Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
With my legs spread in the saddle and his hands so close to my loins, I couldn’t help but let my thoughts drift to that morning. I had been deathly scared when Erik first tied me to the chair. Despite his assurance that he would not hurt me, I hadn’t believed him. I thought it was so easy to be fooled by a man who had brought me food, water, and clothes, even while I was being kept against my will. No matter how considerate Erik seemed to be at times, I still didn’t know him well, and what I did know was that he was a ruthless warrior who had a part in killing everyone I loved.
Well, perhaps “loved” was too strong of a word. Everyone I knew. Even though I was never close to my family, except possibly Odette, and even that relationship had its complications, they were still my family, the only thing I could really claim for myself. Now, they were all dead, and I could claim nothing. I was only a peasant girl being taken for a ride.
Still, the ride hadn’t been without its pleasures. When I realized Erik wasn’t going to hurt me, I learned to give into the sensation. Erik’s fingers, and later his tongue, gave me everything I had ever wanted from Marc but had failed to get. That epic release made my soul feel as if it were being freed, spilling out like feathers from a split pillow. The build-up of pressure, of the years of curiosity and yearning, had been too much for me to ignore.
But why had he done it? Why give me such pleasure only to do the same to himself? Why didn’t he just take me like most men in his situation would? I didn’t have any answers; I just hoped I’d have another chance.
Even now, with his hand so warm and masculine against my flat stomach, I couldn’t help but want his fingers to dip lower. I thought about him reaching down and subtly folding up the edges of my fine dress, stroking along my cleft in rhythm with the horse’s walk. I wanted to see what it would feel like to grow wet and swollen again from his nuanced pressure. I wanted to feel the spread of his long fingers plunging inside me.
Yet, for all I wanted it, Erik did no such thing. He kept his eyes forward and his arm tight, and we rode together toward Saint Martin.
Chapter 10
Erik
They had ridden for most of the day and stopped by a shaded river glen just before night fall. With the men running around setting up camp, Erik took Cherine away from them and made their own sleeping area along a fallen tree, its bark covered with deep green moss and lichen.
Her hands were still bound, and when she asked for him to untie her so she could do her business in the woods, he was reluctant to do. He figured she’d try and make a run for it, even in the darkness, even with nowhere to go. And he’d be lying to himself if he thought she shouldn’t. He knew the moment he would have to give her over to Rolf, she’d be in real danger. Despite the way she eyed Rolf earlier, like a child in awe, he knew that was no guarantee of the way Rolf would treat her.
But there was a part of Erik that wanted to keep her and thought that as long as she was with him, there was a chance she could be all right. Maybe Rolf would grow bored with the idea. Or, just maybe, he and Cherine could leave the Vikings behind and start a new life together. Leaving this violent life had been on Erik’s mind ever since he said goodbye to Møre.
It was probably a silly idea, no matter how many nights he lay awake examining it. It was just one that wouldn’t go away. He kept that thought in his head as he nodded at Cherine and loosened her ropes. His eyes were tight on hers, barely visible from the small fire he had built.
Please come back to me, he thought but didn’t have the courage to say.
Once released, she rubbed at the raw marks the ropes had left behind, then quickly nodded her thanks and ran off into the trees, her ruby red dress flowing behind her.
If you were a bigger man, you would have told her not to return, he told himself as he settled down on the blanket at the base of the log. A soft pile of fallen leaves provided a comfortable bed, and he suddenly felt weary with fatigue. The day had been long, the ride easy yet tiring. He tore into an apple he’d taken from one of the carts and munched on it while waiting for her to return.