Pleasurable Punishment

"Woman, bring me some mead!" Erik called to Bera as he headed for his bench by the fire. Dusk had fallen and most of the people in Erik's household had already gathered in the longhouse for the evening.

His gaze riveted to his wife who stood working at a weaving loom. Just looking at her stirred a hunger inside him that had nothing to do with food. He loved the beauty of her long, black hair and the look of challenge in her eyes, visible even from across the room. Her healthy curves, in particular her full backside, made his hands ache to touch her.

It had been a long, hard day. He'd awakened before dawn to train with his men, then had gone hunting and overseen the repairs on his ships. Now he wanted nothing more than to sit back with strong mead, good food and Bera on his lap.

"Bera," Erik repeated, settling onto the bench. With a little grunt of discomfort, he rolled his left shoulder. He'd twisted it while hauling lumber that afternoon. Tonight in the bed closet, he'd ask Bera to rub it. A grin tugged at his mouth. He'd ask her to rub other parts of him too. The woman's hands did wonders in many ways.

He glanced up as she strode toward him with a mug in her hand, a faint smile on her lips and a gleam in her eyes that he knew meant trouble. What was she up to?

"My love." She nodded in greeting and emptied the contents of the mug over his head.

Erik leapt up, sputtering and wiping mead from his eyes. "Are you mad, woman?"

"You demanded mead, did you not?" she quipped.

His chest expanded in a furious breath. Then his rage turned to desire at the heated look in her eyes. His teeth gritted, but he grinned at the same time.

"You wicked little fox," he said, reaching for her, but she slipped from his grasp, lifted her dress and ran for the door.

Erik tore after her, kicking aside a chair that was in his way. Unfortunately one of his men, Cnut, was still seated in it and he toppled onto his backside. The bowl of stew he'd been eating landed on his head.