“What is your name?” Lara asked her.
The woman hesitated. “Thora.”
Lara nodded. Thora moved to the table at the head of the house, near the door to Eirick’s quarters. Lara continued to ladle stew into bowls until everyone was eating, including the slaves. Reece came into the room and rowdy chorus of cheers erupted from the congregated Viking warriors. Thora motioned her son over to her and pushed an extra bowl of stew in his direction. He signaled Lara to join them before sitting down. Lara retrieved a bowl, filled it with stew and sat next to Reece on the bench. His leg brushed against hers and rather than move away, he nudged her knee. When she looked up at him, he nodded at his empty goblet.
She bit her lip. Was he serious? She was starving. Thora was watching her, probably deciding how hard she’d beat her when she got the opportunity. Lara stifled a sigh and went to the bucket-like container of mead. She ladled mead into the goblet and filled a glass for herself while she was there.
She returned to the table and Reece took both glasses, handing one to Thora. “Don’t forget to get one for yourself.”
Thora seemed very pleased by this. The corner of Lara’s eye twitched. Reece’s eyes widened and he quickly turned his attention to his stew. So he was familiar with her pissed-off-beyond-belief look. She wondered if he knew what to expect when she got him alone again. She returned to the bucket and ended up ladling mead for five other people before she was finally able to return to her yet untouched meal.
“More bread,” Reece said as soon as she sat down.
“Get it yourself,” she growled.
He squeezed her knee under the table. “Never make me repeat myself, Helga,” he warned.
She wondered how many Norsewomen took Axe Junior to their husband’s skull in the middle of the night. “I apologize,” she gritted between clenched teeth. She got up again and went to a side table that held a pile of flat breads and a collection of soft cheeses. She took some cheese back with her too. She didn’t want to have to get up again.
She sat down and lifted her spoon, glancing at Reece who was grinning at her. He was enjoying every minute of this.
“Can I eat, now?” she asked.
“What’s stopping you?”
The corner of her eye twitched before she glanced down at her meal. A crust of grease was solidifying around the edge of the stew. Her stomach turned. Would she really be able to keep this fatty concoction down? Her arteries were clogging just looking at the stuff. She avoided the grease along the edge and took a bite of something beige. It wasn’t as bad as she’d anticipated, but it was far from good. The meat was mealy, the vegetables either hard or mushy, the broth tasted like old lard. Reece tore his bread in half and handed a piece to her. He then surprised her by stroking her lower back soothingly.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered into her ear. “Eirick is trying to stay on his mother’s good side, is all. So he can keep you. ”
His warm breath teased her ear, sending a thrill of excitement down the side of her neck. She bit into the bread. It was tough and chewy, but satisfying. She finished the bread before tackling the stew again. Concentrating on her meal, she ignored the warmth of Reece’s body beside her, the touch of his thigh against hers, the scent of his body, the husky timber of his voice as he answered his mother’s questions in monosyllables. This man had no effect on her. Nope. No effect. None. Nadda. So why, oh why, did she jump when his hand touched her back at the base of her spine? “Are you ready for bed?” he asked quietly.
Bed?
She swallowed hard, hoping it would make her tongue start working again. Before she could answer, one of the men shouted, “Eirick, tell us a story of your conquests.”
“I’ll have to pass this night, friends. I’m anxious to get to know this one,” he said, his voice thick with lust. He nuzzled Lara’s neck and covered her breast with his hand, kneading it gently with his palm.
She jerked away from him and lifted her hand to smack him. He caught her wrist and laughed. “You are going to be a delight to tame,” he growled, climbing from the bench and dragging Lara to her feet.
He buried his fingers in the mass of her hair and tugged her head back. Her eyes closed as he covered her mouth with his. She stiffened as a jolt of pure lust shot through her body. He kissed her deeply, suckling upper lip, nibbling on the lower, touching his tongue tentatively to hers. She was scarcely aware of the boisterous cheering going on around them. He kissed a trail towards her ear.
“You’re supposed to be fighting me, remember?” he whispered.
Her hand lifted suddenly as if controlled by a reflex and connected with his chin. Stunned, he staggered backwards. She bit her lip to bite back the apology on the tip of her tongue. His eyes narrowed dangerously. He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, heading for the door just to their left.
“Put me down!” she demanded, struggling against him.
“Don’t wait up,” he said to the people in the lodge.
“I said put me down!”
Reece carried her into his chambers and closed the door. He set her to her feet.
“I didn’t mean to hit you,” she said at once.
He drew her against his chest. “Where were we?”
Chapter 5
Lara’s blue eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared up at him. The candlelight threw strange shadows across her face. Reece took her chin in his hand and brushed his thumb over her lower lip as he stared down at her. She relaxed against him and lust slammed into his gut, stealing his breath. Memories of her face when lost in the throes of passion flitted through his mind. Unruly curls sticking to the perspiration moistened skin of her face and neck, heavy-lidded eyes locked with his, mouth open as she breathed his name in ecstasy. And then the vision changed. Eyes open yet unfocused, pupils dilated, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she lie in a contorted position on the parking garage floor beside her car. Her skin ice-cold beneath his searching fingers. No pulse. No breath. No Lara.
