HEROES RETURN
Sonja had been warned over and over again about the lustful nature of men. No one had mentioned women also experienced feelings of bodily need. Nor had she given such notions any thought until she met Torstein. Since their last tryst she’d dissolved into a seething cauldron of wanton desires; but no other man she encountered moved her to the slightest degree, and the prospect of wedding Sven Yngre filled her with dread.
It seemed wherever she went in Rouen, Sven’s mama was there, grinning and nodding like a lunatic, patting her hand and muttering, “Soon, soon, you join Sven in the wilderness.”
There was nothing for it but to nod in return and take her leave quickly. Fortunately, she was often out with Cathryn as frenzied preparations progressed for the migration of families to the Orne, and her friend was adept at dragging her away from Sven’s mother. Cathryn’s stature had risen with Bryk’s appointment, and the woman never challenged her. She prayed to Freyja Mother Yngre wouldn’t be accompanying them.
News of the daring exploits of the warriors known as Sven and Torstein was on everyone’s lips. She longed to shout at the top of her lungs to anyone who would listen that one of those celebrated warriors was hers, and not the one everyone assumed.
A contingent of men who’d opted to settle in the new valley was on its way back with Rollo. They would provide the bulk of the escort for the migrating families. Poppa, who seemed to have taken Cathryn under her wing, had informed them of the Duke’s decision Bryk remain in the new territory. He would therefore not be among those escorting the families.
Cathryn said she understood, though her keen disappointment was evident to Sonja. The hope Torstein would arrive with Rollo burned like a beacon in her heart. She slept fitfully, her body aroused at the memory of his touch. Some mornings she was mortified to awake with her hand in an intimate place it should not have been, a place that ached for him. She hoped Cathryn hadn’t noticed.
Her nipples had taken on a life of their own, hardening at the mere thought of her beloved. She wore a woolen shawl tightly gathered around her chest everywhere she went.
The only thing worse than the prospect of Torstein not being in the escort was the dire possibility Sven might be.
As the longboats rounded the last bend in the Seine, a loud cheer went up from the waiting crowd packed together on the dock in Rouen. Torstein’s arms were like lead weights after a full day rowing. Bryk had told him he wasn’t expected to row, but better to have something to occupy his body.
The tattoos newly etched into his biceps still itched, but they were his badges of honor, symbols of his important role in a great victory. His heart careened around inside his chest at the prospect of seeing Sonja again.
Sven stood expectantly at the prow, gazing to shore. Torstein marveled the jealous heat blazing from his eyes wasn’t burning a hole in his friend’s back.
It had been a difficult journey. On more than one occasion when Yngre had spoken of his anticipation at seeing Sonja, Torstein had come close to blurting out that he might as well abandon hope of wedding her. She was his.
He devised a hundred schemes for disposing of his rival. The possibility of having to kill his comrade turned the blood in his veins to ice. Odin knew he’d had plenty of opportunities to dispatch Sven to Valhalla, but he loved him like a brother. They’d been to Hel and back together, and had saved each other’s lives more than once. They’d had a design made up of their runes tattooed on their thighs. There was never a trace of censure for Torstein’s past in his friend’s words or deeds.
Javune’s presence on the same boat hadn’t helped matters. Torstein felt obliged to befriend Cathryn’s twin, but the closer they got to Rouen the more sullen he became. His situation was too akin to Torstein’s to offer sympathy and words of understanding.
Rollo’s boat docked first. The crowd surged forward but Poppa’s guards kept them at bay. The giant strode over the side of his boat as if it were a toy replica, embraced his wife, then hastened away. Vilhelm followed in their wake, almost tripping over the long sword he’d taken to wearing on his hip. Rollo’s son, shorter in stature than his father, evidently thought the enormous weapon made up for it.
Torstein stowed his oar as the steersman swung their boat into the dock. Was there a sweeter sound than the creak of wood on wood when a longboat came home? As a boy, he’d often watched from the dock in Møre as jubilant warriors swarmed off their boats after returning from Ireland or from the east. Now the same euphoria surged through his blood.
