"But I do like your lovemaking," she admitted.
"That's good enough for me," he said with a grin. "By the by, can you ride, my lady?"
"Horses?"
"Nay. Vikings."
It turned out, she could.
Chapter Fifteen
Two days later, in the middle of the afternoon, Alinor was still in Tykir's bed.
Oh, he had taken her to the bathhouse late at night when everyone else was asleep, and to the privy when nature called. But mostly, he kept her under lock and key, with Girta putting fresh food and bed linens, along with clean chamber pots, outside the locked door several times a day. Alinor would never be able to face the Viking woman again. Or anyone else in the keep.
Worst of all, Tykir's men had returned this morn from the hunt, but he refused to leave his bedchamber, not even when Adam came knocking on the door. "Come down, Tykir. You must see the game we bagged on the hunt afore it is all dressed down."
"Later," Tykir had mumbled. Her face flamed even now to think what he'd been doing to her at the time. it involved floral-scented skin oils and a belly button stone.
Nor did Tykir budge when Rurik had come inquiring, "Are you alive, Tykir? Or blue? Has the witch snared you so securely that you cannot escape? Shall I break down the door?"
Tykir's only response to Rurik had been a foul expletive and the comment, "Go away!" At that time, he'd been in the midst of persuading her (he was an expert at persuading) to try a new position . . . something involving better access to a secret Viking erotic spot on her body. It was a very interesting spot, indeed.
Even Bolthor, now reciting a new saga outside in the corridor, did not move the infuriating Viking to release:
"Came a witch with a talent for braiding.
Came a Viking with a vain disposition.
She bested him with a chair-braiding.
But some say he got his due
By braiding her maiden hair.
This is the tale of the braiding."
"Good Lord! He is awful," Alinor observed.
"Yea," Tykir agreed, quickly followed by "Hmmm." Apparently he'd gotten an inspiration — the man had way too many inspirations! — from Bolthor's saga and was busy trying to braid her maiden hair. Which was an impossible task. And it took him a long time. In the end, he never succeeded, his fingers being too large and clumsy and... well, it being an impossible task... but they both had a good time with the trying, accompanied by a great deal of laughter. And moaning.
"Do I hear moaning in there?" Adam asked, back again and now obviously pressing his ear against the door. How long had he been standing there? Maybe he'd never left.
"Best you come down soon, Tykir," he advised, laughing uproariously, "Bolthor just skipped below stairs—well, mayhap he did not skip—more like lumbered. And I mis-remember his exact words, but methinks he is spinning a saga about how to make a Viking groan. Its title is 'When Norsemen Groan and Witches Moan.' Dost know what he means?"
They both moaned and groaned together.
"Be careful the witch doesn't grind your cock down to a nub," Rurik chimed in. Merciful heavens! The two must be standing with ears pressed to the door. "I knew a witch once who could do that. 'Twas not the witch who struck me blue. 'Twas another witch."
"You know a hell of a lot of witches," Tykir remarked dryly.
Then Rurik addressed Adam. "I still say we should gel a log and ram the door."
"Nay," Adam said. "Let them do a bit more grinding. Tykir hasn't had enough grinding in his life lately."
"I'll show that pup grinding," Tykir grumbled, getting out of bed and storming over to unlock the door. With no modesty whatsoever, he stood in the half-open doorway, bare-naked, and shouted down to Girta's husband, "Red Gunn, bring a bathing tub and hot water up here. My lady has worked up a mighty stink. Just jesting," he called back to Alinor, whose nakedness was fortunately hidden from view by his large frame. Then he added to her humiliation by shouting to Red Gunn again, "Make sure it's the tub... the one-large enough for two people."
The laughter rising up from the great hall must have come from dozens of men, by the sound of its volume.
"Tykir! Are those scratches and bite marks all over your body?" Adam questioned. "Oh, for shame! Look at that, Rurik. Do my eyes prove me false, or are those fingermarks on Tykir's manpart?" To Tykir, he added, "Does it hurt?"
