Page 49 of My Fair Viking

When viewing a creamy thigh.

So when he gets a kiss,

It is in sheer bliss.

And when the sword finds its sheath,

What a heavenly relief!

So, who is the more intelligent being?

The man who wallows in virtuous self-pity?

Or the man who sheds his odious chastity?"

"The reason I think you need our expert advice is because you are making no progress with the Lady Tyra," Tykir resumed, as if Bolthor had not just spouted one of his horrendous poems. Adam suspected that Tykir had been the brunt of so many of Bolthor's sagas, they no longer fazed him.

Rafn raised a forefinger to get their attention. "Do not forget the kiss. Right here in the great hall, he kissed the lady. On the lips."

"Are you drukkinn?" Tykir asked Rafn.

"Probably," Rafn answered. "Are you?"

"Probably."

"That was not really a kiss," Adam protested. " 'Twas just a fleeting little brush of the lips. It does not count as a real kiss, to my mind."

"Aaah, but you are forgetting the other kiss," Rashid put in.

"The other kiss?" Tykir, Rafn, and Bolthor asked.

"Yea, Alrek told me all about it. 'Twould seem that they indulged in more intense kissing on the well bench, and they were in a horizontal position, if you get my meaning."

Adam wished they would all stop talking over him as if he were not there.

"But kissing, nephew? Is that as far as you've progressed? Tsk-tsk! You seem to have lost your knack, my boy."

"Actually, I wrote a saga once about a Viking man who had lost his knack. I misremember which Norseman it was about. Oh, now I recall," Bolthor mused, then looked directly at Tykir.

Now it was Tykir's turn to squirm in his seat.

"What makes you all think that I want to seduce Tyra?" Adam said. "I am not in the market for a wife."

"Who said anything about a wedding?" Tykir scoffed. " 'Tis a bedding, not a wedding we refer to. And, good Norseman that I am, well, I am always willing to share my secrets."

"Rashid, grab your parchment and a quill. Let us make a list," Rafn suggested.

SEDUCTION PLAN FOR ADAM

1) Hot Looks

2) Compliments

3) Jealousy

4) Touch Her Often in Passing

5) Erotic Conversation