Free Ragnar the Murderer by Lily Byrne

muscles to her while she giggled, then picked her up and ran into deeper waters, the swishing and clopping of the water disturbing the lake bed and mud whirling up around his legs.
    She looked around, expecting to be centre of attention in the arms of the most handsome man in the group, standing in the middle of the lake. But when she met the eyes of the other men, they shyly glanced away.
    “ Will you wash my hair?” asked Bjarni. “It’s itchy.”
    “ You only washed it last Saturday,” she laughed.
    “ Exactly! A whole week ago, it’s disgusting.” He swashed  over to the bank and sat down, scratching his scalp.
    The lake lay in open, flat land surrounded by marsh. Unknown to the Danes, a huge block of ice from the last ice age had melted to form the kettle hole, where the lake now lay. When the Danes had found it, they’d been overjoyed and relieved to find a place to bathe and socialise.
    Small streams flowing into and out of the lake kept the water clear. It had been affectionately named Lauga Fen, the bath bog.
    Saehild followed him. She took the handmade soap from his hand and began to rub it into his scalp. He groaned, loving the feeling. She had done this so often however, it wasn’t fun anymore and her eyes wandered. Groups of friends splashed around, couples kissed and washed each other. Steinar and Leofrun stood a pace apart as she tenderly washed his scarred face. Sounds of laughter and talking filled the air.
    “ I’m a bit cold,” she complained, unaccustomed to her top half being open to the air.
    “ When you’ve finished my hair, I’ll warm you up,” chuckled her husband.
    She smiled, but gazed around again. So many muscly naked men around, water running down their chests, backs, buttocks, but all avoided her eyes. She knew why. They didn’t want to risk offending Bjarni and being killed for disrespecting his wife. But she preferred the days before marriage, when all men eyed her with interest and she had been kissed more times than she could count. It seemed having an elite warrior husband limited her life, not expanded it.
    Twining her fingers in his golden hair, she began to feel a little aroused and noticed a couple away from the others, moving together in a familiar way. The man, his long blond hair drenched into dullness and hanging down his back, pressed the woman against the bank, one arm around her and one bracing himself against the edge, while the tops of knees peeped above the water line like breasts.
    Another couple seemed to be doing the same further away. Bjarni finished rinsing his hair and sat up, flicking it back. He noticed where she was looking.
    “ A good way to warm up.” He pushed her up against the nearest bank, not caring that his friends weren’t too far away. They were busy washing and arguing and making fun of each other anyway.
    He pushed inside her and she wrapped her legs round him, glad to get what she wanted. Something dug into her back from the bank.
    “ Hang on.” She felt behind herself and pushed the stone away.
    The water splashed round her, it made it more difficult to get aroused as it felt cold on her most intimate places. It didn’t seem to affect Bjarni though, nothing ever did. He could probably fuck her upside down in a snow storm and not be put off. She had liked that  about him at first, but… did she want a change now? A different man?
    Noticing one of the bathing Huskarlr watching them surreptitiously, she smiled at him. His jaw dropped, his hand wandered to his cock and he began stroking it. She put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it while the Huskarl’s stroking became more and more urgent. She threw her head back, exaggerating her arousal, her breasts bouncing against Bjarni’s chest.
    Her husband shuddered at the same time as the onlooker, who jerked forward a few times, then stopped. He grinned at Saehild, who grinned back, then he returned to his friends, who hadn’t noticed. He had light brown hair and a wiry, lean