More likely I have been too long without a woman and must needs get my mind out of my braies, Thork berated himself. Or hers!
Involvement with this woman spelled peril, pure and simple—to her, to him, to his sons, to Olaf’s family. And yet, knowing this, he had defied the warning bells in his head and come back anyway.
“Thork, what do you here?” Olaf asked. “You said I would not see you until the morn.”
Thork shot a cryptic, warning glance at Olaf. He deliberately avoided looking at his sons, even as he realized sadly that the boys could not hide their joy at his unexpected return.
Gyda stood to get another plate, and Thork took her seat opposite Ruby. Everyone at the table watched him with open mouths, clearly surprised by his out-of-character behavior. Odin’s ears! He should jump up right now and return to the castle where he could relieve all this pressure boiling inside him in Esle’s arms.
Instead, Thork studied Ruby intensely and said in a more husky voice than he intended, “I changed my mind.” Ruby’s open delight at his presence disarmed him, and his fingertips drummed a tension-filled melody on the tabletop.
“Humph!” Olaf muttered under his breath, recognizing the carnal flush on Ruby’s cheeks and the smoky sensuality on his friend’s loosely parted lips. ” ‘Tis not your mind, but another part of your body, lower down, that has taken over, I wager.” Olaf threw back his head and hooted with laughter at Thork’s discomfort over his all-too-correct insight.
Thork flashed him a forbidding glare, and Olaf finally managed to get his mirth under control as Gyda placed goblets of ale in front of them both and a plate heaping with food at Thork’s place. Thork ate ravenously as conversation resumed once again around the table.
When the others looked away, Ruby whispered, loud enough for only him to hear, “I thought you would be back at the palace screwing the Viking bimbo from the harbor.”
“Screwing? Bimbo?” At first, Thork didn’t understand her words. When comprehension dawned, an easy smile tipped the edges of his lips. “You mean Esle?” he asked innocently. His smile widened at the hot color that flooded the face of the sharp-tongued wench who was shifting uncomfortably now.
“Not that I care who you sleep with!” she added defiantly, and Thork felt a deep pull inside at the sure knowledge that she lied.
“Thor’s balls! You have a blunt manner of speaking.”
“No more blunt than those coarse Viking swear words of yours.”
Thork found himself relishing this strange word sparring with Ruby. He frowned in concentration. In truth, he could not remember the last time he had cared what words came from a woman’s mouth, only what she did with it. How odd!
He leaned forward across the table and told her in a warm, silky voice, “If I had more time for dalliance, wench, methinks I would enjoy you.”
Ruby turned her head to the side, trying unsuccessfully to hide her ragged breaths and parted lips at his frankness. Finally, she calmed herself, but obviously couldn’t control her curiosity.
“Enjoy? How?”
Thork took a deep draught of ale and set the goblet on the table with careful deliberation before speaking. “In all ways, wench.” He closed his eyes for a second at the overwhelming emotion that prospect evoked. Then he opened his eyes and held hers captive, almost drowning in the greenish pools, before repeating in a husky voice, “In every way you ever imagined, and then some.”
After the meal, the family moved to the sewing area to continue their conversations. They settled in comfortable chairs or sat upon the large Oriental carpet laid over the rushes. Thork surprised himself by staying.
Olaf told of their journey. They’d expected to be gone for only nine months when they’d left on a trading voyage for Thork’s grandfather Dar, but weather and complications at some of the Eastern trading villages extended their trip. Olaf mentioned trading in the Danish market towns of Hedeby and Birka in Sweden, getting furs and ivory from Russia, silks and fine carpets from Turkey and spices from the Orient. He also spoke disgustedly of a long stay in Jomsborg while Thork joined his Jomsvikings on a six-month foray into enemy lands.