Vanquished by the Viking Read Free Page B

hers, engulfing her. His thirst for her grew as he imagined covering her body with his. Claiming her.
    It would be so easy here in this shelter, in a cove where they could steal a few hours without anyone knowing. Her vein jumped lightly beneath his fingers, her heartbeat fast as a rabbit’s.
    “Thank you,” she said, finally acknowledging him. “I am not sure your brother regrets his deed, but...thank you.”
    He released her, fearing that his offer of comfort would turn carnal if he was not careful. Instead, he reached for the wineskin to offer her refreshment.
    She accepted it and took a hesitant sip.
    “So you were on the parapet,” he prompted. “You must have witnessed atrocious things.”
    Not even hardened warriors were immune to the horrors committed on the battlefield.
    “Yes.” She gave a tight nod as she handed him back the wine. “But I also saw you fling aside the sword of a boy who had joined the battle. He’s a villager’s son and tall for his age, but he had just turned twelve summers.”
    “Aye.” Reinn recapped the drinking container and leaned into one of the stakes he’d just erected, trying to maintain some distance while his hungry eyes devoured her whole. “Something about his unshaven face,” he remembered. “I could not strike a blow.”
    “I saw none other show such mercy. I thought, if you would do thus for a boy, you might be loathe to hurt a woman.”
    Even then, she’d been calculating her next move. Reinn couldn’t help but admire her. Couldn’t help but envision what a strong mate she would be to the man fortunate enough to have her.
    “My brother is a blind oaf to lose you.”
    She let out a harsh laugh as she stroked an idle hand over the pelt on which she sat. “Lose what? A troublesome maid who can string a bow but cannot run a household? My father has no offers for my hand. He would tell you a blind oaf is the only man who would be willing to wed a woman such as me.”
    Was that bitterness in her voice?
    “Are you eager to be a wife?” A darker possibility taunted him. “Does your heart belong to another man?”
    Eva looked up quickly to search Reinn’s face, hearing the grim stiffness in his tone. His expression was remote. Cool. Was he bothered by the idea she might care for someone else?
    “I have never...” She searched for the right words. “That is, there is no other man for me. No one to come to my defense against this marriage to Gunnar.”
    Except you.
    She realized now that’s what she had hoped. She had not only chosen a man of mercy in Reinn. Had she deliberately picked the one male in their group who might successfully challenge their leader? She’d been privy to her father’s cagey politics for long enough that she certainly understood those nuances.
    Right now though, she didn’t look upon Reinn’s superior size and strength as mere added weapons. Nay. She could only envision herself wrapped in all that warm power. Her body remembered the feel of his from those moments on the beach when he had lifted her into his arms. The feel of a man—of this man—had been a revelation.
    “I’m glad to hear there is no one else.” Reinn’s gaze heated her skin wherever it rested. “But your father has lied to you if he says there have been no offers for your hand.”
    She frowned. “He would not.”
    “Even the most ill-tempered woman in the world is a valuable asset if she will inherit property. And you are far from unattractive. No doubt your father is plagued by ambitious men asking for you. He must simply prefer to have you with him.”
    Would her father have lied to her to make her feel unworthy? Of course. She felt a fool for not considering such deception long ago. Yet, why would her father want her under his roof when he had always thought so little of her?
    “It is just as well,” she said finally, confused about a relationship she had always assumed was very clear. “I have never been interested in...marriage.” She was about to