Free Tribute for the Viking (reluctant gay erotica) by Calandra Hunter Page A

guessed that one or two were probably close to
seven feet. They looked vicious, glaring at nearby guards and huffing into
their beards whenever one dared to get too close. With their broad chests and
thick arms and legs, they could probably beat the guards without much effort.
    Eadwulf did his best to stand up
straight and not reveal how terrified he was. He reminded himself of how happy
Aelfred would be with his bride, how the farm would provide them with a better
harvest soon and how his parents would be cared for.
    The leader, the tallest of them all,
strode forward. With his dark hair tied back and his short beard he was the
most imposing of them all. His eyes searched the room until they landed on
Harold, who was cowering next to his guards.
    “Where is the gold?” the Viking asked.
His accent was thick, and Eadwulf had to strain to understand it.
    Harold took a few hesitant steps
forward. “We are very, very sorry, your Lordship, but the recent harvests have
failed and we were barely able to provide for our own people. Many starved to
death.”
    Eadwulf rolled his eyes at that. The
only reason people had starved was because the ealdorman had demanded his usual
large share of the food. If he had rationed fairly, more people would be alive
today.
    “Where is the gold?” the Viking asked,
clearly not impressed with Harold’s explanation.
    “Ah, well, we know you value hardworking
men and women, so we thought that instead of gold, we would offer you...
slaves.” Harold smiled nervously. “They are excellent farmers, your Lordship.”
    “I am no Lord.” The Viking turned away
from Harold without giving him a second glance, then strode towards the row of
villagers. He started at the other end of the line, glaring down at every one,
occasionally grabbing someone’s arms or legs, inspecting them like cattle.
    Eadwulf’s nerves were fraught by the
time the Viking got to him. He towered over Eadwulf, who barely even reached
the man’s shoulders. Eadwulf averted his gaze, letting his blond curls fall
over his eyes and focused on the stitching on the Viking’s tunic instead.
Whoever had made that tunic had done a fine job, he noticed absentmindedly.
    Suddenly, his chin was held in a firm
grip, and his face was turned upwards, forcing him to look the Viking in the
face. Eadwulf gulped as his blue eyes met the Viking’s stormy grey ones. Rough
fingers slid across his cheeks, and the Viking frowned.
    “He has no hair. Is this little one
still a boy?” he asked, looking at Harold.
    Eadwulf felt his face turn red as some
of the nearby guards and even the girl next to him quietly laughed. All right,
so he wasn’t the tallest here and he didn’t exactly have a beard as impressive
as the Vikings, but that didn’t make him a boy. “I’m a man,” he snapped.
    When the Viking’s gaze went back to his,
Eadwulf regretted speaking and bit his lip. “We shall find out.”
    The Viking let go of him, and Eadwulf
let out a sigh of relief, immediately looking at the floor when the Viking kept
looking at him.
    “We will take them all,” the Viking
declared, walking back to the ealdorman. “But next time we will take your gold,
whether you offer it or not.”
    “Thank you, your Lordship, thank you,
next time we will prepare a proper tribute,” Harold babbled, bowing his head
repeatedly.
    The Viking, already bored by the
ealdormen, turned to his five men and told them something in a harsh language
Eadwulf couldn’t understand. He assumed it was an order to take them away, as
the five Vikings all came for them, easily grabbing two villagers each and
tying their hands with rope.
    A second rope was tied around his neck,
so tight it nearly choked him. The Viking who took Eadwulf glared at him. “You
fight, you die,” he told Eadwulf, tugging on the leash with a grin.
    Eadwulf wasn’t entirely surprised that
the Viking’s limited vocabulary contained the words ‘fight’ and ‘die’.
    ~*~
    There was nothing, Bjarni