Javune leapt from the boat and disappeared into the crowd.
Sven suddenly raised a hand in salute. Torstein came to his feet, bracing his legs in the rocking boat. Men were disembarking, eager to reunite with loved ones. He craned his neck, trying to see who Sven was waving to. He breathed again when his friend stalked off towards his mother.
But his belly churned when he caught sight of Sonja tucked in beside Mother Yngre. Anger flooded him. Had she abandoned him and decided to wed Sven?
But she still scanned the boats. She must have seen Sven by now, yet—
She was looking for him.
His spirits soared further when he caught sight of Cathryn standing close to Sonja. She was waving to him. Alfred was at her side, Magnus perched on his shoulders. Torstein thrust out his chest. No one in the crowd would fail to notice it was the freed slave whose arrival the Comte’s wife awaited with anticipation.
His uncle had given him a new sea chest as a token of thanks for acting as his squire. He hoisted it onto his shoulder and stepped over the side of the boat onto the dock, confident the elaborate brass hinges and binding would attract attention.
Sven bowed to Sonja and kissed her hand as Torstein strode towards them, but she was staring at him, her face awash with tears.
Magnus bobbed up and down on his uncle’s shoulders like a knight urging his horse into the fray. Cathryn beamed.
For the first time in his life, Torstein felt like a conquering hero. He was a Viking warrior. He’d proven his mettle. He would no longer hide in the shadows. Sonja loved him. He lifted her amulet from its hiding place, proud to display it over his tunic.
Smiling, he put down his sea chest at Alfred’s feet and raised his arms to Magnus. The boy flew into his embrace, chanting, “Tor, Tor.”
Torstein nuzzled his nose into his cousin’s fine blonde hair, savoring the aromas of innocence and love, laughing as Magnus pulled at his war braids. “You’ve grown, young man,” he said hoarsely.
He bent to kiss Cathryn’s cheek. She grinned, lifting the protesting child from his arms. “Welcome home, brave warrior,” she said loudly, her eyes darting to Sonja.
He turned to look at the face that filled his dreams. “You are more beautiful than I remember,” he rasped.
Sven watched, his arms dangling at his sides. His eyes fell upon the amulet. He peered at it then scowled, clenching his fists.
Torstein opened his arms and Sonja collapsed against him with a sob. He held her tightly to his chest, savoring the warmth of her trembling body, then brushed his lips over hers.
Sven drew his dagger, his handsome features contorted in anger.
The smile disappeared from Mama Yngre’s face. She swooned, tottered a few steps along the dock then fell with a great splash into the Seine. Pandemonium broke out among those standing nearby who’d been soaked by the spray. Her son sheathed his weapon and joined several others who’d jumped in to the rescue.
There would be consequences, but Sonja didn’t care as she was whisked along the dock. She reveled in the security of Torstein’s strong arm around her waist. His other hand held fast to a splendid sea chest perched on his shoulder.
She licked her lips, savoring again his salty taste, the soft brush of his beard against her skin. She filled her lungs with the scent of his healthy male sweat. Her warrior was home, her amulet displayed proudly on his chest, his tattoos proclaiming his bravery.
Once again carrying Magnus aloft on his shoulders,
Alfred cleared their path through the crowd, many of them pushing their way in the opposite direction to see who had fallen into the river.
Cathryn’s smile looked like she’d painted it on with her pigments. A retinue of servants from the Archbishop’s residence buffered them from curious onlookers.
Sonja regretted the insult to Sven. Hopefully his mother would recover from her dunking, but the distraught woman would petition Rollo for retribution. She doubted if her parents had been in the crowd, but once they heard what had happened—
“I love you,” Torstein rasped, tightening his grip on her waist. “I won’t allow anyone to come between us.”
His words calmed her rapidly beating heart. She had to trust he was right.
REUNION
Watching Sonja and Torstein laugh together as they played with Magnus, Cathryn pondered her next course of action.
