Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Erik had told the men earlier that she was to marry him. He had said Rolf wanted to stay on in France as the future Duke of Normandy, that he had sent Erik and Cherine off to be married, to start a family back in the home country. The men understood, perhaps because they thought Rolf always had a soft spot for Erik. If only they knew how hard that spot had turned.
But Erik chose to spend his days at sea, thinking of Cherine instead of Rolf. Whenever he saw the betrayal in his old friend’s eyes, he’d look to Cherine’s glittering green ones. Whenever he thought about Rolf possibly being alive and crippled, he thought about Cherine and how he’d saved her from nothing short of torture and rape. And when he thought about the life he was turning his back on, he thought about the life he was quickly approaching.
And so, with that, he proposed to Cherine.
They had been at sea for three weeks. It was a cloudless night, and the sliver of the moon was high in the sky. The only sounds were the rhythmic oars in their holdings and the splash of water as the ship glided through. He stepped down into the cargo hold, which was only about four feet deep, and found Cherine awake, lying uncomfortably atop a pile of blankets, wedged in between crates.
“How are you feeling, fair maiden?” he asked gently, crouching beside her.
“Better,” she said. She reached up and stroked the scar on his face. He hated the fact that Rolf had marred him so, and he could tell it wasn’t healing nicely. Still, it was healing, and she seemed to stare at him in awe, as if he was just as handsome as before. That was all that mattered. If she stared at him like a woman in love, then that was all he needed in the world.
“What is it?” she asked, peering at him inquisitively. She sat up and leaned in closer. “You seem nervous.”
He bit his lip and tried to stifle a laugh. “Do I?”
She nodded and ran her finger over his lips. He closed his eyes at the touch.
“I’ve been on this ship with you for three weeks now. I can read you like a book.”
He cupped her face and leaned in close, his nose rubbing silkily against hers. “Then tell me: what am I about to ask of you?”
Her breath hitched, and her lips grazed his as she found the strength to speak, “I don’t dare say it, in the event that it might not be true.”
His eyes searched hers, seeing the longing in them. He whispered, “I can’t offer you a ring worthy of your beauty, and I can’t give you a wedding worthy of your soul, but I can ask you to spend the rest of your life with me and hope that’s enough to be worthy of your love.”
For a second, he thought that maybe she hadn’t heard him. She looked stunned, her mouth dropping open a few inches as a small gasp escaped from her lips.
Then, she burst into the biggest grin he’d ever seen and threw her arms around him, squeezing him to her.
“Is that a yes?” he said with a laugh, unable to keep from smiling himself.
“Yes,” she cried out into his neck. “Yes, of course, yes.”
“I mean it, Cherine,” he said gently, stroking her hair. “We’re both starting over when we get to Norway. I want our new lives to start together and end together. I love you.”
“And I you,” she whispered. She placed a gentle kiss on his mouth that slowly melted away into something more. The mere stroke of her tongue against his caused the pressure to build in his groin. It had been far too long since they’d been intimate; there had always been prying eyes and lack of privacy. And even though he knew the crew could hear them speaking, could see his head poking out of the cargo hold, it was too much for him to bear. He needed her and needed her now.
He pulled his mouth away from hers and trailed it over to her ear. “Sit up and turn around. On your knees. Part your legs.”
Her eyes sparkled, and she immediately placed her hand to his stiff cock, squeezing it with delight. “You don’t mind if everyone knows what we’re doing?”
He grinned slyly, making the turning motion with his hands. “The woman I love just agreed to marry me. I don’t care what they hear.”
She bit her lip seductively, feeling his thickness for a few meaty seconds before turning around on her knees so she was looking out of the cargo hold. Thankfully, she was facing the front of the ship and not the rowing crew. As much of an exhibitionist as they’d become, this was intimate to him, and he didn’t want the crew to see anything more than the back of their heads. The days of sharing Cherine were over.