Viking's Love (42 page)

“
Tonight you are my captive, Viking.”
Allisande wasted little time divesting herself of her clothing.
When she joined him upon the bed, he soon forgot his misgivings
about their lovemaking when she drove him wild with her lips and
hands until he could stand no more. She mounted him at last, and he
arched upwards with a low growl as she brought him inside
her.

They made love slowly, and soon he was
panting as she rocked upon him faster, crying out his name as she
reached her crisis. He rolled her to her side and lifted her leg,
and pumped gently inside her until he reached his own shuddering
release. She lay in his arms, and tapped his chest thoughtfully as
she sat up and turned to him, smiling.

“
I love you, Joran.” His snores greeted
her, and she frowned darkly. He was asleep! Was she never to be
able to say the damned words in return? She snorted and lay down
again, and soon she was asleep as well.

He opened one eye contentedly and held her
tightly and kissed her neck. He smiled as he lay back down. He
heard her quite clearly, and had been afraid to shatter the moment.
Saying the words was one thing, but hearing them from her was
another matter.

It was all too new for him. He wasn’t
altogether ready for the feelings inside of him, and terrified of
how much she had come to mean to him. It was more horrifying than
going into battle. It was enough they stopped fighting and running
from each other. Who needed words?

Allisande was blissfully happy as the weeks
passed. Janna had a beautiful baby boy named Ewan, and was in the
hall often showing him off with her three tow-headed children on
her footsteps.

Allisande was sure she could be no happier,
and every night she showed Joran without words how she felt. She
was sure no two people could be happier until the moment it was
shattered when Ivar showed up unceremoniously with his entourage.
Rowan wasn’t among them. She was oddly disappointed he hadn’t come
with Lady Ambryn.

Allisande questioned many of the warriors,
and none had seen Rowan since York. She grew pensive when Ivar and
his son disappeared alone to hunt for hours. Allisande knew it
wasn’t just hunting the two of them discussed in the woods.

She was angry Ivar had shown up to put a
damper upon their happiness. It was Ulsted they were discussing.
Fear entered her heart at his using Joran as an instrument of his
revenge.

When they returned empty-handed, Joran wore a
look of grim resolution. She knew her worst fears were confirmed.
Ivar found the means to pry him away from her to do his bidding
once more.

That night when they lay together in his bed,
he turned to her. She knew what he was about to say before he said
it. She clenched her eyes closed tightly as he spoke.

“
Ivar has decided to raid Ulsted’s
lands. We leave as soon as the child is born.” His hand covered her
belly and squeezed her hand there. “It will be over and we can
begin anew.”

“
It will never be over!” Allisande sat
up. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to him, her violet eyes
large with fear. “He will always find a way to keep you with him,
and you know it! Ulsted is not his only enemy, Joran. They are far
and wide. He will seek to drag you into every war and raid he can
divine until you die. It will be over when you are
dead.”

“
It is the last time I pledge my sword
to him.” Joran drew her to him and looked into her eyes deeply. “I
have told him I will raid no more once Ulsted is dead. He has
agreed.”

Allisande pressed closely to him and closed
her eyes in dread. “How long will you be gone?”

“
His lands are south of London. We will
be gone a month, no more. I must end this or you will never be free
of the man. Ivar has learned he will be in residence that week and
it is the only time to get him away from the safety of the king’s
robes. You know it must be done.” Joran would not be happy until
Ulsted’s blood ran upon the ground at his feet for trying to take
his woman from him.

Ivar left the next day. She watched him from
the bluff and scowled when he raised his hand to her. She could see
his look of triumph even from where she stood. Yes, she knew all
too well that as long as Robert Fitzhugh lived she would have cause
to fear. He threatened Collin too. Thinking of losing Joran now was
too hard to bear. She knew how fragile life was and the thought of
him never coming back to her made her irritable and shrewish in the
weeks that followed.

