Chapter Eighteen

Ulfhild didn't understand the sudden feelings that swirled around her at the huge warrior's tender touch. He infuriated her, but looking into his ice blue eyes now all she could think about was falling into his arms and seeking the comfort she somehow knew she would find there. It was some kind of spell he was casting over her, she was sure of it. But the man was obviously no witch. He despised them. Didn't he?

His simple pronouncement to protect her should have made her bristle. Ulfhild had worked tirelessly to make sure she needed no one's protection but her own. She was a shieldmaiden, a warrior through and through, despite her father's wishes. Instead of irritation, however, all she felt was thankfulness and the need to be pulled tight into the protection of his arms. The scent of the forest and something wholly masculine surrounded her. Her body felt pulled toward his like a magnet and she reached up to cover his hand on her cheek with his own.

She had just let her eyelids drop