She gasped aloud, but tried to stifle her voice so that it wouldn’t carry. ‘How dare you give me false words of a fresh start and then bring punishment into this?’
‘Oh, I’ll dare much more than that, my lady. We’ve agreed to a fresh start, but you must be punished for your crimes before we can begin. Tomorrow, I swear to you it will be as if it never happened, but I cannot allow disrespect to go unpunished.’
‘Nay.’ She shook her head and started backing up. ‘I won’t allow it.’
He didn’t seem phased by her objection. He nodded and took a step towards her. ‘Then I’m afraid I have no choice.’ Before she realised what he intended, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of wheat and strode towards the stairs. To her everlasting mortification, the Danes in the hall let out a cheer that nearly shook the rafters.
Gwendolyn had no idea what his idea of punishment might be, so she fought him the entire way, not that it did much good. He seemed strong enough to deal with her flailing and traverse the steep stairway at the same time. Pushing the heavy wooden door of their chamber open, he kicked it closed behind him and walked towards the bed, depositing her on top as if she didn’t weigh a thing. Her braid had come undone during the struggle, so she pushed it out of her face as she sat up, prepared to fight him off of her.
He stood at the foot of the bed, calmly taking off his tunic and tossing it aside, but he made no move to discard the rest of his clothes. ‘Take off your trousers,’ he said.
‘Are you mad? I will do no such thing. Need I remind you that you said you would never force yourself on me?’
‘I have no plans to force myself on you. Take off your trousers. Now.’ His face was hard and impassive, and his hands had come to rest on his hips.
Shaking her head, she shuffled backwards until her back came up against the headboard. ‘I’ll have no part of this punishment. How dare you punish me anyway? Aye, I defied you, but I killed the small group of rebels raiding our farms. I brought back six horses for our warriors along with the farmer’s sheep. If I were a man, you would be praising my task.’
He smiled, but it held no humour. ‘If you were a man, I would not call you wife, so, aye, perhaps I would praise you. But that’s not who you are. You are my wife and you defied me. More than that, you put your life in danger and I had no idea if you were injured or killed. For all I knew, you’d been taken captive by those cowards.’
Was it possible he’d worried about her? The thought had barely crossed her mind before he fell to his knees on to the end of the bed and started coming towards her. At that point, she had more pressing concerns. ‘What are you doing? What is this punishment?’ Her voice rose on the end, because if she was being honest with herself she was as alarmed as she was angry.
‘You defied me like a child, so I will punish you as I would a child. You lied to me and put your safety at risk. Had that not been the case, then I could overlook it. But what you did was extreme, Gwendolyn. You could be dead and I would be responsible in the eyes of all of Alvey.’
He looked so earnest that she entertained the notion that maybe she could make him understand. ‘That’s ridiculous. No one would fault you. I left on my own. I chose to go. You share no responsibility for that.’
‘But I do. I swore to protect you at the ceremony, even if my own life called for it. I swore to these people to hold your life above my own. And I meant it.’ His eyes were such a vivid blue as they peered into hers that for a moment she actually believed he might care for her. ‘I have to do whatever I can to ensure your safety, even if that means disciplining you when you do things to put yourself at risk. I’m sorry, but I have to punish you.’ He reached forward and grabbed her arms, pulling her across the bed as easily as if she were a child’s wooden doll.
She tried to jerk away, but there was no question he was stronger than she was. His grip didn’t budge and she felt the first real stirrings of fear that this might actually happen. Up until now, she hadn’t considered his discipline as a real possibility. ‘What do you mean, punish me like a child?’
‘You’ll soon find out.’ He spoke through a clenched jaw and her mind went through all the ways she’d been reprimanded as a child. None of them had ever been physical. Being sent to bed without her supper had been the most extreme. Or there was that time she’d taken her brother’s dagger without asking and bent the blade on a rock when she’d been practising throwing at targets in the dirt. He’d threatened to turn her over his knee, but her father had intervened before he’d done it.
Her eyes widened as she realised that’s exactly what this barbarian meant to do to her. ‘I am not a child.’
‘Don’t act like a child and you won’t be punished like one.’ Apparently tired of her struggling away from him, he gave a yank and pulled her off balance so that she fell against his chest. They paused for a moment, knee to knee, chest to breasts. He held her wrists locked at the small of her back with both of his. She tugged hard enough to wrench her wrists, but she couldn’t loosen his hold. An unwelcomed thrill of excitement shot through her and it was as unexpected as it was jarring. His shrewd blue eyes locked with hers and she realised that he wasn’t even panting yet. He’d nearly subdued her with so little effort she would have been more afraid if she wasn’t so impressed by his sheer power. She could barely stomach the thought, but there was something appealing about his superior strength.
‘Taking my warriors to fight bad men intent on destroying property and potentially taking lives is not the act of a child.’
‘You are correct.’ His voice had lowered. He stared down into her eyes and, even though she was so angry at him, she was struck by the attractiveness of his features. His clear blue eyes, square jaw and straight nose. It really was too bad that he had to be so unreasonable. She watched his perfect lips as he said, ‘It was an impressive accomplishment.’
