Chapter 34: River's not the only thing that's wet

Ragnar raised his arms in the air, in mock surrender, "I'm washing. What else would I be doing in the river?"

Erika used her free hand to splash a large wave of water on Ragnar in frustration, "This side is for the females! And you know this. The male's side is after the bend in the river." She stormed up close to Ragnar, their heat just inches apart, yet Erika remained furious as ever.

Ragnar wiped the water off his face as he looked into those blood-red eyes, searching her furious gaze for a hint of desire, and he'd found it. Rather than responding and trying to dig himself further into a hole, he took another route out of this situation.

"Something called me to this end of the river, Erika. Finan and I were play fighting, and it led us to this side." He turned to show Erika the cheekily grinning Finan, who nodded to confirm his story.

With Erika momentarily appeased, the warrior raised his hand to trace the shield maiden's neckline, his cool touch littering her skin with goosebumps. "Now, I think I know why." He said as he looked back into Erika's eyes. The fury had turned half into desire, half resistance.

Ragnar made the first move to progress things, slowly closing the distance, prodding to see how Erika would respond. The small back and forth simulated a fencing match as the two briefly dueled before Ragnar claimed her lips.

Erika's lean and vibrant body melted against his muscular frame as the two passionately made out.

Finan ducked with his eyes wide as he sat back down, still at the edge of the river, trying to blend in as much as possible while grinning like a child that had struck gold.

Ragnar ignored the young kid as he cupped Erika's perky breasts, tugging at them in appreciation as he trailed kisses down her neck, nipping her and making his mark wherever he felt.

Erika moaned under the intense heat of Ragnar's powerful body, yet for a moment, her eyes cleared up as she ended the entire session abruptly, gripping Ragnar by his shaft, "I should rip this off and end you, for my father." She whispered menacingly.

The warrior growled, having reacted instantly to the threat, constraining Erika in a chokehold, "If you so much as continue with that line of thought, then I'll snap your neck like the twig it is, mark my words, shieldmaiden."

Erika's face became red as the strength of the choke got stronger, yet she refused to let go of Ragnar's shaft. The defiance written on her eyes, as emotion struggled to break out, "I should kill you." She whispered softly.

Ragnar came close while he held her by the neck, "Then do it. End me and fend for yourself." as he whispered in her ear.

Her gaze wavered as she stared into the confident and unrelenting emerald eye's of Ragnar before finally letting go, a sense of defeat in her face as she lost all her previous vigor, "I will forever hate you, Ragnar Sigvald. Both you and your family." She replied as her vacant amber eyes stared down at the water.

The warrior sighed as he thought to himself. What a life! On the one hand, he had beautiful Viking women surrounding him, yet both were crazy.

Ragnar chuckled as he gazed at the wild woman before him. The water slid down her angelic face, dripping off her chin as it hit her voluptuous chest. Her enticing figure with toned muscles from sword work complimented her ethereal figure to new heights.

The warrior blinked to break his gaze, "Then that hatred will serve me well. I will find a way to make you use this rage, Erika. For good, of course, and in time it will fade, your memories of your previous life will fade, and I will still be here." A sad expression broke across Ragnar's face as he thought of all the men he'd lost in combat, the memories of their lives slowly fading.

The silence stretched as Erika gazed at the dangerous man before him with a confused expression. She slowly traced his face, cupping one side of it. "How does such a young man like you have so much pain?"

Ragnar painfully smiled as he pushed Erika's hands down. "I've led a long life, young woman."

Erika looked at the 19-year-old man and somehow didn't feel like he was lying, yet before she could continue her line of questioning, she felt the wind rush against her ears.

Ragnar tossed the woman like a ragdoll into the water, some 15 feet away, as he chuckled.

"Damn women, angry at you in one moment and then make you think they care the next." He muttered under his breath.

He turned to Finan, "Hope you got a good view of game, young lad. If you use guile and wit on a woman, they'll be yours. Just make sure you stay away from the crazy ones like that woman there. It's like my father once said, you never stick your dick in crazy… unless you can handle it." Ragnar said as he smacked his knee with a cackle.

Erika burst out of the water, silver hair drenched as it stuck to her muscular back, furious at Ragnar, "I fucking heard that you sleazy gutter-spit!"

Ragnar looked at Finan with a raised eyebrow, who giggled in return as he, too, stripped and entered the water.

"Alright, Erika, you can fuck off now. Eve's got the better body anyway." Ragnar grinned at Finan as the two went over to the male's side of the river.

The loud shrieks of anger and frustration behind them caused Finan to giggle uncontrollably. "I love the way you handle women. It's hilarious."

Ragnar smirked as he ruffled the kid's hair, "Well, don't worry about them right now. You don't want young women when you're 21. You want them when you're 31. So, don't booze with all these youngsters. Instead, focus on improving your sword training, getting fit and understanding literature. Then when you're older and mature, you'll be the ideal candidate for all these women looking to settle down with someone who's got their things in place. As Viking, we benefit from selecting our women, play to your advantage and know that life truly starts for men later on in life.

Finan nodded with his eyes wide, lapping everything up like a youngster scribbling notes furiously as his master taught him the way of life.

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