“See that our best archers are assigned to the battlements in the keep,” Wolf ordered.
The warrior nodded and both warriors left. Clive and Brod remained.
“You do well?” Clive asked.
“Minor pain nothing more,” Raven said. “I will speak with you later.”
“You will speak with them tomorrow and don’t bother to argue with me about it,” Wolf warned, a glare in his dark eyes challenging her.
“Tomorrow is soon enough,” Brod said. “Rest well.”
Raven watched the two men go, understanding the message. It would take until tomorrow for Iver to return, so it could wait until then for them to talk. And it was a good reason for her not to argue with her husband.
“You disturbed the wound that was doing nicely, causing it to bleed once again,” Wren said. “You need to rest it for a week or more so it may heal properly. You were lucky it caught such a small portion of your arm. That arrow could have done far more damage than it did.”
“Are you going to listen this time?” Royden asked with a glare at his sister.
“She’ll listen,” Wolf said.
“You don’t know her,” Royden warned. “She won’t listen.”
“I know the way of a warrior and your sister is a warrior. She is wise enough to know that if she does not let her arm heal properly, she’ll never skillfully wield her weapon again.”
Royden appeared annoyed but nodded. “You’re right about that.”
“Come, Oria, help me get Raven settled in bed where she will spend the rest of the day,” Wren said in a tone that warned of a lecture if her words weren’t heeded.
It wasn’t until later that night that Wolf joined his wife in their bedchamber. Her family had lingered long enough to be satisfied that Raven was safe and for Wren to be done and promise she’d return in two days to check on Raven.
He found her standing by the fireplace in a nightshift that had been provided for her and went to admonish her.
She held up her hand, keeping her injured arm close to her side. “Don’t scold me. I needed out of that bed if only for a little while.”
“A short reprieve,” he said and proceeded to disrobe.
She didn’t turn her eyes away, having grown accustomed to seeing him naked and not at all uncomfortable with it. How that had happened, she didn’t know. She hadn’t given much thought to coupling with him when the agreement had been made. It hadn’t been important then. What had mattered to her was her brothers’ freedom and reuniting her family. Now faced with the prospect, it seemed more daunting.
She went to turn away from the hearth and moved too fast, a pain shooting through her arm and turning her lightheaded. She did the first thing that came to her mind, she called out to her husband, “Wolf.”
He turned and it took only a few short steps to reach her side, seeing she had paled. His arms went around her and she dropped her head on his shoulder to rest and allow the lightheadedness to pass.
“Should I fetch Greta?” he asked, worried over her.
“No, some lightheadedness, that’s all,” she assured him.
“You are sure?”
“I am. It’s already passed,” she said turning her face up to look at him, not realizing he had lowered his head, leaving it far too close to her face.
Wolf tried to ignore her stunning blue eyes, intent on his lips, and a hint of passion sparking in them. He warned himself to look away, but the tip of her tongue stole out between her lips to roam slightly over them, and all was lost.
His hand went to the back of her neck, gripping it as his lips came down on hers with a need he had to satisfy—her need.
Chapter 8
Raven gripped his arm, needing something to keep her on her feet, her legs losing some of their strength as the most exquisite sensations rocked her body. His kiss was as strong and commanding as he was, taking charge, demanding she respond, and giving her every reason to willing do so. And she did. She didn’t want to resist or deny him. She enjoyed the feel of his lips and when the tip of his tongue teased her lips apart, she opened her mouth to welcome him.
Lord, but she was drowning in the most sensational pleasure. If a kiss was so pleasurable, she couldn’t imagine the immense pleasure coupling would bring. Instinct, curiosity, or need, she didn’t care what it was that had her pressing her body against his, she wanted to experience more. His arm went around her waist and pulled her tighter against him and when his hard shaft rubbed against her, it set off a sensation in her that sent a wicked shudder through her.
He silently warned himself to stop, no good would come of it. It could go no further. But he didn’t want to stop. He found immense satisfaction in the kiss, in feeling her pressed against him, of knowing she had a need for him.
Or was it for him? Or was it a need of hers that hadn’t been satisfied in some time?
The sobering thought had him ending the kiss and taking a hasty step back. Her hand fell loose of his arm and seeing her unsteady on her feet, he reached out and held her arm until her legs turned firm, then he moved away from her.
Annoyance or frustration had him lashing out at her. “Your kiss tells me you’re not inexperienced when it comes to a man.”
Raven kept the hurt of his barb from showing. While she had enjoyed the kiss, he evidently thought otherwise about it. And she decided the truth would strike much sharper than any barb she threw.
“Or it could be that it was my first kiss and I found it more pleasurable than I ever imagined it would be.” Truth was a powerful arrow and she was pleased to see her husband couldn’t hide the sting it had caused him.
Wolf shook his head. “I doubt the man you loved didn’t kiss you. Now go to bed.”
She could correct him, tell him the truth, but she didn’t think he’d believe her. Besides, she was tired of defending herself. Let him think what he would. She shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her arms.
