A Storm of Pleasure

by TERRI BRISBIN

  “He did not hurt you,” Godrod said as she approached him.

  Katla tried not to blush as she remembered Gavin’s words about the same thing, but heat crept up her cheeks. “He did not,” she said quietly, nodding to a place away from the others so that they could speak privately.

  They reached a small clearing and stopped.

  “There is more than one way to hurt a woman, Katla,” Godrod said softly.

  “I am well, Godrod,” she said, not meeting his astute gaze.

  “Can he hear you yet?”

  She’d shared the knowledge she had about the Truthsayer with Godrod. If he was to be of any help, he needed to know what they faced.

  “Nay. From what Haakon said, it will be days more before his hearing returns.” She fisted her hands and groaned out her frustration. “I cannot wait more days, Godrod. Kali’s life grows more endangered with each passing day.”

  “Harald is there to protect Kali, child.” Godrod shook his head. “If there is no pressing reason for the king to take action against your brother, he will not.”

  Katla considered his words. She needed to convince Gavin to come peacefully, for his opposition could result in harming him and she wanted no part of that. Watching him forcibly taken had been a terrible assault on her heart, one she would not recover from for a long time. She had no desire to be the cause of something worse.

  “Two days,” she said. “If he cannot hear, we will begin our journey and sail southward until he does.”

  “It might be safer if you did not return to him until we can speak to him, Katla.”

  “He will not hurt me, Godrod. He could have earlier but did not.”

  “You have much faith in someone you have known for such a short time,” he warned. “Have a care.”

  Considering herself warned, Katla decided to heed his words for now and sleep in a tent where the others slept. She would see Gavin again the morning.

  The sun’s light pouring in through a small opening in the cottage wall told him it was day. He’d slept better than he had in days—sated by food and Katla. Gavin knew she would return, but not when, so he sat on the pallet with his back to the wall. She would not sneak in without his seeing her.

  She was so desperate to save her brother that she was not thinking clearly now. He could not blame her for that. He had imagined having brothers when he was a child and knew if he’d had any, he would fight the forces of hell to protect them. If he’d had any….

  But, he would not be the one to help her this time.

  She would need to rely on Harald’s skills as the representative of Earl Magnus to convince the king to release the boy. No otherworldly talent was needed here—only an experienced negotiator, and Harald was such a man. If Harald became more appealing in Katla’s eyes because he’d bargained for her brother’s life, well, so be it.

  He could be no further help to her, for traveling so close to so many would be too painful to bear.

  By the time she finally opened the door and entered, he had all his arguments ready to present. All the reasons why it would not work, how he would not be able to sort through the clamor during the weeks before the next full moon, how he had never faced so many people in such a small area before, and on and on.

  Gavin stood and stretched, tired of being imprisoned. He wanted to walk; he wanted to sit in the sun. He wanted to have this settled between them so he could return to Durness. When the door finally opened, he welcomed the chance to speak to her. So when he faced her old servant Godrod, who wore his suspicions and mistrust on his face, Gavin was disappointed.

  “Where is your mistress?” he asked.

  The old man pointed outside without saying a word. Ah, he knew.

  “Tell her I wish to speak with her.”

  Godrod crossed his arms over his chest and stepped aside, allowing Katla entrance. The man had no intention of letting his mistress in here alone again—that much was clear from his stance. Did he think Gavin would harm her? Again, clearly he must.

  “I would speak to you without your servant present, Katla.”

  Katla faced Godrod and they spoke, sparing him a glance or two during their heated conversation. Finally, Katla must have prevailed, for the man glared at her and then at him and left abruptly, slamming the door so hard Gavin felt the frame shake.

  “So you have that effect on others, Katla? ’Tis not just me?” he asked.

  The corner of her mouth threatened a smile, but she controlled it at the last moment and glared at him. He watched her mouth move but could not hear her words. He clapped his hands over his head and groaned out in frustration.

  “It lasts longer each month. It could be days more before I can hear you.” Gavin met her gaze. “You must release me, Katla, and allow me to return to Durness.”

  She pressed her lips together tightly, forming a line of refusal. He walked over and took her by the shoulders.

  “Did Haakon tell you why I dare not go near a place like Dunfermline? Why even Birsay is a threat to me?”

  He did not expect an answer, so he continued. He would tell her what she needed to know now. Let her think on response until they could discuss it. He released her before continuing, walking across the small space to the other side.

  “Over these last months, as the power has grown, so too have the aftereffects, Katla. The noise in my head grows stronger and more painful. One of the things that seems to affect the pain are the number of people around me. You know that. I explained it to you. But what I didn’t explain is that the more people around me, the more pain I have.”

  She moved toward him, but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. “A city like Dunfermline will be too much for me to bear, Katla. Even with the control you seem to give me, there are thousands of inhabitants in that area whose thoughts will invade my mind. I will go mad.”

  She paled at his words, but worse, he witnessed disappointment in her gaze. Disappointment in him. He could not bear that either.

  “You ask too much of me, Katla. I am only a man.”

