by AJ Adams
I was handling the boat well, keeping the nose, the bow Siv had called it, lined up with the weakly shining star. Then a large wave buffeted us. The boat rocked perilously, the cats were growling, and Siv woke up.
One moment he was asleep and the next he was bounding to his feet. “Odin’s balls!”
He moved so quickly that I’d picked up my knife instinctively. He looked, sneered at the blade and got busy working the sail and barking out orders. “Turn ten degrees to port!”
“What?”
“That way!”
He worked at lightning speed, and before I knew it, the boat was stable again. He was pretty grumpy about it, though. His eyes were narrowed, and there was a tick going in his jaw. “I said, wake me if anything happens!”
“It was just a wave or two!”
“A wave!” The inked wolves were all over the place. “It’s a whale, you idiot!”
As I gawped there was a blast of air, port side. The sea foamed, and a mountain of black and white flesh surfaced. Water went everywhere, and the boat rocked again. I stood up instinctively and screamed. Stupid, really, because the boat tipped wildly, and I almost went over the side.
“You witless woman!” Siv grabbed me by the waist and shoved me down. “Sit, you crazy witch!”
He held onto me, standing like a rock while he had a death grip on my shoulders. The whale splashed about, slapping the water with its tail, and then moaning, showing off a huge mouth filled with shiny white teeth. It was terrifying. Just as I thought we’d all die, it simply sank and vanished. A long count of ten later, it surfaced half a mile away, moving south.
“Sweet Lady Freyja save us!” I was shaking like a leaf. “Ohmigod! That was a whale? I never thought they’d be that big!”
“It was a calf, barely an adult.” Siv was being cold again, stepping away from me and fussing with the sails. “Take the tiller.”
“Let me check the girls.” I stood up and found that my knees were shaking. My case of the depths came rushing back. “You may be a bad-tempered bugger, Siv, but thanks for grabbing me. I almost went over the side!”
“So you didn’t get a wetting.” Siv was contemptuous. “Whales don’t eat people. Not even witches.”
“Maybe so, but this witch can’t swim.”
“WHAT?”
He roared so loudly that I jumped and tripped over my own skirts. One moment I was going down, cruising for bruised knees, and the next he was grabbing me again. He was so strong and swift that I was limp in his grasp. Before I could gather my wits, he had me up on my feet, and then he was hustling me over to the mast, and picking up a rope.
I was screaming at him. “You poxy bastard! What do you think you’re playing at?” I whacked him solidly in the chest, practically breaking fingers on his muscles. “Get off me!”
“Shut up, you crazy witch!”
The blue eyes were narrow, the musk was hot, but it suddenly dawned on me that people who intend rape and beatings don’t tie ropes around your waist, leaving your hands and feet free to beat and kick.
I took a breath and paused. He was stepping back, still madder than hell, but he wasn’t whacking me back. Somehow I was missing something. I looked at the rope, tied neatly around me with an impressive knot. “What’s the big idea? Think I’m going to walk out on you?”
“Why didn’t you say you can’t swim?” Siv was yelling, roaring almost as loud as that whale. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out here?”
I couldn’t answer because I was totally flabbergasted. Aside from the screaming, I was getting the usual red anger but also worry, panic—and love. Odin’s hairy balls, she could have drowned! Siv was scared to death that I might hurt myself. She was hanging over the side this morning, inches from death! He was taking care of me by securing me to the mast with a length of rope just long enough to stop me tumbling overboard.
I hadn’t had anyone look out for me since I was a child, and the Lady Divine had scolded me for burning my tongue munching hot biscuits straight out of the oven. Looking at the worried eyes and snarling tattoos, my worries about him, me and my situation were resolving quickly.
“You were hanging over the edge this morning!” He was white at the memory. “You could’ve gone overboard and drowned!”
The crazy, sweet, bossy, difficult bugger! On impulse, I threw my arms around him and kissed him. “Thanks, Siv.”
