Heart of Honor (17 page)

And yet in the back of his mind the notion lurked that she might continue to refuse him. By Thor, he needed to make her his, claim her as his mate and prove that he was the man for her. With the help of the gods, he would find a way to make that happen.

Forcing his mind back to the threat that might lie in the darkness outside, Leif stared into the night. He wished he had ignored Krista’s protests and insisted they stay somewhere safe until dawn.

They had traveled the muddy road for another hour when he heard a loud grinding sound, then the crack and snap of heavy wood rending in two. The carriage lurched wildly to the left, tossing Krista out of her seat. Leif caught her and dragged her back to safety in his lap.

Her cheeks turned a little pink as she resettled herself beside him. “Thank you.”

He wanted to tell her he enjoyed holding her, but only nodded his head, reached over and turned the knob on the carriage door, pushing it open.

“What has happened, Mr. Skinner?” he called up to the driver.

The brawny coachman climbed down from the driver’s box. “Bloody axel…er, the axel’s broke, sir.”

“Stay here,” Leif commanded Krista, descending the iron stairs to the ground next to the coachman. Leif surveyed the wooded area around them, the rolling fields he could barely make out in the dim rays of a moon mostly hidden by clouds. His sword lay under the seat, but this time he had also brought a pistol, a three-barreled pepperbox he had won in a card game last night. And he carried a knife in his boot.

Still, he didn’t like being caught out on the road at this late hour. Krista had made an enemy this day in the man named Cutter Harding, though Leif didn’t believe Harding had had enough time to take any sort of action against her.

“How long will it take to fix it?” Leif asked.

“Can’t get it done till mornin’. Got to take the wheel to a smithy. But we just passed an inn back there. Shouldn’t be too far a walk.”

Leif nodded. He remembered seeing the inn, the Swan and Sword. Turning, he helped Krista down from the carriage.

“We must spend the night at the inn,” he told her. “There is no longer a choice.”

“Yes, I heard what Mr. Skinner said.”

He and the coachman unharnessed the pair of matched bay horses and led the animals off toward the inn. Declining to ride, Krista carried the small traveling satchel she had brought with her. Because she hadn’t been expecting to spend the night, Leif didn’t think there was much inside.

They reached the inn within the hour. Krista had worn sturdy shoes instead of her soft kid slippers, which meant he didn’t have to carry her. He almost smiled. Not that he would have minded.

The inn was actually a tavern with rooms to let upstairs, not the sort of place he would have chosen for a lady. But at least they would have a roof over their heads.

“I’ll see to the horses,” Skinner said, taking the lead rope from Leif. “I can make meself a pallet out in the barn and take care of the wheel first thing in the mornin’.”

“Thank you, Mr. Skinner,” Krista said.

Parting company with the coachman, ignoring the gusty wind and the first drops of rain, Leif led Krista toward the front door of the tavern, an old, drafty stone building with wide-planked wooden floors. Heavy oak beams, dark with soot from the big open fireplace, lined the low ceiling of the taproom. A group of rowdy patrons, obviously more than half-drunk, sat around a long wooden table in the corner.

As Leif and Krista walked up to the tavern keep, a fat man with thick, wooly sideburns and an apron tied around his heavy girth, she took charge.

“We need lodging for the night,” she said. “Our coachman will be sleeping in the stable. He needs food, and our horses need hay and grain.”

“I’ll have the boy see to your man and horses.” The tavern keep’s gaze ran over Krista’s tall, womanly figure, and a lecherous smile curled his lips. “How many rooms?”

Leif stiffened at the way the man’s small pig eyes mentally stripped away her clothes. “Two,” he answered, though he would get little use of his own, since he would have to stay awake to make sure no one bothered her. “The lady will need a room of her own.”

The fat man’s lewd smile remained. “Well, now, that’s a problem. Only got one room left for the night. Got a big bed, though. Plenty o’ room for ye both.”

Leif looked at Krista, who returned his gaze with uncertainty. “We’ll take the room,” she said.

The fat man chuckled. “Figured ye would.”

Leif clamped down on an urge to hit him.

Krista managed a smile. “We’ll have to make do. We don’t have any other choice.”

No, there was no choice at all, not with the storm closing in and no way to travel. They would be sharing a room, spending the night alone together, and in that moment Leif realized the gift he had just received. He had asked the gods for their help in making Krista his. He believed his prayer had just been answered.

“Have ye et?” the tavern keep asked.

“We’ve been on the road,” Krista answered. “We were hoping you might have something left in the kitchen.”

“I’ll have the girl fetch ye up a tray and light the fire. Be extra for that.” He handed Leif a big iron key. “Room’s upstairs, down to the end of the hall.”