  She shook her head and he did not need to hear her words to understand what she said.

  You are not a man—you are the Truthsayer.

  He shook his head. “Nay, Katla. I am only a man.”

  When she set her chin in that stubborn way, he knew he was in trouble. She was now determined to change his mind. Knowing he could not hear her, she turned from him and walked out of the cottage, still wearing that expression that spoke of unwavering purpose. He thought to follow her, but Godrod stepped in front of the door, blocking his path.

  “Godrod, leave the door open. I will not try to leave,” he said. After too many days closed up, he wanted to feel the air on his skin. If it meant agreeing not to escape—for now—he would give his word. It would not bind him once his hearing returned, but for now…

  The old man looked off to his left and when satisfied with the answer Katla gave, he nodded to Gavin, pulling the door open.

  One battle won but far too many left to fight, he thought as he settled back on the pallet to get more sleep.

  Their truce held for three days. During that time, Katla appeared every few hours bringing food to him. Sometimes she left it for him to eat alone, and other times she remained and shared it with him. They allowed him to walk in a small area around the cottage, under guard, but it was enough for him to stretch his legs. Godrod stood nearby whenever he left the cottage and usually positioned himself between Gavin and Katla.

  Gavin knew she was dying to speak her mind to him. He suspected he actually had little choice in what was to come—only in the manner in which it happened.

  Chapter Twenty

  The day dawned rainy and cold, as many did in autumn, when the warm days of summer became memories only. The waters offshore would soon be rough and stormy as September peaked and the colors of the season changed from the brilliant hues of summer to the bleak shades of winter. As close as Gavin could tell, the next full moon would come in the very first days
of October, followed by another one at the end of the month. Not a usual occurrence, and some would say, a dire portent of things to come.

  The air carried a sound to him like a whisper or an echo, and at first he thought he was hearing thoughts. Then it became stronger and he recognized her voice, speaking somewhere nearby. Gavin walked to the doorway and looked out. Sure enough, Katla stood not ten paces away, under the cover of a copse of tall trees, talking with two men he did not know. Neither they nor Katla herself noticed him watching, so he stayed and listened.

  “The ship is ready, mistress,” the taller one said.

  “Once this weather clears, we should sail,” the other said. “If the storms come early, it could add another week to our voyage.”

  “Do we head north or south, mistress?” Gavin asked, mimicking the respectful tone of the other two.

  “Get Godrod,” she said, dismissing them and walking toward him.

  He met her halfway. She stared at him for a moment and then nodded.

  “You can hear me,” she said.

  He nodded in reply. “You did not answer me—do you head north or south?”

  Katla tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her by the arm. Godrod ran to her side and pushed him away. When he would have fought back, Katla stepped between them.

  “May we speak in private, Gavin?” She looked at the older man. “Godrod, all is well. Prepare to sail.”

  He would have disagreed with her, but it mattered not what was said about a voyage south—he would not, could not go. Once Godrod stood aside, Gavin followed Katla into the small chamber and pulled the door closed behind him.

  Anger seethed in the air between them. All the words he’d wanted to say and hear for the last two weeks welled up inside.

  “Why?” He spat the words out.

  It hung in the air for several moments as she tried to gather her voice and her courage to speak. All the words she’d practiced over these last days disappeared.

  “I have told you my reason for not being able to go to the city with you, and yet you still plan to take me there. If I speak out against you, I can have you imprisoned as you have done with me this last week, but with no release in sight.”

  Her throat went dry at his threat. He could have her arrested and worse. His position with Earl Magnus would be known in Dunfermline. Her attempts to bring him south against his will would be exposed and punished.

  “Do you really want to risk taking me there, Katla? Will these men follow your orders when they know the risk?” He walked toward her, and she backed up a step or two as he did. His reaction was not what she’d expected, but then a cornered animal is always the most dangerous one.

  “I have a bargain to offer you, Truthsayer,” she said, trying to calm his temper. Instead it seemed to anger him more.

  “So, it comes down to a bargain?” He rubbed his face and shook his head. “I thought there was something else between us. Even though you denied it on the day we returned from Durness, I felt it, Katla.”

  She wanted to cry. She wished that she could go back in time to a year ago when she lived a happy life and had no worries like the ones she faced now. She wished she had not begun to fall in love with this man.

  Katla shuddered as the truth of her realization seeped into her soul and her heart. Though she’d always wished to fall in love, she’d thought it would bring her joy. Not like this, having to bargain her body away once more and tear her heart out to persuade this man to help her.

  “Was the other day just a sampling of the wares so I would be tempted to accept whatever you offered me?”

  She gasped at his insult. “The other day…the other day…” she began but could not finish. She wanted to tell him of her feelings, but his anger prevented her from revealing such things. “You are angry.”

  “The hel I am!” he said. “You lured me from the earl’s house and had men kidnap me. You dragged me here, to…”

  “Caithness,” she answered.

