Betrothed to the Enemy Viking

by Michelle Styles

  ‘Why did you go to the church on your own?’ he asked carefully, silently willing her to tell him the truth about her intentions. He wanted her to show him that she trusted him to do the right thing.

  She bowed her head. ‘When I woke, I was unsettled. I wanted to go somewhere I used to find solace.’

  Something deep within him where his heart had once resided cracked. Despite everything they’d shared, she still distrusted him.

  He put his hands on her arms. ‘The person who tried to kill me remains at large. They may yet try to attack you. Can you blame me for being worried?’

  She gave a bleak-eyed smile. ‘If Toka is to be believed, your enemy wouldn’t bother with me because you never keep your women for long. One night is usually more than enough for you.’

  He flinched. Toka’s remarks held more than a ring of truth. He knew that after the disappointment of his marriage and the horror of his wife and child’s deaths he’d shied away from commitment. But he’d always made sure that the women involved knew the limitations of any liaison with him.

  Then Cyn had tumbled into his life and he knew he needed her to stay with him. This wasn’t the all-consuming passion he’d borne for Ranka and her body before they’d married, but something very different and no less powerful. The power of it frightened him. He cared greatly about her and her future. He wanted to be a part of it. He wanted to be a father to her son—the sort he hoped he’d have been to his own son.

  But he couldn’t find the words to tell her this—not yet. It was far too new and unsettling.

  Kal knew his unseen enemy had to remain in ignorance about the nature of his feelings for her or he’d use them to destroy him. His throat tightened and he forced his lungs to fill with air. One problem at a time.

  ‘Maybe I have never met the right woman,’ he said in a quiet voice.

  She looked up at him with big eyes. ‘I’m not the right one either, Kal.’

  His heart squeezed tighter. He couldn’t lose her now.

  ‘Why did you take the risk after I warned you about staying close to me?’ he asked. It was either kiss her or discover answers. Knowing what he fought against gave him a better chance of winning. ‘Were you searching for the fabled treasure?’

  ‘The treasure which Toka spoke of?’ Her gaze slid away from his. ‘Is that the treasure you mean?’

  ‘Did your husband ask you to find it? Right now I’m very glad he’s dead, because it is a monstrous thing to ask of anyone—let alone a lady like you.’ He tightened his grip on her arms. ‘How could you have hoped for success?’

  She twisted away and he let her go. ‘I gave my word to at least try. If there was any treasure, I’m sure it is long gone. You saw how the church has been ransacked.’ Her voice quivered on the last word. ‘My husband never expected that. I think he thought churches were sacred...incapable of being destroyed. I don’t know what he thought, but it was naive. Maybe he didn’t think at all, but he wanted me to know he’d provided for our son.’

  ‘Did he really hide something in the church, then? Or was it just a rumour?’

  ‘He said he did,’ she whispered. ‘I gave him a promise that I would search for it, Kal. For our son.’

  ‘What were you going to use it for? To raise an army? Defeat me? Do you hate me that much?’

  Her eyes became unbearably bleak. ‘Hate you? Maybe I did before I encountered you. But now you are my friend.’

  Friend. The tight spot in his chest eased. She considered him a friend. ‘Why, then, Cyn?’

  ‘To pay for my son to be properly trained, instead of haphazardly like my father would do it. To ensure Wulfgar knows his father cared about him and his future, that he hasn’t been left without anything at all.’ She hunched her shoulders. ‘Maybe I should have told you earlier, when we became allies. At first I didn’t because I thought the gold belonged to Wulfgar, not you, and that you never needed to know. But after what we shared in the charcoal burner’s hut, and last night, I don’t know any longer...and it is tearing me up inside.’ She drew an unsteady breath. ‘I was going to return to you and confess all, but then Toka arrived and—’

  ‘Cynehild...’ he said, wanting to draw her into his arms but knowing deep within him that she had to come into them because she wanted to.