Seeing her tremble, he thought on what Gorm had told him about how often she shivered or how she would mention the cold.
“You’re cold more often than not. Why is that?” he asked curious, knowing this region had its fair share of cold winters and that most of the people had adapted. Why not her?
“The first winter on my own was a difficult one. If it hadn’t been for—” She stopped abruptly.
“The man you loved?” Wolf snapped, thinking she had shared more than kisses with the man and feeling the fool for thinking it could be otherwise.
“Get in bed,” Wolf ordered, pointing to the bed.
She wasn’t about to argue since a deep shiver had taken hold of her. She eagerly slipped under the covers, hoping warmth would chase the chill and the horrid memories. But the shivers didn’t stop and without the distraction of talking with her husband, the pain in her arm made itself known. Between the pain and the cold, she remained restless until she thought she had no other choice than to plead for her husband’s warmth. She turned her head to find him standing beside the bed.
“Are you in pain?” he asked.
“I’ve suffered worse.”
“That’s not what I asked,” he snapped. “Are you in pain?”
“A bit of pain but more cold,” she admitted, seeing his determination to get an answer and though his rebuke had been curt, it also held concern.
She was relieved when he slipped beneath the blanket. She told herself it was warmth she needed from him, nothing more, but she knew his arms would also bring a sense of comfort and she longed to feel that more than anything.
He eased his arm under her shoulders and lifted her gently to move her to lie against him.
Raven shivered as the heat of his body began to seep into her. And when he turned wrapping himself around her, his leg going over hers and his arms easing carefully around her so as not to disturb her wound, she sighed not only from the heat that embraced her, but from the comfort that seeped into her.
“Thank you for sharing your warmth,” she said, resting her head on
his shoulder.
“You need only ask if you want something from me, Raven. If I can give it to you, I will.”
“A good thing for a wife to know,” Raven said, feeling sleep sneak up on her.
“And will you do the same for me—give me what I ask?”
Her words echoed his. “If I can, I will.”
“Good, then when Iver returns from tracking the culprit you will bring him to me so together we can hear what he has learned.”
“You have a sharp eye, husband,” she said and yawned while reminding herself to tell her men to be more vigilant around him.
“Something you would do well to remember,” he cautioned.
“Believe me, I will,” she said as her eyes closed and sleep claimed her.
Not so Wolf. Though he felt a strange satisfaction holding his wife in his arms and keeping her warm, sleep eluded him. He couldn’t stop thinking about the man she had loved. He could see and hear, when she spoke about him, how much she not only loved him, but admired him. Why that should annoy him, he didn’t know, but it did. He supposed with her now being his wife, and belonging to him, he didn’t want to think of her ever having belonged to another. Yet she continued to claim she hadn’t known any man intimately. He couldn’t believe that possible after hearing that this man continued to live in her heart.
He admonished himself for lingering on a matter that made no difference to his present situation. It should not matter to him at all. But for some reason it did.
The kiss.
He hadn’t expected to enjoy kissing her so much. Hadn’t expected to get lost in the kiss as much as he had. Hadn’t expected to feel something stir deep inside him that he’d never felt before with any woman. Strange. Compelling. Enticing. He wasn’t sure how he’d describe it since it left him with a deep desire for more and he knew he’d explore it again.
At the moment though, he had something more important that needed his attention.
Finding the man who had attempted to kill his wife.
“My wife is all right, Greta?” Wolf asked when he entered the common room, alarmed that she had requested to see him.
“She does well, my lord. Her arm continues to heal and she wisely follows Wren’s instructions. Wren is pleased with how well it has healed in only a week’s time and feels the scar will be the only reminder of the incident.”
“So Wren told me. Why then did you request to see me?” he asked. “And have you seen my wife?”
“She walks with Clive, Brod, and Iver,” Greta said. “Fyn and George mind Tait for me. You wanted to know when the leper visits. He’s in the woods and I am having food and drink prepared for him now.”
“I will take the food and drink to him,” Wolf said, glad to visit with the leper since it had been a while since their last visit, and he always enjoyed talking with him.
“I will have both brought to you as soon as it is ready,” Greta said and took her leave.
Wolf sat alone in the common room. While his wife had brought Iver to him the day after the attack for him to tell them both what he had found, he still harbored doubts that she and her men were as forthcoming as they should be.
He had to admit that Iver had been open about what he had discovered. He had tracked the culprit who had harmed his wife to an area where signs of a campfire confirmed that men had been camping there, no doubt in wait for their cohort. It had been difficult to track after that since the various tracks had gone in different directions.
At least it confirmed what Wolf had surmised. The man had not acted alone. There were others involved. He had thought to assign some of his warriors to follow Raven but it proved senseless since he had seen for himself that her men had taken it upon themselves to make sure they followed wherever she went, except when she entered the longhouse. He felt she was safe with them so he didn’t have his warriors follow, though he had told them to keep a good watch when she was around. He’d also placed more warriors on the battlements. From there they could see a group of men coming from afar except where the forest was the thickest.
