Maddox chopped wood while I kept my head down and gathered herbs along the banks of a woodland stream. Working side by side felt natural and benign, but my body still rang with my frustration and his harsh words.
The times I’d laid with a village man, I’d enjoy myself. There were the usual whispered promises and fervent pledges, but they hadn’t meant anything beyond the heat of the moment.
My instincts told me these Berserkers would tie me to them, one way or another, and worse, I would forever long to be in their thrall.
Just watching Maddox wield his ax, tattoos snaking over mighty shoulders, cleaving a great oak with a force that sent wood chips flying, made me warm all over. If I dared think on last night, I would remember how my body felt like I’d waited my whole life for their tou
