He kissed her, tracing the skin of her back. ‘There is no life for me, without you.’ He hugged her close, and she slid her hands down his back, over the curve of his hip, until she reached the scars on the backs of his knees.
He opened his eyes and stared at her while she traced them. ‘I am also grateful that you did not kill Feann. And that you made a truce between you.’
‘I did it for your sake,’ he admitted. ‘You are like a true-born daughter to him. He would do anything to protect you. And that is something I understand.’
She brought her hands back to twine around his neck. ‘Will you be happy with me at Clonagh? Or do you wish we would return to Maerr?’
‘I want to visit Maerr,’ he confessed. ‘But that kingdom does not belong to me. It is my brother’s, if he can reclaim it once more.’ He kissed her mouth, and against her lips, he murmured, ‘There was a time when I would never have considered staying here. Éireann is not my home.’
‘But you belong with me,’ she answered.
He leaned in to kiss her. ‘You will be my queen, and I will guard you. Whatever we may face, we face it together.’
‘Do you want to be a king one day?’
He shook his head. ‘Only if there comes a time when the people ask it of me. Until then, I will be your protector.’
‘And my husband,’ she added. ‘Perhaps one day, you will become a father.’
His expression softened, and she realised that he did want that as much as she. ‘I will do my best to make you happy, søtnos. In whatever life the gods grant us, with any children we may have.’ With a wicked smile, he caressed her sensitive breast once more. ‘It may take some time before that happens. We will have to keep trying.’
She laughed and embraced him hard. Never had she imagined it was possible to feel so much happiness or love for a man. With Alarr, she became whole and beloved, and her eyes filled up with tears of joy.
‘I love you,’ she whispered, welcoming him into her arms. And as the afternoon drifted into twilight, he did indeed try again.
And there was only the sweetest pleasure of knowing that she would awaken in this man’s arms for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
Rurik stared out over the dark-grey waves as the village of Glannoventa slowly came into view. The fierce wind rippling the sails of the ship assured him that he would reach it by nightfall. Boats bobbed in the sea along its coast. Further up, a fortress sat back on a hillside, the sinking sun turning the stones shades of orange and red. No doubt Wilfrid sat inside those walls, drinking ale and deceiving himself into thinking that he was safe. The man had no idea that vengeance was coming for him before the night was out.
Rurik did not seek revenge for Sigurd’s sake—he had his own reasons. He despised his father for what he had done to Saorla. Sigurd had made promises to her that he had broken, and the past could not be healed of its scars. But Rurik intended to seek his own justice for his mother’s sake and his brothers. After speaking to his uncle Feann and the others, piecing together what had happened on the day his father was murdered, Rurik had concluded that Wilfrid was the one responsible for the slaughter—and he would pay the price.
He glanced behind him towards the shores of Éireann that had long since disappeared. Alarr had found his own peace with his new bride and would stay there and guard Clonagh. As for the kingdom of Maerr, they both knew it was not theirs. Now that it was ruled by his uncle Thorfinn, no one knew if Brandt would try to reclaim it. Their oldest brother had gone cold with rage, isolating himself from everyone. Sandulf and Danr had their own demons to battle.
This battle was his.
When Rurik looked back at the approaching village, the setting sun had slid from behind a cloud, casting a glimmer on the sea that reminded him of blood. A fitting prophecy of what was to come.
No one would attack Maerr without retribution—he and his brothers had sworn it. Justice was coming for Wilfrid and anyone who stood in Rurik’s way.
Whilst you’re waiting for the next book
in the Sons of Sigurd miniseries,
why not check out the
Warriors of the Night miniseries
by Michelle Willingham
Forbidden Night with the Warrior
Forbidden Night with the Highlander
Forbidden Night with the Prince
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Tempting of the Governess by Julia Justiss.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Your romantic escape to the past.
Be seduced by the grandeur, drama and sumptuous detail of romances set in long-ago eras!
6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
The Tempting of the Governess
by Julia Justiss
Chapter One
‘I am very sorry, Miss Overton, but you have no more money.’
Numb with shock, Olivia Overton walked slowly back down the stairs from the solicitor’s office, his unexpected and horrifying news still echoing in her ears.
Reaching the pavement, she hesitated. The prospect of returning home to Upper Brook Street brought back all the unhappy memories of two weeks earlier, when she’d come in to discover her mama expired upon the drawing-room sofa.
Adding in the unpalatable fact that the home she’d occupied for more than twelve years now belonged to someone else and she knew she couldn’t bring herself to cross that threshold again just yet.
She’d go visit Sara Standish and reveal her drastically changed circumstances to her best friend, the one person in London who would understand her shock, pain and distress.
Thinking with gallows humour that she’d better enjoy the luxury of travelling by hackney before her few remaining funds ran out, she walked down the street and found a jarvey to convey her to Hanover Square.
A short