It was probably as close to a compliment as she would get from him. Her mouth fell open and his gaze dipped down to her lips. An awareness moved between them with that look. It said that he found her as attractive as she found him. It said that if circumstances were different, they might enjoy each other very much.
This was madness. He was her enemy. Blinking to clear her thoughts, she said, ‘Do you really think so?’ She hated herself for needing to hear his praise. It shouldn’t matter what this Dane thought of her, but something within her longed to hear his approval of her.
His gaze jumped back up and when it connected to hers the intensity of it called to that longing deep within her. His eyes weren’t raging any more. They had suddenly become bottomless and solemn, and that was immensely appealing to her. A mere barbarian couldn’t look at her that way. ‘I do. You took out a group of enemies who meant to harm us. And you did it without loss of life while enriching us in the process. It’s admirable...for a warrior.’
She swallowed, her stomach churning in dread, because she already knew what he would say next. ‘But not admirable for a wife?’
Shaking his head, he said, ‘But not a wife. Especially one who disobeyed her husband.’ She only realised that his grip had become slack when he tightened it again. ‘For that, I’m going to spank you.’
Chapter Ten
Gwendolyn struggled away from him, intent on getting out of his grasp before he could spank her. She attempted to bring her knee up, but he was too close and it was as if his thighs were made of iron. ‘You will not do this!’ she screamed.
He sighed—sighed!—as if she were a minor annoyance and he’d much rather get on with his evening than deal with her. ‘If you’d co-operate, this would move along much faster and we could be done with it.’ His breath whooshed out on the last breath because she managed to get her shoulder into his stomach.
She didn’t have time to indulge her minor victory, however, as she had to turn to try to pull out of his grasp. She managed to get
one arm free from his grip, but he recovered quickly and tightened his hold on her other wrist. Jerking away, she got him off balance and he fell forward, but his larger frame fell on to her, effectively stopping her bid to escape from the bed.
He’d released her, but it hardly mattered as she was face down in the blanket and his heavy torso was pinning her beneath him. Dear Lord, the man must weigh the same as a horse. She squirmed to get out from under him and her bottom came into contact with his groin. She pressed back as it was the only leverage she had and realised it wasn’t simply his groin she wiggled against, but his rather large male appendage. The shock of it left her as stiff as his erection.
Immediately, she dropped her hips to break the contact, but the pulse between her thighs fluttered to life and tendrils of eager anticipation wound their way through her entire body. Her eyes fell closed as she fought the instinct to push back against him again, to savour the strangely satisfying feel of his hard length pressed against the softness of her bottom. The pulse beat an insistent rhythm in that soft place made for him.
Do not feel anything for him but disgust. Do not physically yearn for him.
He panted above her—panted when just moments ago he hadn’t. She was almost certain it was because of his condition rather than fatigue from their brief skirmish. The bulk of his weight still resting on her back, his hips came down on to her bottom to hold her still. He shifted to get a better position with his knee, but the result was that it pressed his erection very firmly against a plump cheek. His breath blew past her ear in what she was certain was an unintentional caress, but it made a shiver of pleasure run down her spine. She nearly groaned at the resulting ache deep in her centre. Even her breasts were full and achy, and her nipples were hard as they pressed against the bed.
‘Do you submit?’ His voice was soft, but held a husky note that raked across her senses. It prickled her skin and caused a flutter of response in her belly.
‘Never.’ The word was muffled against the blanket as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter and willed away the terrible effect he was having on her body. She was coming to recognise his scent, a mixture of leather and pine along with something that was distinctly him. And it floated around her now, seeping into her pores and feeding her desire.
She didn’t want this. She didn’t want him. It was no use though. No matter how she tried to fight it, she enjoyed having him above her. She enjoyed his body on hers. She even enjoyed the fact that he was physically stronger than her. This man wanted to keep her in her place as a mere wife and still she was attracted to him. It felt so wrong, but that wickedness only fed the attraction.
All of those thoughts flew out of her head when he grabbed for the waist of her trousers. Her eyes flew open and she pressed herself up with her hands. His chest still held her down, so she didn’t get far. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I can’t properly spank you with fabric between us.’ That same husk was present in his voice and it sent a shard of pleasure straight to her core. God help her. He tugged, but she was lying on the fastenings so they wouldn’t budge. She knew now, though, that he’d be able to toss her over on to her back with no problem and he’d take the trousers off her if he wanted to. If he did it that way, then he’d no doubt see her there between her legs. He’d see the wetness there and know his effect on her. She’d die from the humiliation if she had to endure him seeing her down there, knowing she was aroused, and a spanking.
He moved up on to his knees and grabbed her hips to do just that, she was certain. Panic sent her heart racing in her chest, so she acted first. ‘Wait! I’ll submit.’ He paused, but his hands didn’t leave her hips. ‘Just let me do it,’ she urged.
He still didn’t budge and she thought perhaps his goal was to humiliate her further, but he finally moved off her. She flipped over and narrowed her gaze at him. He kept a cool, level eye on her as he moved to sit on the side of the bed. Then he held his hands up as if to say he was waiting for her.
