“How is your wife and baby?” she asked him, breaking his gaze on Alric.

  He set it on hers, surprised, confused. “They are well. I have a son.” He almost smiled.

  “Congratulations!” What did one say in the eleventh century? “Huzzah? Anyway,” she said when he didn’t react. “I felt really sick.” She gave Genevra, who was, by now, doting over Alric, a repentant look for causing her any concern fixed on his young face.

  “Ivar said he would take me out and stationed another man at the door. But he grabbed me and struck me when I screamed out for Wolf. He tore my clothes and was trying to rape me, but I smashed my heel into his foot. He fell back into young’s Alric’s blade.”

  Odger hovered over Alric with an amused look on his face. “He fell onto your sword, eh?”

  “Aye,” Alric answered, sounding unmoved and unafraid. “After I stabbed him in the back when he was humping the chief’s woman.”

  Odger narrowed his eyes on him. He knew Wolf was going to ask what happened. He wouldn’t be angry with Alric. “Hmm, you may go then. Do not let me see your—”

  “He saved my life, Odger,” Camelee interrupted softly. “Or do you think Ivar would have left me alive to tell Wolf what he’d done?”

  “You know Wolf cares for her,” Genevra added with a bit more boldness. “He will thank this young man.”

  Odger shrugged his wide shoulders and chuckled. “Unless he is angry with the boy for taking his kill.”

  “Taking his kill?” Camelee asked, filled with indignation and disgust. She shook her head and held up her hands. “First of all, what was he supposed to do? Worry about Wolf or save me? Ridiculous. Second, you men really are barbarians.”

  “Yes,” he told her as she stormed past him and headed for the keep. “I know.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Wolf looked down at the body abandoned in the field. He recognized one of his soldiers. Ivar. Stabbed in the back with a blade discarded beside him. The body was a day old. What about the rest of the keep? Had they been attacked again? His horse was too slow with him and his brother on it so he ran back. Camelee!

  He almost collapsed in relief when he reached the keep and the Danes were still holding it.

  “Where is your horse, m’ lord?”

  “He will be along. When my brother and the rest of the men get here, tell them to eat and drink. I will see them after.”

  He didn’t wait around for the stable hand to reply but hurried toward the queen’s side of the castle where Camelee was. He saw Odger at his post and reached him with a nod.

  “Chief,” Odger stopped him when he put his hand to the door. “I would have a word with you.”

  “What? Has she been harmed?”

  When Odger didn’t answer fast enough, Wolf pushed him out of the way and burst into the room. It took him a moment to find her in the four-room chamber. She was standing by the window. When she heard him enter, she ran to him and stopped short just when she reached him.

  He bent over her to run the backs of his knuckles over her temple. “What is this from?”

  “Ivar struck me,” she told him quietly. He exhaled like some dragon getting ready to breathe fire. “Wolf—” she grabbed his cloak. “Odger has a son. He left me in Ivar’s care for one hour to see to his wife. Don’t you dare punish him.”

  He didn’t promise anything but knelt in front of her. “I will not leave you again.”

  “Did you find your brother?”

  “Yes. He is alive. The Saxons were not far from the border. That is why I have returned so quickly.”

  She smiled and reached up to the side of her face.

  “I saw Ivar’s body,” he ground out, wanting to touch her again. “Who killed him?”

  She motioned over his shoulder. He turned and saw young Alric. “You?”

  A thread of fear passed over Alric’s features but he stood strong against Wolf’s scrutiny. “Aye. He had torn her clothes and struck her and—”

  Wolf, stood to his feet and held up his palm to stop him from speaking further “I am in your debt, Alric.”

  The boy’s eyes opened wider. He finally smiled and looked at his feet.

  They heard Hild running before they saw her. She ran from another room and when she spotted Wolf, she squealed with happiness.

  “Uf!” she exclaimed and held up her arms for him to pick her up.

  Like an obedient servant, he did as he was told.

