Viking Bride (6 page)

Eliza flinched away from the little prick of
pain. A drip of wetness rolled down her neck. There was a gleam in
his eye that worried her. A little runt like that living in a
village of big barbarians, he probably didn’t do too well with the
Viking women. And the knife didn’t do much to ease her nerves.

His eyes swept down her chest, lingered on
her breasts. He licked his lips and shifted around, revealing the
bulge in his pants.

Eliza swallowed hard.
He can’t hurt me too
badly, not if he wants to use me to bargain with Kelnar.

Ratface scrabbled toward her, grabbed her
arm. “On your back then.” The knife swung toward her, revealing the
streak of blood smeared on the tip. She fell back, her pulse
thumping in her ears.

“Oh, that’s a good girl. Just the way I like
it.”

A rough hand squeezed her breast, rasped
across her collarbone.

“They’re not melons,” she said.

He paused, scratched at his cheek. “What’s
that?”

“Breasts aren’t melons. You can’t test them
for ripeness.”

“Oh, but I can, my pretty. Yours are plenty
ripe, too.” He clawed her dress and shift up to her waist. His
greasy hand stroked her thigh, sending a shudder through her.
“That’s a good girl.” He rubbed the knife across her hip, the blade
flat to her skin. “Spread those knees.”

Her legs shook as she opened them as much as
the ropes at her ankles would allow. “What if your big friend comes
back? He’s not going to like seeing you take me without him.”

“Oh, he’ll be gone a while, will Lars. It’s
just you and me, pretty.” He jammed his thumb against her slit,
working it down between her folds.

His hands were rough and slick and
disgusting. He licked his lips greedily, a line of spit sliding
from the corner of his mouth.

Bile crept up the back of her throat, and she
couldn’t help but shudder.

He was fumbling with the tie on his breeches
when a cool gust of wind hit her. The big one’s face clouded as he
approached, unseen by Ratface. Ratface had just gotten his cock
free, and it was nothing to be proud of, when the big one kicked
him square in the ass and sent him sprawling beside her.

A second kick caught him in the ribs, and a
third between the legs. Ratface’s eyes bulged. A cry of pain hissed
out his lips.

“I told you to watch her, you idiot.”

“I was watching her.”

“Watch her, not fuck her.” He pulled back his
leg, and Ratface cringed away. “That’s what I thought. You lay a
finger on her before I get mine, and I’ll cut the damn finger off
and shove it up your sniveling ass.”

Ratface nodded, his expression still
scrunched with pain. “Are you going to take her now?” A hint of
eagerness crept back into his voice.

The big one looked her over, shook his head.
“Not yet. We still need her.”

“C’mon, boss. Have a go. Look at them thighs.
That raven hair.”

Eliza wriggled up to a sitting position,
pulling her shift and her dress partially back into place in the
process. If the big one decided to take her, she had no illusions
that he wouldn’t get whatever he wanted. Instead, he crossed to the
fire and pulled up a stool.

“Put your pants back on. Now we wait.”

Ratface tucked himself back into his breeches
and got them laced together. He sat across from her, and a few
minutes later he was dozing. She waited until he started to snore,
then slid closer to the sleeping pallet.

“Where you going, girl?” the big one
asked.

“Somewhere a little softer to rest my
head.”

He grunted, adjusted his legs away from the
fire, but left her alone. She worked her wrists around and found
the edge of the pallet. Slowly, ever so slowly, she started working
the rope up and down against it. Exhaustion dragged her eyelids
down, but she kept scraping, forcing herself to stay awake.

It didn’t last. The first strand came apart,
but the warmth of the fire and the post-fright letdown pulled her
into the gentle arms of sleep.

It was the cold that woke her. The fire
burned down to the coals, but the two men hadn’t yet noticed it. No
one else was in the longhouse to stoke the flames. So she set to
work on the rope again. The big woke as the second strand came
apart, but he just added a couple logs to the fire and dozed off
again.

With her wrists untied, it didn’t take long
to unknot her ankles and slip off toward the door. Her captors
snored behind her, and she wasn’t interested in being around when
they finally woke.