I gave him a peck on the cheek, but his arms were cinching around me, pulling me against the rock-solid chest. Sweet, fierce passion enveloped me, driving the breath out of me. Mine! She’s mine! His lips captured mine in fierce salute. The scent of warm musk swirled around me, inviting and soothing. My arms snaked around his neck, enjoying the sleek muscles flexing under the warm skin.
“Kisa,” he was growling, the lips moving against mine now, exploring with increasing need. He was hard against me and then she wore a face veil that revealed only the sleekly slanting green eyes. A long, svelte body, rich with curves, undulated smoothly. She exuded promise from the rouged nipples to the toenails that were painted gold to match the little fringe that frisked around her hips. “Do I please you, Lord?”
I broke away, filled with confusion and breathless desire. “Blessed Lady, who was that?”
His eyes were wide with surprise. “What?”
“Uhm, never mind.”
I could still feel passion flowing through me, driving my breath ragged in my throat, budding my nipples with anticipation. My knickers were wet, too. I fought for control, for sanity.
But Siv was laughing. “Odin’s spear and balls! Did you see her?”
“Yeah, rouged nipples and all.”
“She was a Raqs Sharki in Shahr Sha-eer. They’re singers, famous for their entertainment skills.”
“A whore.” I’d seen them in Brighthelme and had been horrified that some of the poor had sunk so desperately in need that they had to sell their bodies. “Or was the poor thing a thrall?”
He was laughing at me, shaking his head at my ignorance. “She was an artist, and so highly sought after that I had to pay a fortune just to see her dance.”
“Right. Strictly hands off. A cultural entertainment.”
“No way! I paid a gold coin to have her and believe me, it was worth it!”
Bloody Beast. “How gratifying!”
“Hey!” His hands were hard on my arms. “Bliss, you’re mad at me for having a girl ten years ago?”
Put like that, it did seem daft. But still! “Of course it’s your business.”
He was smug, totally arrogant. “If you’re jealous, don’t go poking into my thoughts.”
“How dare you? I’m not jealous!”
“Ha!”
I struggled with the knot, and it defeated me. I kept my cool. It’s not easy to march off icily when you’ve got just a few feet of swaying boat, but I like to think I managed it. I sat by Saga who didn’t stir.
Siv took the tiller, grinning mockingly at me. I turned my back on him and fumed. Siv had been around in more ways than one. Clearly he was a libertine, a sailor who’d had women in every port—in both continents. What really stung me, though, was that he’d been thinking of them when he was kissing me.
“So, we’re friends again?” Siv called out.
“Certainly not!”
The bugger just laughed.
Chapter Twelve: Siv
She was mad at me, her back turned towards me in a pointed manner, but my heart was singing. “So, we’re friends again?” I called out.
“Certainly not!” Bliss snapped.
I had to laugh. Typical Bliss! Pulling a knife on me and threatening to gut me one second, and hanging around my neck, sweeter than honey, the next. She might drive me insane, but she’d never be dull.
I was determined to have her but for all my laughter, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. Bliss didn’t trust me. What she hadn’t realised was that she needed me.
We’d both lost our homes, but our experiences were totally diffe
rent. I had my brothers; my poor Bliss was outcast. Although she was hiding her feelings bravely, I knew she was suffering. However, real devastation numbs. When the full enormity of it finally hit her, it would crucify her.
Taking her home with me would add more pressure. In Salvation, Bliss had hidden her true talents for fear of her duke. Revealing a hint of them had made her an authority figure in her village, but also a distant one. With us she’d be our vala. Bliss would be consulted on every issue. There would be support, but the demands would be unending.
Finally, while my brothers would welcome her, the women might not. Some would be afraid, and others would be jealous. Bliss being a trained healer might help. We Skraeling are taught from young to set bones, stitch wounds, and deal with all the usual injuries that come from battle, but with many of the women being pregnant, we’d need a good midwife.
