Page 32 of Return of the Viking Warrior

She thought about how she had waved him goodbye. ‘Not always.’

‘I came back, Kara. And I intend to show you that I can be the right sort of husband for you.’

Summoning all of her failing energy, she turned her head. ‘The sooner I sleep, the sooner we leave this place.’

His hands let her go. She stumbled away from him towards where he’d piled the leaves up. It wasn’t much, but it would be far more comfortable than sleeping on the bare floor.

The little gesture showed Kara he had changed. The old Ash would have expected her to do that. Something tugged at her heart. Maybe Hring had exaggerated Ash’s faults. Maybe she had been mistaken.

‘Bravado serves no one.’ He cleared his throat. ‘And if I think we are going too fast, we slow down. Do you understand?’

‘I’m hardly some fragile glass bead. I can take a faster pace. I want to see my son. Rurik is the light of my life.’

‘Tell me if you feel the need for a break. My talents fail to include mind reading, more’s the pity. Our son will want his mother to return home safely. We both know what it is like to lose mothers through accidents.’

‘I’ll remember that.’ She screwed her eyes up. She’d forgotten how Ash’s mother had died—returning to Jaarlshiem. A wave of sheer exhaustion hit her. ‘I want to sleep, Ash. You were right to stop. I’m sorry if I seemed ungrateful earlier. I hate to admit any weakness.’

‘Progress of a sort—you see sense in my actions.’ He started to go towards the door, then halted. ‘Shall I bring you some supper in? Or do you wish to sup with my men? It won’t be fancy, but it will be filling.’

She shook her head quickly. The thought of food made her feel queasy. Sharing an intimate supper with Ash was folly in the extreme. Her defences were down. It would be easy to give in to that little voice in the back of her brain which kept whispering that she wanted to be held and Ash was the man to do it. She needed to keep Ash at arm’s length tonight if she wanted to retain an ounce of self-respect. She wanted a man who would be more than a memory. She wanted someone with whom she could share her life.

All she really wanted to do right now was sleep, a deep dreamless sleep so she’d wake refreshed and they could reach Jaarlshiem tomorrow without her slowing them down. Once there, it would be much easier to keep a distance between her and Ash. The last thing she wanted was for her body to overrule her brain.

‘I need sleep more than food. I’ll eat before we leave in the morning, I promise.’

He nodded, accepting her word. ‘Pleasant dreams.’

‘I rarely dream.’

His lips brushed her forehead. ‘A man can hope.’ With that he left the hut.

Kara pressed her hands together. Being angry with Ash had been easy when she thought him dead. And when he returned yesterday, she had clung on to her anger easily. But when he was like this, she found the unwanted memories crowding in of Ash’s kindness or Ash behaving in a way that made her breath stop.

Once he’d been her idol, but he had taken advantage of her, using her as a way to follow his dreams. Her heart had shattered into a thousand shards when Hring had recounted his betrayal. She could still hear the women’s laughter as they told her one by one the things Ash had done or said to them. All the while Hring had looked on, triumphantly expecting her to give up her son. She’d held Rurik tightly in her arms, vowing to remember every last word and never to be fooled again.

She had listened to her heart once. She had to listen to her head now.

‘I gave up all my dreams of you years ago.’

* * *

His lips came closer, teasing her senses to wakefulness, even though she knew instinctively it had to be a dream. His tongue tip circled and touched her eyes, lips and throat.

She was far too warm and comfortable. His tantalising scent filled her nostrils, making her feel secure and safe. For far too long she’d been on her own and struggling.

He ran his hand down her back, pulling her closer so that their bodies collided before he rained kisses down on her mouth, her eyes and skin.

Sweet kisses, mind-numbing kisses, kisses which caused her body to ignite and burn. Wet and hot. She looped her arms about his neck and returned his kisses, opening her mouth and allowing him to drink from her and she supped from him.

His lips trailed their way to her earlobe. Suckled and tugged. With each new onslaught, the ache in her body grew higher. His hand slipped lower, teasing her, rubbing her breasts, cupping them and pulling at her nipples.

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