No Lara.
A vice clenched Reece’s heart and he cradled the back of her head, tugging her against his chest as he fought tears. She was here. She was breathing. He could save her. He could. Carl didn’t know what he was talking about. It was possible. Reece would make it possible. He refused to live without her. She was everything to him. True, she didn’t know him, but as much as it broke his heart, there was nothing he could do about that besides get to know her again. Slowly. Though everything inside him wanted things to be as they had been immediately, he needed to take things more slowly.
“Reece?”
Her soft voice, muffled against his chest, spiraled feelings of tenderness through him. He bit his lip, holding in the words he longed to say. Don’t leave me again. I love you, Lara. I love you. He’d already said ‘I love you’ once. It was too soon for her to hear it again. He had to be patient. Take his time. Slow down.
“Yes?” His voice sounded thick with emotion, even to him. Damn.
“Where did you get that amulet?”
Surprised by her question, he chuckled. Apparently, she wasn’t as lost in romantic feelings as he was.
“I was on an expedition in Cairo.”
She pulled out of his grasp and stepped away. He fisted his hands to prevent himself from drawing her back against him. He wanted her, true, but more than the great sex they shared, he wanted her love. And if he pushed her, he might never attain it again. She wasn’t an easy woman.
“It was unearthed in a dig,” he said. “The two pieces were found together, but it was cracked down the middle. I bought it for a great price because it was broken.”
“So you have both pieces?”
Reece shook his head. “Carl has the other half. That’s how he keeps following me. His half of the amulet is drawn to mine. Apparently, he leaps a few moments after me, but there is some sort of delay seen on the other end. It usually takes him a few days to appear. I leapt more than seventy times before I returned to the m
odern era. What’s been a few hours for him, has been eight months for me. When I arrived in your time, I trekked halfway across the world to see you. I almost missed finding you again before Carl arrived.”
“Is this really a good idea, Reece? I mean if I am meant to die, then maybe—”
He stepped closer to her, gripping both of her arms in his hands. “Don’t say it, Lara. Don’t even think it. You are not meant to die. I won’t let it happen.”
He kissed her heatedly, the taste of her lips intoxicating. All too soon she pulled away. She held a hand up between them and refused to look at him. “Don’t.”
He bit his lip, but didn’t press the issue. He understood. She needed more time. He would give her time, but he would never give up on winning her again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You should try to get some sleep. You must be exhausted.”
“I am. In so many ways.” She moved across the room, still not looking at him. “I can’t believe this is happening. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up in some psychiatric hospital. Are you sure this isn’t a dream?”
“For me, it’s a dream come true.”
She picked up the discarded shirt she’d been wearing earlier. “Can I ask you a serious question, Reece?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Do you know where I can find a bathroom?”
He laughed.
She turned and glared at him. “I’m being serious.”
“I know. I just expected something a bit more important.”
“Trust me, Reece. This is very important.”
“I imagine it is. I’ll take you to the latrine, my saucy wench. And then I’ll take you to bed.”
Chapter 6
Lara blinked her eyes open. Light streamed in through the small round window above the bed. Her first vision of the morning was Reece’s face, leaning over her. She smiled and stretched languorously.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
“Watching you.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to see what you look like when you aren’t bustin’ my balls.”
Her grin widened. “Hope you got your fill.”
“Not yet.”
He covered her eyes with one hand.
“Now what are you doing?” she asked.
“Shh. You’re still asleep. If you’re asleep, you won’t fight me when I do this.”
“Do what?”
She felt the tip of his nose brush against the side of her neck, followed by his tongue. He gently suckled the flesh just beneath her ear and she was frozen in place with pleasure. He nipped her earlobe and she tensed. His warm breath in her ear caused her to shudder. “Beautiful, Lara,” he whispered.
“Reece?”
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.
“I don’t want you to.”
His breath caught. “Do you really mean that?”
“Yes.”
There was a knock at the door. “Eirick, you don’t mean to laze in your bed all day, do you?” Thora’s voice carried into the room.
Reece groaned.
“Yes,” he called. “That was my intention.”
“It’s time to go for your hunt,” his mother insisted. “We have no meat for supper.”
Reece removed his hand from Lara’s eyes. She blinked them open to look up at him.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” he called. His mother moved away from the door. “What a nag.”
Reece bent his head and brushed his lips against Lara’s. When he moved to draw away, she buried her fingers in his thick, silky hair and lifted her head to kiss him. A groan vibrated in the back of his throat as she suckled his lips eagerly. He drew her closer, his hard body pressing against her length. Future me is a lucky girl, she thought. She gasped when shifted on top of her and ground his hard cock into her mound.
Oh God, yes. Current me is even luckier.
Reece tore his mouth away and lifted up on his arms, gazing down at her with passion-glazed eyes. “You shouldn’t encourage me.”
With a wicked grin, she rocked her hips and he pulled a shuddering breath through his teeth.
“It’s been too long,” he said.
Balancing on one arm, he pushed the covers down to her waist and reached for the hem of her night shirt.