Leif reached into the inside pocket of his frock coat to pay the bill. As he pulled out the bag of coins he carried, he saw Krista open her reticule.

He tossed her a hard look of warning. “Do not even think to pay.”

She glanced up at him. “I was only—”

“I will be the man this night.”

Her golden eyebrows lifted. “Fine,” she said a bit tartly, and turned and started walking toward the stairs.

Key in hand, Leif caught up with her before she reached the landing. She walked ahead of him down the hall, but when she reached the door, she found the room unlocked.

“Stay here,” Leif commanded, stepping silently inside to make certain it was safe. He found a plump-breasted serving maid already setting a tray of cold meat, bread and cheese down on a rough-hewn table in the corner. She had lit a lamp and started a small coal fire in the hearth. In the soft glow of the lamp, he could see she was young and fair-haired.

She turned when she saw him, her eyebrows lifting as her gaze traveled the length of his body. “Well, ain’t ye a fine-lookin’ sort.” She walked toward him, her hips swaying in an invitation as old as time. “Ye need some company, ’and some, me name’s Betty Rose. Ain’t never had me a man a’ yer size. If yer yard be as big as the rest of ye, I’ll only charge ye half the usual price.”

Before Leif could refuse her offer, Krista walked into the room. “He already has company for the evening, and I’m not charging him anything.”

The woman’s face turned red. Realizing her error, she hurriedly backed away. “Sorry, missus.” Turning, she fled from the room and quietly closed the door.

Leif walked over and used the iron key to lock it. He turned to Krista, who was angry, he saw—not the beginning he had in mind.

“Since there is only one bed,” she said, “I guess you will have to sleep on the floor. Unless, of course, you intend to spend the night with Betty Rose.”

Leif strode toward her. He tossed the key onto the dresser and settled his hands at her waist. “I do not wish to sleep with the wench. The bed I wish to sleep in is yours.”

Krista’s pretty green eyes went wide. “What…what are you talking about? Just because we are sharing a room—”

“I did not plan this, Krista, nor did you. The gods have spoken this night. Can you not see? These things that have happened…they have led us to this place, this room, this bed, where I will claim you.”

Her full skirts flared as she whirled way from him, but Leif caught her arm. “Do not be frightened. I will do my best not to hurt you, but know this, Krista—tonight I intend to have you.”

She swallowed, her big green eyes fixed on his face. “Surely you…you don’t intend to force me.”

Leif drew her closer, until her lush breasts pillowed against his chest. “Tell me you do not want this—that you do not want me—and I will stop. If you cannot say those words, then tonight you are mine, Krista Hart.”

A
distant bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, but the thunder was too far away to hear. Krista stood mesmerized as Leif bent his head and claimed her mouth. Soft, firm lips moved over hers, gently at first, tasting her, letting her taste him. She felt surrounded by the essence of him, the strength of his powerful body, the clean scent of soap and man. The kiss grew deeper, more thorough, turned hot and fierce, his tongue delving in, stroking the inside of her mouth, taking what he wanted, demanding more.

He was determined in this, she realized, and yet in her heart, she knew she could stop him.

Tell him you don’t want him. Say the words before it is too late.

But already her fingers were digging into his powerful shoulders, her body catching fire. She tried to force out the words, but the lie would not come. She wanted him. Wanted to know what it felt like to be possessed by him. Dear God, she had never wanted anything so badly.

The kiss went on and on, softening for an instant, then turning wildly savage once more. He ravaged her lips, took her deeply with his tongue, nibbled the corners of her mouth, then claimed her lips again. She felt his hands working the frogs that closed the jacket of her traveling suit, then he slid the coat off her shoulders. He reached behind her to work the buttons on the bodice of her gown, eased it down off her shoulders, along with the straps of her chemise.

Her arms and shoulders were bare above the top of her corset. Leif kissed the side of her neck, nipped and tasted the sensitive spot beneath her ear, kissed his way down to the tops of her breasts. He pulled the tabs on her layers of petticoats, shoved them, one by one, down over her hips, and drew her out of the circle of fabric that puddled at her feet.

She thought he would pause, say something about the corset he so hated, but his entire concentration was fixed on getting her out of her clothes. Turning her around, he pulled the bow on the tight laces that held the stiff whalebone garment together, and they loosened. She didn’t realize he had a knife until she felt the glide of the blade beneath her corset strings, then a rush of cool air against her skin as the corset fell away. She had time for one deep, lung-filling breath before his mouth closed over hers again.

