We Roam The Seas

by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt

  Her breathing is rapid and her heartbeat is in her ears but she still hears the silence fall over the entire pit, the feeling of eyes upon her as she straightens, sliding the axe into the straps on her back. She can’t help but smile when she catches one of Asgar’s brothers stating his astonishment in their native language.

  “Will all that fancy twirling come in handy, Freya?” Eisa prods, kicking Freya lightly in the butt as she passes behind her crouched body.

  Freya just ignores her goading, selecting a thick wooden staff and sending the slave boy off with her discarded weapon choices. Standing, she spins the staff around, turning to face the other three women as they form a slight circle, starting to size one another up.

  “No shield, Sister?” Asa asks, tapping her sword on the broad wooden shield she has selected and nodding to the others. They each have selected a shield, choosing it over a third weapon.

  “No need for a shield, Sister.” Freya shakes her head, trying to keep the cocky smile from her lips, but it seeps out anyway. The three girls look at her disbelief and then share a small laugh between them as she stands ready, crouched and tensed for their attack.

  ***

  Sitting on the platform in center view of his four daughter-in-laws, Halvard raises and eyebrow at Freya’s confidence, noting that she is more like Asgar than he first thought. Leaning to his side, he asks his youngest quietly, “What do you think, my son?”

  Asgar can’t take his eyes from his wife. He is mesmerized, entranced if you would, by her confidence. The way her stance is perfect in anticipating a strike, the way her hands are loosened just right on the staff to deliver both defensive and offensive hits. He never would have guessed she could be so prepared for a fight if need be. Just the electricity in the air from the coming sparring session makes his blood pump, but, now, seeing her beautiful face focused intensely, Asgar can’t stop the desire that rushes through him. His heart is beating rapidly, drowning out his father’s words and Halvard smiles.

  Halvard taps his son on the shoulder, startling him from his lust filled day dream and as Asgar leans in, silently asking him to repeat what he had said, the jarl laughs. “What do you think, my son?” He whispers, nodding back to the now circling women as his son’s blue eyes meet his.

  “I think it will be exciting to watch,” Asgar breathes out, turning his attention back to his wife, letting the desire take full rein of his emotions as the sound of his heart picks up to a deafening pace in his eardrums.

  ***

  “Are we done circling each other like vultures?” Katla grinds out, swinging her sword in front of her and banging it against her shield.

  “If you ladies are.” Freya smiles, ready to get this started. Eisa cocks her head at the new family member and grins, nodding slightly before breaking the circle and lunging for Freya, her yell breaking the tense silence that had filled the pit.

  Freya easily brings her staff up, blocking the down slice of Eisa’s sword and sidesteps her charging figure, blocking another blow by Asa who spares her only a second before returning to Katla. Eisa’s swings are strong and precise, but Freya keeps up, deflecting the blows and pushes from her shield as the staff cracks and splinters against her force.

  As Freya blocks a high swing, she feels a blow connect with her ribs; falling to her right knee, she drops her staff seeing a wide smile on Katla’s face. “Always know where your opponents are,” she laughs, returning her attention to the charging Asa as Freya jumps to her feet, dodging and rolling in the dirt to keep ahead of Eisa.

  She grumbles to herself, reaching to her waist and drawing the short sword she had selected as Eisa catches her breath. “Is that how this is going to be?” She shouts, nodding her chin toward Katla as she squares off with Asa once more, both being out of breath.

  “You know it, little sister,” she laughs, charging at her opponent as Freya readies for Eisa’s charge. Okay then, she thinks to herself as she dodges and blocks a hard swing, feeling the vibration roll through her arms from the iron on iron clash.

  She grabs Eisa’s wrist as she slips by, deftly taking her sword and kicking out her leg so that she falls flat on her back. Slapping the flat of her sword to Eisa’s chest plate, Freya smiles down at her, tossing her sword aside and says, “One down.”

  Eisa’s frustrated scream meets her back as she focuses in on Asa and Katla, swinging away and trading blows with each other as she approaches. Katla’s back is to her and Asa sees her, but says nothing as she grips Katla’s hair, tugging so she is bending in a precarious position and Freya kicks her knee out, sending her to the dirt.

