He was thinking about his present sleeping arrangement and all of a sudden he thought, "Dammit! Something had to change, and “It’s going to change soon!” he shouted to the heavens.
No one seemed too shocked. They all knew he was besotted with this Saxon woman and believed, from the whispers of the chamber maids, that he was getting nothing in his robes.
Eriik climbed the stairs to his bedchamber and without knocking threw the door open with such force, it smashed into the wall, startling Lillian.
“I’m so sorry my lady, didn’t mean to frighten you. Let’s just say I’ve had somewhat of a frustrating day,” he said sarcastically.
“My lord, I thought the devil himself had come.”
“Perhaps you are correct.”
Eriik smiled and just for an instant, so did Lillian. Damn, there was that smile again. It could tame a wild animal and it certainly was having that effect on him.
Eriik softened for just a minute and said sincerely, “Lillian, aside from the fact that I took you from your family, and nothing can be done about that now. You have to accept it. I’ve been kind to you, yes?”
“Kind?”
He walked so close to her that he could feel her breath on his face. He was a little taken aback to smell brandy but put the thought aside.
She wanted to come closer to the musky, male scent of him, but made herself pull back.
He gently put his rough fingers on her soft cheek, then without her permission, touched her lips with his own. He felt her intake of breath and for an instant, he thought she would accept his kiss, but she didn’t. It was simply a soft, gentle kiss, nothing more. He backed off, strode out of the room and slammed the door, not to return that night.
Her heart was racing and she was unsteady on her feet. She should be angry, terrified, anything but what she actually felt, excited. How could she be excited about this pagan putting his hands on her and his lips touching hers? But the fact was…if she was honest with herself, and she always tried to be, she was stirred, and worse than that, she was eager for it to happen again. By the saints, what was wrong with her? She was raised to be a good girl! She had been kissed before but it certainly had not felt like that. What did it mean? She needed to settle down. She would make sure he never know she was anything but repelled. All she could think of was hard muscles and oh no, she would not think of that. When he was kissing her, he was pressed up against her body and she could feel it hard and demanding and as disgusted as she was with herself, it pleased her. Shouldn’t that have repulsed her? She knew nothing at this moment except her relationship with Eriik was a hoax and she was the one preserving it. That realization was quite profound. She was finally being honest with herself, if nothing else.
Chapter 13
That night was the first night she spent completely alone since she was forced to leave her home. She should be delighted, but she wasn’t. She felt abandoned and forsaken. She paced back and forth, hoping Eriik would show up. What in God’s name was wrong with her? She wanted her captor with her? She told herself that she needed to think about her current situation and come up with some answers as it was unfathomable to consider leaving it this way for any length of time. Honestly, leaving her home was awful, well leaving her father was. Her mother was more than happy to turn her over to that horrid Lord Montfort for prestige and political gain. She would probably be his wife by now and that thought brought bile to the back of her throat. How did she really feel about Eriik? And how did he really feel about her? Was she his slave, his servant, his mistress? The chamber maids whispered when they were in her presence, but she couldn’t speak the language so she could only surmise what they were saying about her. She would have been surprised to find out they were talking about the fact that the master had never brought another woman into his private bed chamber before. There had been many women come in and out of the manor, but always bedded the master in another chamber.
Lillian thought they were giggling about their sleeping together, well they were sleeping together, but…
She knew that Lord Montfort was a dreadfully cruel and evil man and deep in her heart she would rather be right where she was than anywhere near him. She actually admitted it to herself for the first time since she walked out of her home and away with Eriik. Now she had to have the guts to set her course and put it into action.
The next day she decided some liquid courage was in order. She made her way to the cabinet with the pretty decanters and idled away the afternoon drinking and trying to be brutally honest with herself. For the most part, she was.
Eriik had had enough of lying next to Lillian tied to his body, weeping. He was going to ask her one more time to be civilized and if she refused, he was going to move her to another room. As much as he dreaded it, he couldn’t take one more night of this absurdity.
He burst into the room expecting to find, well he didn’t quite know what, but a drunk Lillian was not one of them. She was trying to get to the bed unsuccessfully so he picked her up, laid her down, and was completely taken by surprise when she pulled his lips to hers and kissed him, much more passionately than he had kissed her the other evening. He knew she was drunk and he should stop, but he couldn’t quite make himself.
She, on the other hand was feeling emotions she never thought possible. Her breasts felt tight and she had strong bristly sensations between her thighs. Her nipples hardened and were tingling. She wanted to feel his chest, the muscles there. In fact, she wanted to feel him everywhere, yes everywhere. She knew he was hard and throbbing, that was evident and it was exhilarating. She did not want to stop. She parted his shirt and caressed his chest, splitting her time between his chest and his handsome face. Then, she did something she never thought she would do in a million years, she reached down and felt the bulge in his breeches. She heard him gasp and then he took her hands strongly and held them away from him. She was so disappointed, she couldn’t believe it.
“No, I want you.”
“You’re drunk. Dammit! I want you when you’re sober and know what you’re doing.”