Her chemise came off and Krista clung to his shoulders as he filled his hands with her breasts. Her nipples were so sensitive, so tight and hard, swelling and burning against his palms, and he seemed to know exactly how to touch them, how to make her insides quiver with every brush of his fingers against the hardened tips. She was wearing only her stockings, garters and shoes when he kissed her once more, then knelt in front of her.

“It is time these came off.” Swiftly, he removed the shoes, then the stockings, one by one, his big hands brushing over her calves, taking his time, sliding upward to stroke the inside of her thighs. Each touch, each gentle caress, sent a sliver of heat into her stomach, and an ache rose up in her core.

“Leif…” She trembled, swayed against him, and he returned to his feet. She stood in front of him naked, and when she looked into his face, she saw rampant desire burning in the depths of his eyes.

“You are beautiful,” he said, “like a goddess.”

And as he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed, she felt like one, felt how much he desired her, sensed his powerful need of her.

It didn’t take him nearly so long to remove his own clothes. In the faint light of the candle burning on the table and the glow of the coal fire in the hearth, she watched him, fascinated as each part of his magnificent body came into view. His chest was deep and wide, ridged with slabs of muscle and covered with a light furring of golden hair. His stomach was flat, and muscles formed a ladder that disappeared into the waistband of his trousers.

Those came off last, the garment sliding down his long legs, his gaze following hers to the thick length of his manhood.

“This is the part of me that I will use to claim you.” He was big and hard, his shaft jutting forward from its nest of coarse blond curls. She trembled, swallowed as he moved toward the bed, unashamed of his nakedness. She should have been frightened, but all she felt was a wild yearning to touch him, to run her hands over his skin, to feel the bands of muscle that flexed and tightened whenever he moved.

Leif came down on the bed beside her and started kissing her again. A big hand cupped her breast, began to mold and shape it, then his mouth followed his hand, and the pressure of his white teeth tugging at her nipple sent a tremor of heat running through her.

Krista moaned.

Leif’s eyes darkened. “The taste of you fires my blood. I need to be inside you, Krista. I need to feel you moving beneath me.”

She shivered, her eyes fixed on his face. His big hand sifted through the soft curls above her sex and he palmed her, separated the soft folds of her flesh and began to gently stroke her. Heat and need burned through her, and a yearning so strong she cried out his name.

“Tell me you want this. Say that you want me as I want you.”

Her body trembled. She swallowed and told him the truth. “I want you. Oh, Leif, I want you so much.”

He parted her legs with his knee and came up over her. His engorged sex probed for entrance, and for a moment she was uncertain. “What…what if there is a child?”

“There are ways…. It is not yet time for that to happen.” He began to ease himself inside her, moving slowly, doing his best not to hurt her.

“You’re so big…I am not sure….”

“Trust me,
honning.
Your body was made for mine. Let me take care of you.”

They were words she couldn’t resist. She had always been the strong one, even more so since her mother died. She had never had anyone take care of her…not until Leif.

She relaxed as he kissed her. Long, deep, drugging kisses that made her tremble. Slow, passionate kisses that had her squirming beneath him. Little by little, he eased himself farther inside, but when he reached the barrier of her innocence, he paused.

“You are yet a maid, but now that will change.” He rocked forward, positioning himself more fully. “In the name of the gods, I claim you. You are mine, Krista Hart.” And then he surged forward, driving his heavy shaft deep into her womb, tearing the thin membrane that proclaimed her a maiden.

Krista cried out against a swift flash of pain, her body arching upward, trying to free itself from the heavy length of him inside her.

“Do not move,” Leif whispered. “I do not wish to hurt you again and I do not know how much longer I can last.”

She trembled beneath him. She could feel the unfamiliar weight of him inside her, stretching her to accommodate his inordinate size and length. Her nipples rubbed against his chest as he held himself above her, and even the slightest movement sent a fresh rush of heat burning through her. Little by little, the pain receded, and in its place a sweet fire began to build, seemed to hover just out of reach.

Krista moved. She couldn’t help herself.

Leif swore something she couldn’t understand, and his massive body surged forward, driving him deeper still. His hips flexed and his rigid length pumped in and out. The last of the pain disappeared beneath an onslaught of staggering heat, and her body arched again, sheathing him completely and urging him on. Caught up in the fierce sensations, Krista met each of his powerful thrusts and gave herself up to the delicious tightening that was building in her core.

Leif’s jaw clenched but he did not stop, just drove into her again and again until she couldn’t bear the pleasure a moment more. Something sweet and wild blossomed inside her, opened and spread through her limbs. Tiny stars burst behind her eyes and the taste of honey rose on her tongue. Powerful waves of pleasure shook her and she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. She felt Leif’s muscles tighten, felt the last of his control slipping away the instant before he withdrew himself from her body and spilled his seed harmlessly on the mattress beside her.