  Bending down to whisper in her ear as Katla struggles to free her hair from her grip, Freya says, “Always know where your opponents are.” She releases Katla with a push and slaps her sword across her back as she lands in the dirt, a hearty roar of laughter coming from the group of men.

  Looking up and trying to catch her breath, Freya stares Asa in her cool brown eyes, seeing the grin play across her face. The slightly older woman swings her sword down, letting her arm rest. She drops her shield, pulling the other sword she had chosen from her back and clanging the two together.

  “Are you ready, Sister?” She asks, giving Freya a wink as she starts to circle.

  Freya just smiles, knowing she still has the axe on her back and she nods, nonchalantly dragging her boot in the dirt as she follows Asa’s lead. She spies Katla and Eisa standing near the fence, both enjoying water as they watch the ensuing fight and she laughs to herself, raising her gaze to her opponent once more. “Yes, I am ready. Are you?”

  She freezes, ready and waiting as Asa smiles wide, her swords rotating in her palms as she sizes Freya up, looking for a weakness. Freya sees her look from one of her hands to the other, her feet shifting in the loose dirt as Freya stays perfectly still just waiting.

  “Well, come on now,” comes the shout from Herlof, Asa’s husband, and Freya hears her scoff, rolling her eyes. “We don’t have all day. I’d like to have time alone with my wife before tonight’s celebration.” Hoots and hollers follow his statement and both Freya and Asa laugh.

  Asa makes the first move, a double swipe, making Freya duck down and dodge left to avoid being hit and she counters, bringing her blade across and striking both, knocking Asa off balance. They both take a second to recover their bearings, staring each other down and Freya lunges first, swiping at Asa’s leg.

  The blow is blocked and Asa tries to gain the upper hand by bringing her spare around, looking for a blow to Freya’s back, but Freya kneels, dropping her own sword to grip both of Asa’s wrist right before the blow is landed. She surges to her feet, wrenching both swords from her grasps as she pushes her back, stumbling and swearing. Asa’s breathing is heavy and, as she stares Freya down, she picks up a stray sword from the dirt.

  “You are good, Sister. Almost too good.” She laughs, tapping the dirt from her lamb skin boots.

  “Thank you, Sister,” Freya breathes out, pulling the axe from her back and swinging it around. “You are very good yourself. We must do this more often.”

  “Yes,” Asa nods, “we must.” With that she raises her sword, charging Freya at full speed. She is not a thin woman and, as she nears, Freya braces for impact, knowing Asa will topple her over is she doesn’t get this just right. The sword swipe comes down just clear of her face; she can feel the breeze and smell the rusting iron as she blocks it with the handle of her axe, grabbing Asa’s wrist and sweeping her leg out, sending both of them to the dirt.

  Landing on top of her sister-in-law, Freya quickly taps the flat of the axe to her breast plate and dives off, tucking her chin in as the dirt meets her back and butt and she rolls back to her feet, kneeling right before the platform full of men, including her husband. Silence falls around her, the only sounds being that of her own breathing and the grumbling of Asa being helped up by the other two women.

  Boots land in the dirt right before her, scaring her, and, before she has time to look up, familiar strong ar
ms are pulling her up securing her to a rapidly rising and falling chest as she squeals. Those ice blue eyes meet hers as she swipes the loose strands of hair from her face and she’s almost frozen in place by the passion they hold. The same lust and desire, increased tenfold, but laced with something new, something that hooks Freya as she’s carried out of the pit to shouts and whistles.

  “Don’t be late for the party, Brother,” Keir yells after Asgar, wrapping his wife, Eisa, in his arms.

  Asgar smiles down at Freya, his heart seemingly beating only for her as she smiles back, clutching tighter to him. “We won’t be late, but don’t come looking or by the Gods.” The warning tone makes his brothers chuckle to one another, shaking their heads knowing where he is headed.

