locked. Brage saw the unrelenting determination in her regard. She had forced him to her way, and he could not decide whether to admire her courage in confronting him so in her desperation or to be furious at being so manipulated.

  “So, tell me Viking, is our bargain sealed? Do you agree to my terms? You will ultimately benefit from the bargain. All you have to do is see me safely to my family, then you will be free to go.”

  Brage had no choice. “I agree. Now, what are the rest of your plans? When do we go?”

  “Tonight, when Perkin is at guard, I will come back. I will tell him that I am to help you exercise. I have a potion that will put him to sleep. Once he is asleep, it will be a simple matter to free you from this room.”

  “And what of the Great Hall? How do we cross it without being discovered?”

  “By tonight, I will have it planned.”

  Brage resigned himself to the fact that they were going to escape the tower together. He wondered when it was that they had ceased to be enemies, and if they were not enemies, then what were they?

  “I am to trust you in this?”

  “Do not worry. By tomorrow morning, we will both be free of Lord Alfrick and Sir Edmund.”

  Brage was worried, but there was little he could do. This was her scheme. He had had no part in planning it. He only had to carry it out. He did not like it, he did not like it at all.

  Dynna saw the strained look on his face and asked, “You are strong enough to make the attempt, are you not?”

  “Just the thought of regaining my freedom gives me the strength of five warriors.” At least, Brage was pleased that his act of being weaker than he was had worked.

  “I will be back later, after dark.”

  Brage watched her walk from the room, her head held high, her bearing regal. Had he not been so angry over being forced to follow her plan, he would have thought her magnificent.

  “Can you get them for me and see them hidden?” Dynna asked Matilda later that afternoon as they sat in her room sharing a moment of tense understanding.

  “Once it is dark, I should be able to take them from the tower. I will hide them in the brush near the trees at the first turn in the road. But what of you, my lady? How are you going to get the Viking out of the tower without being found out? What shall I say in the morning when they discover you have gone?”

  “I want you to take a small draught of the sleeping potion tonight when you go to bed. That way, you can say I gave you a dose and that you were sleeping soundly and knew nothing of what transpired. It will help to convince them of your innocence in the matter.”

  Matilda nodded, but she was not pleased. She wanted to be going with Lady Dynna. “
You will be careful?”

  Dynna assured her. “This will be the last chance I ever get to return home. I have to be careful.”

  “And what of Brage? Do not trust him overmuch. It might prove dangerous.”

  “I know he is savage by nature, but that is what makes him valuable to me. He wants his freedom as much as I want mine, and that is why I trust him.”

  The worry Matilda was feeling shone in her eyes. “My prayers will be with you.”

  “I fear that I will need them.” Her words were spoken quietly.

  Long after dinner, Dynna returned to the tower room. She carried her medicine basket with her, along with a full mug of ale for Perkin. Perkin had a particular love for ale, and she had already doctored the brew with enough of her sleeping potion to fell an ox for hours. She was not certain how quickly it would work on Perkin, but once it took effect, she and Brage would have the time they needed to slip away.

  Perkin had been sitting in the hall beyond the tower room, bored. The day had been a long one, and when he went upstairs to relieve the other man from his duty, he had realized the night would seem even longer. He was settled comfortably in his chair near the door when he heard footsteps. He rose and went to investigate, for it was not common, now that the Black Hawk was feeling better, for anyone to check on him overnight.

  Moving to the top of the stairs, Perkin peered down into the gloom below to see Lady Dynna coming toward him. “Good evening, my lady. It is a pleasure to see you this lonely night.”

  Dynna graced him with her most beguiling smile. “Good evening, Perkin. I have brought you some ale. I thought you might be needing a drink this evening.”

  “Thank you, my lady. It certainly would be refreshing,” he agreed as he took the proffered mug. It was just like Lady Dynna to think of others and see to their needs. Here, she had no reason to be nice to him, and yet she had brought him a drink just out of the kindness of her heart.

  “Please enjoy it with my blessing,” she said. “How is our prisoner tonight?”

  “Have heard not a word out of him since I took over, but then that is not unusual for him. He is a quiet one. Thing that bothers me, though, is that sometimes it is the quiet ones who are the most dangerous.”

  “I know. I will be very glad when he is back with his own people.” She meant every word of it, too.

  “Do you want to go in?”

  “Yes. I was worried about him. He seemed a little weak when I was with him earlier this afternoon, so I thought I had better check back, just in case his fever had recurred.”

  “Let me get the door for you, my lady.” Perkin set the mug aside and hurried to admit her to the tower room. “Would you like me to stay with you?”

  “No. I should be all right. I will call if I need you.”

  He watched until she was inside, then closed and locked the door behind her. He was still smiling as he settled back on his stool and picked up the mug to take a deep drink. Lady Dynna was a fine one, thinking of him as she had. The ale was refreshing, and he enjoyed every drop of the brew.

  “You are as good as your word,” Brage said, once Dynna was inside and the door was closed soundly behind her. “You had doubts?”

  “Not a one,” he replied with a slight smile as he saw the fierceness in her expression.

  “I told the guard how weak you were feeling this afternoon, and that is why I’m here to check on you so late. Shall we get you up and see if you can walk?” she suggested, wanting to talk about their plans but needing to do so in low tones so they would not be overheard.

  “You are the healer.”