  ‘There—now you know the worst of me. As soon as my brother-in-law arrives I will leave with him. I will not seek to rob you. And I understand if you never want to see my lying face again.’ Her eyes flashed fire. ‘I’m not the good woman you thought I was, Kal.’

  His admiration for her grew. She wasn’t asking for forgiveness but for understanding. He knew if the tables had been turned he’d have struggled to exhibit half the courage she had. He wanted to shout at her—Love me, just love me and I will make everything better. Stop loving that man who made you risk your life for a selfish dream. But he knew he couldn’t. Cynehild’s love for her husband was one of the reasons why Kal cared for her.

  ‘When something consumes you, sometimes you can’t think straight. I can understand you wanting to provide for your son far more than your wanting to lay a sword in honour of your husband.’

  ‘Can you?’ She put a hand to her head. ‘Leofwine’s excuse was threadbare—I see that now. In his delirium he must have thought Wulfgar would manage, when full-grown, to hold these lands in a way he couldn’t. And I was arrogant in thinking you wouldn’t understand my quest.’

  ‘If you hadn’t travelled, would I still be breathing? Many have searched for that treasure before you, Cynehild,’ he said quietly. ‘Haddr, in drink, kept coming up with more and more outlandish theories about where it might be. He even claimed that if he was allowed to marry Luba’s daughter he would discover it and give me half.’

  ‘I know Luba’s husband was my husband’s steward, but Leofwine swore he’d told no one the location but me.’

  ‘On Haddr’s wedding day I told him to be quick about discovering the treasure as you were travelling here. But it was only a joke, Cyn.’

  Her mouth opened and shut several times. ‘That is not the point. I lied. You are supposed to hate me.’

  ‘Your being on that hill is precisely the point. You came to save your son, and in doing so you saved my life, giving me something far more precious than all my gold.’ He took off his torc and the remainder of his arm rings and laid them at her feet. ‘Will that be enough for his training? Is that all you require from this place?’

  ‘That wasn’t what I meant and you know it.’ She balled her fists. ‘I’m trying to find a way to apologise for my behaviour. Stop twisting things. I don’t want your gold. I never did. I only wanted Leofwine’s because...because...’

  ‘Because you wanted to show your son that sometimes you have to do hard things. Because you wanted to believe Leofwine cared for you and your son like you wanted him to.’

  ‘Yes.’

  He lifted her chin. So brave and fearless. In her heart, she had to have known that her mission was doomed to failure, but she’d come anyway, holding true to a rashly given promise.

  It frightened him how much he had come to need her and her belief in his goodness. He had a choice, she’d told him, and he had to make it now. He could try to destroy her memories of her husband and make war on the dead or he could tend to the living.

  ‘Leofwine cared for you. He loved you beyond reason.’

  Her mouth trembled. ‘How do you know? You never met him.’

  ‘He came back to die in your arms.’

  She stuffed her hand into her mouth. ‘And I loved him for that. I will always love him for it. Thank you.’

  Kal pushed away the hurt in his chest. She hadn’t asked him to love her. She’d been open about loving her late husband. He regarded the tafl board thoughtfully. He had until her brother-in-law and that monk returned. Time still remained to make her care for him, and making her care meant getting he
r back into his bed.

  Her mouth quirked upwards. ‘Your memory is getting better.’

  ‘It is. I can now remember how I came here, what I did here—I even remember teasing Haddr. But I still have no idea who hit me or why.’

  ‘We will discover your enemy before I leave. I give you my word.’

  ‘I’ve no reason to doubt that you will keep your word.’ He opened his arms and willed her to believe in him. ‘But allow me to say good morning to you properly. Please.’

  This time, she walked into them. He bent and claimed her lips. Her mouth opened and he instantly deepened the kiss, trying to explain with his touch about his fears when he’d discovered her gone. Their tongues met and warred. The desperation in her kiss surprised him. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

  ‘This is the proper place to say good morning after such a kiss.’