Torstein had changed. He displayed his battle tattoos proudly and any hint of subservience had disappeared. He was a man to be reckoned with. The heated gazes he and Sonja exchanged confirmed what she already knew. They were destined to be together, exactly as she and Bryk had been. Her entreaties to Saint Catherine had convinced her she should persevere in her support of their love.
Torstein had told her of the chieftain’s failure to grant him land, though Sven had received a prime piece of the valley. She grieved at the resentment in his voice. What did a man have to do to prove his worth?
Frits and Kennet Karlsen had decided to stay in the hinterland, but hadn’t yet laid claim to any land.
Rollo wouldn’t be pleased at the events on the dock and Cathryn’s support of Torstein might cost Bryk his new appointment.
Her husband’s insistence Torstein act as his squire proved he valued his nephew and recognized him as a true Viking. She wished she’d been present to witness the ceremony naming Bryk as Comte. She’d laughed at Torstein’s description of Rollo’s heavy hand with his sword and was anxious to see the lush valley Torstein described.
She’d caught sight of Javune leaping from the longboat, but no one had seen anything of him since. Her brother’s apparent refusal to claim lands in the hinterland was perplexing.
Hannelore, round with her next child, bustled in, interrupting her daydream. “Sonja cannot return to her parents’ house,” she whispered in Cathryn’s ear. “They’ve shunned her.”
Cathryn cast a wary eye at Sonja, but she didn’t seem to have heard. “And my uncle, the Archbishop, will never permit Torstein and Sonja to live under the same roof—especially his roof. I don’t want to cause a rift between us.”
Hannelore sat down and leaned towards her. “Sonja can come to live with us in our new dwelling until matters are resolved.”
Cathryn was surprised. Hannelore always deferred to her husband, but he was outside with their children. “Are you sure Alfred will approve?”
Hannelore looked across at Torstein. “He’s come to realize his nephew is no longer a thrall, but a celebrated warrior. Torstein reminds him of his father.”
Cathryn had never met the great Magnus, for whom her son was named, but Bryk had spoken often enough of the Viking who’d wandered as far as Constantinople, trading slaves captured in Ireland for silk and rock crystal beads in the markets of the great eastern city. She often wondered why he’d decided to keep Torstein’s mother and not sell her off in the east. Where was the ill-fated woman now? Did Torstein ever think of her?
The answer was obvious. Rarely a day went by she didn’t think of her own parents—the mother and father she’d never known.
She cleared her throat. “I regret interrupting your reunion,” she said, plucking a giggling Magnus from atop the prone Torstein’s chest, “but Sonja must go now with Hannelore to the new house on the Seine. Torstein will stay here.”
Sonja frowned, but evidently understood the implication. “My parents have disowned me, haven’t they?”
“Ja,” Hannelore confirmed. “But you can come to live with us. Don’t worry. Alfred won’t bite.”
Torstein came to his feet and embraced Sonja. He leaned his forehead against hers. “All shall be well. Go now with Hannelore. I’ll come when I can.”
In the early morning hours, Torstein made his way through the streets of Rouen, Alfred at his side. Some they encountered shunned him; others hailed him as a hero. “At least they know who am I now,” he quipped to his uncle.
Alfred shrugged. “Rollo hasn’t made any pronouncement yet concerning your antics in the two days since your return. Things may change then.”
Two long days without Sonja.
“And what of you, onkel, will your opinion of me change depending on Rollo’s judgement?”
It was a risky question, but without the support of his family, winning Sonja would be more difficult.
Alfred kept on walking, but shook his head. “No, lad, you’ve proven your mettle to me, and to Bryk I would guess. We’ll support you.”
A lead weight lifted from his heart. “Though it means incurring the Duke’s wrath?”
Alfred called a halt as his farm came in sight. “Rollo’s in a difficult position. What’s he to do? Sven is a celebrated warrior. You’ve slighted him. His mother is on the rampage, calling for you to be punished. Only Freyja knows what Sonja’s parents have been up to.