The longhouse was eighty strides long from
end to middle, and about ten strides across, though the sleeping
pallets and small rooms that lined the walls occupied most of the
space. She glanced into darkened rooms as she passed. They were all
empty. Even with the most of the village’s warriors off on a raid,
it struck her as odd that the women and children would be gone,
too.

The chill deepened as she got farther from
the fire. Her dress and shift weren’t intended for the cold, not
without a proper cloak. It was a fact she felt all too keenly when
she stopped at the door.

She eased the door open just far enough to
let her slide outside. The cold hit her like a wall. It was worst
on her bare feet. Snowflakes were already falling, and she could
hardly see across the courtyard to the next longhouse. With no idea
who would be friendly or not, she picked a direction and ran.

All feeling fled her feet. Her chest felt
like she’d been packed in snow. Even her lips hurt. Fat snowflakes
tumbled down around her as she passed another longhouse. Finally,
out of desperation, she picked a door. She had to get inside. Had
to find a fire.

She pounded the door as hard as she could.
Her hands would barely clench, and the pounded came across more as
tapping.

The door jerked open, revealing a boy with
sword. “What do you want?”

“Help,” she croaked.

“A girl? Hey--”

Eliza crawled toward the warmth that oozed
from the door, not hearing anything else he said. The boy backed
up, letting her into the longhouse. She leaned against a post,
checking to see if she could feel her toes. Everything below her
knees felt like ice.

Another Viking came up, but she couldn’t
really see him. Everything was growing too dim. His voice rumbled,
but the words were indistinct. Someone grabbed her arms, started
dragging her. The warmth grew from pleasant to a discomforting
tingle to needles of pain.

Eliza whimpered. “Stop,” she whispered. “It
hurts.”

They responded, but she couldn’t understand
the language. Too harsh. Too guttural. The only word she understood
was “French.”

Someone pulled at her dress. A hand brushed
over her bare hip.
I’ve escaped Ratface only to be raped by
someone else.
Her skin felt like it was on fire. Stabs of agony
lanced through her, reducing her to tears.

Someone pressed against her. Warm flesh.
Here it comes
, she thought. She tried to relax, knowing it
would only hurt worse if she clenched when they penetrated her. The
invasion never came. She was laying on something warm, soft. A fur.
A body pressed against her on either side. Something patted her
hair. Furs covered her from above, leaving only her face exposed to
the air.

Eliza shivered violently, whimpering. The
glow of the fire faded, darkness closing in from all sides.

***

She woke slowly. Her feet ached as if she’d
walked a dozen leagues. Realization crept through her. She was
trapped. Again. A strange longhouse. Bodies hemmed her in, and furs
covered her. She twisted, trying to view her captors. Long blonde
hair, full lips.

That’s a woman!

Eliza slid a hand forward, felt the curve of
the girl’s hip, the swell of her breasts. The girl’s lips curved
into a faint smile, though her breathing never wavered from its
slow, steady rise and fall. Eliza twisted again, checking who was
on the other side. Another girl, just as blonde, just as
asleep.

She glanced around the sleeping area and
peered out into the rest of the longhouse. A few figures moved in
the near darkness. Hunched. Slow. A pan clanged somewhere distant.
Voices murmured.

If they’re going to abuse me, they’re
going about it in a very strange manner.
She settled back down
into the blankets, thinking. She’d been stolen by the two Vikings,
right out of Kelnar’s longhouse. Whoever they were, he wasn’t going
to be happy. Now she was in some strange house, and she had no idea
if the people were friendly to Kelnar, outright traitors, or might
just resent her once they knew who she was. As if they didn’t know.
There weren’t many raven headed women in the village.

What are my options then?
Try to slip
out right then. The old people could probably stop her, but if she
was quick, she could get back outside.
And then what? Freeze to
death?
Finding another friendly house wasn’t impossible, but it
wasn’t a risk that made sense.
Okay, so I stay.
If they were
friendly to Kelnar, they’d get her back to the longhouse with Karna
sooner than later. Even if they weren’t friendly, they’d likely
just hold her until Kelnar returned and then use her to
bargain.

