Highlander’s Viking Seductress: Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Page 15

  “As I outrank him, ye should follow me orders.” He gestured to his chest with false pride, causing her to giggle again. He admired her laughter for a moment, watching as she battled with her humor, exhaustion, and a determination to continue her work. “So, this is yer last chance, bandia.” He moved closer through the reeds until they were just parted by a small tuft. “Come out of the water now or be carried out. And we both ken how little ye like to be carried.”

  She tilted her head higher, trying to hide her smile, but losing the battle.

  “I am staying.”

  “Have it yer way.” He winked, causing her to tilt her head to one side in question. After a beat of stillness, he leapt for her. She tried to rush away in the water, but he caught her off guard.

  “Nei!” She pulled at the reeds to be free, but he caught the back of her dress and pulled her towards him. The water had risen around their thighs as they tussled against each other. He pulled playfully on her waist as she pushed against his arms, the water splashed across their torsos and faces until Idunn fell still.

  “Ye are too tired to battle with me today, bandia,” he whispered as she rested her body against his. With his hands clasping her waist, she lay her hands against his chest. She was breathing heavily, drawing his gaze down to her body. He was impossibly drawn to her. With them pressed together, all he wanted to do was explore the spark between them. “It seems I win our argument.”

  “You think you have won?” she teased, still smirking.

  “I am the stronger of the two of us.”

  “And the prouder it seems too, but ye ken what they say about pride,” she shrugged, trying to step away from him.

  “What is that?”

  “Pride comes before a fall.” Her gleeful smile told him too late what was about to happen. She struck out at his legs under the water, causing him to fall away into the river. Her skill in battle was still something he admired.

  He looked up with the water around his neck and wiped the droplets from his face to see Idunn laughing as she tried to run through the water away from him.

  “I told you I do not play fair,” she called back.

  “As ye wish.” He jumped to his feet, feeling full of mischief as he chased after her. Catching her around the waist, he did not give her a chance to retaliate but threw her over his shoulder so that her legs dangled in front of his torso and her hands pulled at the tunic on his back.

  “Gavin!” she squealed in surprise, “Put me down.”

  “Nay,” he laughed as he walked towards the riverbank.

  “What if someone sees us?”

  “Nay one is around,” he checked the path and the view up to the castle, but no one appeared to be looking their way. He climbed onto the riverbank and dropped her down onto her back amongst the tufts of grass, quickly pulling the leeches off her legs and his own and dumping them in the bucket nearby. The brush of her bare skin was brief, but it elicited a thrill of excitement.

  “There now. Out of the water and safe.” He dropped down on top of her, straddling her as she smiled.

  “You won this sparring match, but I warn you, you will not win the next.” She raised her hands to his tunic and pulled him down towards her.

  “We shall have to see what happens next time.” He willingly obeyed her beckoning and lowered himself to kiss her. Together, their lips parted, allowing the sensual dance of their tongues. Beneath him, Gavin could feel Idunn pressing her toned body up against him. It made him cling to her waist even more, lowering one of his hands to her hips. As he moved his hold, her grasp on his tunic tightened.

  Somewhere nearby, a stick broke, as though beneath someone’s foot.

  Gavin lifted his head immediately, searching the surrounding area for someone that may be watching them, but all he could see was a cluster of trees beside the path up to the castle. There was no one there beyond the trunks and branches.

  “Is someone there?” Idunn asked with wariness.

  “Nay one is there. It may have been a bird.” He dropped himself down on his elbows again, staring at Idunn’s blue-green eyes. The fear of discovery had shot through him so sharply it had surprised him.

  Idunn bit her lip, fear creasing her own brow.

  “If someone sees us, this could all be over.” Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

  “Daenae say that, bandia.” He dropped a gentle kiss onto her brow, hoping to brush away the frown he bore.

  “I am sensible, Gavin. Your father would not be happy if he was to discover that you had been kissing the Viking slave, would he?”

  He pulled back a little to see her face. Her blue-green eyes were wider, her face stern with strong feeling. The thought that she could be torn from him, taken away, was too gut-wrenching to bear. He could not let it happen. If it meant keeping their kisses a secret, then so be it; that is what he would have to do.

  He wished he could say he did not care what his father felt, but the truth was he cared very much.

  If only ye werenae a slave, bandia. I wish I could do somethin’ about it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gavin was struggling to eat the dinner that had been presented to him. He was too aware of the discussions between his father, Tadhg, and Kenna at the table. With an array of smoked fish, fowl, and tankards of mead before him, nothing could tempt Gavin to eat very much.

  The image of Idunn’s face kept coming back to him from beneath him on the riverbank. Her beauty, the bold eyes, and how truly sorrowful she had looked when she mentioned how much his father would not have liked him pursing a Viking slave.

  She is a Vikin’ warrior woman. She shouldnae be a slave.