  “Caithness. I beg you, stop this now. Accept that I would help you if I could.” He let out a long, exhausted breath. “I would help if I thought I could survive it. There will be too many people to hold back from my mind. Too many.” His voice lowered then, and she heard the terror there. “I will go mad.”

  “I will help you control the madness,” she offered. “Whatever you need, I will be there.”

  His expression grew bleak, and he shook his head. “I do not know if even you have the power to help me control the assault of thousands of minds, Katla. In Durness, even in Birsay, there were few compared to those I will encounter if I go to Dunfermline.”

  She sensed a change in him—from complete opposition to something less inflexible. But she felt the fear that filled every part of him, too. She reached out and took his hand in hers.

  “I will be at your side the whole time, Gavin. We can find a way to battle the clamor. We can do this together.”

  “And then what will happen? If your brother is proven innocent, will you return with him to Orkney? And if he is guilty, where will you go?”

  She shrugged. “I cannot think that far ahead, Gavin. I can only do everything in my power to prove his innocence.”

  “In all this time, Katla, have you ever asked your brother about his knowledge of your father’s plot? Has he spoken to you about this at all?”

  She paused, realizing that the only subject she and Kali spoke about when Harald held him prisoner was her attempts to free him. Kali never answered her questions. When she asked about the plot, he changed the topic, never quite explaining why others would suspect him of complicity. “No.”

  “Mayhap that should be a warning to you? Mayhap you should step back and reconsider this path?” Gavin shook his head. “Allow Harald to do what he can, and then let your brother determine his own fate.”

  All she could hear in that moment was her father’s voice, demanding, begging her to intervene and to save her brother. Katla needed to convince Gavin to help her. “If not for me, Gavin, then do this for yourself.”

  Her words stopped him cold. He could see and hear her utter desperation.

  “For myself?” he asked. “What can I possibly gain?”

  “I sent Godrod in search of knowledge about your powers and your family. I can tell you what he found….” She let her words drift off.

  He wanted to deny the power of those words, to himself, to her, but his heart beat wildly at the suggestion that she might have information about his past and the powers he had. It was a ploy. A desperate ploy to gain his cooperation. And damn his soul and hers, he wanted to!

  “What have you found out?” he asked. “How? Did he find someone who knew my real parents?”

  Did Katla know something that could save him from the end he thought nearly in sight? Did anyone else have powers like his? Had his parents…He choked back the consuming need to know something about who and what he truly was.

  And in that moment, he understood a bit more about the force that drove Katla to protect her brother despite all opposition.

  Family. Belonging. Loyalty. Love. None of it was based on truth or lies. All of it was based on uncontrollable, unpredictable, undeniable emotions.

  “So you will withhold what you know unless I help you?”

  He wanted to be angry, but she had offered him the one, nay two, things he needed most—the physical relationship with her that would calm the insanity in his mind, and the promise of knowledge about his origins. While he’d lain insensate in the aftermath of using his powers, she’d been planning, searching, and finding a way to gain his compliance.

  She was truly Sven’s daughter, showing every sign of the keen mind and relentless determination her father had been known for. He would have been proud of her.

  “I will offer you all my help both before the next ritual and after it,” she replied. “To control the chaos and to find your origins,” she promised.

  As much as he’d like to call her bluff and demand proof of what she’d le
arned, his heart soared at the possibility she was telling the truth. He held out his right hand to her to accept her bargain. When she placed her hand in his, a shock passed through him, and he wondered about the meaning of it. She’d felt it, too, but she did not let go.

  “I accept your bargain,” he said.

  “And I yours,” she replied.

  To remind her what her part was, Gavin pulled her to him, still holding her right hand, while sliding his left one into her hair and bringing her face to his.

  “At my side,” he whispered, kissing her mouth. “In my bed until this ends,” he added as he nipped the skin of her neck until she shuddered and her body began to throb with a need he could hear. “Under my hand at all times,” he added.

  He planned to seal their bargain in a most primitive and elementary way. Sliding his hand down her body and grasping the edge of her tunic, he lifted it to expose her legs to him. She gasped against his mouth as he touched the damp curls and then slid his finger into her cleft. Her entire body shuddered as her nether folds swelled under his touch. Soon, she arched against his fingers, riding his hand much like she had his prick.

  It took only minutes to bring her to satisfaction, and though he had not reached his, he was at peace with that, for the voyage to Dunfermline would take another week. She would be his at all times and that knowledge pleased him.

  Gavin only hoped against all hope that whatever made her different would keep the clamor at bay. Or he would face his last months sunken into madness and chaos.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The next days aboard ship traveling south were not the hardship that the first ones had been. Once Gavin had consented to accompany her to the city of the Scottish king, everything changed.

  The small chamber where Gavin had been held prisoner was cleaned and a pallet and some other furnishings returned to it. Though they both spent much time on the upper deck as they sailed the miles of open sea, the chamber became their hideaway from the world…and their future it seemed. They filled their nights with passion and Katla was surprised by his unbridled need for her. Sometimes she would catch a glimpse of terror in his gaze, but joining with him seemed to banish it.