“Whatever,” I cross my arms in a huff.
“Don’t tempt me, though,” he says, disappearing into the void.
“Trident,” I whisper, peeking my head in the cave a bit. “Trident?”
He doesn’t answer. I look over my shoulder and then roll my eyes at myself. Like anyone is behind me. We are the only people here. I need to get over myself. Also, it isn’t like a bear is going to tap me on the shoulder with its huge claws.
“Trident? Answer me!” I yell, my voice echoing down the tunnel.
A loud shout answers me, followed by a gurgled scream.
“Trident!” I cry out for him and make my way through the cave. My hands have to be my eyes since I can’t see. They rub against the stone. It’s damp, and I trip over… something. I’m not sure what. I don’t hear anything else. I fight to keep my breath under control, to stop from panicking, but I’m so tired.
“Trident!” I call. There’s nothing. No sound, no answer. Just my own voice.
A sudden flood of worry shoots through me.
I should have kissed him when I had the chance, and now he is probably bear food.
“Trident?” I call out for him one more time. All that answers me is my own voice. I throw my hand over my mouth and whimper. I can’t do this on my own. I can’t survive on this island by myself. It’s all too much. I can’t breathe.
Goddess, what am I going to do?
“Trident? If this is some kind of joke, it isn’t funny.”
Nothing.
A tear escapes my eyes. But then I hear something. Something is rubbing against the dirt. I whip my head back and forth, terrified at the sound. Maybe the sound of a paw dragging against the dirt. A whimper escapes me, and I back up until my back is against the wall. I take a deep breath and start making my way deeper into the cave again. I didn’t know it was possible for darkness to get darker, but it’s impossible to see.
“Trident?” my voice shakes.
Nothing.
He’s dead. He must be.
I stop, inhaling the humid air. It doesn’t smell of animal or blood. It’s just dirt and damp and cold. I can do this. A cave doesn’t go that far back, right? Step by step, I go deeper inside the cave, thinking about Trident. Wondering if he truly is dead. All I can think about is if he is struggling or in pain. I shouldn’t care. He kidnapped me, but there’s a part of my soul that aches, that needs to know if he is alright.
I swear when I see him, and if he is alive, I’m going to kiss him and slap him. Slap him for kidnapping me and getting hurt and kiss him because that’s what I’ve wanted to do from the beginning.
A scratch against the wall makes me gasp. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I freeze. I’m not alone in here. Fear is telling me to run, but my feet won’t move.
This cave shall be my casket.
Something brushes against my arm, and I scream, pulling it against my chest. I start to cry, unable to control the terror trembling my body.
A flash of light comes from my right. It’s the last thing I see before my legs give out, and my bravery crumbles.
Chapter Fifteen
Trident
“Sylvie!” I shout, diving to catch her before her head hits the ground. I cradle her in my arms and carry her over to the fire I built. A feeling I don’t feel often weighs me down.
Guilt.
I had no idea she would get so worked up about not being able to find me. I wanted to get her to stop worrying and relax. I thought she’d run when she figured out she was free, but she kept coming deeper in the cave, calling out for me.
I didn’t say anything at first, because I loved how my name sounded coming off her lips. My heart stopped every time. At first, I thought I misheard, but the more she ventured into the cave, the more I heard her emotions. Her voice broke with tears. It sounded like tears. I was glued. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she cared.
About me.
It made my heart swell. I debated on how to tell her I was okay, but the more I waited, the more fearful she got. She didn’t even know it, but she was inches away from me. I tried to reach out, to comfort her and tell her it would be fine. But she panicked.
I let go of her like I burned her. I had no idea how to redeem myself. She truly believed she was alone and that I was dead.
Now she is passed out in my arms. A few tears still leak out of her eyes, and I wipe them away. Damn it, she’s unconscious and she is still scared.