"I told you she was a witch, but would anyone believe me? Nay!" Rurik snorted with disgust. "No doubt those fingermarks will turn blue. Blue, I tell you, Tykir. Blue!"
"Why don't you go heal someone, healer," Tykir suggested with a loud yawn. "And Rurik, best you go check your own manpart, for I am now convinced the witch has impressive... uh, powers."
A gurgling sound was Rurik's only response. He was checking the inside of his breechclout, she would wager.
" 'Tis true I am a master healer," Adam boasted. "Is it possible Alinor is covered with as many bruises as you? Mayhap you should let me come in to check. 'Tis not good to let these things fester."
Tykir laughed and slammed the door in both their faces.
Alinor was going to kill the clod. The problem was, she couldn't move. She was plastered facedown on the mattress—boneless, sated and sore in some important places. And, yea, she was covered with bruises, all gained from the enthusiasm of their bedsport, not from any intended pain on Tykir's part. Even the air touching her over-stimulated skin felt like a caress.
"Time to get up, witchling," he said, donning a pair of low-slung braises. "Come. Let us break fast and get about the day's work."
"False promises do you make, Viking. Seems to me you said that very thing to me two morns ago." She mimicked his deep voice then, "Time to get up, witchling."
"Do you make mock of me?" he inquired with a short laugh.
Before her fuzzy brain could come up with an answer, a feather tickled the back of her knees. She shot to a sitting position. There was no way in the world she could withstand another of his feather tortures, though she had to admit to having reversed the torture on him a time or two last evening. Or was it the evening before?
He was leaning against the bottom bedpost, arms folded over his naked chest. His eyes swept her nude body ever so slowly—a maddening habit of his that she had become accustomed to. She did not hide herself in modesty, having learned he would not allow such. Besides, she was not ashamed of her body now. Tykir had succeeded in one thing, at least—making her feel beautiful. Well, he had succeeded in many things, but not all of them so commendable.
"You are bruised," he observed with concern, stepping forward to run his knuckles over the top of one breast. "I did not mean to hurt you thus."
Thus being the key word, Alinor thought. She accepted that he'd meant her no physical pain, but he certainly cared not a whit if she was hurt in other ways. She was beginning to suspect that he had kept her overlong in this bedchamber today, even knowing he was needed below, to make a point with her, his soldiers and all his people. Her status was to be thrall from now on. Oh, not a castle drudge or scullery maid. Nay, he had something more loathsome in mind. What had he called it? A love slave. Yea, he was establishing her status firmly for all to see. His own personal whore.
And that hurt Alinor more than any bruise.
The suspicion was reinforced a short time later when they had both finished bathing and Tykir held out the last of the gift boxes for her.
"Nay," she said, shaking her head vehemently, knowing its contents even before he pressed the latch and the red silken harem apparel spilled forth.
"Yea, Alinor. You will wear it."
"There are many things you can make me do, Viking. That is not one of them. I will kill myself afore I parade about in that scant costume for one and all to see. Believe me when I say that. I prefer death to that public humiliation."
"You will wear the garb, but only for me."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You will wear the outfit for me alone in our chamber—"
Ou
r chamber? The fine hairs stood out on her body. So, this intimate confinement with the Viking was to continue? For the entire winter? Oh, my God! she thought. Oh, my God!
"—and you will wear it below stairs, but under your gown."
She arched a brow in question.
"I will know it is there." His voice was husky with meaning.
A short time later she was attired in the scandalous garment which pushed her breasts up and gave them the appearance of greater size. Vast amounts of skin were left bare—her shoulders and abdomen—and even more skin was visible through the almost sheer fabric. Worst of all, the only way she could avoid the tinkling of her bells was to take tiny steps, like a humble thrall. She blinked her eyes several time to keep the tears that scalded there from welling over. "I will hate you for this, Tykir," she declared softly. "I think I was beginning to love you a little... fool that I am, but now—"
"Love?" he scoffed in horror. "I never asked you for love. Nor do I want it."
