When Tharn opened his eyes, a heavy headache soon made them close again. Once he was ready, he opened them again andhe recognized the cabin of his ship. Why were they on sea? His last memories were those from right after their victory. They had been ambushed. He remembered how his last memory had been golden hair before losing consciousness.
His body felt overly warm and painful but his hand felt nicely wrapped in something soft. As he dropped his eyes, he saw the golden-haired woman of his dreams holding his hand.
Adelheid.
Was it a dream? Was he already in Valhalla and she was here to welcome him?
As he tried to move his fingers, he realized it was no dream and she truly was right next to him, asleep on the side of his bed. The pain he felt long forgotten, Tharn felt some happiness and comfort take place in his heart. This woman was a healer of not only his wounds but also his mind and heart.
As he tried to reach for her, a burst of pain shot from his arm, and that's only when he realized he was hurt.
His shoulder was covered with a bandage, and he couldn't check on it because of that. His torso was also wrapped in fabric and his skin was covered with bruises from all color range from blue to black, not forgetting purple and green. He had been badly beaten.
He pulled the hand that was enclosed in Adelheid's and reached for her hair to pull it away from her face.
Caressing her cheek, he contemplated her. Her skin was whiter than usually which he didn't know was possible. Her long lashes projected a shadow on her cheekbones because of the candle that was lit next to them, which made her hair shine like gold. Her pink lips were slightly opened and she breathed slowly, a little frown between her brows. She was of a rare beauty that Tharn had never seen before. She enthralled him like no woman had before.
Her lashes fluttered and she realized Tharn was awoken, a hand on her cheek. Their eyes met. Adelheid let out a shaky breath, heavy with emotions. He was finally awake! It had been eight days since she had sewed him up and had changed his bandages and fed him as she could even if he was unconscious.
His eyes were finally opened, after days of asking him to do so while he remained deeply asleep, he was back, finally. He looked exhausted and his eyes were dropping, but at least, he was awake and alive, a light smile on his face.
"Adelheid." He managed to say in a raspier voice than usually, a bit broken but still.
The young woman put her own hand on his, still laid on her cheek. He worried she might take it away and reject him, but instead, she pushed it more against her skin and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his skin against hers. She had longed for it during the last two months.
Tharn's heart leaped in his chest at her gesture, and it broke a bit when a single tear escaped her eyes as she smiled.
She opened her glossy eyes and bent over him to gently touch his dried lips with hers in a delicate kiss. She was careful since she didn't want to hurt him.
Tharn felt like a young lad who kissed a girl for the first time. He suddenly wished he was a young lad again to be able to get his first kiss with her. The kiss was soft and gentle, a bit salty because of the few more tears which escaped Adelheid's eyes. Shortly after, she separated their lips but rested her forehead against him.
"I thought I would never see your eyes again." She whispered as she smiled softly, making his heart flutter with joy.
With his good arm, Tharn brought his hand in the nape of her neck and brought her head in the crook of his shoulder, holding her tightly.
"Impossible. I would have never let you find someone else my little goddess."
A flight of butterflies burst in Adelheid's heart. Even wounded, he managed to make her blush.
"I guess you are the one who healed me?" He asked as he looked down on his torso and shoulder.
Adelheid got out of his arm unwillingly but kept his hand enclosed between hers before she explained everything that had happened since their ship had been back. Tharn hang on each of her words, enjoying the sound of her after all this time apart. He was captivated by her beauty, by her mesmerizing green eyes when the door burst open and interrupted their conversation.
Hilda walked in, shortly followed by Regan who carried some things in a basket, muttering how Hilda would be the death of him.
When both of them saw the scene in front of them, Regan dropped his basket: never before had he seen his friend glare at him because he interrupted something between Tharn and a woman.
But he soon recovered from his shock and smiled, glad his friend and Jarl was alive and seemed alright.
Hilda helped Adelheid change all of Tharn's bandages and recommended that he would need at least one more week of rest to recover completely before she left them: his wounds were scarring quite well and if he didn't stir on them, they should be only scars in no time.
Adelheid then helped Tharn eat and drink lots of water since his throat felt so rough. When he was done, she was about to leave him to rest but Tharn asked her to stay and they talked for a long time about what had occurred in the village and what had happened to him in the battle and afterwards.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to handle my sword as well as I used to." He said as he rubbed his shoulder which ached a bit. "But I am glad little goddess: the men whom destroyed your village are dead. Your family is revenged, that's for sure. And no place will suffer from the hand of those scavengers anymore, rest assured of that."
Adelheid considered his words for a long time. Should she tell him that except for her nursemaid, she had no one she cared for at her former village? Should she tell her that her whole family, his father, was definitely alive and probably not looking for her at all?
She decided against it: she wanted to remain by his side from now on, whether he wanted her as a concubine or not. Because she loved him. This last week of nursing him had confirmed her doubts about that. She was so in love with him that she'd happily remain by his side, even as a mere servant, as long as she could help him.
Also, she had no desire to go back to her former country. If her father found her, he would marry her to the first nobleman with a title and enough money he's found and that would be it. She would go back to her life of a Lord's daughter then Lord's wife and never be able to help people as she had been able to do while living in the Clan.
