Page 29 of Shared By the Vikings

The river was only a short walk south of the tree line. It was wide and the color of midnight. As it tumbled over slate-gray rocks it sparkled, making her think a constellation of stars had been scattered over its surface.

She navigated down a narrow grassy bank at a meander and found her feet sinking into soft sand. After setting her clothes on a humped rock, she discarded the fur and waded in.

A few curse words slipped from her mouth. The water was cold enough to freeze her nipples. As it moved up her shins to her thighs she felt the drag of the current. This foreign land’s water wasn’t any warmer in the summer than what she was used to back home.

At the very center of the river the water tickled her pussy. She held her breath as she dipped down, letting the cool slick between her legs and over her ass cheeks. They seemed to have recovered from the spanking though she was sure she’d be reminded they were delicate when she sat.

“Oh, just do it, Ingrid,” she muttered.

She held her breath and dropped backward, going under the water completely. It rushed into her ears, chilled her cheeks, and brought her nipples to hard points.

After running her fingers through her hair she stood again. The moment the air hit her skin it goose-bumped. Trying to ignore the cold, she swept her hands over her body, beneath her arms, between her legs. She didn’t have the luxury of chestnut soap but this would do for now. At least she’d get the sand off her flesh, chase away the salt from her dip in the ocean and her tears during her spanking.

As her feet started to go numb she turned and waded out. Movement behind a tree caught her attention.

A man.

Hair the color of leaves when they were getting ready to drop, dirty face, and a broad naked chest.

Tali.

“I can see you,” she called, reaching for the fur and wrapping it around her dripping body.

He stepped from the shadows.

She moved behind the bank, so she was partly out of his line of sight. “What were you doing, Tali? Watching out for wolves?”

“Ja.” He kept on walking toward her.

“I’m not scared of wolves. I’ve encountered them before, many times.”

He shrugged.

“You were watching me bathe. I know you were.”

“I like watching you, Ingrid.”

She recalled how he’d looked at her on the longboat, when he’d thought she was a boy. “Did you suspect me?” she asked, pulling on her woolen tunic.

“Of?”

“Of being a woman, on the longboat.”

“I thought you were pretty for a boy.” He hooked his thumbs into his belt. An axe and a long dagger hung from it. “Wondered why you spent a lot of time gazing at Raud.”

She ducked her head at the mention of his name.

“But no,” he went on. “I didn’t think anyone would be brave enough to trick Jarl Erik that way.”

She pulled on her pants, wishing she had undergarments but they were long gone.

“It’s a bold move, to pull a ruse like that,” Tali went on. “Did you not think he’d find out, eventually?”

“No.” She pulled her hair back and squeezed the short ponytail. A trickle of water splashed onto the sand at her feet.

“Why?” Tali descended the bank in two big paces. “What were your plans?”

“I told you last night, my father wanted me to marry an old friend of his, a man who made me sick to even look at.” She glanced upward. “Freya, forgive me if that was what had been planned but I couldn’t do it.”

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