“Sylvie?” I brush my thumb over her cheek. “Wake up, darling. You’re fine. I’m fine. I’m sorry for scaring you. You can wake up now. I have a fire going, warming us up. I’m going to get food, but I need you to open those beautiful green eyes. Please.”
Nothing.
Damn, I feel horrible. I should have never done that. I wanted to give her a little scare, not make her pass out. I still can’t believe she cared enough to come into a cave with no light. She truly is braver than I thought. I admire that about her. She pushed through her fears and wanted to see if a man she hated was still alive. That shows how good of a person she is.
“Goddess, you are pretty,” I marvel, running my fingers down the slight curve of her face. Her lips part. I want nothing more than to press mine against hers, now that I know she cares about me. Sylvie has a small dimple in the middle of her chin, and her lashes are long and red, just like her hair. She has a slight dash of freckles over her nose, and I want to kiss every single one of them.
She moans, jostling in my arms a bit.
“That’s it, wake up. I can’t leave unless you wake up. We will starve if I don’t get out of here and get us dinner.” I brush a piece of hair out of her face and her eyes flutter. “That’s it.”
“Trident?”
A big grin spreads across my face when she says my name. “Hey, welcome back.”
“You’re alive.”
“Last time I checked,” I reply cheekily.
“You’re alive.” Her eyes open a bit more and the apples of her cheeks tint red. “You’re alive!” her voice raises and her fist flies through the air. I dodge it just in time, a small breeze coming from the mighty fist trying to hit my face.
“Whoa, aye! None of that.”
She rolls off my lap and gets to her knees, throwing another punch at my face. I thought women slapped? She is a little lion, this one.
“How dare you make me think something happened! Oh, you are something else. You… you are nothing but a bully.” She throws another punch, but it comes nowhere near me.
When she throws another punch, I catch it in my own fist and clutch it tight. I jerk her arm until her body is against me again, and her breasts are plush against me. Damn, I love her fire. It has to be the sexiest thing about her.
“Do not throw any more punches at me or I really will leave you behind,” I tell her. Truthfully, I want to bend her over on my knee and spank her. The thought of touching her arse sends a thrill through me.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. Not after what you just pulled.”
“Is that so?” I ask. “You shall sit down, get warm, and wait until I come back with dinner.”
She clicks her tongue with a shake of her head. “I’d rather starve than have any food from someone like you.”
“Aye? Fine. More for me. Hunt your own food.”
“Fine!” she yells, the vein in her forehead popping out, plumping full of blood.
I bend down, close enough to smell the natural fresh scent of cotton emanating off her skin and touch my nose against hers.
“Fine.” My voice is steady and calm, but my heart is racing with how close we are. If we were other people, maybe, just maybe this could work. Maybe I could feel the softness of her lips against mine.
But we are who we are.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be, Trident?”
I never take my eyes off her as I bend down and grab the spear I made. “Enjoy the warm fire. You know, the fire you can’t make on your own, due to the silv
er spoon in your mouth.”
“I would have figured it out,” she snips.
“You probably would have set yourself on fire.” I start walking out of the cave and stop. “Now there’s an idea.”
She throws a rock at me, but I dodge it just like I did her punches. “Oh, you rude, insufferable man. Get out!”
“It’s my cave, woman. Don’t forget it.” The cool night air hits my face as I step out into the night. My boots sink into the wet soil, and I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. I should kick her out of the cave, my cave, the shelter I found. For us, might I add. And she is being so damn ungrateful.
It’s my cave! I can do whatever the hell I want in it. What right does she have to boss me around in my temporary home? She makes me so livid. And at the same time, she makes my cock rock hard. I just want to kiss her until she is speechless and fuck her until she is screaming my name, instead of yelling at one another.
I sink deeper into the forest, away from the ocean and the cave. I’m in the middle, surrounded by trees I’ve never seen before. Plants as big as me are protruding out of the ground, and vines twirl around the tree trunks, grasping onto the bark to help the green vines grow. It’s beautiful, but I can’t appreciate it right now. I need to focus. I must bring some food home.