Sitting up in bed, she slowly moved back away from him towards the headboard and his gaze narrowed. She knew that she’d have to play him carefully or he’d do what he wanted whether she liked it or not. ‘I promise to co-operate if you allow me to keep my trousers.’
‘Nay.’ He shook his head and his jaw tightened. The fire was back in his eyes and she suspected that he enjoyed this little game of theirs. Well, his erection had told her that earlier, hadn’t it?
Clenching her teeth, she said, ‘Fine, but I won’t take them off. I’ll simply pull them down...a little.’
He gave a slight inclination of his head and she knew it was the only concession she was likely to get. Slowly she got to her feet and walked the few steps to reach him. If he’d been smug or had even a glimmer of victory in his eye, she might have run for the door and faced the inevitable consequences. But he merely sat there calmly...and waited, his broad chest rising and falling with his breath as he stared at her. When she paused next to him, he didn’t make a move to force her down. He still waited.
She brought her hands to the waistband of her trousers, but paused. ‘Do you... Can you make it quick? Please?’
His gaze was solemn and almost kind when he said, ‘It’s not my intention to hurt you unduly.’
‘Then why must we—?’
‘Enough.’ His harsh order cut through her words. ‘Let us get this over with.’
Biting her lip to stop her words, lest she disgrace herself by begging or saying angry words that would make him harsher, she hastily unfastened her trousers and held both sides with her hands. He patted his thigh and she placed herself over them, awkwardly keeping a grip on her trousers. His legs were like tree trunks beneath her, hard and unyielding. Apparently not enough of her rear was exposed, because he yanked the trousers down until she could feel the waistband on the backs of her thighs exposing her to God and himself. She closed her eyes against the embarrassment. No one had seen her nude bottom since she’d been a child.
She gritted her teeth against what she knew was coming and her whole body clenched. But the first thing she felt wasn’t a hard thwack. It was his warm palm coming to rest on one cheek. She flinched in shock and her eyes flew open at the unexpectedly gentle contact. He smoothed his hand over first one side and then the other, stoking this fire of arousal that had momentarily been dampened by her humiliation. Her nipples tightened and her skin tingled where he touched. The muscles low in her belly clenched.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be lulled by his hand. She wanted to know what he was thinking as he looked at her. As his palm moved, his fingertips traced little waves that soothed her. She realised that he was keeping her waiting, because it was his way of taking all control from her. He wouldn’t start based on her prompting. Everything was quite literally in his hands now. There was nothing to do now but wait and she found herself relaxing under his touch.
Somewhere so deep inside her she’d never even known it was there, a part of her liked how he took control. There was something about his domination that was freeing. She didn’t have to be in charge of everything. He was strong enough to take some of the responsibility that had weighed on her for the past two years. She’d liked bearing the needs of her people, but only as the weight of the burden was lifted a little did she understand how heavy it had been.
Perhaps this wasn’t a spanking after all. Perhaps this was simply to teach her a lesson about trusting him. Perhaps he meant to caress—Thwack! The slap was so unexpected that she cried out, more from the shock than the pain. Though heat rose across her skin where she was certain an imprint of his hand lingered, it hadn’t hurt...exactly.
‘Do you promise not to lie to me again?’ His hand rested on her bottom as he spoke and it was distracting because his thumb moved in a lazy back-and-forth stroke that seemed to be soothing the redness he’d almost surely left behind. As it soothed, it also caused excitement to stir in he
r blood.
She was so confused. Was this a punishment or a seduction? ‘What do you mean? I didn’t lie—’
A second thwack cut off her words. This time on her other cheek and her skin tingled with the heat of pain. ‘Do you promise?’
‘I didn’t—’ There was no caress that time as he smacked her again. She tried to reach back to cover herself, but he put his left arm over her back, and his hand pressed her arm to her body, keeping her still. Something inside her thrilled at the domination.
‘You did lie to me. You told me you’d stay home and you left,’ he explained. His hand rested on her bottom, his palm rubbing in a circle, soothing the minor burning. She squirmed, but it was because the stinging pain was getting all twisted with the pleasure. Somehow it was all comingling and winding the pleasure tighter inside her. She rubbed her thighs together to quell the ache between them.
This was Vidar, a Dane, a man she should not want! She tried to fight it, but the pleasure was there whether she wanted it or not. Perhaps if he smacked her again the pain would outweigh the pleasure once and for all, and settle the war raging in her body. ‘Nay, I did not lie.’ He obliged her. This thwack was the loudest yet and it made her cry out from the sting, but it had only worked to sharpen that edge of pleasure and twist it higher.
She squirmed when he rested his palm on her bottom, trying to get closer and away from him at the same time. Her movement caused the fingertips of his last two fingers to drop into the crevice created where her bottom met her thigh. It was so close to the source of that wetness between her thighs that she was afraid he might feel it.
And what if he’d been telling the truth when he’d said that he could smell her arousal? Even thinking that he might know that this punishment was making her want him somehow made that place between her thighs begin to throb harder with a desperate need she’d never felt before. She wanted him to touch her there.
The Viking Warrior's Bride Page 10