“I know exacterly what I’m doing.”
“Exacterly? I don’t think so.”
He kept her hands in his, put her head on his chest and lulled her to sleep. He had been through many battles and other hardships, but had never done anything this difficult. He wanted her more than his very life, but he wanted her on his own terms, when she was in her right mind. This gave him hope. At least on some level, perhaps just physically, she wanted him. Isn’t that all he needed?
Chapter 14
The next day she awoke with the sunshine awash through the large, lavish windows. She started to get up when a pain in her head stopped her short. Oh, she remembered the whiskey, but not much else. Eriik was gone and she was still dressed. That was a good sign. She kept telling herself that she wanted nothing to do with him but her body was telling her something completely different and she knew it deep down, but nothing in the world would let her admit that she wanted a physical relationship with the man that kidnapped and took her away from her home and family.
She freshened up, changed into a fresh frock, went to the door as usual, and to her surprise found it unlocked, so she carefully proceeded downstairs. If she was to start a life here, she decided she should begin today. Apparently Eriik agreed. As she took one step after another, she could feel the stares and felt as awkward as a one legged goose. She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and said, “Good morning, all.” She expected no return greeting as no one except Eriik spoke English. She did not see him anywhere but when she heard, “Good morning my lady,” she whirled around with a start. She was astonished to see a priest bowing to her in a most grand fashion. She couldn’t believe her good fortune. Hadn’t Eriik mentioned this priest before? All the days past ran together in a fog. At any rate, here he was and she was most grateful. She ran down the rest of the stairs in a flurry of skirts and brought him up from his knees to shake his hand furiously.
“Oh m
y I’m so delighted to see you. I was afraid I was the only one in this strange land to speak English, well except for Eriik, I mean Lord Thorennson.
“No my lady, there are several of us here and I live in this household. Permit me to introduce myself, I’m Oliver. I’ve been told to be at your service at all times as you wish.”
“Thank the lord!”
“Yes, indeed.” He looked towards the heavens and crossed himself.
Matter of fact, he stated, “The first order of business I would think is to get you some breakfast and then settle down and start some sort of routine for you. Don’t tell Master Thorennson, but I heard him tell everyone in the household to treat you like the lady of the house.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes Lady Devorn.”
“I, uh, can’t imagine that. That truly stuns me.” At his look of trepidation, she continued, “But I won’t breathe a word of it.”
“Thank you lady.”
They continued on to the large kjokken, the kitchen, where several women were working diligently. He introduced her to the woman who seemed to be the boss. Her name was Geirhild. She made Lillian an exceptional breakfast and then they started in on the task of inserting Lillian into the routine of the household. He conferred with Geirhild, not only the boss of the kjokken, but the principal keeper of the entire house, and she agreed.
“Oliver, how have you become so strong with this strange language? Have you been here long?”
“No, my lady, I had been on a missionary journey long ago and learned this, among other languages.”
She pondered for a moment, “I would hate to inconvenience you, but do you think you could teach me?”
“No inconvenience at all, it would be my pleasure Lady Devorn.”
****
That night in the bedchamber, Eriik looked deeply into Lillians green emerald eyes, “Lillian, please tell me you’ll sleep here with me unrestrained. I’ll ask you one more time, tied or free?”
There was a long silence, then in a tiny voice, she whispered, “Free.”
He was not only surprised but relieved.
“Aye, get some sleep then.” He smiled, put his arm around her waist and for the first time in weeks, slept a deep and sound sleep.
This nightly arrangement went on for weeks. Not that she would admit to it, but his presence, his arm about her waist, snuggled up to her back, became very comfortable. She couldn’t believe the way she felt about him and experienced quite a lot of guilt because of it, but feelings were something one could not control. More thinking on the subject might be in order.
The house settled into a routine with Lillian becoming a part of it. She was allowed anywhere on the property now and each day she became a little less nervous. Eriik gave her a beautiful little mare she named Molly and they became the best of friends. Oliver was teaching her Eriik’s language and she had a real flare for it. She amazed Eriik each day with her progress. It pleased her when he would comment on how proud he was of her. The household of Thorennson was taking notice of how the lord and lady were getting along.
Ventures were taken more and more into town. At first it was not pleasant, as she received stares of condemnation and anger. However as time went on, the townspeople became friendlier, as Lillian greeted them and carried on small conversations in their language. It impressed them.
In the bedchamber, Eriik’s arm around her, or her arm or head resting on his chest became a way of life, and it was very comforting. She continued to fool herself into believing that she was his hostage, but if she were to be objective, she would know that she was falling more and more into his web of seduction. When he was near, her heart would flutter, her blood would race in her veins, and most traitorous of all, she would feel a tingling between her thighs and her nipples would feel tight. If he knew that, she would be mortified!