“You’re a freed slave, but our chieftain knows of your part in Sven’s success and the overall victory. He’s aware of your bravery at Chartres and your role in rescuing his beloved Poppa. You’re Bryk’s nephew, and there’s a lot of bad history between Rollo and Bryk I suspect the Duke would like to remedy. In addition, Bryk is his new Comte in the hinterland and he won’t want to jeopardize stability there.”
Torstein grinned, thumping his uncle’s shoulder. “That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say at one time,” he jested.
Alfred rubbed his arm. “I may not say much, but it doesn’t mean I don’t see things and take note.”
He offered a raised fist to Torstein, then spread his fingers. “You are my family, the son of my brother. I will fight for you as you have fought to protect me and mine and what we have in this new land.”
Torstein accepted his uncle’s gesture and they clasped hands. Vindication flooded his veins as Alfred drew him into an embrace, slapping him on the back.
As they made their way to the farmhouse, he pushed from his thoughts the wish that it had been his uncle Bryk who’d embraced him.
In the hour after dawn, Sonja ventured forth to Hannelore’s henhouse to collect eggs.
In Norway she had lived a life of privilege as the daughter of a wealthy member of the warrior nobility. She’d rarely been near a horse, and as for tasks like mucking out a stable—such was the work of thralls.
Laboring on Alfred’s farm had left her dirty and tired, her hands calloused, fingernails in shreds. Every part of her body ached.
In addition to collecting eggs from indignant hens, she’d fed piglets, fallen in the mud helping Alfred corral a sow, and yes—mucked out a stable with the aid of a pregnant Hannelore. However, the work had also helped her through the long hours apart from Torstein and, to her surprise, she’d enjoyed it.
She’d learned about apples, horses, chickens, pigs and goats, and now saw the appeal of working alongside Torstein on a farm of their own.
If only Rollo had given him the recognition he deserved. Now they waited anxiously for the great chieftain to decide their fate.
A movement near the stable caught her eye. “Torstein,” she whispered as he beckoned.
Alfred appeared, but continued walking towards the house, taking the basket from her hands as he passed. “I’ll get the eggs,” he said.
She hesitated, sniffing her fingers, hoping she’d managed to scrub away the last of the stink of mud before retiring last evening. Bathing in a partially finished house full of children was a challenge. She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear, praying she didn’t look too much like a farm wife, then hurried towards him.
He took her
hands in his, kissed them and drew her into the stable.
“I’ve been working,” she whispered breathlessly. “In the mud. I mean I fell in the mud. I was chasing a sow. I—”
His kiss silenced her. Filled with pent up passion and longing, it wasn’t gentle like the other kisses they’d shared. She melted into him as his tongue parted her lips and mated with hers.
She couldn’t breathe, but didn’t want to. He held her so tightly she feared he might break her in two. But she relished it. She should have been terrified by the hard maleness pressed against her mons, but she reveled in the knowledge it was need of her arousing him.
She pressed her breasts against his rock hard chest and raked her fingers through his hair to show how badly she craved him.
He ended their kiss and nestled her face into his warm neck. “Sonja,” he growled. “I have missed you. Come, lie with me.”
Her breath caught in her throat as they sank down into a pile of clean straw she’d hayed the day before. Nearby, horses nickered and pigs grunted, but the scent of leather and of man filled her nostrils. Torstein lay on his back and drew her on top of him, cupping her backside to press her mons to his arousal. “You see how much I want you,” he said with a smile.
She lifted up on her forearms. “I’ve ached for you in places I didn’t know existed before I met you.”
He arched his brows. “Show me where,” he teased.
She touched a fingertip to her breast. He raised his head and sucked her through the fabric of her hangeroc. A spasm of desire spiraled into her womb. “I can feel it,” she said hoarsely.
He chuckled. “I know. Look at your nipple.”
She looked down, astonished to see the telltale buds pouting at the cloth like little cobnuts. “Being near you does strange things to my body,” she explained shyly.
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