She admired the man sitting on the bed, his long black hair which was completely disheveled and dirty, his dark eyes that made her insides twirl, his face marked by tiredness but also so handsome. Therefore, Adelheid only smiled at him and kept that secret hers.
Soon enough, some men brought a large bucket, which seemed to be a tub and filled it with warm water.
Even if she was embarrassed to see him naked, Adelheid helped Tharn get it and washed his hair and torso, being careful around his wounds.
Once they were done, she helped him get dressed back again and she put some balms on his wounds without adding bandages since no infection was possible anymore before he sat back on the bed, his back leaning on the wall behind as she took place on the side.
Now washed, he was even more handsome, his hair still slightly wet from the water but clean and untangled and his body smelling a really nice scent.
Adelheid reached for his hair which fell down on his shoulders to push it back. It was a very intimate gesture but she was so attracted to his hair which was usually left in a braid that she couldn't help herself from touching it.
As she played with a strand, he reached for her neck and brought her closer to him until their lips joined once more.
This kiss was fairly different from the one they had shared when he had woken up. Fast enough, it became deeper and more sensual. Feverish, Tharn wrapped his arms around Adelheid, ignoring the pain in his shoulder stirring him slightly. He was too enthralled in the kiss to really notice any pain anyway, appreciating the softness of her body against his hands. But he wanted more, he wanted to feel her body against his, not only against his hands.
Groaning as he couldn't feel her as much as he wanted, he brought her to him and made her straddle him so that their chests were flushed against each other.
Adelheid moved back a bit and their eyes crossed.
Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes shined a darker shade than normal.
She was magnificent. A real gift from the Gods.
Tharn locked his hand around her neck and appreciated the silkiness of her hair against it as he brought her throat to his mouth, leaving open mouthed kisses on it. He couldn't get enough of her. His second hand untied her dress and pushed her undershirt aside, and he couldn't contain a low growl as his fingers finally had her tender breast under them.
Unconsciously, her hips started to buck against his, as she was looking for something but had no idea what. She could feel how aroused he was, but that didn't frighten her.
He captured her mouth once more as she pressed herself against his bulge and he suddenly pushed her away to put some space in-between their bodies with a groan.
He held Adelheid from the tip on his fingers, admiring how her cheeks were flushed and her lips swollen, eyes glazing with lust. But he couldn't do that now. He couldn't just take her here and there. Not like that. Even if her breasts were on display and looked like they were begging for his attention.
She had clearly expressed her refusal of being his concubine before, whatever had happened afterwards, like his undoing before his departure, but taking her maidenhood would be a huge step. One he was not willing to take that way as nothing attached her to him.
"We should stop." He breathed out with difficulty, bringing her shirt back on top of her chest and adverting his gaze. "You are not my concubine."
Adelheid received those words like a blow in her stomach. He didn't want her.
How ironic. She was the one who didn't want to be his concubine before, and now that she offered herself to him willingly, he was the one to reject her.
She bent her head so that her hair covered her face since she felt so ashamed of his rejection and didn't want him to see her face.
She rose from his lap with trembling legs and hands as she was putting the strings of her dress tight again. She felt so embarrassed that her feelings were one-sided.
"Adelheid wait-"
She didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, afraid he would hurt her some more, and she took her shawl in a haste before she made a run out of this cabin.
Before she had time to close the door, Tharn had been able to clearly see her trembling lips and hurt face.
He didn't understand. She was the one who refused to be his concubine a few months before. Sure, they had shared a few passionate moments, but not enough to compromise her future: her maidenhood remained untouched to this day. For a few seconds he wondered if she had been with a man from the Clan within the two months, but he hastily pushed the thought away: Adelheid would never do that with anyone, he had no doubt about that.
And he had no doubt about something else: he didn't want to dishonor her in any way. If she became his concubine again it could work. But she had clearly expressed what she thought of concubines before. She saw that position as a great humiliation.
That left only one way for him to be with her: marry her.
Tharn sighed.
A Jarl should only marry a woman for political reasons. That's how things were. The elders of his Clan were currently trying to find someone fit for the position of Jarl's wife. They had been for the past year, and in complete truth, this thought only made Tharn gloomy. Most Jarls took a wife for those reasons and then had one or more concubines if they wanted to or if they were taken with a woman. His grandfather had been married to one woman he hated and had had two concubines. His official wife had borne him a daughter, who was Tharn's mother. She had had a painful childhood, being unloved by her father and having a mother who was no more than a ghost in the Clan despite her position. Those were many reasons why he didn't want to marry a random Jarl's daughter and be unhappy with her.
As he thought about Adelheid's hair cascading down her back as she worked in the nursing house, he realized that she was the only woman he had even been attracted to to the point of only wanting to be with her and no other.
If she'd agree to be with him, he would go against the elders and take her as his wife, however that would harm his position as a Jarl.
"Regan!" He shouted as he tried to get up, his wounds lightly hurting him.
His friend and second-hand man arrived quite fast, a curious look on his face as he had seen how tormented Adelheid looked as she had escaped the Jarl's cabin.
"Have a bark prepared." He said in a dark tone. "It'stime for me to go back on land."