  Freya scoots up in his arms, looking around and seeing the villagers milling around, only sparing them a glance as they make their way to their cottage. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she sighs when she thinks he is headed for the front door, but he walks on past, heading down the path she had come from not too long ago with their nieces and nephews.

  “Where are we going?” She laughs, turning in his arms to look over his shoulder at their disappearing home, the sounds of the village slipping away. The soothing sounds of the waterfall start to creep in and she rests her chin on his shoulder, locking her fingers together just under his ear.

  “We are going to take a dip.” The deep rumble of his voice and the slight squeeze he gives her lets Freya know it will be much more than just a dip and the fire ignites low in her belly, her arms pulling her tighter to him as she nuzzles her nose into his neck.

  He smells manly- a mix of sweat, metal, and the sea- and it makes her want him even more. She lets out a heavy sigh, sinking into his arms and letting the feel of him holding her, carrying her, lull her into a calm sense of bliss as the sound of the water grows near.

  “Don’t fall asleep on me, woman,” he utters against her cheek, the rough feel of his stubble bringing her nerves to life and she instantly smiles, kissing his cheek quickly before hoping from his arms and spinning on him.

  “What makes you think that I’m the kind of woman who would let you do, what I think you want to do, out here in the open?” She gives him a raised eyebrow as she looks him over, raking her eyes from his all the way down to his deer skin boots.

  He laughs, unhooking his belt and letting his sword fall to the ground, seeing her watch it then shoot her eyes back up to him. “That,” he points to her face, giving her a wink, “that look is what tells me you won’t tell me no.”

  “What look?” She asks incredulously, knowing her expression hadn’t changed an ounce. She was trying to hide the rush of heat thrumming through her at the moment, having to take in small quick snips of air through her nose to keep her heavy breathing from giving her away. The smile he gives her annoys her and she huffs at him as he proceeds to pull the mail up and over his head. He turns his back to her, quickly stripping of his clothes and leaving her slack jawed as he wades into the water.

  The second of his bare behind on display in front of her is enough to set her blood boiling and as she watches his sleek body just under the surface of the water, her fingers tremble at the idea of stripping and joining him. The water spraying and the sound of his gasp as he surfaces sends a shock through her system and her hand goes to her chest, trying to calm her heart from racing right through her chest. This man sets her on fire with just a look. He drives her stark raving mad, but she loves it.

  ***

  Asgar wipes his hand over his face, pushing the hair mated to his face by the water away as he treads water. He can tell she’s at war with herself over following him, her eyes wide and her hand shaky as she clutches the front of her dress. The slight chill of the water still isn’t enough to cool his blood, heated from just the thought of her body and the way it perfectly melts to his. The way she bends to his every whim, the way she screams and whispers his name.

  “Well? Are you coming in?” He shouts, swimming backwards toward the falls as she bites her bottom lip, making him wish she was in front of him so that he could bite it for her. His wife does something to him and he has to shake his head to get the tingling sensation to leave his skin.

  ***

  Freya looks around her, seeing that the meadow and hill look empty of eavesdroppers or villagers, and she slightly curses under her breath. This man has changed her. In the few weeks they have been married she’s let go of so many of her inhibitions, submitting to him when he asks it of her and at times it makes her feel devilish. The Christian monks on her father’s island had preached about this evil being called the devil and how he likes to prey on the weak and virginal. She’s pretty sure Asgar is her own personal devil, but he wants nothing from her other than her.

  Letting a small smile cross her lips, Freya turns her back to her husband, unbuttoning her dress and pulling it over her head, leaving the thin sheath of an undergarment tied tightly around her breasts. It barely does anything to hide her, but she doesn’t know if she can willingly strip fully out here in the open.

  “Take it all off. You can’t swim in that,” she hears Asgar yell over the sounds of the waterfall and she shakes her head, stepping hesitantly into the cool, fresh spring water. The sheath does little to hide her breasts, the ties only accentuating their swollen and needy state. The chill of the water makes her hardened nipples stand out more as she makes her way toward him, swimming slowly without looking at him, afraid his stare will make her drown.