  “Lee came back!”

  He gave Camelee a surprised look, but her gaze was on Hild, along with a tender smile. Were things better between them? It seemed so. He was glad.

  “I must go see the king and tell him I have returned, and my journey was successful. Will you wait for me?”

  When both Camelee and Hild said yes, he thought about who he’d been asking. He thought Hild, but now he wasn’t sure. “I will keep Odger outside and Alric with you inside for one more hour and then I will return.”

  Alric straightened his shoulders and nodded.

  Wolf handed Hild over to Camelee and stared in the latter’s eyes. He wanted to kiss her, to take hold of her and kiss…no, she was hurt. He would kiss her softly and…no, he was too afraid of hurting her, or maybe she would reject him. What if she was angry with all men for what happened? He knew he would be, were he a woman.

  But her smile heated on him. She did not seem angry. Did she want to kiss him?

  He had to leave. He grinned at her. “It is good to be back.”

  She veiled her gaze beneath her lush lashes, making him want to—he had to leave.

  He raced out and after asking half a dozen people where the king was, ran to the small chapel to meet with him.

  He slipped onto the wood bench near Cnut and waited respectfully, silently praying words of his own with the Lord.

  “It is good to have you back, Ulf,” the king finally said. “Did you find Fin?”

  “Yes. He has likely gone to clean up before seeing you.”

  “Oh? Did you leave him?”

  Wolf wanted to close his eyes and groan. “Yes.”

  “To come to me?”

  “Yes…and—” he cleared his throat and explained about seeing Ivar dead just beyond the wall and how he got that way. “I wanted to see that my servants were well. One of them was attacked.”

  “Yes, I know.” Cnut leaned in and whispered close to his ear. “The queen would skin me alive if she heard me say anything other than, yes, I understand your haste to see to her.”

  Wolf didn’t know whether to laugh or pity the king for giving her so much power.

  “Especially when it comes to your Camelee,” the king continued. “Emma is quite fond of her.”

  “That is good news, Sire,” Wolf said with a slight smile.

  “Do you believe in Him, Ulf? The One?”

  Wolf looked at the crucifix on the altar. “I do, Sire.”

  “I have much to answer for.”

  “As do I, my lord.”

  They were quiet for a few moments and then the king dismissed him.

  “Go. Go to her.”

  Wolf did not have to be told twice. He rose, turned, and left. Eventually, he would have to tell Cnut that he wanted to leave. He was allowed to if he chose. But not today. Today, he wanted to be with Camelee.

  He found his brother on the way to Camelee’s new chambers. When he reached her door, he dismissed Odger and told him to go to his family.

  Wolf stepped inside with his brother and found Camelee and the others in the front room. Alric had not left them and sat with her, with her and Hild in the small chairs across from them, before the hearth. When she saw him, Camelee stood. A flash of blue lit his eyes.

  “Chief, Fin, you’ve looked better, but it’s good to see you alive.”

  Wolf gave her a slight smile and Fin thanked her and looked around. “I would not be if my brother had not arrived in time to save me.”

  She turned her smile on Wolf.

  “Where did you get the dress?” Wolf asked, delighting in the sight of her.

  “The queen gave it to me. Do you like it, or do I look ridiculous?”

  The pale vivid blue against her skin and hair made her radiate light. The gold braided cloth hanging low around her waist accentuated just about every sensuous curve she possessed. She no longer looked like she didn’t belong here. “The sight of you thrills my weary heart.”

  Alric gave him an incredulous look. But it was Fin’s reaction that made him cringe and close his eyes.

  “Well Miss Pendrey,” Fin drawled, scanning her face and her bruised temple. “What trouble have you stirred up this time?”

  Wolf expected her to bite his brother’s head off. Why did Fin have to be such an arse?

  She stared at Fin for a moment and then folded her hands in her skirt and softened her gaze. “We had to kill one of the soldiers here. Ivar was his name.”

