Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

What had she done?

Dunne bolted upright on the pallet. She had spent the night in a man's arms, that was what, when she had sworn she would never place herself under anyone's control ever again. And she had not been with just any man. She had been with a man she should never even have thought of seducing, a man who could not possibly want a future with her, only a good rutting. His words came back to her.

Once we are both naked and I have stroked every inch of your body, I will fuck you again.

Oh, and he had. Over and over again, in every position conceivable. He'd been so crude in his speech, so bold in this touch…She had loved it. Would she even be able to walk today? Every muscle in her body seemed to ache, which was odd because he'd not been rough, just unashamedly male, unafraid of his desires and utterly indefatigable.

As for her…She had not recognized herself. Gone was the woman who'd lain passively under her partner, enduring his clumsy, unwelcome attentions. She had been wild, imaginative and she had surpassed herself.

But…

As wonderful as it had been, it could lead nowhere. It had been a feast of the senses, nothing more. It could never be more. A man as young as Bj?rn didn't want to be attached, he wanted to spend his wild oats before settling down when he was well into his thirties and had no choice.

Last night, he had wanted to finally lie with a woman. If he had not lied about being a virgin, that was…Lost to the heat of the moment she had not thought to doubt his claim but now that she'd had time to think, she was not so sure. How could a man who looked like he did be still untouched? Surely he had exaggerated his lack of experience at the very least. How else would he be so skilled at pleasuring her if he'd been a virgin?

I've never lain with a woman before.

That was what he had said. At the time she had taken it to mean he'd never lain with anyone but he probably meant he'd only bedded girls for sport, and never women her age, never been serious about it, never gotten involved with someone who had a child and would be expecting some sort of commitment from him, commitment he was not ready for.

That had to be why he had fled before she woke up.

Which was a good thing, she told herself, because she didn't want commitment either. Just like him, she hadn't wanted anything other than a feast of the senses.

And by God, she'd gotten it and more.

Dunne stretched and saw that she was still naked. Shock had her reeling. She never slept naked. She had also never been more in need of a bath. Mortified by how debauched she'd become in just one night, she slipped on a fresh shift and looked for her dress. It was not on the floor where it had landed last night when Bj?rn had all but torn it from her body. Before leaving he had folded it and placed it on the table. Her heart melted at this unexpected thoughtfulness. He might not want to get involved with a more mature woman but he was being considerate for all that.

Just as she was fastening the laces on her bodice, the door burst open.

"Mama!" Dawn bounded into the room and jumped straight into her arms.

Frigyth followed her niece at a more sedate pace, a smile on her lips. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Dunne replied, ruffling her daughter's unruly hair. "Thanks for having Dawn last night."

Thereby allowing me to spend the most wickedly sinful night of my life.

"You're welcome. I hope you made the most of your evening?" Dunne didn't reply. She certainly had, even if there had not been much rest. "I think the children enjoyed themselves anyway," Frigyth added when she remained silent.

"Yes, oh yes!" Dawn cried out, encircling her neck to give her a hug. "It was the best night of my life! I want to do it again!"

The innocently meant words found a strange echo within Dunne because, well, she too had spent the best night of her life and wanted to do it again. She hugged the little girl tighter, hoping to hide from Frigyth the heat she could feel burning her cheeks. Her sister was looking at her with an odd expression on her face, as if she'd guessed what had happened between her and Bj?rn.

No, it was impossible, Dunne told herself, considering she had confirmed only a few days ago that she had sworn men off. "Never say never" had been Frigyth's infuriating answer. Well, one of them had certainly been proved right last night. Perhaps she should have made sure to include Norsemen into the declaration.

"I came to see you yesterday before we went to the forest," Frigyth said softly. There was a gleam in her eye Dunne didn't like.

"Did you? I missed you. I must have been out."

"Oh no, you were most definitely in."

The heat on her cheeks reached alarming proportions. Now she knew why her sister was looking at her in that smug way. She had come to see her while she was in bed with Bj?rn and she had heard them make love. Heard the wild moaning and the grunting and the screaming and everything in between.

"I want to go play with Hilda." In her arms Dawn started wriggling so much Dunne had to put her down. The little girl immediately ran outside, leaving the two women to face each other.

For a long moment they didn't say anything. Then Frigyth placed a hand on her swollen stomach and sat on the chair with a sigh. "This babe is getting heavy. I sometimes wonder if I'm not carrying twins." She grimaced. "Serves me right for pretending I had given birth to twin sons once. Believe me, it is no laughing matter."

Dunne sat next to her and poured them both a cup of ale. As she sipped the amber liquid she wished it were Bj?rn's ale. There truly was none like it. Nibbling at his throat last night she had found herself thinking that his skin tasted as delicious as his ale. Would the rest of him be as good, she wondered? Would she ever get her mouth on it?

Hoping to distract herself from such licentious thoughts, she pretended they were here to discuss Frigyth lying about having twin sons. She was only delaying the inevitable but, with luck, someone would interrupt them before the topic of Bj?rn came up.