  Her response was to reach up and curl her arm about his neck, hold his face close to hers. ‘We have this for such a short time,’ she whispered against his mouth. ‘How can I resist?’

  His heart clenched. How many times had he said that sort of thing to women? The irony of the situation made his mouth taste bitter. But she was in his arms, and right now he would settle for that.

  He placed kisses across her jawline and down her neck. ‘Let me see you in the morning light. Let me enjoy your body.’

  Her teeth worried at her bottom lip. ‘I’m not sure you will like what you see. It might be better if we wait for darkness and keep the mystery.’

  He stared at her, taking in her hair, the shape of her face and her curves...particularly her curves. How could anyone have made this woman think she was less than she was? He wanted to punish Toka for making Cyn feel that way, but he knew the problem ran far deeper than his poisonous ex-sister-in-law. People in Cyn’s family had made her like this, and he despised them for it.

  He leant forward and grazed her temple with his lips. ‘Why don’t you allow me to be the judge? Everything I have seen so far I have liked.’

  Shadows remained in her eyes. ‘Have you...?’

  He took her hand and placed it against the bulge in his trousers. ‘See. You excite me. You—not some mystery woman in my mind whose face I never see and whose body I can never touch.’

  ‘I... I... That is, my husband and I... It was always dark when we were together.’

  ‘What you did with your husband has no bearing on what you do with me.’ He dropped a kiss on her mouth. ‘That is in the past. This is now.’

  Her tongue moistened her lips. ‘I was always taught that darkness is necessary. Leofwine insisted on it.’

  ‘I’m not your husband. I’m your lover.’ His breath caught in his throat. If she denied it, his heart would shatter into a thousand pieces.

  ‘Lovers...’ she murmured. ‘I suppose we are.’

  ‘You need to feel and see how true lovers can behave. In this moment with me, Cyn. Nowhere else.’

  She glanced at him from under a forest of lashes. ‘I’ve no other plans for the morning.’

  Kal’s body instantly hardened beyond the point of aching. He doubted he’d ever want a woman as much as he did her. ‘Then allow me.’

  He quickly divested her of her garments, taking care to fold each one up before he turned back to where she lay on the bed. She attempted to hide her breasts and the nest of curls with her hands, but he firmly grasped her wrists in his left hand and held them above her head. He allowed his gaze to roam over her body, appreciating the way her full breasts spilled out and the gentle curve of her stomach. The network of scars which criss-crossed her abdomen begged to be tasted.

  ‘There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve seen—even more so in the morning light.’ He ran a finger down her flank.

  A rose tint infused her skin. ‘Truly? When I was a bride, I thought I was much prettier. My figure was better. My skin bears the scars from my pregnancy.’

  ‘Fishing for compliments? Stop telling me what should excite me. I know my own mind. Like my battle scars, your scars show your courage.’

  ‘Do you think that...really?’

  ‘Let me demonstrate.’

  He nipped her shoulder blade before making a trail of kisses down to the creaminess of her breasts. He cupped them and allowed their fullness to spill out of his hands. Then he teased each dawn-kissed nipple in turn until her eyes became dilated with pleasure. Slowly moving his mouth down her torso, pausing to kiss each silver scar which adorned her skin, he settled himself between her thighs.

  ‘I plan to feast on you—if you have no objection.’

  He waited, blowing a steady stream of air against her curls. Her mound bucked upwards and her nipples became hard points.

  ‘I will take the risk...with you,’ she said, between small pants.

  ‘Excellent choice, my lady.’

  * * *

  He lowered his mouth and proceeded to part her curls with his tongue as he sought the sweetness of her inner core. His fingers caressed her full breasts.

  Cynehild stiffened when his tongue lapped at her folds before going deep within her and then back to her hidden nub. No one had touched her that intimately before, but she felt no shame with Kal. The inexorable motion of his tongue combined with the pressure of his hands on her breasts caused her body to arch upwards again, seeking relief.

