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“King Magnus is not wrong to assume as he does.” Knud shook his head and sighed. “I cannot see him being the king rising in these parts when King Alexander has already risen a great deal, with no signs of stopping. He’s clearly eager for revenge against Magnus and determined to reclaim this isle.”

We didn’t say it, but shared a mutual outlook that the time of Norse ruling these parts would soon be over, and we couldn’t fault the Scots entirely for wanting these lands back. They had been here before our ancestors. Some might say my outlook skewed that way because my sister, Astrid, now called Scotland home, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Suffice it to say, our Wyrd would unfold as it would, and Knud and I trusted that even as I feared it.

While tempted to speak to my fears, now wasn’t the time. Now was for reveling in all Knud had discovered about himself. All he had remembered. Who he truly was. Not just a king in his own right but a man gifted by the gods like my sisters and me.

Something weighed on my mind, however, and I addressed it.

“Did you ask what tribe attacked your people years ago?” I wondered, not wanting to bring it up sooner, given we were celebrating our marriage. Yet I knew how Knud tended to think, so chances were good he’d also been mulling it over as I was. Moreover, I suspected he was familiar with the tribe from his travels.

If he were, he might very well want vengeance for what they had done.

“I did ask.” He met my eyes with a furrowed brow. “We know of the tribe and the last of them died off years ago, attacked just as they attacked us, so I will not have my vengeance.”

“Mayhap not,” I conceded gently, understanding how upset that might make him. I would feel the same. “Yet justice was still served, was it not?” Desperate to soothe him, I sat on his lap and looked at him with compassion. “That had to be hard news to hear. I wish you had told me sooner.”

“’Twas hard,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around me and gathering me close. “Yet in truth, what might my vengeance have done for our Helvigs? Our Thorgards? Our people? The tribe wasn’t an enemy of our Helvigs, so it could have sparked more unneeded battles betwixt them and us, turning their ally’s wrath on us as well. It could have led to a lot of pointless death when now is the time to forge new bonds and strengthen Norway, not continue raging against each other.”

“Spoken like a true leader,” I said, never prouder of him than I was at that moment. “And I couldn’t agree more.”

Ready to get his mind off things we couldn’t change and on more pleasurable endeavors, I steered his lips to mine and kissed him with all the love I felt for him, never so glad we could finally do this openly and freely. We stayed that way for a time, our tongues tangling, tasting each other, lost in passion, until we grew desperate for more and he carried me to bed.

Though a storm didn’t rage outside tonight, one very much did the moment my back hit the fur, raging half the night as we came together even more fiercely and passionately than the eve before. Sometimes I was on top. Other times, him.

Yet, impossibly enough, I found the most pleasure when the storm simmered down, yet burned with a new kind of intensity when we lay on our side, his front to my back. It wasn’t a position I’d tried before, and I liked it more than I expected.

But then, he was very good at what he did.

Loving yet controlling in a way that pleased me, he peppered a mix of kisses and nips along the side of my neck and slipped in from behind. All the while, he rubbed the tiny nub at the apex of my pleasure, and lightning-hot pleasure shot through me.

Once that happened, he owned me.

I was helpless to do anything but white-knuckle the fur and let him have his way. Let him take me to new heights, our sweat-slicked bodies moving against each other, the movements raw and sensual. Imprisoned in sharply cresting pleasure, I soared over the edge in little time and cried out, my ecstasy only spiking when he pressed deep, groaned raggedly in my ear, and let go inside me.

After that, we dozed just as we were, not stirring until the sun was well above the horizon the next morning.

“We are developing bad habits, husband,” I murmured sleepily, smiling as he nuzzled my neck and ran his hand along my hip. “We should have been up hours ago, checking on our ships and spending time amongst our new people.”

“Ja.” He tilted my chin until he could kiss me good morning, murmuring against my lips something about creating even more people to spend time with. Little ones who would someday lead well in our place. Then he murmured about beginning every day like this before he thrust deep inside me again, and we made love one more time before finally rising.

“I think ’tis safe to say we will be granted some leniency in how long we slept in.” Knud eyed me with renewed lust as we dressed. “We are newly-married after all.”

I only offered a soft smile in return. Despite agreeing, our marital circumstances were different, and I nearly reminded him of that when a burst of flames rose from the bed of ashes on our hearth.

“Hell,” Knud cursed under his breath at seeing a more sizable fleet now than we had initially seen in the flames, with Astrid standing between two formidable men at the bow of the lead ship. “That doesn’t look like a Scottish king who wants to settle matters through diplomacy.”

“We need to warn King Magnus,” I said, however difficult to voice because we would be rallying warriors against my sister. Very likely standing opposite her in battle, just as Freya and I had feared. Yet we were loyal to the King of Norway and, via him, to King Magnus, so we would do what was needed.

“Ja.” Knud belted his mystical blade into place, then reeled me against him, cupped my cheek, and gazed into my eyes, never more serious. “Yet always, wife, lest we are under direct attack, we will begin our day like this.” Closing his mouth over mine, we shared a long, deep, passionate kiss before he pulled back and met my eyes again, making sure I understood. “Always?”

“Always,” I swore, rather breathlessly, but there was no helping it. He kissed as well as he did everything else, making me crave far more, and I think he understood that based on his small, knowing smile.

“Good,” he murmured, desire in his eyes as well. Yet undeniable confidence, too. “I will expect as many kisses as you can spare through our days, too.” His gaze raked over me with appreciation. “And anything else we might have time for.”

“As you wish, husband,” I said huskily, if not obediently, before stepping away, standing up straighter, and belting on my own blade, making clear I was still his earl. “And I will expect you to serve me well.” I raked my eyes over him in return and offered a sensual half grin. “As often as needed.”

The corner of his mouth curled up, too. “As you command, wife. ’Twould be my pleasure.”

Looking forward to playing this sensual game with him, as time went on, I had to force myself to face the new day when all I wanted to do was bring him back to bed. Yet seeking out King Magnus had to take precedence. When we did, finding him in the courtyard where his men trained, his response was much like Knud’s, and he cursed under his breath.