Torn Avenger by Lea Bronsen

Torn Avenger by Lea Bronsen

Author:Lea Bronsen [Bronsen, Lea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical gay, viking lover, romance erotic, viking erotic, Romance MM, viking crime, gay historical, romance 1100s, dark erotic, dark tale
ISBN: 9781370440276
Publisher: Writers in Crime
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


* * *

A while later, Alv returned to the village with the bucket full of ice cold mountain water. Some people were out and about between houses, whispering as he passed. As usual, he ignored them and went straight to his house.

A cloak-covered shape waited outside.

His chest tightened.

Good or bad news?

He shouldn’t have left Roeland alone.

He hurried over, trying not to spill water with each step.

As he neared the door, the person uncovered her head, revealing a waterfall of curling black hair and a pair of equally dark, worried eyes. Elke. She carried a basket with the baby inside.

He gave her a smile of relief and maybe of happiness to see her, too. While filling the bucket by the quiet riverside, he’d had time to think. If he married her, chances were there’d be no more talk about killing her brother. Alv would become earl and thus have the authority to pardon him, and they could stay close for the rest of their lives. Seen from this perspective, Mother’s idea wasn’t so bad after all.

“How are you doing?” he asked, approaching Elke and putting the bucket down by the door. When he rose and stood near her, somewhat towering due to being a head taller, she flinched.

He stepped back. She’d been violated by a man—my own brother, remember! So, she needed gentleness and personal space.

She looked down and fidgeted with the basket. “I’m okay.”

“And this little one?” He glanced at the baby. “Is she eating well?”

“Yes.”

“Sleeping well?”

He didn’t need to ask. Cocooned in a cloth with only her head peeking out, the little girl slept, her tiny mouth making sucking movements.

There’d been much talk about Joar’s baby lately, but not this one, whose father had hacked Joar’s head off. What would happen to her?

It depended on her father’s fate. If he died from the poison or was sentenced to death, she would become a slave. If Alv married his sister and pardoned him, the little girl would lead a normal life with him. One more reason to go forward with Mother’s plans.

He gazed at the young, strikingly exotic woman in front of him. Was she going to be his wife? Would he have to share his house, his belongings, his life with her? He wasn’t sure how that would work out, much less when it came to sharing his bed. Would they be expected to have sex? His stomach plummeted. It wouldn’t be physically impossible, but he would sleep with her without heart.

Anyway, from the manner she behaved when he entered her space, it would be a long time before she allowed any man to touch her again. They could live together as a formal couple for years without having to perform the marital duties.

He sighed from the tense situation, and opted for a little humor to loosen the atmosphere. “My mother is good at making arrangements, eh?”

Elke looked up, read his playful expression, and broke into a shy, white-toothed smile. She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“We’ll be okay, you know,” he assured her.



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