Viking Hearts by Violetta Rand

Author:Violetta Rand [Rand, Violetta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Viking, Romance, Historical, Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Published: 2016-04-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Purchased by a man she wanted to pummel didn’t make it easy for Mauriana to control her fiery temper. And now he refused to untie her. Until you regain your senses, he’d said, then flung her in the saddle in front of him. Even his men laughed at her, like Bodvar’s contemptuous soldiers. She’d suffered enough at the hands of these barbarians. It no longer mattered to her that they worshipped the same gods. They were not her allies. If she could find a way home, she would fight to her last breath to do so.

With an arm wrapped tightly about her waist, the swift gallop of his beast over uneven ground made her painfully aware of Ivar’s muscular frame and heat behind her. She’d resolved to say nothing more and refused to let her body betray her. Many men were as handsome and strong as this arrogant liar. A pair of capable hands meant nothing.

“Tell me, lady,” he said. “Are you pleased I own you?”

If Ivar wanted to foster good feelings, reminding her that he’d paid a king’s ransom for her didn’t bode well. “You are a fool.”

“A fool?” he repeated with a scoff. “I am the only thing keeping you from the hands of a filthy merchant who would have sold you at a Baghdad market. Light-haired women are rare in the lands of Muhammad.”

She knew nothing of this Baghdad place or where it was exactly, but it didn’t sound any different than what he’d done. “Will I not suffer the same fate in your house?” Wedged sideways between the saddle front and his body, she twisted slightly at the hips so she could see his face. “Curse you forever. I trusted you and Jarl Bodvar.”

Ivar halted and waved his men onward. “There will be no more talk of Bodvar. I will deal with him when the time comes. As for you, be grateful for the mercy of the gods. Under my watchful eyes, you will be safe. But understand one thing, sweetest Mauriana.”

He looked like a dark shadow against the bright sky, his rugged features difficult to not stare at.

She lifted her chin. “Do I have a choice?”

“No,” he said. “You belong to me now.”

The weight of his words hit her hard and deep. Two weeks ago, she was with her cherished family. And had she shown the kind of courage she’d been taught, none of this would be happening. Perhaps Odin was punishing her for being a coward, for not aiding her family and the other villagers in Hesse.

“Free me,” she demanded.

He stared at her for a long, silent moment. “Will you conduct yourself properly?”

“Aye.”

He slid from the saddle, then helped her down. “I am not your enemy,” he said as he cut the cord with a knife.

Mauriana spun around, rubbing her sore wrists. “You aren’t a friend,” she countered, then slapped his face.

Ivar growled, but instead of retaliating violently, he tugged her into his arms and crushed his mouth over hers. The hunger and wet softness of his lips shocked her as she opened up to him on a gasp.

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