She saw a momentary flash of regret in his eyes and knew that he lied. But it was too late now. The die was cast.
The days passed, and they were not so bad for Alinor.
Still, Alinor's pride could not be reconciled to her less than honorable position at Dragonstead. She fought Tykir at every step, even on the reasonable requests he made of her, like the mending of a favored tunic or trimming his overlong hair. And she took offense at even the slightest insult.
Right now she was refusing to speak to the troll because he'd failed to introduce her, at first, to a visiting Viking jarl who'd passed through that afternoon by horse-driven sleigh on his way to a neighboring reindeer farm he owned. Tykir had been puzzled by her feelings of being slighted. "Jarl Jorund is a boorish lout," he'd explained, trying to defend himself. "I was trying to protect your sensibilities."
"A likely excuse." She'd sniffed indignantly and slapped away the placating hand he'd set on her arm.
"Why would you want to meet another lout? Am I not lout enough for you?" he'd teased.
"You forgot I was even there."
He'd grinned sheepishly then. "Is that such a great sin?"
Nay, it was not. But it was part of a pattern that bothered Alinor tremendously. A pattern that said she was a small part of his life, and that one less than honorable.
"Why do you fight your fate so?" Adam inquired now.
"Because I deny it is fate."
She and Adam were seated before a roaring fire in the chilly great hall after dinner. Dozens of others sat about in groups in front of other hearths, drinking, conversing, dicing. A scene that was reminiscent of those taking place in noble Saxon homes she was familiar with.
"He treats you almost like mistress of his castle,"
Adam argued as he watched her grading the poor wool she'd found in Tykir's storerooms. It was not near the quality of her own sheep fur, but she was carding, spinning and weaving it nonetheless... a familiar task that gave her comfort. She would use the finished wool for servants' clothing
Alinor gave Adam a skeptical look on considering his words. Mistress of Tykir's castle? "In all ways except one," she pointed out.
Adam quirked a brow at her.
"That exception is when he takes me by the hand and draws me peremptorily to his bedchamber with clear sexual intent." 'Twas odd that she felt comfortable discussing such matters with this young man who'd become a friend to her, but she was so frustrated that she needed to vent her fury somewhere.
Adam grinned at her blunt confession, clearly thinking Tykir was not such a bad fellow. "It does happen often."
If he'd intended to make her feel better, he was sorely mistaken. "It matters not to Tykir whether it be mid-morning and I am in the midst of setting the day's menus with Girta, or afternoon helping Bodhil churn butter, or evening before the hearth fire in the great hall. The man is...insatiable."
"Alinor, Alinor, Alinor," Adam said, laughing heartily. "There are some women who consider such demands for their company a compliment. Mayhap you do too good a job in providing for his bed pleasure."
"Oh, you just don't understand. He gives me no choice."
"A wife would have no choice either," he noted.
"Wife? Who said anything about a wife?"
Adam frowned. "Methought we were discussing the difference in respect given to a leman, compared to a wife." He studied her intently. "What really is at the heart of your complaints?"
She took a deep breath. "Tykir makes his joy in our coupling too evident," she disclosed. It was a deeply personal thing to confess to a mere friend, but she had no one else who might conceivably be able to advise her. "He wants me with a bottomless hunger, and he doesn't care if anyone knows."
That's why she felt pegged as mere bedmate, rather than respected lifemate. It was not that she wanted that kind of permanent relationship with the Viking. At least, she did not think she would want that. But surely a man did not stare at a wife so lasciviously all the time, but especially when she walked fast all of a sudden, causing one of her bells to jingle ignominiously. Nor did a normal husband feel the need to touch his wife incessantly, whether in passing, with a light caress of her hair, or in assaulting her with a sudden exuberant hug.
Adam's mouth dropped open. He did not laugh at her again, though. Instead, he shook his head with disbelief, and took both her hands in his. "Alinor, my dear, what you describe is a woman-blessing. A man loving a woman beyond all reason."
"Oh, nay, nay, nay! I never said aught of love."