  ‘Please!’ she cried.

  Her urgent plea made him withdraw. A smile crossed his face. ‘I take it you approve of the way I am breaking my fast and will understand why remaining in bed with me in the mornings is something to be sought rather than avoided?’

  She struggled to make coherent sense of his words while her whole being thrummed. ‘You’re hungry?’

  ‘For something other than food.’ His tongue traced a circle around her belly button. ‘Something much more pleasurable...unless you require sustenance?’

  She tugged at his shoulders. ‘I’m hungry as well.’

  He levered himself upwards so that his mouth was level with hers. ‘Thankfully I know of a way we can both be satisfied.’

  She opened her legs wide and welcomed the entire length of him. Then they began to move as one, and what she had thought she’d known about making love proved to be totally inadequate as wave after wave of intense pleasure coursed through her.

  She cried out in joy and his shouts intermingled with hers. And as she slowly came back down to earth she knew that when she left she’d be leaving a large part of her heart behind. She’d fallen in love with Kal. He was her soul friend—not her mate but her friend. She could confide in him in a way she had never done with Leofwine.

  The thought scared her. She barely knew him. With her late husband, the realisation had come quietly, after they’d shared many things. She’d known his faults and his virtues, but she’d never felt the compulsion to be with him. With Kal, she only thought she knew him, but she felt far more comfortable with him than she had done with anyone in a long time.

  Kal kissed her shoulder, dismissing all coherent thought from her mind.

  ‘You wear your serious face again. Does something concern you? For today, my men can get along without me.’

  ‘My thoughts are unimportant. It seems strange for me to stay this long in bed.’ She reached for her discarded clothes. ‘I like to keep my hands busy.’

  ‘Allow me to teach you to play tafl properly, then.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘You would be an excellent player, I know.’

  He’d told her before that he thought she’d be good at it.

  Her heart warmed. ‘It will give us something to do as I am determined that you shall rest.’

  He laughed. ‘It will also give us a chance to think about what needs to be done about my attacker and develop a scheme to unveil him.’

  ‘We can’t do anything until my brother-in-law arrives.’

>   ‘That remains to be seen.’ He inclined his head. ‘But, whatever happens, I’m determined to keep you safe. I will not allow my enemy to harm you.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘We need to find a way to force your enemy out into the open.’

  Kal paused in setting out the blue and white glass counters for the next game in their tafl match. Thus far today, he’d won three and she had won two.

  Given that she’d claimed not to be very good when they’d first started playing two days ago, he was more than impressed. Her grasp of strategy was excellent and her capacity for lateral thinking superb. In every way she was a worthy opponent.

  And yet he knew with each passing day the likelihood of her leaving increased exponentially. Her brother-in-law would appear with his men and she would go. And he’d let her go because then she would be safe from his elusive enemy.

  He was fairly positive Alff had something to do with it, but he lacked proof. Banishing him for no reason could result in a rebellion in his war band—something he refused to risk, and he suspected his enemy knew it as well.

  ‘There is no “we” about it, Cyn. I will find a way, but you must be kept safe.’ He softened his words with a smile. ‘For your son’s sake. He has already lost one parent. Someone must watch over him and keep your father in check where your youngest sister is concerned. She must be allowed to choose her own life partner.’

  He waited to see if Cyn was ready to yield—for her son’s sake if not her own.

  She bent her head and spent a long time examining the tafl board. ‘I thank you for your concern for Wulfgar, but whatever happens to me he will be well looked after. I would not have come here if I had not planned ahead for all eventualities. Without a plan, we are doomed to fail.’

  Kal moved his first piece. His chance of winning her seemed more remote than ever. On the one hand he wanted the new contingent of men to arrive, as they would help to ensure her safety, but on the other hand he knew once they did he would lose all chance of winning her heart.

  ‘This is not your fight.’