  Gavin spent many an hour with himself that afternoon, arguing what to do. He and Idunn could continue on in secret, only seeing each other in the shadows and at night where no one could find them, but he could not pass a lifetime that way. How could he bear to see the woman he loved spending a life fulling and catching leeches? He would have to persuade his father to release Idunn from her fate of servitude.

  He took another small sip of mead as he tried to raise the courage to open the debate, determined to ask Fergus to free Idunn from her position as a slave. However, doing so without preparing would be foolhardy. Fergus’s opinion towards Idunn was already a harsh one. It meant Gavin had to alter his view of the girl first. He waited for Tadhg’s and Fergus’ laughter to quieten. They started carving up a fresh goose, their conversation falling quiet for a minute and allowing Gavin to speak.

  “I learned a little more of our Vikin’s past the other day.” His words were met by pleased assents.

  “Wonderful,” Tadhg nodded, “Has she told ye anythin’ of the Vikin’s tactics?”

  “Nay, but I thought ye would be interested to hear more of her past.”

  “Have ye been speakin’ to her?” Kenna asked with surprise. Despite Kenna’s kindness, Gavin knew she operated her position as Lady of the household with a distance from the staff. She gave them orders but was not exactly their friend. She was perhaps a little proud at times, though she would deny it if challenged. Kenna sat in the tall-back chair with her head high.

  “Aye, a little.” Gavin turned to face her, realizing that if he were to persuade his father that Idunn was no threat – then he would have to persuade his sister first. “It seems she occupied quite a high standin’ in her home village.”

  “What standin’, laddie?” Fergus encouraged, keenly interested as he placed down his tankard on the vast oak table.

  “She was one of their greatest warriors. Her parents were great warriors too. She is descended from their old leaders and was betrothed to their Jarl’s son.”

  “Jarl?” Fergus repeated, not understanding the term.

  “It is like their Laird,” Gavin explained, leaning forward to hold his father’s attention, “They clearly had a lot of respect for her to make such an arrangement.”

  “Aye, they must have done,” Fergus laughed suddenly, picking up his tankard again wit
h glee, “Think how angry they will be with us now, the Scots that stole their new fine Vikin’ Queen away.” Tadhg laughed with him as they drank together.

  “Do ye have a name for the man she was betrothed to?” Tadhg asked as he refilled their glasses.

  “Nay,” Gavin lied, feeling it grate against his nature. He did not have permission from Idunn to talk of her past with anyone, but he knew it was necessary to reveal a little if he was ever going to persuade Fergus to free her. He could still keep some of her secrets, though.

  “Ye shouldnae talk too much to her, brother,” Tadhg warned with a charming smile, “She will persuade ye yet she is nae a threat to us.”

  “A domesticated Vikin’,” Fergus guffawed at the idea. “I can barely imagine it.”

  Gavin sat back in his chair, watching the two of them laugh and abandoning all hope for the day. He pushed his trencher away - still piled high with fish, having no interest in eating another bite.

  His family seemed dead against Idunn. He ran his hands through his dark auburn hair in discomfort, turning to see that Kenna was not laughing with them. She was watching him closely, her eyes narrowed.

  It was the first time Idunn had been allowed into Banff town. She had been sent on an errand to collect some things from the market, but it showed a change. Her superiors now trusted that their slave would not try to escape. She was tempted by the idea, to run from the leech collecting and the fulling, yet the presence of Gavin at her side as she wandered the streets made such an idea not so attractive anymore.

  When Gavin had appeared that morning, and she had told him of her planned errands, he had agreed to go too. He crept away from the soldiers’ practice and met her on the path away from the castle that led down into town.

  As they walked beside each other, there were longing looks between the two of them, but no touches. Even fleeting touches were something they could not risk when surrounded by so many people. They wandered through the stone and mud houses together, past yellow thatch and mounds of grey rocks, towards the market in the center of the village right beside the shingle beach.

  When they reached the coast, Idunn hovered next to the sand, her eyes running up and down its expanse as she considered the last time she had stood here. The images of the fallen men invaded her sight, both Viking and Scot, with the blood-stained sand and warrior helmets drifting through the white foam of the waves.

  “Idunn?” Gavin said beside her, causing her to flick her head towards him, “Are ye well?” She gestured towards the beach with a nod of her head, clutching tightly to the basket in her hands.

  “I was remembering the battle. It was particularly…” she struggled for the right words, noting how Gavin shifted his feet next to her, uncomfortable with the conversation. “Bloody,” she concluded eventually.

  “Aye, a lot of death was seen that day. Unnecessary death.” He walked away a couple of steps. “Come on, we should get to the market, or the steward will complain ye are late with yer errands.” Idunn hurried to follow him, his sudden change of manner bothering her.

