The Captive - By Joanne Rock Page 0,36
his heel, and continued his relentless pace.
Gwendolyn fell behind all over again in the time it took her brain to catch up with his words. He wanted to dump her on his followers and leave her there alone with them? It stirred a sense of dark betrayal in her breast to know he would cast her aside so easily.
She hurried forward, scarcely daring to believe the arrogance of this man.
“You would set me aside after amusing yourself with me for less than a sennight?”
The noon sun shone fully upon them as they broke through the tree line and spied the sea.
“Would you rather suffer the fate of the last woman in my care?” He swung around to face her, but this time she was prepared.
The sensual pull was gone, burned away by anger and a hurt that she had allowed herself to care about him. She resented that she could already recognize the scent of him when he walked near.
“Do your vows mean so little to you, then?” She could see him so clearly in her mind’s eye, taking a blade to his own skin.
And by God, he had treated her tenderly when she had been fearful of coupling. Where was that man now, in the bright light of day?
He studied her for so long, his gaze scanning every inch of her face, that she wondered if he’d forgotten her question. Then he shook his head.
“All the world fears the Danes.” He stated it as indisputable fact, his place in the world as assured as the man himself. “Why not you?”
“You told me not to. Now I would know the truth. Will you forswear yourself with that vow you made to me?” Her heart beat rapidly, a hint of fear rising as she wondered at the fate of the woman in her grave. “Should I fear you, Wulf Geirsson?”
She would rather know the truth outright. She could always take her chances and run from him. A village must lurk closer than she’d realized for him to meet his men nearby. If she slipped away during the night, might she find a Saxon willing to help?
The stony set of his jaw did not ease her mind. He glared at her with his otherworldly blue eyes until she shifted on her feet.
“Nay.” The one word was as harsh as any he’d ever spoken, yet for some reason, she believed it.
The yearning of a wishful heart, perhaps? He’d shown her more tenderness than she’d thought possible between man and woman.
Whatever the reason for her hopefulness, she would hold on to that belief until she understood this dark incident in his past. He had treated her more fairly than her own husband, a fact which bartered him kindness from her now.
As she watched him stare out to sea, searching for his supporters, she thought about ways to uncover the truth. Lifting her chin into the wind, Gwendolyn sought the coastline for some sign of the Danes, unwilling to relinquish her adventure just yet.
WULF KEPT HIS GAZE TRAINED on the sea to stave off the cursed weakness he sensed in himself where Gwendolyn was concerned. He had treated her fairly and kept her safe. He’d worshipped her body as decadently as if she were his queen, revealing the answers to sensual mysteries that had eluded her until the previous night.
So he had no reason to regret his treatment of her now. He would install her safely with his followers and not think of the Wessex widow again. To do otherwise would merely distract him when he needed to give his full attention to the inevitable battle with Harold. Wulf’s destiny would wait for him no longer, and a Saxon noblewoman could play no role in his future. He’d given his heart away once, and the consequences had been more painful than any blow from an enemy blade. He would not get close enough to a woman to repeat the experience and he feared he already cared too much for this one.
He looked back from the view of the sea, needing to lay his eyes on her again before he gave her up. In profile, her face revealed the hints of her father’s foreign heritage. The straight nose and dark eyes reminded him of Arab traders he’d met, while her pale complexion and finely chiseled mouth must be the more delicate contributions from her mother.
Looking upon Gwendolyn, Wulf wondered what it would have been like to care for a woman who was unafraid to face obstacles