Astrid hurried her steps, while Vevina couldn't wait to get to her bedchamber, she also didn't wish to leave her wife's arms. She felt safe and comfortable cradled in Astrid's embrace and could remain there indefinitely, and the thought troubled her.
Vevina sighed when they entered the room, knowing her time in Astrid's arms was done and yearning to be alone so she could make sense of her yearnings.
Surprisingly, and to her relief, Astrid kept hold of her and sat in the chair near the hearth with her cradled in her lap.
"What bothers you?" she asked softly.
Vevina shook her head, not trusting words for she feared she would blurt out how she was feeling.
"Are you in pain?"
She couldn't look at Astrid. She kept her face buried against her shirt and was about to shake her head again when she realized she had to convince Astrid that she was ill. Vevina might not want to lie to her, but the truth would cause too much pain for them both. And she needed time to sort through her feelings before she let anyone even suspect that she was beginning to care deeply for her wife.
Vevina pressed at her stomach.
Astrid's hand followed, easing hers aside, and she gently rubbed where she assumed the source of her discomfort resided. "I would take your pain if I could."
Astrid startled her, this woman who earlier had claimed she would do anything to get revenge, who argued viciously with her twin brother, and who now was willing to suffer so she did not. Just when she thought she was beginning to understand the warrior woman, she was confused again.
"I would not let you have it," Vevina replied softly. Astrid kissed her forehead.
"You would have no say in the matter."
"It is my pain," Vevina insisted and cringed with guilt.
"Rest," Astrid argued, and slipped her hand beneath her waistband to stroke Vevina's stomach. It didn't take long for her innards to tingle, her heart to pound, and her flesh to heat. Vevina moved against Astrid's hand with a moan.
"You grow worse," Astrid noticed.
Vevina bit at her bottom lip, fearing she would spill the truth, not knowing what to do, and not wanting to leave Astrid's arms. She almost groaned with relief when Elaine burst into the room.
"What is wrong?" she asked, hurrying over to them.
"Her stomach," Astrid informed her mother with a concerned look on her face.
"Put her on the bed," Elain ordered. Vevina saw the reluctance in Astrid's face as if she didn't want to let her go, and she felt the same.
Elaine placed a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I will take good care of her, dear."
It was as if Astrid emerged from a stupor. She shook her head then quickly changed it to a nod, stood, and carried Vevina to the bed, slowly placing her down. Vevina clung to her neck until she realized she had to led her wife go and Astrid had to let her go, but their fingers touched and neither one would break the bond.
"Go," Elaine urged, giving her daughter a gentle nudge. Vevina frowned when her wife broke contact with her, but Astrid immediately returned to her side, taking her hand in his.
"She needs me here, mother. I will stay."
Though Vevina wanted her to remain close, she knew it wasn't a wise choice.
"Please, go, Astrid," Vevina said, "It is your mother I need now, not you."
"Listen to her," Elaine said, her nudge turning to gentle shove.
"I will wait outside the door..." Astrid said again, halting response from both women with an upheld hand. "That is the way it will be."
"As you wish," her mother said. "Now go so I may look after Vevina."
"I will be right outside," she reminded her gaze on Vevina's face, her fingers pointing to the door.
Vevina smiled that she cared enough to stay close to her. "Thank you, Astrid."
"Nonsense," she said. "I am your wife."
She then turned and walked out of the room.
"A wife that is unexpectedly falling in love," Elaine said once she was gone.
"What did you just say?" Vevina asked the older woman, having heard her but not believing it.
"Let me help you out of your clothes and into your night shift," Elaine said, fussing after her. "I've already ordered a brew prepared that will soothe your stomach pains." She paused a moment then added.
"No, please tell me what you mean by that," Vevina pleaded.
"Well, it seems that my daughter is falling in love with you."
Vevina was shocked to hear that. She shook her head. "That is not true."
"Of course, she doesn't realize it yet, but I know my daughter. Once she got to know you she couldn't help fall in love with you."