"When did you pretend you were carrying twins? I've never heard that story before."

Her sister threw her a look indicating she wasn't fooled by the purpose of the question, but she answered anyway. "I helped a friend who didn't want to admit to a Dane called Rune that she'd borne him a child. I passed off her newborn son as Moon's twin when he visited unexpectedly."

"I see. And did it work?"

"For a time. Then, of course, he found out the truth and ended up falling in love with both Eowyn and their son. They are now happily married and living in Denmark." Frigyth paused and tilted her head. "Some things are inevitable, no matter how much you try to fight them."

"I don't know," Dunne said rather more sharply than she had intended. "Everything that happens has a way of appearing inevitable afterward, as we cannot imagine any other alternative. But I don't think what you're saying is true. I don't think it was inevitable I should marry Toland, for example. A different, more loving father would have asked my opinion about a union with him and I would have refused."

"Mm. You might have a point there. Forgive me, that was ill-considered of me."

"There is nothing to forgive. None of what happened was your fault." And she shouldn't have snapped at her that way.

"I know. Still." Frigyth stared into her empty cup for a moment and seemed to decide they had prevaricated enough. "So. Bj?rn, hey?"

Dunne knew it was hopeless to refuse to talk about it, but she could not surrender so easily. "How do you know it was him?" she challenged.

Far from looking caught out, Frigyth smiled broadly. "Unless you like to moan another man's name while one holds you in his arms, which I don't advise you to do by the way, then I'm pretty sure that's who it was. I know no other man called Bj?rn in the village."

Oh, Lord. Had she really moaned his name for everyone to hear? It was all too possible. She'd been out of her mind with pleasure.

"Please," she whispered, knowing she had gone bright crimson. "I'm not comfortable discussing this."

Her sister ignored the protest and winked. "I always saw him as a boy, but I guess he's changed. He's certainly grown more impressive since he's been back from Denmark."

"He's not a boy," Dunne mumbled. Even though she had thought the same thing once, it bothered her to hear him described thus. It only made the disparity between them more glaring.

"No, I guess not. You would know."

Oh, this was excruciating. There was a pause. "Do you think ill of me?" Dunne blurted out, loath to have her sister, her best friend, start to look at her differently because of what she'd done.

Frigyth instantly went serious and placed a hand on her forearm. "Of course, I don't. And I would kiss Bj?rn the next time I saw him if I didn't think you—or, even more to the point, Sigurd—would object."

Kiss him? "Whatever for?"

"For showing you what Toland failed to. It was time you found out that lying in a man's arms is all about pleasure. It seems to me Bj?rn's demonstration was masterful."

Masterful. Yes, it had been.

"I almost passed out," Dunne admitted, staring at the floor. She kept to herself the fact that Bj?rn had claimed to be a virgin last night. That was between the two of them. "And then when it was all over, I made a fool of myself by crying. Both times. It was all ludicrous, really."

"Ah, sister. I doubt he thought you foolish."

No, apparently he had not. He had held her a long moment afterward, allowing her to cry to her heart's content but his gentleness had only doubled her sobs. Eventually she had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, her head pillowed on his soft chest. And then at dawn, before he'd left, he'd made love to her all over again. Holding her close to his chest with his hands cupped over her breasts, he'd slid inside her from behind while she was still drowsy, and taken her straight from delicious slumber to soul-ripping ecstasy.

It had been perfect. The only problem was, it should never have happened.

"I don't know what to do."

Frigyth frowned. "What do you mean? What is there to do?"

Dunne lifted both hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Well, you must see that I cannot be with Bj?rn…in that way. I'm not sure he wants anything serious and even if he did, we would look ridiculous together. Besides, I don't want to be married again, I told you only the other day."

"Who said anything about marriage? You've only just started something. Just get to know each other, see where it goes."

Dunne gaped at her. "You're not suggesting I…take a lover?" The look in her sister's eyes made it clear this was exactly what she was suggesting. "Even if I could do such an outrageous thing, he's the last man I should chose. He's ten years younger than me. You just said yourself you thought him little more than a boy."

"I said he'd changed from the boy I thought he was. And Toland was ten years older than you, and look how that went," Frigyth answered roundly. "Bj?rn might be younger but he's not a child for all that. The difference in age would matter if he were ten and you twenty, but that's not the case, far from it. You are both adults now, he's capable of making his own decisions, choosing what he wants, and he made it quite clear when he thrust inside you last night that what he wants is you."

"Frigyth!" Dunne was shocked at the crudeness, but her sister only shrugged.

"I'm sorry for speaking thus but you need to see sense. You have done nothing wrong and you could allow yourself a few weeks of guilt-free pleasure. No one has to know. I'm sure if you asked him to be discreet he would understand."

"It's not all about me. I have my daughter to consider. Dawn will?—"

"Dawn will be fine. It will do her good to be surrounded by men who are good role models after the father she's had. You could do a lot worse than bring a man like Bj?rn into both of your lives. He's personable, hardworking, honest, and I think you may have discovered qualities about him that I haven't even started to suspect."

