Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Calder held me tightly, his arms around me bear-like, strong and unyielding. I knew having him in my life, being his in every way possible, that this was as close to Valhalla as I would get on this planet.
* * *
Calder
I wrapped my arm around Greta’s waist and pulled her closer, nearly having her on top of my lap. Hell, I wanted her there, but we were in her family’s home, her mother insisting on cooking us a meal to celebrate Greta’s safe return. The village had wanted a grand feast, but tonight was intimate, just for us.
And I couldn’t deny it in admitting this was strange, the fact I was opening myself up and accepting that this was my new life. I’d been a loner for so long that I hadn’t ever allowed myself to experience what it was like to have a family. Not even when I was younger was I shown affection, shown that close-knit connection. Maybe that’s why I became the way I was, a warrior who walked the land, who was fierce because that’s the only thing I knew.
But not anymore.
I leaned down and ran my nose along the crown of Greta’s hair.
I have her now.
There were many things that needed to be planned, how our life would be shaped, changed after everything that had happened. Although I was a wanderer by nature, the truth was the very thought of leaving Greta was even more painful than anything I could’ve ever imagined. She was mine in every conceivable way, same as I was hers.
She was fierce and strong, a warrior in her own right. She’d fought and survived, and I knew that wherever she went, I would follow, to the ends of the earth if that’s where she took me.
She tipped her head back and looked at me, a small smile playing along her red lips. I leaned in and kissed her, not caring that her family could see, feeling their gaze on us. Greta was mine, and they knew it. There was no going back. I would protect and cherish her. I would make her happy, create a family with her.
She would be my wife, my other half.
How strange it was how fate worked, how the gods gave you something so precious when you didn’t deserve it. She pulled back and cupped my cheek, and I knew that she was the only person that would ever mean anything to me. She was the only one who would hold my heart ... one that had been dead, cold before she’d come along.
I placed my hand on her belly and leaned in, so my mouth was right next to her ear, my lips brushing the shell. I felt her shiver against me and grinned, knowing I affected her the same way she did me.
“You’ll be my wife, Greta.” She made a soft inhalation and I closed my eyes as pleasure shot through me. “You’ll be my everything. And soon I’m going to fill you with my seed and plant my child right here.” I added pressure to her belly and heard the soft sound that left her.
Possessiveness slammed into me, proprietary need. I wanted her big with my baby, wanted to watch her belly swell as our child grew inside of her. I’d never seen myself as a father, but with Greta I wanted a houseful.
I wanted it all.
And I knew we’d have it.
Epilogue
Calder
One year later
Gods, she smelled incredible.
I ran my hands up and down her back, my still-aching erection pressing against my wife’s moist center. I wanted her again, despite having just claimed her, having filled her up, pumped my seed deep within her tight, hot body.
I could take her over and over again and still it wouldn’t be enough.
I was always hungry for her … every part of Greta.
Turning her over so she was now on her pillow, I smoothed my hands over the glorious mounds of her ass. Give me strength.
My shaft jerked behind my leathers at the creamy sight of her bottom.
“Wife, I need to lay with you again.”
I started thrusting myself against the furs on our pallet, groaning as the need built in me once more.
Reaching down and gripping myself in hand, I stroked my shaft as I stared at her bottom.
“Spread, Greta,” I said huskily.
She obeyed instantly.
“We have to be quiet,” she said softly and looked over her shoulder at me. “I don’t want to wake the baby.”
I closed my eyes, knowing she spoke the truth, but becoming so far gone in my need for her that controlling myself was becoming harder to do.
“I need you, wife,” I said and rested my head on the small of her back, closing my eyes and just inhaling the sweet scent that clung to her constantly. God, I got hard from that smell alone, one of wild berries and a warm summer day.