Hmm.

It appeared this was either home sweet home or where we were stopping for some rest.

And it appeared that The Dragon was no gentleman and was not going to assist his new bride from her awesome sleigh.

And it also appeared that the next few minutes were going to be crucial. I had to be alert, be smart and handle them right. I had no idea what was going on and I had no idea how to handle that frightening man but somehow I was going to have to find out the first and do the second.

My body ached, my hands hurt, my cheeks were numb from the cold, I could eat my way through an entire buffet and then I could sleep for a week but I still got up, found the latch, opened the door to my sleigh, stepped down into the snow and followed my groom into the house.

He was standing in the middle of it, hands on hips, feet planted wide, staring at me looking fierce and impatient like I’d made him wait for an hour while I tried on a variety of shoes to see which matched my outfit rather than made him wait what was likely around two minutes, if that.

I took as much of the dwelling in as I could in a quick, rounded glance and I saw a kitchen at the back, over it I saw I was right, a low-ceiling loft with short railing that you got to using a ladder. The roof was at a slant, opening wide at the front room where there was no loft. A big room at the front. Stone fireplace on either side. Another fireplace I could see in the loft. And a closed door to a space beside the kitchen.

And everything was filthy, absolutely. There was what looked like a hundred years of dust and even cobwebs all over it (not that I could imagine spiders existing in this climate but clearly they did at some point). There was furniture covered by graying sheets. Windows so covered in grime you could barely see through them. And there were heavy curtains having caught so much dust, it had actually started dripping.

Eek!

The Dragon suddenly spoke and I jumped, my gaze swinging to him.

“The stable is stocked for your horses. The larder for you. Logs, fuel and supplies out back. More logs in the shed. You should be provided for.”

I blinked at him in confusion at his words as he stalked to a counter that jutted out, separating the kitchen-type area from the living room type area. Then he dropped a leather pouch on it, it made a loud, thumping jangle and he turned, walking toward the door while speaking.

“Coin for you to use in Houllebec for necessities.”

I blinked again and turned my body to keep facing him as he moved then he stopped at the door and turned to me.

“When I decide it’s time, I shall find a woman who looks somewhat like you, if that is possible, and sire a child on her. We will present this child to your father as his heir.”

Uh… what?

“What?” I whispered and his hard face got harder at my quiet, one word question.

“I’ll not thrust my c**k between the legs of a woman who prefers a woman’s mouth there, Sjofn.”

Uh… what?

“What?” I breathed this time, knowing my eyes had grown wide.

He jerked his chin. “You were drunk and may not remember our discussion but I bloody well do.”

Oh God. Oh shit. Oh God.

Now I knew why Sjofn played me.

She was a lesbian and wanted nothing to do with a man who was more man than any man maybe on two worlds!

Oh shit! Oh God! Oh shit!

“Uh –” I started not having that first clue what to say.

“Maybe,” he cut me off, “as further recompense for this ridiculous, bloody, gods damned farce your father talked me into and, for some gods damned reason, I agreed to, I’ll watch you at play with a woman.”

Oh God! Oh Shit! OhGodohshitohGod!

He went on. “The gods know, a trunk of Sjofn ice diamonds and a trunk of gold is not worth being saddled with the bloody likes of you as wife for a lifetime. I might as well get what I can out of it and watching a woman take you would be…” his eyes swept me before he finished, “interesting.”

OhshitohGodohshit.

“Uh –” I mumbled.

He cut me off again saying, “I’ll be back in a month,” I blinked as my body locked in shock at his words and he walked out the door, starting to close it behind him then he stopped and his eyes locked on mine, “maybe two.”

Then he was gone.

I stared at the door unseeing. Then, slowly, I looked around the filthy house which was only slightly less cold than the outside and nowhere near as grand as the place I’d started this adventure.

Then it hit me he said he’d be back in a month… or two.

He was leaving me here.

Leaving me here!

I came unstuck with a jolt and ran to the door.

Throwing it open I saw my sleigh, my horses and no Dragon.

I glared into the brightening sky.

Then I shouted at the top of my lungs, “God damn it!”

My horses danced slightly in agitation.

I stood in the cold, glaring at the thick but beautifully frosted forest all around thinking I had not handled that situation, or him, very well.

Then I stomped back into the house.

* * * * *

I was cold, exhausted and hungry but I was also Seoafin Wilde and I’d been in some serious pickles in my life and I’d always managed to survive.

It must be said, sharks crashing a sea dive and elephants stampeding were a lot more serious than a dirty house in the middle of a frozen nowhere. And Claudia hadn’t even mentioned that time the natives got seriously restless.

So I was Seoafin Wilde and nothing ever got me down.

The good news was, I was a lesbian and therefore my husband wanted nothing to do with me.

The bad news was, I was a lesbian and my husband thought he could watch me “at play” with a woman.

The good news was, he was gone, apparently for awhile, so I had time to figure out what to do about that.

The bad news was, I was in the middle of a frost-filled forest. I was cold, exhausted and hungry and I had four horses as well as myself to take care of.

So, since I really had no choice, I took care of the lot of us.

Prioritizing, I had to get changed. Many people wouldn’t think this was priority but, seriously, that dress rocked and it wouldn’t do for it to get dusty or torn.

So I went out to the sleigh, told my horses I’d get them warm and fed as soon as possible, they whinnied like they knew what I was talking about and I unhooked the silken ropes that held down the also silk tarp and threw it aside.

Eight huge trunks were in the back of the sleigh, four smaller ones.

I started with the smaller ones because I could carry them, lugging them in one by one and opening them. Quick glances told me there was nothing I could use in the present. So out I went to pull off the first trunk which was so huge and heavy, I had to drag it down off the sleigh, it thudded against the snow, then I dragged it into the house.