Was she trying to embarrass her? If so, she was going the right way about it.

Dunne bit her bottom lip. She had been confused upon waking up, and after that conversation with her sister, her mind had twisted into further knots. "I need to think."

Frigyth emptied her cup with decision. "Then think. As long as you don't end up making the wrong decision, I see no harm in it."

"I didn't hear you come back last night."

Bj?rn ran a hand through his hair. What could he say? He had never liked lying to his sister. Besides, she had always been able to tell when he was. Better not to pretend he had slipped in when she was too sound asleep to notice. She would only know the truth. "That's because I didn't."

Ingrid stopped stirring the pot of stew and wiped her hands on her apron. "Oh? And I suppose you won't tell me where you went?"

"You suppose correctly." He would not lie but he didn't have to tell her everything, did he? Especially if his answer involved another person, a woman he'd spent the whole night making love to. The thought of all he and Dunne had done together sent a tingle down his spine. The night had been memorable. He only wished there would be many, many more to follow.

"I see." If the grin his sister threw him was any indication, she'd guessed only too well what he'd been up to. Damn her ability to see through him so easily! The only mercy was that she could not know who had welcomed him in her bed. "You found yourself a sweetheart."

Was that what he had done? If only. He stayed silent, leaving Ingrid to draw her own conclusions. What would she say if she knew he'd bedded Dunne, who she regarded as a friend and mentor? She probably expected him to have gone to one of their parents' friends' daughter, someone he had known all his life.

"What about you?" he asked instead, leaning a shoulder over the door frame. "Have you found yourself a sweetheart yet?"

She reddened and started fidgeting with the apron pocket. "While you were away I started seeing more of Ivar."

Bj?rn recoiled at her answer. Damnation, he had only asked the question to take the heat away from him. He had not expected her to say she had actually found herself a lover! "You…" He could barely speak for the shock. This was his little sister they were talking about. She could not be going to men's beds already! "Ivar! Leif's son? Are you jesting? Did he touch you?"

"Only to kiss me." She giggled when he bunched his fists in automatic response. "Come, brother, no need to appear so horrified. As if I didn't know you've been doing much worse than kissing for years!"

"I haven't."

At least he hadn't until last night, but he wasn't about to admit as much to his sister. Not that he was embarrassed exactly, but she didn't need to know the details of his love life. Then her words penetrated his mind. "Worse than kissing," she'd said. It hadn't been worse than kissing, it had been much better, more wonderful, much more meaningful.

Although he'd been a virgin only the day before, he'd not been completely chaste. He'd kissed a handful of women, both here and in Denmark, even fondled a couple of them and allowed them to roam their hands over his body. So no, he was not totally untouched, but never had the pleasure of those embraces compared to what he'd felt when he'd held Dunne in his arms.

It was then that he realized. He and Dunne had not shared a single kiss. As heated as their night together had been, he had not kissed her on the lips once.

How remiss of him! It just went to show he had much to learn about the art of being a lover. What man did not even think of kissing the woman in his arms? A selfish, inexperienced one, that was who, one who was too overwhelmed to do things right.

"Does Ivar mean to propose marriage at least?" he growled, steering away from the uncomfortable thought. "Or do I need to have a word with him?"

Ingrid opened wide eyes that reminded him of their mother's. His chest unexpectedly tightened. "Don't you dare speak to him about that! I don't want to get married. I'm only eighteen!"

"So? Plenty of women are married at your age."

"And plenty of men are married at your age yet I don't see you rushing into anything. Or…" Her eyes widened further, betraying her excitement. "Are you saying you mean to propose to your mysterious sweetheart?"

As soon as the words left his sister's lips, Bj?rn knew that was exactly what he wanted to do. She'd only meant to tease him but in doing so she'd made him see the light. He could not bear the idea that the night he had spent with Dunne would be the only one. Because if he didn't marry her, it would be, he knew it in his bones. He had been lucky once, but he sensed she would not let him bed her a second time without some sort of commitment on his part. Being used for a man's pleasure and discarded when the mood suited him was simply not what a woman like her would be looking for—or deserved.

Soon she would wake up and realize the enormity of what they had done, swear to herself it would never happen again.

Them ending up in bed together had seemed inevitable to him, because he'd been longing after her for so long that he could not see any other way, but she would no doubt feel differently. She might think this had been brought on by their discussion about Toland and her need to be shown she was desirable and could feel pleasure in a man's arms, nothing more. She might think he had used her to lose a virginity which was becoming a burden to him. The fact that he had not kissed her once, only used her body time and time again would certainly allow for the misunderstanding.

His heart and guts twisted at the same time. Right now, alone in her hut, Dunne might be regretting their night together, thinking he didn't feel anything for her other than lust. It was not to be borne.

"Mark my words," he told his sister slowly. "I fully intent to get married before the end of the year."

Now he just had to convince his future bride.