  Fin’s face grew dark beneath his furrowed brow. “We saw his dead body. Why?”

  “He tried to rape me, tore my clothes, and struck me.” She pointed to her bruise.

  He ground his jaw and looked at her temple more thoroughly, all humor gone from him. “Who killed him? Brother, he must be raised in rank.”

  “Young Alric here killed him when he came upon Ivar forcing himself on her.”

  Fin turned to Alric. “It is good to see you returned to us.” He turned to Camelee again. His gaze burned on her. “This is my fault. If I had not left—”

  “You left to find me, didn’t you?” she stopped him.

  “Yes.”

  “This is not your fault. I don’t blame you.”

  “Nor do I, Brother,” Wolf said, stepping forward.

  Fin nodded and looked relieved, but when he saw Genevra entering from the next room, he smiled the widest.

  “Fin! Look at you!” she sounded horrified and hurried to him. “Oh, my dear, what did they do to you? Do you have a room? Come. Let us go to it and I will tend to you. Come!”

  Fin offered his brother a helpless smile that Wolf had never seen in his life and watched Fin leave the chambers. Alric and Hild went with them.

  Alone, Wolf offered Camelee a seat and then sat beside her. He couldn’t breathe. Could she tell? He wished she saw him on the battlefield so she could know that he was strong and courageous and cunning. He was not ruled by concerns.

  But here with her, he was a heap of nerves. “Camelee, I—ehm—”

  She stretched across her chair and stroked her hand down his cheek. “It’s good to have you back.”

  Staring into her eyes, he took hold of her hand on his cheek and covered it with his.

  “I was not pleased about being away.” His lips roved over her palm and then her wrist while he spoke. “And now you see why. I will not leave you again.”

  She leaned in. He let her. When she pressed her lips to his, he breathed. It took no time for him to respond. He curled his fingers around her nape and cupped her face with his other hand.

  He consumed her in his arms, feeling as if she had been born to be there. He wanted more of her, but he wouldn’t force her. He would do the good thing and make her his wife, but until then, he had to find a way to resist her.

  “I cannot mislead you,” he told her, withdrawing a little. “I must admit that I do not want you to leave. I cannot imagine how difficult being here must be for you, but I will do everything I can to make the change easier if you will stay.”

  She shook her head, breaking his heart, smashing his hopes. “I don’t belong here, Wolf.”

  “Very well,” he said after a short pause and held up his hands in surrender. “I will trouble you no more.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

  “It means I accept the life you choose.”

  “I’m not sure when you thought there was any other choice, but okay. Good.”

  “Yes. It is good,” he agreed sourly and began to rise. “Now I can get on with my day.”

  Her hand landing softy on his stopped him. “You couldn’t before?”

  He scoffed, but not at her. He disgusted himself for how he felt when she told him every chance she got that she did not belong here and wanted to go home. He hated himself for letting it hurt him.

  “Though I sleep, my thoughts do not,” he confessed, angling his head to look at her. “I am weary. I, too, want to go home.”

  He moved away, taking his hand with him. “I am going to sleep for a bit in a warm bed. The ground is hard and cold beneath a body.”

  She nodded but said nothing as he went to the bedchamber, much bigger than the one in the room near the kitchen.

  Finally, he was behaving wisely and not allowing her any further entry. Why would she touch his hand again? To beguile him, of course. But to what end?

  He went to a door that adjoined a second bedroom. He knew these chambers, since Cnut entered this keep, Wolf and Fin and the men helped build these extra quarters in the queen’s section.

  This bedroom was smaller than the one where Camelee and Genevra slept with Hild. But the bed was just as soft. He shut the door behind him and lay down on the feather mattress, especially made for all the beds in the royal guest quarters. He groaned sinking into the softness, and then swore an oath when he smelled her on the bed. She had to have known that when he returned he would sleep here. Why had she slept in this bed? The one she shared with Hild and Genevra wasn’t big enough?