Eriik did know however. He could tell how flustered she became when he was near. What she didn’t know was every time they were near each other, he was like a raging bull. His groin would ache and his cock would become full, heavy, and practically burst from his breeches. He wondered if she was ever the wiser when he always excused himself in her presence and not return for awhile. This could not go on much longer. He had had just about enough and decided tonight things needed to change. With his mind made up, the damn thing started growing hard again, and with a curse, he headed outside to walk it off. He would have liked to ride, but in his condition, that would have been far too painful.
For Eriik, dinner seemed to take forever. As soon as he had eaten his fill, he excused himself, took Lillian’s hand and walked with her hurriedly up the stairs, slamming the door in his wake. Lillian was a bit troubled by Eriik’s behavior and knew something was amiss by the aggravated look on his gorgeous face.
“Suddenly pleasant again, he commented airily, “Would you like a warm after-dinner brandy Lillian?”
That seemed a little strange, he had never offered her brandy before but it did seem enticing.
“Yes, that sounds lovely.”
Eriik put the brandy goblets close to the flames of the fireplace until his hands couldn’t stand the heat any longer, then handed one to her. She tasted the fiery liquid and it was sweet on her lips.
“This is quite good, thank you.”
The look in his eye was disconcerting but mesmerizing at the same time. “Yes, quite good.”
He put his drink down and walked slowly to Lillian as close as possible without touching her, bent down and gently licked the brandy off her lips.
She felt the breath in her lungs expel as she took in the scent of him. He smelled of the sweet liquor. She felt heady when he put his lips on hers and gave her a sweet kiss that she wanted desperately to return, but would not give in to her desire. She stood completely still at first, then backed up a step. Eriik put his large hands on her small shoulders and kissed her again more urgently this time.
“Lord Thorennson, this is not proper. I must demand that you stop.”
“You, demand? I don’t think you are in any position to be making demands of me. I’m sorry you don’t feel this is proper, but right at this moment in time, I really don’t give a damn.”
“Eriik, don’t.”
“Lillian, you are putting up this false face for some stupid propriety that doesn’t mean a thing here, when you know good and well that’s not how you really feel.”
She whirled around with her back to him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In truth, she didn’t want him to see her breasts heaving with desire. The result was to give Eriik the chance to retrieve his knife and slit the tiny hand crafted buttons all the way down her slender back, and as they danced upon the floor, she clutched the bodice of her dress desperately, but Eriik grasped it and jerked it to the floor. Her dress slipped down her legs to reveal nothing but her delicate chemise.
Lillian could hardly breathe.
She stood completely still clenching her chemise with all her might. She was trembling but couldn’t seem to move away. Eriik thought she was trembling from fear and would have been shocked to know it was from something completely different, excitement and perhaps even anticipation. Eriik swept her hair aside and caressed the nape of her neck and shoulders with his fingertips. Shivers cascaded down her back as his lips gently replaced his fingers as he kissed her neck and ran his fingers through the silk of her hair. She knew she should walk away and demand that he stop but couldn’t force herself to move away from his touch. He picked her up gently and placed her on the bed and there was no mistaking the look of pure lust escaping from his blue orbs as he looked deeply into her emerald ones. Lillian wanted to touch him but held herself still out of pride. She put her hands up to Eriik’s chest, in her mind to push him away, but the feel of strong, steely muscle stayed her hands and she jerked them away. Eriik brushed his lips against hers in a tender kiss and although Lillian felt so many emotions she compelled herself to remain still. As Eriik continued his gentle assau
lt on her tender lips, he attentively teased her thighs with his fingers. Her supple legs felt like satin and he couldn’t get enough. When he parted them the slightest bit and caressed her inner thighs, she couldn’t help but sigh. He once again turned his attention to her beautiful mouth and parted her lips just the slightest bit while touching her tongue with his. An electric shock ran through her body and scorched her. A chill went flowing up her spine. She was wet and tingling and couldn’t put two words together to make a thought. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should be turning away, but she couldn’t resist any longer and she didn’t want to. This was pure pleasure, pure heat. He started a little swordplay with her tongue, and that, plus feeling his fabulous, sculpted body, was her undoing. She made a small gesture. She tentatively started kissing him back. This touching of tongues, she had never done before and even though she thought she should be disgusted, she was anything but. His tongue felt like velvet in her mouth and he tasted like brandy. Her body was touching him from head to toe and it felt like the room was spinning. He kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her neck and down to her bountiful breasts. He laved the top of her creamy mounds with his tongue, cupped her soft breasts in his calloused hands, and she sighed softly. As he was busy kissing her décolletage, he ran his fingers up to the sweet nectar of the triangle between her thighs. She gasped only for a second because as she threw her head back in ecstasy, she was giving him his way with her breasts and neck, and he took full advantage.
As he pushed the delicate material away so he could view her unspoiled beauty, he brushed her nipples softly with his thumb until the pink buds were hard and wanting for more.
To his utter surprise, she parted his shirt, almost tearing it off his chest. She caressed his muscular chest with tiny swirling motions and kissed his nipples. She ran her fingers through his golden hair and looked deeply into his sea blue eyes.
Viking's Desire: Sexy-Romance Novel: A Viking Love Story Page 5