Home.
I scoff at myself, “Idiot. This isn’t home.”
Maybe she could be.
I want to laugh at myself, because how ridiculous does that sound? She’s maddening. We are oil and water. We do not mix.
“What’s this?” I squat down and touch a hoof print with two fingers. It’s fresh. The promise of food yanks me out of the ridiculous thoughts I’ve been having. I put Sylvie in the back of my mind. I stay low to the ground and crawl forward, digging my fingers in the damp earth. I come across another set of hooves and new droppings. Hog.
I love a good, fat hog.
Ahead of me I hear grunting and plants rustling as the hogs travel through the brush. I reach out and push the brush aside as quietly as I can. Slow and calculated. I don’t want to scare off dinner. When I get the green leaves out of my sight, the hogs come into view. They have a black hide, and long thick tusks that could be used as weapons. The big one lifts his head, sensing me. His eyes scan the area, but since I’m down wind, he can’t smell me. I lift to my knee and bring my spear behind me, getting ready to launch it.
I have one shot.
I aim for the heart, right behind the shoulder blade, and push forward, throwing the handmade spear through the air. It’s quick, silent, and in an instant, it hits the hog. The rest scatter, but my hog falls.
“Thank you, goddess, for this meal,” I mutter. It’s never easy taking a life, human or not, but survival is key and that I need to be appreciative for.
I journey toward the fresh kill, lift the hog over my shoulders, and head back to the cave. I’m sure Sylvie is going to have something to say about me killing a hog, since nothing seems to be good enough for her. How the hell I got in this situation seems unreal to me. If I could go back, I wouldn’t kidnap her. I was running off anger and the desire for revenge, but now, I realize how emotional that was. Warriors can’t take action from their feelings or something like this happens.
Now I have to live with the consequences.
The closer I get to the cave, the more I begin to drag. Exhaustion is setting in and my muscles are tired. I still have to skin the hog and cook it. All I want to do is sleep. The glow from the fire illuminates the cave a soft orange, and shadows are lifting up against the cave walls. I don’t hesitate to walk inside. It’s my cave, after all. I drop the big beast from my shoulders, and it lands on the ground with a hard plop.
“I see you got a hog,” she notices.
“Nothing gets by you, does it?” I say with a bit of a smart tone. I sit down and take out my sword, the fire gleaming off the steel. I lay out the meat and start skinning. I’m waiting for her to say something, to say anything, but she keeps her mouth shut.
Goddess, I can’t believe she has nothing to say.
It doesn’t take me long to get the hide off the meat, and soon I have the pig over the fire roasting. The smell permeates the air, and I deeply inhale the smoky scent of meat. It’s strong. I can nearly taste the juicy fat on my tongue.
“Thank you for getting dinner.”
I lift my gaze from my feet and lift a brow. Wow, she actually said thank you. It sounded painful for her to say, but she said it. It must have taken a lot.
“You’re welcome.”
“It doesn’t mean I like you,” she clarifies.
I lean against the wall and close my eyes, folding my hands across my stomach. “Good. I don’t like you either.”
Another lie. I love her fire. It’s hot. It’s different. It riles me up in ways no one has ever done before. I’ll never admit it though.
Ever.
“Good. I’m glad we are on the same page.”
“Same page, paragraph, and sentence.”
“You can read?” she asks, sounding a bit shocked.
I shake my head and laugh bitterly. “You must be one of the most judgemental people I’ve ever come across, and that says something. I’ve been to war more times than you can count. What? Just because I’m a Viking and don’t have as much money as you, means I can’t read or write?”
“No, usually—”
“Usually, it’s the wealthy that gets more of the opportunity? Aye, I know. That never stopped me. I have a great leader and Lord. He always gives us the opportunity to learn. Not everyone is as selfish as your father.”
My words drip hatred. I avert my eyes. I’m not able to look at her, not when I’m so angry. A part of me thought she was better than that, better than the judgement, but apparently, I was wrong.
