Free A Heart of Fire by Kerri M. Patterson Page B

limb away. "I do not know,"
she said. "I shall ask my father when I return to him."
    "You
mean your uncle," Valdrik corrected.
    She
paused. "Nay, my father ."
    "Either
way, the man you left this eve has lied to you your entire life, so why would
he tell you the truth now?"
    Finna
did not answer him, and Valdrik said no more, much to her relief. Eventually
the paths became visible and familiar in twilight. Twisted branches wove a
gnarled canopy above where the first shades of dawn washed away the stars in
the sky.
    They
continued in a similar way for hours until Valdrik reined in the beast carrying
them and they stopped in a clearing where soft grasses grew on the bank of a
small stream. She recognized the area well, had perhaps stopped there before.
    "What
are we doing?" Finna asked, looking around them.
    "Stopping
for respite and food before we continue on. Are you not hungry?" he asked.
    She
was, actually. She had not eaten the evening before, too upset to do so.
Actually, she had not eaten since the night Hadarr's men attacked them.
"Aye," she said.
    "We
will not reach your father's lands until noon tomorrow." Valdrik
dismounted behind her and then reached up, planting his hands solidly around
her waist. "We must rest here and make camp later, elsewhere. Far enough
ahead your uncle cannot catch us."
    Very
awkwardly, Finna allowed him to pull her from the horse, as she had no other
choice. Her body grazed his on her descent, and she was glad when she was on
her feet once more, his hands no longer on her. He took the large animal by the
reins to the stream to drink.
    "He
will come for me," Finna said, watching her captor.
    He
was tall, this Viking, and strong. She wouldn't deny he was a strikingly
handsome brute in a very rugged way. Scars and all.
    His
dark brown hair spilled down around his shoulders, the color matching his short
beard. He wore no braids or clasps in his beard as some men did.
    "Are
you so sure?" He did not turn to face her, instead bent to cup water in
his hands from the stream and drank.
    "No
matter what you think, he is my father, and he loves me." Finna's brow
furrowed, as she wondered why her words faltered.
    Valdrik
stood, shaking the water from his hands and drying them on his leggings as he
turned to her, a mocking lift to the corner of his mouth as he approached her.
"You must have made him very angry when you retuned without the loot of my
village. Did you tell him the truth? Did you tell him that you were attacked
before you even made way across the fjord?"
    Though
triumph surged from him, Valdrik reached up and smoothed his thumb over the
bruise at the corner of her mouth, and then gently, almost as soft as the touch
of a feather, he ran the pad of his finger over the split in her swollen,
bottom lip. A spark of pity showed in his eyes.
    Finna
did not care for his touch or pity and jerked her head away. "Of course I
told him the truth! I am no liar."
    Valdrik
circled around her. Suddenly, she felt herself propelled forward, and she
stumbled as he pushed her again toward a tree at the bank.
    She
looked back at him. "What are you about?" she demanded.
    "I
must secure you from running away whilst I find food."
    Finna
gave him a scathing look. "It is not enough that you have bound my hands?
I could help you hunt."
    He
outright laughed at her. "You must surely think me a fool." He pushed
her back flush against the tree, one hand to her middle, his fingers hot, and
his touch seeped into her through her vest. Finna turned her head, watching him
as he wrapped the length of a rope around her and the trunk twice and then tied
the ends on the other side where she could not reach.
    When
he stood before her again, Valdrik leaned on the tree, his body almost pressing
into hers. Almost. So close was he, she could feel heat radiating off him. His
icy-blue eyes roamed down her, and she could swear he was the most lustful man
she had ever encountered.
    She
narrowed her gaze on him. "You shall pay for this,