  Dynna went to Brage as he stood. She put her arm about his waist. The contact of her arm against his bare skin was again electric, but Dynna knew she had to ignore the attraction. This was no time to think about such things. She could only think about their escape. As they started to move around the room, she could feel the play of his powerful muscles beneath her touch.

  “Can you do this? Can you make it once around the room?” she asked, playing the role of concerned nurse.

  Brage could not stop himself from smiling broadly down at her as he answered quietly, “With your help, princess, I think I could walk from this tower.”

  She returned his smile a little nervously. The time of their escape was almost upon them, and she could not prevent the worries from consuming her.

  “We need a distraction,” she whispered to him as they moved slowly, and seemingly painfully, around the room. “I slipped the potion into the mug of ale I gave Perkin. If he drinks it quickly, he should be falling asleep right away.”

  “I could pretend to fall.”

  “I do not think we have to be that dramatic. Just pretend to be too weak to make it back across the room. Perkin will come to help as soon as I call him, but let us wait a minute more. I want to give him time to drink all the ale.”

  Brage was anxious to be gone from the tower. In the hours since she had left him, he had thought of nothing else. Now that the time was upon them, he was more than eager to make their move, but he knew he had to be patient just a few minutes more. “Just let me know when you want my strength to fail me, my lady.”

  They circled the room twice more, moving slowly, before she spoke. “I think enough time has passed. Are you ready?” She looked up at him questioningly.

  “More than ready.” Brage stared down at her. Her gray eyes were shining silver with the determination that filled her. She was a force to be reckoned with. He pitied any man who tried to stop her tonight.

  He deliberately sagged against her, causing them both to stagger.

  “Are you all right?” Dynna asked, her voice loud to draw Perkin’s attention.

  Brage swayed and then slumped fully against her. “I cannot seem to stay upright . . .”

  “Perkin!” she called out in real panic as his weight became almost more than she could bear.

  The guard immediately came charging through the door, his sword in hand.

  “Yes, my lady? What is the . . .?” He saw how she was frantically fighting to keep the Viking upright.

  Dynna thought that Perkin seemed to be moving about just fine, and she grew annoyed. She had hoped he would down the ale right away and save her the trouble of stalling. But if he had not finished it off yet, there was no hope that they could escape now.

  “He suddenly went weak . . . I am having trouble holding him . . .” Dynna explained, realizing ruefully that Brage had been right when he had told her that they would both fall if he truly leaned on her with his full weight. She had always known he was a big, powerful man, but she had never realized just how big and powerful.

  Perkin set his weapon aside and went to rescue his princess. Taking Brage on his uninjured side, he drew his arm over his shoulders and helped maneuver the tall Viking toward the bed.

  Brage gave a very realistic groan as he was hauled across the room.

  “He sounds as if he is in pain, my lady.”

  “I know. Lord Alfrick will not be pleased if he grows worse. It is important that he be healthy.”

  Perkin staggered a few times under the weight of the man, and he wondered at his own weakness. When he finally managed to help Brage lie on the bed, he felt strangely lightheaded.

  Dynna smiled at the guard as he turned to her. “Thank you for your help. I do not know what I would have done without you.”

  “Will it be all right now?” he asked, finding himself suddenly incredibly sleepy. “Do you want me to get anything for you?”

  “No. It will be fine now.”

  Perkin started from the room, thinking what a brave woman Lady Dynna was. He had just about reached the door, his thoughts focused on Lady Dynna’s finer points when a wave of faintness swelled over him and he swayed. He braced himself against the wall, turning a bewildered look to Dynna.

  “My lady . . .?” He slumped then and fell, letting out one low moan before he lay still.

  Dynna had watched, fascinated, as the medicine took effect. Sh
e hoped Perkin had not hurt himself when he had fallen, and she hurried to his side to make sure he was just sleeping, and not injured.

  “Perkin?” she said his name as she touched his shoulder. “Perkin, can you hear me?”

  But the man didn’t stir.

  “Well?” Brage asked as he watched her tend to the man.

  Dynna looked back over her shoulder at Brage. “He must have downed the whole thing to be this soundly asleep. He will be all right when he comes around. He did not injure himself.”

  She tried to lift Perkin, but found she could not budge him.

  “Could you help me? I want to put him on the bed.”

  Brage went to her side and, kneeling beside the prone figure, lifted him by his arms. When Dynna would have helped, he brushed her aside.

  Dynna watched in stunned disbelief as Brage carried the heavy guard to the bed. The knowledge that he was that well healed and that strong unnerved her. All this time when she had been worried about him, he had been almost back to full strength. He had been playing with her all along. The trust she had begun to feel toward him was shaken. If he had fooled her about being physically ready to make the escape, what else had he deceived her about? The thought of fleeing the chamber now, alone, while she still could occurred to her, but she held firm on her plan out of necessity. Together, she would have a much better chance of reaching her haven.

  Brage stood up straight and turned to her. It was then that he saw the look on her face. “I told you the thought of freedom would give me the strength of five Vikings.”

  “I can see that.”

  Across the room, their gazes met. Brage could see the fire in her eyes and knew that she was angry. “Let us bind and gag him. That way if he awakens early, he will not be able to sound the alarm right away.”

  “Just do not hurt him. Perkin is a kind man. He has done us no harm.”

  Brage used the blanket to gag and tie the guard, ripping it into strips that could serve as bonds. Perkin did not even stir. While Brage worked at his wrists and ankles, Dynna opened her medicine basket and drew out the tunic and soft boots Matilda had gotten for him to wear.