Allete was quiet as we walked back to her chambers. I had heard her laughter throughout the day as I stood guard at the door to her father and mother’s chambers. There were a few times that I caught the king and queen’s guards attempting to hide their own smiles when they heard her laughter as well. It took all of my control not to pull my sword on them and claim her like some barbaric warlord and demand that they cover their ears, as if I was the only one who had a right to enjoy the sound of her joy. So many times, I had been tempted to open the door just so I could see her. I wanted to see the light that shone in her eyes. I could imagine how the light intensified when she found something humorous. I wanted to listen to her voice as she spoke. I wanted to be at her side, where I belonged.
“Did you have an enjoyable time with your family?” I asked when we reached her door. My voice seemed to startle her from her thoughts as she blinked several times and then looked up at me.
“Forgive me, Torben, my mind is a bit of a mess.”
I leaned around her and grasped the handle of her door. As I pushed it open, she backed up to keep me from bumping into her. I glanced over my shoulder at Brant. “Give me fifteen minutes. If I’m not out by then, come in and get me.”
“Do I look like I want to die?” he balked. “I’m not ready to challenge you for the position of hersir just yet.”
I thought about what I’d just asked him to do and then nodded. “You’re right. I’d kill you. Fine, send Dayna in if I’m not out.”
He grinned. “That I can do. Any excuse to talk to her.”
When the door was finally closed and the rest of the world was nowhere in sight, I shed the pretense that she was simply my charge. With that door closed, we were now back on equal ground. She was my mate, my bride, and I was her warrior. I took her in my arms and chuckled at the breathless squeak that rushed out of her. It didn’t last long because my lips covered hers before anything else could come out.
I needed to hold her. I needed to taste her. I just needed her. Being so close to her and unable to touch her had been torture. Watching Cathal touch her, as if he had a right to her, had nearly driven me to kill. And then knowing he’d hurt her and there was nothing I could do about it made me want to destroy him, raise him from the dead, and destroy him all over again. There would be no honorable death for Cathal. There would be no quick passing from this world into the next. When he died—and he would by my sword—it would be slow and agonizing.
“Are you all right?” Allete asked breathlessly as she pulled back. She cupped my face in her small hands and tilted it until she could look directly in my eyes. “Where did you go? You were with me, kissing me and wanting me, and then you were gone.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against hers. This new ability between us was going to take some getting used to. “I’m sorry,” I said as I sighed and rubbed my hand down her back. “I was just thinking about what happened at breakfast.”
She pressed her finger to my lips to stop me. “He is not welcome in this space,” Allete whispered. “Not in thoughts or words. In here, it is just you and me.”
When she stepped back from me and smiled, it felt as though everything that was wrong in my spirit was suddenly right again.
“Just you and me,” I repeated.
She nodded. “And I think you’re down to about ten minutes before Dayna comes bursting into our bubble.”
I undid the belt that held my sword to my side. Her eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wishing your sister would show up early?” I asked, my voice dropping an octave as I saw the rise and fall of her chest quicken.
“Of course not,” she said as she glanced down to straighten her already straight dress.
“First rule of battle, princess, don’t take your eyes off your opponent,” I said as I lunged for her and tackled her onto the bed. Her laughter filled the room and the rightness of it settled into my soul. For the next ten minutes, my world consisted of Allete and nothing else.
“I didn’t realize we were in a battle, Viking,” she said and halfheartedly attempted to get away.
“I have a feeling you and I are going to have lots of battles, love. But I’m okay with that.”
She frowned. “Why would you be okay with us fighting?”
My grin widened. “Because every battle we have will end with an equally passionate reconciliation.”
“And what if we are at an impasse?”
“Then it will be a passionate impasse.”
She laughed again and tapped me on the end of my nose. “You, sir, are incorrigible.”
I shrugged. “Maybe.” I kissed her cheeks, her nose, her chin, and finally her lips. Her skin was soft under my fingertips as I ran them down her neck and the shiver that rushed through her body told me she was equally affected by me as I was by her.
“Who would have thought that a mighty Viking warrior could be so gentle?” Allete said softly as she sighed and pressed her cheek to my palm.
“For you, I can be anything.”
By the time I stepped back into the castle corridor and shut Allete’s door behind me, much longer than fifteen minutes had passed.
“What happened to sending in Dayna?” I asked Brant.
He shrugged. “You needed time with her.”
“And what if someone had come along and asked where I was, namely, Cathal?”
Brant shrugged again. “I had a plan.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “What exactly did that plan involve?”
“Let’s just say a wild boar, some rope, and expertly placed cuts were all included.”
I rubbed a hand down my face and leaned back against the door. “Leave it to you to have a wild boar as your accomplice.”
“I have a rule. Always be able to murder your murder accomplice.”
“Remind me to never assist you with murder.”
He chuckled. “I’ve already picked out my partner if the boar doesn’t come through, and she’ll be even tastier.”
I frowned at him. “That is not even funny. That’s her sister.” I pointed behind me. “And eating … and … just—”
“Oh, come one, it is a little funny.”
His stupid chuckling caused me to chuckle right alongside him. “Okay, fine, if I don’t think of her as the sister to the woman I love, then yes, it’s a little funny.”
“If you have the same policy, we both know the boar wouldn’t be your first choice, either.”
That earned him a fist to the gut, which he took in good humor.
Brant held up his hands in retreat. “All right, all right. I won’t go talking about you and your female’s dining habits.”
“If you weren’t the best warrior I knew, I’d tell Dayna I saw you flirting with a linen maid.” I paused for effect. “While she was making a bed.”
Brant’s faced wiped clean of the smile. “Don’t even jest like that. You know what she said she’d do if she heard I was flirting.”
I nodded. “Aye, I did. Now I finally have some leverage to keep you in line.”
He grumbled, but his grin was fast to return.