Long seconds passed. Her heart was thumping, beating madly. Leif cuddled her against him and she could feel his pulse hammering in rhythm with her own. Her body felt limp and sated, yet faint tremors of pleasure still hummed through her.

Leif turned onto his side to look into her face. He traced a finger along her cheek. “Do you yet doubt that you are mine, Krista?”

She only shook her head. In that moment, her body still pulsing with pleasure, she had not the slightest doubt.

Nestled spoon fashion, held against Leif’s powerful chest, Krista gazed into the low flames of the coal fire burning in the grate. Tonight she had made love with a man who wasn’t her husband, could never be her husband, and yet nothing had ever felt so right, so completely perfect.

“I did not hurt you too badly?” Leif asked softly.

She turned her head so that she could see his face. “No, you didn’t hurt me, only a little, and only for a moment.” She smiled softly. “I have nothing to compare it with, but I have a feeling you are as good at making love as you are at playing cards.”

She felt the rumble of his chest. “I am glad I pleased you.”

“I’m not sure why but…there was something in the way you touched me…as if you knew exactly the right place…exactly what I would like. I wouldn’t have thought a Viking would concern himself so much with a woman’s pleasure.”

“I have learned much since I came here.”

Her gaze sharpened on his. “Don’t you dare tell me you learned that from the milkmaid.”

He laughed, such a hearty rumble of amusement she knew it was not so.

“All right, smarty, how did you know?”

“The same way I learned to play cards. I read it in a book.”

Her eyes widened. “Certainly not one from our library.”

“I found them on a back shelf, all written by a man named Any-mous, though I do not think I am saying it right.”

“Any-mous?” She laughed. “I think you mean
anonymous.
”

“Aye, that sounds more like it.
The Pearl of Passion
had some particularly interesting parts.” He rolled her onto her back and came up over her, softly kissed her lips. “Shall I show you?”

She felt breathless, almost dizzy. “I don’t think I am ready for anything new quite yet. I am having trouble enough accepting what we’ve just done.”

“You are right. For now, you need only get used to the feel of me inside you.” So saying, he kissed her. Krista’s breath caught as he parted her legs and slid himself deeply inside, far more easily this time and with much less discomfort.

“Your body fits mine perfectly.”

It certainly seemed so. And when he started to move, she knew for certain he was right.

A dawn sun brightened the room, rousing Krista from a deep, dreamy sleep. Worried about repairs on the carriage, Leif had already gone. They departed the inn two hours later, when Mr. Skinner returned from the closest village, Marley-in-Wood, with the repaired carriage wheel. He had ridden one of the horses and led the other, and tied the heavy iron-banded wheel on to the spare horse’s back.

With Leif to lift the carriage, it didn’t take long to reset the wheel, and soon they were on their way home. It was quiet inside the coach most of the way. Krista wasn’t sure what Leif was thinking, but in the bright light of day, the events of last night seemed almost a dream. Even though they had made love again before he left this morning, none of it seemed real.

Or perhaps she simply wished to pretend.

It wasn’t easy. As she rode along in the carriage, her body ached in places it had never ached before, and a soft pulse of remembered pleasure throbbed in her core whenever she dared a glimpse at Leif. She wondered at his thoughts, knew she should bring up the subject of what had occurred between them, but couldn’t find the courage.

One thing was certain. Leif believed she belonged to him, and in a way he was right. There would never be another man who suited her as well as he did, never be a man who could make her feel the passion he made her feel.

Or the love.

Still, whatever her feelings for Leif or his for her, nothing had changed.

He still intended to leave.

And she could not go with him.

She ignored a sudden tightness in her chest.

On the opposite side of the carriage, Leif shifted. “I will gamble tonight,” he said, ending the lengthy silence. “If I keep winning as I have been, soon I will have the money I need.”

Her heart squeezed. He would have his money and he would leave. “Ships are very expensive, Leif.”

“I do not need a big one, just large enough to get me safely home. But I have been thinking….”

“Yes?”

“The people of England spend money on goods from many different places. I am thinking that once I have a ship, I could estab—estab—”

“Establish?”

“Aye. Estab-lish a trading route between Draugr and England.”

“What would you trade?”

“Some of our people are very fine craftsmen. They weave intricate patterns in finely woven woolens, carve ornate brooches and hair combs from the shells of the tortoise, make pendants from the ivory of animals’ teeth. They also craft fine staghorn pendants and knife handles. I think the people here would pay a very good price for such things.”