  She swims straight ahead, stopping when she reaches a small rock about twenty feet from where Asgar is propped up on his elbows enjoying the slight spray of the waterfall. She doesn’t look at him as she pulls herself from the water, knowing the shear sheath is now see-through, but she hears a deep groan rumble from his chest. She can see his eyes on her from the corner of her vision and she turns away, acting as if she is admiring a flower but smiling to herself knowing this time, she is slightly in charge so far.

  She can hear the splash of the water and she laughs to herself, turning and expecting to see Asgar swimming toward her, but instead there is nothing but the flowing waterfall cascading before her and the rippling water. “Asgar?” She yells, looking behind her to see if he might have slipped by her as she turned, but again, nothing.

  Panic starts to fill her heart. Did he leave her here? Did she test his patience? “Asgar?” She yells again, this time frantically looking around as she covers her chest with her arms, feeling as if there are sets of eyes upon her.

  “Asgar?” She screams it this time, slipping into the water with her hands on the rock she was sitting on, the water splashing up into her face. She’s starting to panic more, her mind playing all of these bad scenarios around in her head as a pair of arms pin her to the rock, crushing her chest to the moss covered surface as she lets out a screech of a cry. She pushes back against the hard muscled surface pinning her to the cold rock, her hands desperately trying to wipe the water from her face that she herself is splashing on it.

  “I didn’t think I would scare you this bad,” the deep voice rumbles in her ear and she stops, spinning quickly and gripping the chest of her husband, looking him in the eye to see a mischievous glint. “Why the fright, my wife?” He asks, the genuine concern playing across his creased brow as he drags his thumb across her cheek.

  “I thought you had abandoned me,” she breathes out, her voice shaky and emotional, the fright still rolling through her as he smiles down at her. It makes her mad and she smacks his chest with an open palm, the sting running over her skin making her flinch and making him laugh.

  “I would never abandon you,” he whispers, bringing her palm to his lips and placing a gentle, lingering kiss on her skin. His eyes meet hers and he winks, brushing the loose hairs away from her face with his free hand and tangling his fingers into her bun. Her fingers grip into his bare chest, her nails scraping his warm flesh and as a groan rips through she buries her face in his neck.

  “You can’t abando
n me,” she whispers, her lips brushing his skin as he pulls her up to sit on a ledge of the rock behind her. Her arms pull him to her as her legs slip around his waist, holding him to her. His fingers leave her hair, trailing slowly over her skin and finding her chin, tilting her face up.

  “If I leave, it will be by the sea. But even then, you can be assured I will always, always return to you.” The way his voice deepens, the way his thumb sweeps over her bottom lip and the look in his eyes tells her he means it and it sends chills down her spine causing her eyes to roll shut. “No, no, no my wife. Look at me with those magnificent eyes.”

  She opens them to see the intense blue beam of his stare raking over her face, drinking her in as if she were the last jug of water in sight. His hooded look questions her to see if she believes him and all she does is nod, leaning into his touch as he caresses her cheek. His lips find the sensitive skin of her neck and she arches into him, her nails digging lightly into his skin as she pulls him closer, feeling his rock hard manhood brush against her core, sending lightning through her nerves.

  “This needs to leave,” he says harshly into her ear as his fingers brush the laces across her breasts, tugging lightly.

  “But what if someone sees us?” She breathes out as his lips burn a path across her jaw, landing on her mouth with a moan from Asgar as her tongue sweeps out, teasing him before pulling away.

  “There won’t be enough space between us for anyone to see anything,” he growls, pulling her face to his with his right hand in her hair as his left slips into the laces, teasing her heavy, needy breasts before ripping them free from their binding with one swift pull.

  Her surprised gasp disappears against his lips as her bare chest meets the breeze, his greedy hands slipping down to cup them as she grips his hips with her legs tighter, rubbing her core against his cock feeling it twitch. His mouth leaves hers and quickly encases her right breast, sucking and teasing, pulling the sensitive tip between his teeth then rolling his tongue around it to soothe it as she squirms.