“I know,” she sighs, defeated, and leans back, mimicking my position. “I meant no offense. My father wasn’t always like this. Cruel and what not. He is taking more from the people of the village, for his gain. I’ve lost respect for him. He has become greedy and vile and cruel. I’m happy your Lord isn’t like that. And I’m happy your people are getting the education they deserve.”
“Why?”
“Can we not do this anymore? I’m tired and hungry. I don’t have the energy to fight with you.”
I soften my tone. “I’m not trying to fight anymore. I really just want to know why you are happy for my people.”
“Everyone deserves the same chance at success. That’s all,” she says, picking at the ground with her fingers.
There’s more to her story, and I want to find it out. I clear my throat and cough, trying to end the awkward silence. “The hog will be a few hours. Why don’t you rest. I’ll wake you when it’s done.”
“Promise you won’t eat it all?” she yawns, stretching her arms over her head.
I bark out a laugh. “Am I that fat? I can’t eat an entire hog. Way to make a man feel self-conscious.”
“No!” Her green eyes are as big as the moon when it’s full. “You are not fat at all. You are in shape. Lovely. Very muscular and defined. You don’t need to worry about that.” She flushes and fans her face. “I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to sleep now.” She flips to her side so hard an audible thud sounds. It makes me cringe.
“Everything alright?”
“Fine,” she whimpers. “Getting comfortable.”
Women. I don’t understand them. She was flustered when she spoke about my body. I know I’m not fat, but heaviness pooled in my belly when she asked me not to eat the entire thing. It makes me wonder if she doesn’t find me attractive. I shouldn’t care about that sort of thing, but I do. I want to know if she’s attracted to me, like the idiot I am.
I gaze at her back. Her clothes are still wet, and they leave nothing to the imagination. They hug every inch of her body. That dip in her waist is making my fingers twitch. I want to reach out and skim them down her body, just to see how she responds. Will she be a loud lover? Will she whine and m
oan, or will she be silent with heavy breaths?
My cock is hard from the sight of her curves. I want to do more than just look. I want to peel the gown off her body and show her pale skin, then I want to leave marks on it with my teeth, my fingers, the palm of my hand. I want it to look well ravished. She’ll be exhausted when I am done, panting, trembling from the pleasure I could give her.
But she’d beg for more, and I’d give it to her. A woman like her should never have to ask and should never have to be in need.
“Fuck,” I whisper, palming my cock. The thick girth burns with the need to release, but I can’t do that here. She’s so damn beautiful. Her hips flare out perfectly, round and wide, perfect for holding on to and for giving birth. And now my mind flashes to her being pregnant, belly swollen with my child, and nothing has turned me on more.
This is a nightmare.
This cannot happen. I cannot want an enemy. And not just any enemy, the enemy.
No matter what my mind is telling me, my heart says something else. My cock is on board with my heart too. If anything, my attempts to make it flaccid only make it harder. It starts to leak precum, and makes a wet spot in front of my pants. I grit my teeth together and get up, turning the pig on the fire, and run out of the cave like the devil is on my heels.
I don’t make it far.
Once I’m out of the cave, I take a left and drop to my knees, fisting my cock out of my pants, and give it a hard stroke. My body trembles. Every inch of my flesh is sensitive and hot, and the more I stroke, the more my balls pull tight. My spine tingles. It isn’t going to take long.
I close my eyes and fuck my fist hard and fast, thinking about Lady Sylvie on her knees, taking my cock into her mouth. Her red lips are spread, stretched as far as they can go to accommodate my length until she gags.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I curse as my orgasm builds.
“Sylvie,” her name is a choked gasp in my throat when I come, stream after stream wetting the ground. I moan, stroking the last bit of cream out of my slit, and shiver from how sensitive my cock is after the explosion. My eyelids are heavy now, and all I want to do is sleep.
Vikings' Brides Box Set Page 83