As I sailed up the rip, the knarr eating up easy miles thanks to a stiff breeze, I was planning. That’s what makes me our best warrior. Any idiot can go out and swing a sword. If you want to be a winner, you don’t go in until you have a plan. My foresight told me Bliss would be overwhelmed. That made my move a simple one: I’d protect her. Which brought me back to the first problem: Bliss didn’t trust me.
Bliss thought I was a vicious beast at heart, violent and merciless. She was right, and it was my being a fighter that made us a perfect match, but it was going to take effort to convince her she could depend on me. Brighthelme stood between us. Also, as far as I could see, her talents, specifically the one that allowed her to read my every thought, were also a problem.
That’s when it came to me. I knew what I had to do. It was audacious and it might backfire. If it did, I’d lose her forever. The mere thought of it chilled my guts.
“What?” Bliss had turned around, sensing trouble as easily as her wolf scented fresh fish.
“I’m thinking you’re going to be hell to live with.”
“Ha!” I got full-on flashing eyes. “No way am I living with you!”
“Your kisses say differently.”
At that, Bliss blushed. It was the sweetest sight. The rose highlighted the slanting cheekbones and full lips while the blue eyes lengthened with suppressed laughter. I almost jumped her on the spot.
“Not fair!” Bliss protested.
“All’s fair in love and war.”
I got to see those dimples again. “Which are we at?”
“Both, probably.” And because I couldn’t resist. “Either way, I win.”
“Is that so?”
“Sure! I’ve the most experience!”
“Ha!” She was smiling, sitting cross-legged by the sleeping wolf. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Skull Crusher?”
“Nope.”
“Well, tell me this: how are you going to get me, if one of us has to man that tiller?”
“Oh, I have a plan.” I patted the bench. “In the meantime, come and sit beside me.”
“You just want to grope me.”
“And to show you the baby orcas.”
“What?” Her eyes were wide with fear and fascination, but she came immediately. “Where?”
The scent of greenery went straight to my cock. I resisted the thoughts that flew to mind and pointed. “There, port side.”
The little orcas were playing, throwing themselves into the air and slapping their tails on the surface. While Bliss oohed and aahed, I kept an eye on the adults. Pretty soon, four of them broke away from the pod, moving north in a businesslike manner.
I cut right into their path and tossed out the little net.
Bliss was wide eyed with worry. “Uhm, Siv? What are you doing?”
“Fishing.”
“For orca?”
I had to laugh. “No. Watch!” A second later we had a net bulging with fish. I swung out of the way of the whales and moved us back on course.
“That was amazing!” Bliss was open-mouthed. “You knew they were hunting, and you stole part of their prey!”
“Yup. Now we have salmon for supper.”
Bliss was smiling at me. “I’ve seen Saga dig up a warren and flush rabbits right into Bygul and Trigul’s path. Your way is even smarter. You use others to hunt, and they don’t even know it!”
She was sharp as a blade, my Bliss. So unlike the Guildsmen’s daughters.
“Am I?”
She hadn’t even realised she was reading my mind. I couldn’t help it; I couldn’t suppress that instinctive chill.
“Oh!”
I had an arm around her before she could bolt. “Bliss, it’s nothing.”
Her eyes said it was.
“Look further.”
“What?”
“It was just a thought, a reflex. But if you look again, you’ll see I’m not worried.”
Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated. “I can’t see!”
“Because you’re too uptight.” This was one of the bumps I’d worried about. “Listen vala, this is new to both of us. Give it time.”
“It’s not going to work!” Bliss was pushing me away. “You say vala but you think witch!”
“That’s just words, Bliss.”
“Like Beast?”
“Hey!”
We burst apart, and I was a breath away from yelling at her when I saw her face. Bliss was devastated. She was also yanking at the rope around her waist. “Get this damn thing off me!”
I got up, put my arms around her and pulled her back to sit by me. “No way. I’m not risking losing you.”
“Because I’m a vala,” she said bitterly.
I stroked the soft hair off her face. “Because you’re my girl.” And then I kissed her.
