Her nipple reacted instantly and against her wishes. Stryker laughed huskily when it poked his palm and then he circled the small protrusion with his finger. “Your bubbies remember me fondly, Elsie. Look at this one,” he exhaled an admiring whistle, “begging for a good sucking.” She pushed his hand away and moved onward, into the mouth of the cave, leaving him behind. Her feelings for Stryker were scattered, just as they were about the Norman. Their neighbor was not a bad man, despite his occasional bouts of temper and a habit of sulking when he didn’t get his own way. Stryker could not have expected her father to give her away over a game of dice, anymore than she had. It was a shock to them both after so many years of friendship and Elsinora was confused, unsure where her loyalties now lay. Stryker was a part of her youth, a known quantity, predictable, even reassuring. He did not change while everything else around her was transforming. Giving up on him and taking the Norman’s side would seem like a betrayal.