  They walked on in silence for a moment. Gavin was usually so talkative, eager to chat, that it raised her suspicions. She watched his face carefully, noting the crease of his brow and the tightening of his jaw. Were they alone, she would have brushed away his tension with her kisses, but in such a busy place, that was impossible.

  “Gavin, you do not blame me for the attack on Banff, do you?” Her question called him to a halt. He looked down at her in surprise, his green eyes wide.

  “I…” He ruffled his hair. “I daenae blame ye for it. But I have to admit our conversations in the past about war daenae put me mind at rest concernin’ yer likin’ for battle.” He tried to walk away again, forcing her to follow behind. The idea that Gavin could dislike something about her caused a pit to open in her stomach.

  “Gavin, I am not the one who decided upon Banff as a location.”

  “Who did?”

  “It was decided between the Jarl and Einarr.” She hurried to keep up with him, aware he had quickened his pace as they marched past people towards the market.

  “Yer betrothed?” Gavin shook his head and scoffed at the idea.

  “Já, that is right.”

  “Why do the Vikin’s have to attack the Scots anyway?”

  “Gavin?” She pulled on his sleeve, urging him to stop and look back at her. He was breathing heavily, anger clearly present. “It is nae personal. It is just the way it is. For us, raiding and travelling is an adventure, the highest honor a Viking can have. It is not about death. It is about new horizons. Do not be angry at me for it. That is how the Vikings grow. We get more resources that way.”

  “I daenae have to like that.”

  “I am not saying you should, but,” she released her grasp on his sleeve, casting her eyes around in concern that someone from the castle would see them, “I did not choose Banff.”

  “I ken ye dinnae,” Gavin sighed and brushed a hand through his hair again, “I am sorry, bandia.” He stepped towards her and placed his hand on the basket handle, a mere hair’s breadth away from her own hand. The closeness of their fingers had her lowering her gaze to look at them, her breath hitching. “It is just, when I think of all the death that happened that day, I cannae help but be sad.”

  Idunn nodded as she looked back towards the beach.

  “All that death…” The blood on the sand revisited her. “It should not have happened.”

  “Ye are right.” He nodded. “I hope that battle changes yer opinion on war?”

  “I still think it is sometimes practical.” Her firm voice only made him shake his head again.

  “Ye have a thirst for blood I have never ken. It seems to me I will have to show ye there is more to life than just war.” He smirked as he took the basket from her. “Come with me.” He took her hand and refused to let it go even when she tried to pull free.

  “Someone may see us!” she whispered harshly.

  “They are all too busy with their own errands for the day.” He pulled her behind one of the houses, into a small alley that was tucked away from view, and dropped the basket onto the floor.

  “Why are we –”

  Before she could finish her question, Gavin pressed her against the stone wall and stole another kiss. Idunn felt her body weaken in his hold, malleable to his touch as he kept the kiss to just a mere press of lips.

  As his hands encircled her waist, holding her tight, Idunn slid her hands up Gavin’s chest, making him growl in the back of his throat as they kissed. It grew more heated. Gavin’s lips on her neck had Idunn biting her lip to stop herself from making a sound, but the true test came when he lowered his hands from her waist to her rear and held tight. She hissed at the sensation, but he quickly quietened the noise with another kiss.

  She tried to push him away, laughing all the time.

  “Gavin, we have to stop.” She cast her eyes to the end of the small alley where market-goers passed, but no one was interested in looking their way. No one saw Gavin as he lowered his kisses further to the opening of her dress. “We should not be doing this.”

  “I ken.” Gavin sighed and straightened up again. Idunn was torn by her own wish to stop and a part of her that did not want him to stop at all. “We shall resume this later,” he dropped another swift kiss to her lips. Yet the sensation lingered, and as he stepped away, gathering the basket from the floor and hurrying out of the alley, she pressed a finger to her lips and stayed against the wall.

  She watched him move as she tapped her fingers against her mouth, still fascinated by the feelings he elicited. At the end of the alley, he stopped and beckoned her forward. As she admired the sun filtering into the small street that was bathing his hair in a deep red glow, she followed him. She wondered with each step why she had never known such excitement with Einarr.

  The way in which Signý had spoken of her husband suddenly made more sense to Idunn. If Signý had the good fortune to be so enamored with her husband
and desired him as much as Idunn did Gavin, then she would have been as keen as Signý to stay home from the raid.

  As this thought occurred to her, she kept lifting her gaze to follow Gavin around the market, wondering when the change had occurred within her. She marveled as Gavin laughed at something one of the market sellers said, prompting her to admire his smile even more.

  Do I believe this means more than just attraction? Than just a little excitement?

  She did not allow herself to answer the question.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Idunn prepared for the fulling with frustration. The stench was so horrifying, she kept turning away from the bucket and clutching her nose. The action caused her eyes to dart where Annas was collecting clothes to be washed. Idunn watched as the girl piled wooden buckets high with sheets and tunics, her face tired with grey circles deep under her eyes.