Page 39 of The Shipwreck
His smile of encouragement did little to assuage her fears.And to her dismay, Kimbery ran eagerly toward the man who’d hefted her on his shoulders, wrapping her arms fondly around his knees.With an uneasy spirit and against her better judgment, Avril let Brandr steer her into the cottage.
The instant he closed the door behind them, he let her go.She staggered a step and wheeled on him, ready to fight with her bare hands, if need be.
“Sheathe your claws, kitten,” he said.“I only want to talk.”
She scowled at him, and then, realizing her fists were no match for a sword, lowered her hands.
“I have an idea,” he told her, beginning to pace pensively before the hearth.
She touched her scraped throat, rubbed raw from struggling against his splinted arm.“An idea.”She couldn’t imagine what he meant.
“My brothers and I came to your land, not to invade, but to settle,” he said, gesturing with her sword.“All we want is a place to stay.A home.Land.”
She scowled, only half-listening, wondering if there was any way she could wrest her sword from his grip.She ground out, “I don’t think you’ll all fit in my cottage, if that’s your idea.”
He gave her an indulgent chuckle, and then continued.“Nay, I have a far better plan.”He stopped pacing and arched a brow at her.“How far away is Rivenloch?”
She blinked.“Rivenloch?”What was he thinking?
He smiled at her.It was wicked smile, a scheming smile.
She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again, once, twice.Could he possibly be considering what shethoughthe was considering?
“I have an army of Northmen,” he said.“Enough to take back a castle wrongfully seized from its true heir.”
For a moment, she was stunned.But as she looked into his glittering blue eyes, a thrill of hope shot through her.“Are you serious?”
“I am.”His face was grim now, and he suddenly looked every inch a coldhearted, bloodthirsty Viking.“Are you?”
Avril stared at him in wide-eyed wonder.Mere moments ago, she’d been sure her life was over.Now it seemed full of promise beyond her wildest dreams.
Brandr flipped her sword over in his hand and offered it to her, jeweled hilt first.She stared down at it, knowing the final decision was in her hands.He wasn’t just offering her a weapon.He was offering her his sword arm.He was offering her the might of his men.He was offering her her legacy.
Unable to find words to convey her gratitude, she silently took the sword from him.As she gazed down at the glowing gems of the hilt, they winked up at her, as if eager for battle.But after a moment, she propped the weapon against the wall.
There would be time to make war later.
Now, she wanted to make love.
Chapter 12
Brandr knew Avril would be pleased with his offer.He didn’t realize just how pleased.Nor did he anticipate how she’d choose to express her pleasure…until she nudged him backward through the doorway of her bedchamber, covering his face with eager kisses.
He shivered as she ran her hands under his shirt and over his chest, and then gasped in pleased surprise as she shoved him back onto the bed.She climbed atop him, lifting his shirt to press her warm lips to his bare flesh.These Pictish women were uncommonly aggressive, he decided.But he definitely could get used to that.
He smiled as she hooked her arm possessively around his neck and claimed his mouth with hers.But his smile fell away as her other hand ventured boldly beneath the waist of his trousers.
Caught off-guard, he sucked in a quick breath as the blood surged through him.Overcome by an unexpected rush of desire, he squeezed his eyes shut, hardening with astonishing speed at her touch.
She purred with satisfaction as her fingers curved naturally around his firm length, and he echoed the sound with a lusty growl.She slanted her mouth over his, plunging her tongue between his lips, and he instinctively reached up to clasp her face between his hands, deepening the kiss.
Her fingers scrabbled at the ties of his trousers, and he lifted his hips so she could slide them down.
With almost frantic haste, she raised her skirts and positioned herself to take him inside her.
His lust-starved body wanted her.Now.But everything was happening too fast.Though he’d imagined making love to her countless times in the past few days, it had never been like this.He had no time to seduce her, no chance to learn her body—to feast his eyes upon her breasts, to whisper in her ear, to kiss the strange design on her shoulder, to suck gently at her nipples, to part her thighs and fondle the sweet bud that guarded her womanhood.
It was too late to stop now.She seized his wrists and anchored his arms to the bed, forcefully sinking down upon him until he was sheathed to the hilt.