There was another knock at the door. More like a pounding. “Eirick!” a deep voice shouted. “There’s a storm brewing. We must go now.”
“It’s going to be a while longer,” Lara said.
“You mean you’re going to send me out in front of my men in this condition.” He ground into her again to make her very aware of her effects on him. She could feel that he wouldn’t be needing a sports car to compensate for anything.
“Don’t you have Vikings to lead, villages to pillage, small animals to kill for our lard stew?”
“I’d rather tame a saucy wench.”
“You’re going to need more than that to tame this saucy wench.”
He grinned, looking irresistibly cute with his hazel-green eyes sparking with mischief. “I can try though, right?”
“Maybe later.”
“A maybe is better than a no.” He kissed her gently and climbed from the bed. He turned his back to her, and what a gorgeous back it was, strong and smooth, with the cutest butt known to woman situated just beneath. He adjusted himself in his undershorts and reached for his pants. He slid them on and turned to face her. She couldn’t keep her eyes from shifting to the bulge in his pants. “Do you think anyone will notice?” He turned to the side with his hands on his hips. His rigid cock forced his underdrawers into an unmistakable tent that protruded from his open fly.
She shook her head, holding her breath. “I doubt it,” she gasped. She bit her lip to hold in a laugh and climbed out of the bed.
“You really should do something about this state you put me in, woman.”
“I’ll go get you some cold water. Just let me to get dressed.”
“Heartless, saucy wench. Getting me all excited and then refusing to follow through.” He tossed on his shirt and grabbed his boots before heading for the door. “I can’t take you dressing in front of me at the moment. If you need me, I’ll be in the latrine for a while. Be sure to knock before entering or you might catch me in a compromising position.”
She chuckled. “Don’t fall in.”
He left and Lara reached for the blue gown, smiling to herself. Reece Jericho was trouble, there was no mistaking that. That trouble was already neck high and still rising. She didn’t think it would be all that horrible to go completely under. She wouldn’t even struggle. Much. Resisting Reece’s allure was kind of like quicksand. The more she struggled the faster she sank.
Lara thought she might get some rest while the men were away on their hunt. Boy, was she wrong. Thora seemed to consider this day with Helga as a suitable-wife interview, and apparently suitable wives needed to know how to grind grain by hand, weave cloth, cure hides, and find firewood. They also needed to know how to gather eggs, milk goats, cook, clean and launder. By the time Reece entered the lodge near dark, Lara was exhausted. The only highlight of her day had been the realization that she was living through history. She was fascinated by the Viking culture, even though she’d done more manual labor in one day than she typically did in a month. Another thing she became thankful for were Helga’s obvious skills. If Lara completed the tasks without much thinking, Helga’s expertise just sort of took over and she was weaving cloth like a pro and milking the goat without getting the wind kicked out of her a second time.
Reece kissed Lara’s cheek and handed her a collection of dead hares tied together by their back feet. “You look tired,” he said quietly.
“What am I supposed to do with these?” she asked.
“Why, gut ‘em, skin ‘em, and cook ‘em. What else?”
Lara’s jaw set on a hard line. “No.” She’d worked her tail off today. And what had he been doing? Tracking down defenseless bunnies and skeweri
ng them with arrows.
“It’s expected of you,” he told her.
“I don’t care. I’m tired. Find someone else.”
“Don’t make this a fight, Lara,” he pleaded. “I’ll give you a nice massage later, when no one is looking.”
She snorted. “Like I’d want a massage from you.”
“Then you can give me a nice massage later. There are things in my pants that have been in need of your attention all day.”
The corner of her eye twitched. He grimaced, took her by the shoulders and turned her towards the exit of the long house. He directed her outside and when they reached the yard, he handed her a knife.
“See that this doesn’t end up stuck between my ribs,” he said.
“I can’t make any promises, darling.”
“Hurry up now. It’s almost dark. I wouldn’t want you to slice off your finger because you can’t see what you’re doing.”
“I have a mind to slice off certain male appendages at the moment. Since they are so in need of my attention and all.”
“Remind me never to piss you off, sweetheart,” he said.
“It’s too late for that, sweetheart.”
“I’ll keep the bench warm for you,” he said, and disappeared inside.
Apparently, gutting rabbits was not one of Helga’s better skills. She’d managed to do quite a hack job by the time she brought the meat into the long house. And gutting a rabbit was a lot different than throwing a store-bought, hunk of meat in the oven. She had a serious case of the dry heaves by the time she was finished. One at a time, Lara added the hare quarters to the dish iron heating over fire. The dish iron was like a flat frying pan, and fat spattered into the fire as she cooked. She burned her fingers more than once as she seared the meat and then added the pieces to the stew pot.
Reece was apparently several mugs into his mead already. He was celebrating with his men in fine style, encouraging them to tell stories of their exploits and cheering them on loudly. Thora refilled her son’s mug over and over again, until by the time Lara found the time to sit next to him, he was slurring his words. At least he could be classified as a happy drunk. Loud and happy. Lara wanted to shove a sock in his mouth. How dare he have such a good time while she was working her fingers to the bone?
Loving on Borrowed Time - Lovers Leap 1 Page 4