Joran bit his tongue and refused to fight
with her. He knew why she flung the dark looks at him, and was
snappish when he asked her what was wrong. He did not speak of his
leaving again because he knew she was bitter about his mixed
loyalty to Ivar. She was in the last weeks of her pregnancy when
the Danes arrived.

Joran bid them welcome when they arrived
asking for patronage now that York was settled. They were from
Ivar’s army and maintained they wished to farmstead. There were two
of them.

Eric was the larger of the two and did all of
the talking. His brother, Murdoch, stared around the hall until his
eyes fell upon her. She felt the hair rise upon the back of her
neck as his obsidian eyes met hers.

Allisande was leery of these Danish Vikings,
and avoided them in the hall. Joran said she was being silly. She
didn’t trust them. She couldn’t help the feeling they were there
for something altogether different than an interest in farming
Joran’s lands in exchange for their sword arms.

Joran threw up his hands and declared her to
be too suspicious altogether, and they spoke of the Danes no
more.

Allisande rose from the table after the meal
several weeks later with lower back pains she tried to ignore until
midday. She eyed Joran weakly as she got up and informed him her
time had come.

Joran looked like he had been kicked in the
stomach, and started shouting for Elwynn and Janna. She thought him
a madman and completely sweet as he rushed to her, and swept her
into his arms and nearly ran up the stairs to his rooms.

“
Joran, you must calm down.” Allisande
clenched her teeth as another contraction started. He paled and
shouted down below again for help, sounding pitiful, even to her
ears. “It will be hours yet, I think.”

Joran had her propped up comfortably in his
bed when the women arrived. They promptly pushed him out of the
room. He wandered down to the hall and paced. Then he paced and
drank. He paced and drank more. Soon, he merely sat and drank as
her cries rent the air. He stiffened and put his head down upon the
table. He heard a chuckle and raised his head to see Grogan and
Haldon eyeing him with amusement.

“
Janna has done this four times, Joran.
It gets no easier, I can tell you.”Grogan shook his head, a small
smile playing about his lips. “But when it is over and you see the
child, you forget about all this, and start making another one as
soon as your lady is able.”

“
No, we will have no more!” Joran
flinched as another scream ripped through the air. “I have killed
her with my child! Thor’s teeth, I will touch the wench no
more!”

“
Now, I wouldn’t go that far,” Grogan
said with a chuckle and Haldon groaned as another scream came from
above.

“
She must be dying, and that is why it
is taking so long! Does it always take this long? Where is the
damned mead I asked for?” Joran shouted at last and Eldred
approached looking harassed as she saw his displeasure. She set a
pitcher of mead in front of him, and stepped away
quickly.

“
If you want, I will go to the door and
ask Janna how the birthing goes?”Grogan asked and Haldon pushed him
up towards the stairs with a frown, as he too was bothered by the
screaming. Grogan left and returned a few moments later smiling.
“It is going well. Let us drink to the health of the woman and
child.” Grogan cursed his words and reached for the pitcher. “Let
us just drink!”

Allisande was covered in sweat and straining
to push the child from her with Elwynn and Janna encouraging her.
She gave up trying to be brave. The bloodcurdling screams that
escaped her as the head cleared the birth canal were loud and
livid. The shoulders slid free with help from Elwynn.

Allisande felt the rest of the child slip
from her, and bore down with a sob as it was over. It was a boy,
Elwynn said brightly, before she stood up and cleaned him up. She
stared at Elwynn as she cleaned and wrapped the baby in a blanket,
and brought her child forth.

Her eyes scanned the perfect features of her
son. Tears brightened her gaze as she saw the baby was perfectly
formed. Janna took the boy while Elwynn delivered the afterbirth
and cleaned her up.

The linens and furs were replaced and she was
dozing when they went below to introduce father to son. Janna
smiled as she tiptoed down the stairs and saw the three drunken
Vikings sitting below.

She glowered at her husband and he hiccoughed
and informed her he had the situation under control. Joran stood up
unsteadily as she approached. She refused to let him hold the child
unless he sat.