She reached out a hand, felt the soft warmth
of the girl beside her. And they seemed much less likely to hurt
her than Ratface. The girl smiled again, and rolled into the touch.
Eliza’s breath caught, afraid she’d woken the girl. A hand snaked
over Eliza’s bare shoulder, tugging her close.

The girl moaned softly as their breasts
pressed against each other. She slipped a leg between Eliza’s
thighs, snuggling in even closer. Her face found the crook between
Eliza’s neck and shoulder.

“Are you awake?” Eliza whispered.

The girl murmured something too quiet to
understand. Her breath set goosebumps quivering across Eliza’s
skin.

She’s just asleep
. Eliza took a couple
deep breaths, and her pulse started to settle back to normal. Then
the girl started grinding her thigh up and down between Eliza’s
legs. Her eyelids fluttered against Eliza’s neck.

“Good morning,” she whispered. Her leg moved
faster, sliding easily in the growing slickness. A hand found
Eliza’s hip and stroked along the curve.

Eliza moaned softly. “Where am I?”

“Shh.” She held a finger to Eliza’s lips.
“You’re safe. That’s all that matters.” The finger dipped inside
her mouth, rubbing along the lower lip. It traced down, over her
chin and along her neck to where it met soft kisses. The girl
sucked her own finger, pressed herself even closer.

Both her hands were on Eliza. One snaked
under her hip, cupping her rump, the other wrapped around her
shoulders, pulling her close. The girl’s kisses slid down her neck,
sliding their bodies apart. Her mouth found Eliza’s breasts.

Eliza turned her face into the furs beneath
them, muffling her moans.

Sweet, soft lips worked their way around her
right breast. A hand stroked her woman parts, sliding up and down
her aching slit. A finger dipped inside, taunting her.

Eliza’s body shook.

The girl’s teeth nipped at her, light little
bites teasing at the sensitive skin. Then she find the most
sensitive part.

Eliza groaned into the furs, a full-throated
roar.

The girl’s fingers were inside her, seeking
her spot, working back and forth. Her palm rubbed against the
sensitive nub.

A roaring filled Eliza’s ears. Her whole body
vibrated in time with the thrusts. She imagined it was Kelnar
touching her, pleasuring her, filling her.

She moaned again, long and low, all thoughts
blotted from her mind but that single roaring fire of goodness,
that little piece of heaven that was all her own.

The girl eased her motions even as Eliza
returned from the whirlwind tour of heaven. She slithered up
Eliza’s body until her lips were barely touching Eliza’s ear. “Am I
as talented as Kelnar?”

Eliza turned to whisper back, but the girl
met her lips and pressed a deep, passionate kiss upon her. Her
tongue was hot, eager. Eliza kissed her back tentatively, though
she didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, am I?” the girl asked, after she
pulled away.

“Just as talented, but in different ways,”
Eliza conceded.

The girl rolled to her back, staring at the
ceiling. “Good.” She scooted farther away, propped herself on an
elbow. “So how did you end up wandering around in the blizzard in
just a dress?”

“I ran into some difficulties with some men
last night.”

“Oh? What kind?”

“Abduction, attempted rape, the usual.”

The girl nodded sagely. “There are those that
do not appreciate your presence.”

“You certainly seemed to,” Eliza said,
smiling.

“Well, I’ve always been intrigued by exotic
things.” She ran her tongue between her lips, then laughed quietly.
“You are safe here, Eliza. We brought you into our bed half frozen
and warmed you with our own bodies. My father is off with Kelnar,
though on another boat. Not that we need his permission. The women
run this house and leave my father free to attend to the political
affairs of men.”

“I need to get back to Kelnar’s house and see
my… witch.” She nearly slipped and said mother, and Kelnar and her
mother had both taken pains to explain how disastrous that could
be.

“Speak to my grandmother first. She is wise
in the ways of the village.” The girl pushed the blanket away and
crawled to a sitting position. Eliza realized that the cloth
hanging over the dividing wall was actually dresses. The girl
pulled one down and passed it to Eliza, then grabbed the other and
slipped into it.

Eliza expected to shiver as she pulled her
dress into place, but the air had warmed in the time they’d been
under the blankets. Once she was dressed, she followed the girl out
to the corridor. “You never told me your name.”