Page 118 of The Caged Viking

He shook his head. “You will not trap me by pulling on my cock.” When she said nothing and didn’t even flinch, although she wanted to, he said, “Aren’t you going to threaten to leave again if I don’t do as you wish?”

She did flinch then and lowered her arms, pulling the bed fur up to cover her breasts. She was embarrassed now. “Is that what you think? Is that how I acted all the time…as if you had to toe the line, my line, or I would threaten to leave? As if you always had to be on tenterhooks?”

“You make me sound pitysome.”

“No, it makes me sound like a self-centered bitch.”

He shifted from foot to foot. She wasn’t sure if he was going to leave, and to hell with her. Or if he was going to give her…no, them…another chance.

“I love you, Hauk.”

“Cherry lip gloss and love! You do not play fair.” More shifting from foot to foot.

She shrugged. “All’s fair in love and war,” she quipped, and didn’t even care that it was a cliché. “I brought you a Christmas gift.”

“Is it cherry-flavored?” He didn’t shift from foot to foot this time, but he did glance at the door, as if contemplating how quickly he could exit, gracefully.

“No, it’s not cherry-flavored. Actually, the gift is from both me and my father.”

A gleam of interest showed in his eyes. God bless the Viking man’s curiosity! Why else would they have gone a-Viking and adventuring to new lands that frightened off most people of that…rather, this time period. “Hand me my cloak,” she said.

He took it off the hook on the wall behind him and arched his brows at its continued weight. “What do you have in here? Stones?”

“No, but your gift is contributing to a lot of its heaviness.”

“Is it a sword? A solid gold belt? A crown?”

The fact that he was joking…at least, she thought he was joking…gave her hope.

He laid the cloak over her lap and raised his brows at her clumsy attempt to keep the bed fur over her breasts. “You owe me at least the pleasure of your nakedness.”

“And the pleasure of seeing my discomfort?” she added.

“True.” He sat on a stool beside the bed. “Well?” he said, waving a hand toward the cloak.

She opened the garment and took out two large Ziplock bags, one from each side, which had been needed to balance the weight. There were six mini bottles or splits of Blue Dragon wines, reds and whites, each protected with bubble wrap. “These are samples of the types of wine made at Blue Dragon vineyard,” she told him. “They’re much smaller than regular bottles, of course. They’re only intended for promotions or travel venues, like airplanes or hotel rooms.” He had to be amazed at the very idea of bottles of glass holding a beverage, least of all her bringing them back to him or the sound of those other strange things she mentioned, like airplanes and hotels.

The wines had such names as Dragon Spit, Dragon Tail, Dragon Flame and Dragon Breath. She recited the names of each of them as she unwrapped them.

“That one seems appropriate,” he said when she got to Dragon Lust.

She handed the bottle to him, but then had to show him how to open the screw-top lid. Over and over, he opened the lid and closed the lid, more fascinated by that modern invention than the glass bottle itself. Glass had of course been invented ages ago, but he wouldn’t have ever seen anything so small or perfectly proportioned for holding a liquid. “Amazing!” he said and was ready to try the content.

“Just sip,” she advised. “Maybe hold it in your mouth for a few seconds to get the full flavor before swallowing.”

He did and then made an expression of pleasure at the taste before handing it back to her. She took a tiny sip as well, being careful to hold the bed fur up under her arm pits.

“Dragon Lust is a cabernet sauvignon. A dry red wine. Often served with red meats. Very popular.”

She replaced the cap and opened Dragon Breath. “This is my favorite. A light white wine. Pino grigio. Goes great with fish or cheese, or just for drinking.”

He sipped and said, “Good, but I prefer the first one.”

“Do you want to try more?”

“Yea, but are you going to clutch that bed fur like a chastity belt the whole time?”

“I am if you’re going to remain fully clothed,” she responded as she opened another red, Dragon Flame, and handed it to him. “By the way, I have another present for you. A tattoo.”