Joran sat when she placed the boy in his
arms. He stared at the tiny reddened face with wonder, sobering as
he examined every inch of his son. He kissed the boy’s forehead and
looked up to inquire after Allisande, worry etched in his face.

“
She sleeps. She is fine, Joran. It was
a difficult birth, as most first ones are. Have you discussed
names?” Janna saw his relief to learn his lady did well after
having their child.

Joran knew they had a problem with names. She
would not approve naming the child after his father. He would
refuse to name the boy after hers. So they never discussed names.
He shrugged and Janna scowled as she eyed him.

“
Your son needs a proper name so quit
drinking, and start thinking, will you?” She took the babe with her
up the stairs to his rooms.

****

Allisande was just as perplexed the next day
when the subject of a name came up as she tried to nurse her son.
She frowned as she tried to think of one. Janna’s scowl grew
blacker as the day wore on and Joran’s son still had no name. Joran
sat at her side and studied his son.

“
Why don’t we just name him, Boy?”Joran
muttered tersely. Elwynn and Janna gasped in unison and flounced
out of the room. He grinned at their reactions and gazed down at
his son as he nursed with adoration in his eyes.

“
That was very mean of you, Joran.” The
baby finally latched on, and began to suckle noisily. “How about
naming him, Pig?” They both chuckled as their son suckled
ravenously. She met his smile warmly, and looked down at her baby.
“We have to think of a name, or your people will never forgive this
insult to their future Chieftain.”

Joran nodded and his hand covered hers and he
leaned down to kiss her brow. They remained that way quietly for
some time, and the baby slept soon. She handed him to his father
and Joran put him in his cradle and joined her in the bed.

They dozed together for some time as the
worst storm in recent years began pelting the longhouse with fist
sized hail. Allisande awoke first. Joran was already up looking out
the window, holding his son who slept through the racket without a
sound. He turned to her and smiled.

“
What think you of Storm?” He chuckled
knowing Janna and the others would be driven into fits. Allisande
smiled and nodded, and their son finally had a name.

Joran was out inspecting the damage from the
storm as his son’s name was announced in the hall. Eldred was the
only one who had the temerity to giggle. “I wonder how they came up
with that one, do you wonder? It is better than Boy, I suppose.”
And many laughed at that.

Storm Ivarsson proved to be most aptly named,
for every time it did storm outside, he slept the most peaceful
inside, and was even fussier when awake. When not sleeping, he
seemed to be raging constantly and seemed to always be in motion,
thrashing and following everything with his eyes. He was irritable
as well. Allisande glared when all attributed that inglorious
quality to be had from her.

Allisande was bathing the little Viking with
her in the tub when Joran entered their room. She knew by the look
on his face, he was leaving soon. Storm was nearly a month old. The
repairs to his ship from the damaging hail were completed.

She refused to meet his eyes as he came forth
to take the boy from her. He dried him and wrapped him in his
blankets. He met her gaze over the rim of the tub sorrowfully.

“
When do you leave?” Allisande knew he
was silently pleading with her to understand his need to finish
what had been started out of duty to Ivar, and to her as
well.

“
I must leave within the month. Ulsted
will be at his estate when the king travels to East Anglia for
peace talks. It is the only time to get to him.” Joran sighed as
she stood up from the tub, and he handed her a drying towel. She
tucked it around her and retrieved a swaddling cloth for her son
from the chest at the end of the bed. She busily tucked it around
him as Elwynn and Janna taught her, and put him in his
cradle.

He was there no more than a minute when he
began to fuss. She made a disgusted noise, and bent to pick him up
and sat at the end of the bed and fed him as she met Joran’s look
of consternation with a scowl.

“
That long?” Her tone was laced with
sarcasm. “Your son is but a month old.”

“
Allisande, we have discussed this!”
Joran gazed at her in annoyance. “I must go and finish
this!”