going back for his plate when suddenly two big hands closed around my hips and I was sitting in his lap.
I put my hands on his chest and tried to push up at the same time crying out, “Hey!” but I got nowhere because his arms had locked around me.
I stopped struggling as it was undignified and my Mom taught me no matter what pickle you were in, never lose your dignity and instead I raised my eyes to glare at him and demand, “Let me up.”
“No, my new wife, take a moment, take a breath, calm yourself and let us go back to what you wished to discuss ten minutes ago.”
“I don’t want to go back there,” I returned.
“Take a moment, take a breath, calm yourself and maybe you will,” he suggested.
I shook my head. “Nope, I know myself pretty well and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to go back there.”
He grinned, it was a good one, I had rarely seen him do that, in fact, I wasn’t certain I had ever seen him out and out grin, it wasn’t lost on me that it looked good on him but I was still too pissed to care before he said, “It would seem, Finnie, you have no problems with ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ when you’re vexed.”
“Yes, it would seem that way,” I agreed then asked, “Do you want pie?”
“Yes, I do but not now. Now, I want you to calm yourself and then I’d like to listen to what you had to say.”
I glared at him. Then I guessed, “You’re not going to let me get up until you hear what I had to say, are you?”
Another grin. It was again good. It was again not lost on me. And I was still too pissed to care.
“No, I’m not,” he confirmed my guess was accurate.
“Fine,” I snapped, shifting my booty to settle in his lap and crossing my arms on my chest, I looked right into his green-brown eyes and stated, “Waking up this morning, I liked you. To be totally honest, I liked you last night, not when you were being a jerk at the pub but when you came home and you were being kinda sweet. I liked you more when I woke up and you’d proved you could be thoughtful. And I liked you more throughout the day because, well, you aren’t exactly Mr. Conversation but at least we could have conversations without you freaking me out or pissing me off which I thought was a plus considering we are married and having conversations that don’t freak me out or piss me off for decades upon decades would not be a good thing. You also demonstrated you could be sweet again in town and it must be said I’m glad you carried in logs because that isn’t what I call fun and it’s nice to share the load. With all that and the way you kissed me after we got married, which I liked, a whole lot, and the way you were at the market today, I was thinking maybe tonight might be good. And I was thinking that I wanted to talk to you about that and how, maybe, if I kept liking you and maybe started liking you more and if I really liked tonight, it might be nice if we had that for awhile, just the two of us and ask if you’d help me with that. But now I’ve changed my mind. I don’t like you because you have again been a jerk, I’m reneging on the deal and there won’t be a tonight. You’ll get pie, I’ll do the dishes and if you won’t let me have the bed then I’ll sleep on the couch.”
He had no reply, he just stared at me.
So I concluded, “So that’s it. That was what I was going to say. I’ve said it. Now will you let me up?”
“No,” he replied and I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and muttered, “Great.”
“Finnie,” he called and I rolled my eyes back to him and glared. He pressed his lips together and I’d never seen him do that so I didn’t know what that meant but I didn’t care about that either.
Then he spoke again.
“You enjoyed my kiss at the Dwelling of the Gods?”
“Uh… yeah,” I said like I’d say, “uh… duh”. “Frey, I’d wrapped my arms around you. You’re a jerk but you can kiss.”
Another lip press and then, “Explain what you mean about me helping you with us having what we have tonight just the two of us for awhile. It is my understanding, unless you are unusually broad-minded, what I have planned for tonight is always just the two of us.”
Yeesh. Men. Their minds, no matter what world they live in, always wandered down the same paths.
“I’m not talking about a threesome, Frey, I’m talking about children. As in, I don’t know you but I was thinking that I was really liking getting to know you and that when that extra component was added, you were giving all the signs I would really like that too. So, I thought, if I did really like all of that, I’d like to have all of that with you for awhile, just the two of us before we start thinking of daughters and sons and who’s going to teach who swordplay and all that jazz.”
I felt the pads of his fingers dig into my hip and noticed his eyes had gone weird but I didn’t pay much attention to that either.
Then he asked, “You wish to delay providing your father with an heir?”
“Not forever. Not even for very long. A few months, enough time I could learn about you, you could learn about me, we could learn about… uh… how we are together and maybe I could ride on your ship.”
Another slow blink then, “Ride on my ship?”
“Or, take a trip on it or whatever you call it. I mean, you know, go voyaging with you. That might not be so much fun pregnant and if I have a kid, I’d have to stay home while off you go on your adventures and that would suck. I was thinking maybe we can squeeze in an adventure or two and then we can have sons and daughters and provide heirs to the kingdom and all that stuff. It’s not like I’ll be this age forever and it won’t be as much fun when I’m old and decrepit and struggling along with my cane only to slip on a deck one of your men are swabbing and break a hip.”
He did yet another slow blink.
Then he threw back his head and burst out laughing.
I stared because, first, I didn’t know the man could laugh. Second, I was staring at his throat which I’d already noted was a nice view. And third, he had a great laugh.
I, however, did not laugh with him. I was still too pissed.
He eventually stopped laughing (though, I will note, he took his sweet time doing it) and returned his attention to me.
And when he did, his eyes roamed my face before he said quietly, “When my wife gets vexed, her cheeks get pink.”
I fought the urge to struggle out of his lap and the urge to cover my cheeks. Instead, I simply continued to glare.
“I like it,” he went on talking quietly.
“Can I get up now?” I asked snappishly.
He didn’t answer nor did he let me up. Instead he remarked, still quietly, “I’m intrigued about these wedding undergarments I missed.”
“Sorry, Frey, that was a onetime deal. I was all decked out in my wedding finery and you took off. You missed that boat, totally.”
He grinned again then whispered, “More fool me.”
“Uh… hello?” I called then requested, “Can I get up now?”
One of his big hands drifted up my back and he said softly, “I must tell you, Finnie, I like you here. You fit well in my lap.”
Uh-oh.
“Does it matter that I don’t like being here?” I asked.
“Indeed it does, wife, let’s get you somewhere where you’re more comfortable. I’m thinking the loft.”
Uh-oh again.
“Frey, I think I told you, the deal is off.”
He grinned and shook his head. “You know, my Winter Princess, you never renege on a deal with a Raider.”
I blinked.
Oh shit. I’d read that in both of those books. You made a deal with a Raider, you went back on it, you regretted it.
Big time.
Shit!
His hand was now wrapped around the back of my neck and he held me still while he leaned into me.