  He heard her enter the room and ground his jaw. He needed to be away from her.

  “Did you think of me when you slept in my bed?” he asked to rile her up and get her to storm out.

  “No,” she answered, closing the door behind her. “I slept in it because I was thinking of you.”

  He opened his eyes and watched her come toward him like a dream coming to life. She sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I’m sorry for adding to all those thoughts in your head, Wolf. I don’t want to be apart from you either. I want…I want you to come with me if I get the chance to return.”

  “To your future?” he asked, eyeing her mouth and the beguiling shape of her lips.

  “Yes. Would you? Would you come with me?”

  He suspected there would be times like this when he would agree to anything she wanted. But going so far ahead would be as foreign to him as being here was to her. “I do not know, Camelee.” He would not lie to her. “I know only that everything I thought was so important is being changed into the silhouette of a woman and a child. I understand your desire to go home. I want to hold you, and comfort you…because I believe your fantastical story. Or at least, that you believe it. I do not know how to find a way to the future, and I imagine that must be heart-shattering for you. I—” He stopped talking and closed his eyes as she leaned down to kiss him.

  She tasted like desire, pleasure, apprehension.

  He caressed her glorious face, where she bared her heart to him if he looked hard enough.

  Wanting her closer, he slid his hands down her back and dragged her in and down onto the bed with him.

  “Wolf?” she whispered, withdrawing from their kiss and facing him inches away. “I’m afraid.”

  “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe—and if it is not enough, I will myself hurl you through time if it will save you.”

  She smiled. “I would prefer you not to hurl me anywhere.”

  “Whatever you wish,” he promised, then grimaced at what he was helpless to stop.

  She pushed forward and kissed him again, sweeping her tongue inside his mouth with curious, sensuous strokes.

  He fought hard to control his desire to lay her down and set himself atop her. He thought of the king and his own vows to God. Unless she agreed to be his wife, becoming one flesh was not permitted.

  “What are you doing to me, Woman?” he moaned and raked his teeth over her chin.

  “I didn’t know I was doing anything to you at all,” she leaned up on one elbow and rested on his chest. “Describe it and I’ll tell you if it’s love or a disease.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. “You are doing it this moment.”

  She kissed his chin. “What?”

  “Rendering me weak, like Samson after Delilah cut off his hair.”

  “Do your braids give you power?” she teased, pulling on one.

  “My power cannot stand against you alone, Camelee. I need God to help me, but I cannot bring myself to ask Him.”

  She ran her fingertips over his lips. “Your words are like beautiful music to my tired ears. I’ll continue to entice you to follow me into the future.”

  He kissed her fingers and smiled against them. “I will enjoy the temptation.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, and it sounded like a purr. “You will.”

  The door burst open and Hild hurried to the bed. Genevra followed close on her heels, flustered and repentant.

  “Uf!” the child cried out and stood at the edge of the bed.

  “Greetings, Hild,” said Wolf cheerfully.

  “Lee sweep with me, not you,” Hild claimed as possessively as any Viking.

  “Lee is not going to sleep,” Wolf explained. “We were playing.” He tickled Camelee’s side. She reacted at once, laughing and slapping his hand away.

  Hild leaped into the bed and shoved her fingers into his belly like five little blades. He laughed nonetheless, sat up, and showed the four-year-old girl how it was done.

  But it was Camelee’s touch that caused Hild to break out in laughter and ticklish giggles.

  “It surprises me,” he told Camelee while she sat on the bed with Hild close by.

  “What does?”

  “How you deny wanting to be a mother, and yet you are winning over an honest little girl.”

  “Just because I win her over doesn’t mean I want that title,” she let him know. “It seems very important to you and is therefore yet another obstacle between us.”

  “Obstacles do not frighten me, Camelee,” he assured her.

  From where they were about leave the room, Genevra tossed Alric a knowing smile.