Page 115 of Storm of Fury
“They’re supposed to be going to bed soon,” Leah told him in an exasperated voice, rescuing little Matti from his tickling kraken monster.
He winked at her. “Oh, I know. Perhaps they’d like to hear the scary tale of the three draugar we fought?”
“No!” Nora and Leah both exclaimed.
“Then behave,” he mouthed to them. “And I will too.”
Nora squeezed his hand.
“Well,” Leah said, pushing back her chair with a squeal. “As lovely as this has been, I think it’s time to put the little ones to bed. Kari looks like she’s starting to get a little overwhelmed by the horde. And I’m sure Bryn and Tormund need to get some rest for their journey tomorrow.”
Mille’s face fell. “Really?”
“Really,” Leah told her.
“The sooner you sleep,” Bryn called from across the table, “the sooner we can spar.”
Mille brightened immediately.
“Do you have room for both of them?” Leah asked, turning to her mother innocently.
“Well, I’ve only got one room.” Brunhild frowned, as if in thought. “I’ve put all of the spare furniture in the others. And my sewing is in Haakon’s room. And—"
“We can sleep in the barn,” Tormund said in an irritable voice. “It’s what we’re used to.”
“Good heavens, no!” Leah looked aghast.
Nora’s jaw dropped open. “The barn?”
“I’ll have you know that my spare room—”
Bryn shot him a bemused look. “The barn will be fine.”
Half a dozen voices rose in protest, until Brunhild held up her hand. “The barn will be fine,” she said.
Every single one of his cousins looked at Brunhild as if she’d sprouted a dragon’s head. To house a guest in the barn was scandalous. To allow a family member to stay there was something that would have horrified Brunhild if someone else dared suggest it.
Even Tormund arched a brow.
Clearly his cousins weren’t the only ones matchmaking.
“The barn will be fine,” he told his aunt, tipping his head toward her. Maybe those words would reveal his hand, but Tormund was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
* * *
“You understandwhy I prefer to hunt dragons?” Tormund asked, resting his head on the palm of his hand as he lay sprawled on a bed he’d made in the hay.
Bryn glanced at him, splayed there for her viewing pleasure. She’d always considered a man’s arms his best feature, and with his biceps flexed like that, she was having trouble keeping her gaze to herself. “I think they’re lovely.”
“Curious, nattering busybodies,” he said with a scowl. “Leah and Nora are the worst. They compete to see who can manage the family the most.”
Bryn turned away, trying to shield her expression. He didn’t know how carelessly he spoke of his family. It was evident they loved him, and he them, but he didn’t treasure them as he should. “There are many people who may look at what you have and consider them a gift, not a burden.”
Stripping off her trousers, she heard him shift behind her and knew her tone had been too sharp. Too revealing.
“Do you have family?” he asked.
She leaned forward and blew out the lantern, plunging them into darkness. “I did. Once.” Shimmying out of her shirt, she stripped her bindings from her breasts and then slipped beneath her blankets.