Once food and drink for the leper were brought to him, Wolf took it to the woods, to the spot by the stream where he had met with him several times.
Wolf left the sack of food and skein of wine near the tree where he’d always left it and moved to sit on a stump a good distance away. When the leper didn’t appear, he called out, “Brother Noble.”
A cough sounded before a brown-robed cleric, slightly stooped, emerged from behind a thick tree. His hood hung down to hide his face and gloves covered his hands. There wasn’t any part of him that wasn’t covered.
“How are you?” Wolf asked, still surprised at their friendship, since they had little in common and held different beliefs. But perhaps the link that connected them as friends was their differences.
“Kind of you to ask, Wolf, I do well enough,” Brother Noble said in his raspy voice. “And you? Have things finally settled for you?”
“Not as I expected, but for now there is peace—I think. I wed Raven of the Clan MacKinnon.”
“Don’t you consider her your enemy?”
No judgment, no disparaging remark, or condemnation, a question that simply gave thought and that was what Wolf enjoyed about the leper. His words always gave him pause to think and he did so now aloud. “I actually never gave thought to her before the attack. She was meant to wed a Northman of my choice after my warriors conquered her clan, just as I had done with the other conquered clans. I never expected her to escape and become a thorn in my side these last five years. Though I will admit she was constantly on my mind and not in a good way. I couldn’t understand how she avoided capture. Now I know. She dressed like a lad and joined a band of thieves.” He shook his head. “But you must grow tired of hearing me complain about her.”
“Not at all. I hoped to see peace brought to this area once again and it would seem your unselfish act in marrying Raven has answered my prayers.”
“It wasn’t my unselfish act. It was Raven’s. It was her unselfishness and courage to seek a marriage with me as a solution to freeing her brothers and regaining some of her land for her family.”
“Raven proposed this odd union?” Brother Noble asked.
“That was what I was told when I was approached about the agreement, though I did not take kindly to it at first. After some thought and discussion with my grandmother, I realized it was for the best. I could finally settle and live with less strife.”
“She is a good wife then?”
“I haven’t determined that yet,” Wolf said.
“She is troublesome?”
Wolf scratched his close-cropped beard. “She has a mind of her own which can prove troublesome at times. She also has a fierce loyalty to those she cares for and loves.”
“And she has neither for you?”
“I don’t believe so,” Wolf said with a scrunch of his brow.
“It sounds like you aren’t sure,” Brother Noble said.
Wolf shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of her sometimes.”
“If you don’t know what to make of her, how then do you feel about her?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted as if the answer surprised him. “I’d been angry with her for foiling my plans, though angrier at myself that a young woman could do what powerful men failed to do… defeat me. There are few who can claim victory over me and that she has done so with nothing more than a band of common thieves was a solid blow to my reputation. And—”
“Something more, you hesitate to admit?” Brother Noble asked after Wolf abruptly stopped speaking.
Wolf ran his fingers through his dark hair, pulling it away from his face and turning his head for a moment as if he wasn’t sure if he should answer the leper.
“Tell me what troubles you, my son,” Brother Noble encouraged, his voice raspier than before.
Wolf didn’t hesitate this time. He felt the need to rid himself of the frustration. “She is a beautiful, appealing woman, a
nd I find I desire her far too much.”
“Is it that you desire her that troubles you or is it that you find yourself feeling something for her that presents the problem?”
Wolf thought a moment. “As usual, you’ve given me something to think about.”
“It is good to allow things to ponder in your thoughts when possible. It often lets you see things more clearly and make wiser decisions.”
A soulful blare of a horn echoed through the woods and had Wolf bolting to his feet.
“What is that?” Brother Noble asked.
“Someone from my homeland arrives. I must go,” Wolf said. “You are welcome to remain here as long as you wish. Shelter will be provided for you.”
“I am grateful for your generosity, but I have a mission for the monastery I must see to.”
“Until next you visit, travel safe, Brother Noble,” Wolf said, letting the leper know he looked forward to seeing him again.
“God go with you, my son, and may patience be your friend when dealing with your wife.”
Wolf shook his head. “There is not enough patience in the land to deal with Raven.”
Chapter 9
Wolf was surprised to see Lars entering the village along with six Northmen from his tribe. Lars was like a brother to his father and the one man his father depended on most, trusted the most, and he wondered why his father had sent him.
Wolf braced himself when Lars drew near. He was a man of generous girth, with the strength of three men, and his hug could crush a man. His long hair burned as bright as the sun and flames combined and was braided in several places, and his thick beard was braided in two places and reached past his chest. He was draped in leathers and furs with a battle-axe hanging from the belt at his thick waist, his favorite weapon and one he wielded with extreme skill.
“WOLF!” Lars cried out and grabbed him in a hug that lifted him clear off the ground.
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