I sank into those soft lips, closing my eyes and letting my hands run down her body, stroking the sweet curves and ending on that firm behind. In my mind, I was stripping away the tunic, seeing those soft breasts, lingering over the rose-tipped breasts.
“Oh, Siv!” Her arms came snaking around me, just as I’d hoped. “Hey!” Her eyes were wide. “You hoped?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
I dipped my head and captured her mouth again. She’d be soft as silk. We’d be perfect together. The long legs would hook over my waist, her heels coming together in my back as she moaned in ecstasy. She’d be tight—
“Oh!” Bliss broke away, gasping.
I’m no vala, but I could see excitement as well as uncertainty coursing through her. I kept my arm around the trim waist. “Relax, we’re going to be fine.”
“There’s more to life than kissing,” Bliss worried.
“Yeah, there’s fishing. Arm-wrestling, too.”
I got my hand slapped for that. “Idiot!”
“Stop worrying. Everything will be okay.”
“You can’t know that!”
And there was the flip side to her talent. When you see the future, you become dependent on the visions. Bliss didn’t realise it, but part of her monumental calm in the face of trouble was that she knew she’d get through it. Being blind made her nervous.
So I settled her. “I do know, Bliss.” I stroked her hair, so soft as it fell in waves down to her waist. “I’ve never wanted a woman before—”
“Ha!”
“Okay, I’ve lusted often enough, but this is different.”
“Is it?” She was gazing at me anxiously, and I knew she couldn’t read me. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Bliss was twitchy. “I’ve not had a vision of this.”
“I’m seeing for both of us.”
“But Siv…”
Yes, she didn’t trust me. I knew what I’d have to do. It was a risk that might tear us apart forever, but I didn’t see an alternative. Also, if it worked, we’d have a solid future. It was a result worth fighting for.
“What are you plotting?” Bliss couldn’t read me, but she was a woman, and she was sensing I was up to something.
“You’re uptight. Just relax.” I handed her the tiller. “See that break in the water
? A couple of points starboard on our horizon?”
Bliss squinted. “Yes. Is it another whale?”
“It’s an island.” I picked up the net. “We’re going for a picnic.”
I left Bliss to work the boat and deliberately stayed away from her. I had plans, and I didn’t want her reading me and spoiling the surprise. You see, I was planning a seduction. My first, actually. Yeah, surprising, isn’t it?
I had my first girl when I was fourteen, a harbour doxy in Haven, on my first trip away from home. I barely remembered her, we were both drunk, and the legion of hookers and floozies that followed were equally blurred. Well, except for the odd Raqs Sharki dancer.
I’d not cared for any of them, but this was the start of a new life. If my gamble worked, I wanted this first time with Bliss to be perfect. By the time we approached the island, I’d cleaned the fish, the cats were out of their box, Saga was on her feet, and the sun was high in the sky.
As the animals roamed, Bliss was tugging at the knot at her waist. “It won’t undo!”
“You’re pulling the wrong end.”
It came undone at a touch. “Free!” Bliss cried ironically.
“Sit down and don’t do anything silly.”
“Fusspot!”
I dealt with the sail but let Bliss have the fun of taking us ashore. “Beach the boat,” I told her. “Just aim straight for the sand.”
We landed nice and high, and the anchor gave us extra security. Saga was out in a heartbeat, rushing around the beach as if she’d not seen land for a year. The cats refused to get their paws wet and demanded to be carried across.
“Is it safe?” Bliss was scanning the beach anxiously. “They know the forest but this place—”
“It’s a big rock with some sand and bushes. Even birds don’t nest here.”
“Why are we stopping?” Bliss asked. “You really want to picnic?”
Honestly! Women claim to be romantic but when it comes down to it, they’re clueless. “If you want your first time to be a quickie on a pile of cloaks on a boat, we can. I thought this would better.”
She’d blushed before, but this time Bliss was redder than raspberries.
“But Siv!”
She was going to protest again. I picked her up, swung her off her feet and kissed her.