He shrugged. "I know I am young, but I am well traveled, and I can tell you that God has laid a gift in your hands. You can toss it aside or tend it with care. Mayhap it is not love, precisely, but who knows what it could be? Tykir's a good man, Alinor. Look beyond his actions to their cause."
"The man is a troll," she argued.
"Some would say you are a witch," he countered. "Troll, witch, Viking, Saxon, man, woman... they are all just words."
Adam walked away then, leaving her to her hand-spinning. She used the time to ponder Adam's words and her own niggling suspicions. In the end, she came to an alarming conclusion. God help me, but I love him. How that disastrous situation had come about, she could not say. The simple answer could be that the lout brought her incredible sexual pleasure. Or that he was bone-meltingly handsome, especially when he smiled or winked at her. Or that his roguish teasing actually brought her joy. But the truth was, he touched her in a more elemental way. There was an invisible bond connecting them that seemed to have an almost mystical basis.
Was it possible that fate, or some celestial being, had destined them to be together? Did God want her to tame the savage Viking? Now that was a daunting prospect, she thought with a silent laugh. And amusing, really, to think that the blessed Lord would use a Viking king's crooked manpart to gain his ultimate ends with her.
She had no more time to ponder her fate then, because the bane of her life arrived... well, the other bane of her life. Rurik. He slumped down onto a bench near her, elbows braced on his widespread knees, and stared glumly into the fire.
"Now what?" she finally asked. "Didn't the chicken dung ointment I suggested for removing your blue mark do the job? Never mind. I can see that it didn't."
He cast her a sidelong glare. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am."
"Nobody is." She thought a moment. "Don't tell me; let me guess. You have run out of women in all of Trondelag to lure into your bed furs."
His lips turned up reluctantly, and she had to admit he would be a tempting bit of manhood, if she was the type of woman attracted to his particular brand of arrogance.
"There are a few left, but those are old crones... not worth the effort."
"You could start over again."
"I could."
"So that's not the source of your sour mood? Could it be your favorite part has shriveled up and died from overuse?"
"Enough!" he said. After several moments, he revealed his dilemma. "I need your help."
Uh-
oh.
"People are starting to believe you are not a witch."
"And that's a problem?"
"Yea, it is. No one wants to buy my crosses or holy water anymore. You have to do more witchly things, Alinor."
At first, she just gaped at him, slack-jawed with surprise. "You don't believe I'm a witch anymore?"
"Nay. Well, leastways, not every day. Come, Alinor. 'Twould be a small thing to do a few witchly acts betimes."
She hooted with laughter.
"It's not amusing. Would it hurt you to waggle your fingers at some other men's private parts on occasion? Can't you pretend to boil up a cauldron of bats' wings and snake eyes? Or"—he grinned at her—"dance naked in the forest?"
"You are impossible," she stated and soon sent him on his way, grumbling with dissatisfaction.
It was getting late. Deciding to end her chores for the night, she put her spinning materials inside a wide basket, then looked up to see Tykir watching her from across the hall. The usual smoldering glint in his honey eyes struck a spark in her, which she tried mightily to resist, despite the instant sexual fire ignited in her belly.
He crooked a finger at her.
She sat up stiffly. The arrogance of the man, demanding I come to him. I will show him. Alinor crooked her finger back at him, thinking to prompt some adverse reaction.
Instead, Tykir smiled and stood immediately, making his way toward her. How could she hate a man who could be so demanding one instant and so willing to bend the next? Apparently he didn't care which one did the coming, him or her.
When he stepped close to her, he took her by the upper arms and pulled her to her feet. She felt the heat of his body and the even greater heat of his need of her. 'Twas a heady, heady aphrodisiac, being wanted so much by such a virile man. Mayhap for now that was enough.
"I missed you, sweetling," he murmured.
Sweetling? "I missed you, too, troll," she conceded.
He smiled widely, a wonderfully open display of gratitude for her simple concession... a smile that caused her toes to curl and her heart to expand with joy.
Yea, 'tis enough for now.