Vevina shook her head again. Or had she ever stopped?
"Deny it if you must, but you will realize it yourself soon enough, as well as your own growing feelings."
She stopped shaking her head then.
Elaine laughed. "I knew it. I could see it in the way you look at my daughter. You are uncertain, of course, for it is so new to you, but in time you will learn to accept it."
Vevina groaned.
"I better see what's keeping that brew," Elaine said and headed to the door.
It was better that her mother-in-law assumed that an ailing stomach had caused the groan and did not know that it was due to her motherly remark. It might confirm her own feelings, but to think that her wife could possibly be feeling the same way unnerved her, and yet excited her.
"Help your wife into her night shift while I see about that brew, her stomach worsens," Vevina heard Elaine tell her daughter, and she nearly bolted off the bed.
What was she to do? She lay half naked, and at the thought, her face reddened and she quickly wrapped her arms over her breast.
"I need no help changing my clothes," she said as Astrid entered the room and approached the bed after closing the door.
A grin spread slowly across Astrid's face. "You are making what you try to hide more appealing."
Vevina looked down and near groaned, though caught herself. She didn't want Astrid to think her stomach had worsened but then Astrid had her bulging breasts to focus on since the way she hugged them made them appear larger than they were.
Astrid hunched down beside the bed and placed her hand on her arm. "I would be a sorry excuse for a person if I ravaged an ailing woman."
"I know that, it is just that I..."
"Have never been naked in front of a woman?"
Vevina's eyes turned narrow and her face red, "Never."
"What, truly? Even a woman?" Astrid asked, and she shook her head. "Well then, that is good to hear."
Astrid smiled, relieved even.
"Now let me help you into your night shift before you catch a cold," she said again. Vevina sputtered in an attempt to respond. Astrid laughed softly. "Need I remind you that I am your wife?"
Vevina tightened her arms around her breasts even more. "Not yet, you are not."
Astrid cocked her head to the side. Her arched elegant brow raised. Then she leaned in close and whispered in Vevina's ear. "Do you want me to remedy that right now?"
Vevina couldn't fathom how embarrassed she looked at that moment, but she recalled her earlier tactics, though instead of grabbing her stomach, she cringed.
"Please, I need the brew your mother promised would soothe my ache."
Astrid immediately stood, her face flooded with concern again. "Stay as you are, I will be back."
As soon as Astrid left the room, she hurried to change into her night shift and slip beneath the covers with a sigh, feeling protected.
Astrid entered the room with her mother close on her heels and shook her head when she saw her.
"You should have waited. I would have helped you," she said, assisting her to sit up and stuffing pillows behind her back.
"I was chilled," she said, pleased that it wasn't completely a lie. Her skin had chilled from lack of clothes and she'd felt herself shiver.
"I'll stoke the fire then," Astrid said, tucking the covers up around her waist.
Elaine handed her a tankard of steaming broth while Astrid went to tend the hearth.
"This will soothe the ache," Elaine assured her. If the broth was meant to soothe, it certainly couldn't hurt her stomach, so she sipped it without worry.
"It will make her sleep," Elaine whispered to her daughter when she stood beside her, though not low enough that Vevina didn't hear.
"I will stay with her," Astrid said.
"You should go and do what you must. I will remain with her."
Vevina watched them as a mist settled around her, turning to fog, and their voices seemed far off in the distance.
"But I should stay, mother," Astrid said. "There is no pressing matter that needs my attention more than her."
Vevina's foggy mind made it difficult for her to follow the conversation.
"Some women fall in love with their spouses after they are wed," Elaine's voice said.
"We are wed and that will not change. Isn't it better that I at least care for the person I did not choose?" Astrid argued.
"It would be nicely so," her mother sounded, pleased.
"Let it be, mother, this is between me and Vevina."
"No, daughter dear, it isn't. You will lead this clan one day and it would be better for you if you had someone who love and support you by your side."
"You want for me what you and father share," Astrid said.
"Yes, Astrid," her mother said. "I want love for you both."