Free Desire's Fury (Viking's Fury Book 2) by Violetta Rand Page B

resting.”
    “I’ve called for a day of rest,” he said. “My father’s memory will be honored.”
    “Yes.” So much had happened over the last two days, she’d nearly forgotten the solemn occasion. “My deepest sympathies are with you and your family.”
    “I believe you mean it.” He tilted her chin upward. “As I believe you want me.”
    She closed her eyes and took a calming breath. “I will never forget our night together, Jarl Roald. You changed me for the better.”
    “Aye? In what way?”
    “I do not wish to bore you with details of my life.”
    He fingered a strand of her hair. “Nothing about you is ordinary, Eva. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”
    She scanned the corridor, worried someone might catch them together. “Do you often stand naked in the middle of the passageway?”
    He chuckled. “Tis my home. I can strut across the practice field naked if I wish.”
    She rolled her eyes, the extent of his arrogance almost as shocking as his erection. “Here.” She offered him the coverlet she’d been wearing. “Wrap this about your hips.”
    He did as she asked. “Do you feel better now?”
    “I find it much easier to converse with you.”
    He laughed again. “As lovely as you are,” he said. “Your fertile mind is what I favor most, Eva. No woman has ever made me laugh more than you.”
    “I am pleased you’ve found a use for me.”
    He gripped her arms then, pulling her in for a kiss. His soft lips lingered on hers, sending a chill up her spine. “Come.” He escorted her back to his chamber.
    “Now tell me how I’ve changed you.”
    She sat on the edge of the mattress, too short for her feet to reach the floor. “A noaidi must dream in order to be recognized. We must commune with the spirits and gods through our visions. Tis how we grow in strength. But until this morn, I’d never had a dream.”
    Roald stood in front of a brazier, warming his hands. “It seems I must avowal for both your chastity and talent to your mother.”
    “Chasity?” Eva nearly choked. “I’m afraid that is long gone, sir.”
    “Yes,” he said, turning to look at her. “But the bloodstain on my sheet proves you were a virgin.”
    “My mother must never know of our union.”
    He nodded. “What did you see in your vision?”
    “A golden sky and shore. Three sets of footprints in the sand, but I couldn’t make out who walked along the beach. I searched endlessly for a sign of life. Not even a gull screeched in the sky. But I could smell the salt air. As I walked, I found a piece of driftwood. I touched it, but it burned my fingers. So I withdrew, curious about the source of heat. Then, before my eyes, the driftwood cracked in half and a man and woman emerged—both young and beautiful. They didn’t look at me or see me. But I could hear their thoughts.”
    “And what were they thinking, Eva?”
    She folded her hands on her lap, still confused by her dream. “Not words exactly,” she said. “But the purest of feelings. Love. Pride. Strength. Power.”
    “Aye,” was all he responded with.
    She’d hoped for more, that Jarl Roald would help her interpret the vision, or that he’d help put her mind at ease. For the couple looked nothing like her people. They were perfect in every way, and if she didn’t know better, she’d dare say gods.
    “I want you stay with me, Eva.” He faced her again, his countenance more serious than before.
    “Here?”
    “Yes, Eva. Here. Where else?”
    “B-but I can’t, sir. I won’t.”
    “Why?” He came to her and knelt on the floor between her knees. “I understand you miss your family. But beyond that, what awaits you in those mountains? A brother who wants to force you into a marriage you don’t want? Sick animals? From your own account, you weren’t living the life you wanted.”
    “No,” she admitted. “But respect must be earned. I must justify the right to be appointed the next noaidi .”
    “And if you don’t?”
    “Then