Lena and Ivar joined hands and moved aside as theJól,or Yule, celebrations commenced. Pitchers of a strong fermented ale passed through the gathered tribe, and the toasts celebrated the beginning ofJólablót,the three-week season of Yule Sacrifice. The shaman donned the skin and head of a goat andlifted a live one onto the altar, drawing his knife quickly across the animal’s throat. He thanked the mighty Thor for protecting their people and the coming sun. The blood was caught as it drained over the side. As the newly married couple, Lena and Ivar were the first to dip their fingers into the basin. They drew lines along each other’s nose and cheeks. While Lena disliked knowing it was blood that stained her skin, there was something erotic about painting one another as they gazed once more into each other’s eyes, the rest of the world fading away.
“May the gods look favorably upon us for the new year. May our dead rejoice in their feasting with Odin in the golden hall of Valhalla and may those who feast with Freyja in Fólkvangr enjoy the fruits of the goddess’s harvest. Let the light of spring come forth from this night forward,” the tribe’s priest intoned the blessing.
As if summoned on demand, the sky burst into the blue and green hues of the aurora borealis. The light jumping and dancing as it shimmered across the darkening backdrop and the first stars began to twinkle. The majesty of the night was not missed by Ivar and Lena. It was a fresh beginning after their weeks of misery and separation.
“Let the Sun goddess, Sól, return from the belly of the wolf who stalks throughHel. Let the dying and fading of the gods cease as the Maiden returns to us. LetAsa leika, the lover of all the gods, bring forth the fruit that fortifies god and man. Give the gods their strength and immortality while blessing us with a bounteous harvest.”
With the blessings concluded, the tribe moved to the jarl’s longhouse, where bright logs already burned in the hearth, chasing away the darkness of winter. A boar turned on a spit, a tribute to Frey and Freyja and a reminder to Lena to pray once more for fertility. Lena and Ivar took their places at the head table, with Eindride sitting beside Ivar. Lena smiled at Brenna, who sat next Eindride’s other side. Further down was Vigo with his wife Yrsa. She was a quiet woman with kind eyes and an easy smile. Lena returned the young woman’s smile and promised herself that she would make time to get to know the woman better. They had not seemed to have much in common since they were children, but they often worked in the kitchens together.
“Do you think that All-Father will make an appearance on his mighty steed Sleipnir?” Eindride laughed.
“Since I am yet to see Odin or that monstrous eight-legged beast, I doubt it. Besides, I don’t intend to be looking outside tonight.” Ivar waggled his eyebrows as his hand settled high on Lena’s thigh beneath the table. His fingers caressed the flesh of her inner thigh, and he felt her shiver, his cock hardening in anticipation. It was not long before the mead began to flow, and Ivar stood to make a toast to his bride, removing his Thor’s hammer necklace and placing it in Lena’s lap.
Lena blushed as their tribe celebrated with anticipation a birth in the summer. She hoped she would not disappoint the people, even if she was not sure if she was ready to give up being a shieldmaiden in exchange for motherhood. After losing her own mother, the thought of giving birth terrified her. The tables had been rearranged for the solstice feast, and as the games began, Ivar nudged Lena. He gathered two jugs of mead and nodded toward their chamber. Lena eased from the table and slipped to the edge of the room before passing through the doorway. Ivar was soon on her heels. She pushed open the door, and they hurried in before anyone noticed their departure. Lena dropped the bar into place, making it impossible for anyone to enter without their invitation.
“Finally,” Ivar breathed as he set the jugs onto the table. When he turned around, Lena stood naked before him, having stripped away her gown. He sucked in a breath as his heart stuttered. He had missed Lena during the weeks they had been apart, and even though they reunited before the wedding, he felt starved of her touch. He opened his arms to her, and without hesitation, she slipped into his embrace. Their bodies pressed together, igniting their need. In silence, Lena helped Ivar undress before sinking to her knees. She cupped his bollocks as her tongue flicked over the leaking tip of his cock. She hummed as she encased his stiff rod with her plump lips. Her head bobbed as Ivar laced his fingers through her hair. Her eyes drifted closed as she took him further into her mouth with each pass. He was racing too quickly toward release.
“Lena, it’s too much. I want you too badly. I’m not spilling yet.” He pulled away to her mewl of protest. He bent and lifted her into his arms. “I intend to make love to you over and over again tonight. There will be time for everything, but right now, I can’t ignore my need to touch you, to feel you against me.”
He placed her upon the bed as though she were fragile and precious, adoring the way she looked with her blonde locks swirling about her shoulders. He crawled over her, his hand kneading her breast as he bent his head, his warm tongue lapping at her nipple before suckling. Lena did not try to soften her moan of pleasure and desire as he tweaked her other nipple before once again massaging the aching flesh. Her breasts hung heavy and full as she pressed them upward for more of Ivar’s ministrations. Ivar shifted to run his other hand along the outside of her thigh to her hip before caressing the smooth skin of her belly. They both watched as his hand rested briefly over her womb before his fingers disappeared into her sheath. Ivar’s groan matched another moan from Lena. The feel of any part of him within her making them both frenzied. Lena’s thighs fell open wide as Ivar settled fully between them, his fingers working the other set of plump lips, his thumb rubbing deep circles on her bud. She writhed beneath him, needing far more than his questing fingers offered. He found the spot deep within her that made her explode, a wave cresting and crashing over her.
“There is nothing more beautiful in this world or the next than watching you find your release and knowing I gave that to you.” Ivar murmured as he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss took on a life of its own as Lena’s fingers combed through his hair before sliding over his back to his buttocks. She grasped the hard muscle that flexed as he rocked against her. She found the grooves in his hips that were made for her to cling to as he thrust into her.
“Gods. That moment when you enter me. I don’t know that I can hold on for much longer.” Lena tipped her head back as she tried to slow her body’s reaction, but it would be futile. Ivar would make her climax again and again, but after the first release with him buried deep within her, she was able to control her need. They eased into a rhythm as his sword surged into her sheath again and again, and she raised her hips to meet him each time.
They chanted one another’s name as though they were invocations, reverence infused into each utterance. They rolled as Ivar pushed up and wrapped his arm around Lena’s middle, bringing her on top. She sat up as she rode Ivar, the sensation different as he pressed deeper within. It was as though she were floating as she rocked until another climax engulfed her. Ivar watched as the concentration morphed into bliss, his fingers digging into her backside as he pressed her into a quicker pace, his own hips jerking upward as he pushed her over the edge, wanting to claim her once more. Lena collapsed forward, her mouth seeking his, her breasts trapped between them. The feel of her body stretched across his was more than Ivar could withstand. Breaking the contact with her lips, he roared his climax as he once more flipped them. His thrusts were nearly painful as they finished together.
Breathless, Ivar was careful not to suffocate Lena as he lowered his body to hers. They both knew they would cling to one another after such an earth-shattering experience. They always did. Their need to remain close, affection blossoming, was inevitable as Lena stroked Ivar’s back. He ran his hand over her hair then temple and cheek before gliding along her neck to her shoulder and arm, finally reaching her hand where their fingers intertwined.
“I love you more than the air I breathe and the life I possess.” Ivar whispered.
“You cannot love me more than the life you possess as ours are now one, forever one.” Lena smiled, and the softness melted Ivar’s heart all over again.
“You’re right, my love. Just as our bodies are one, so are our souls. But they have been our whole lives. Now nothing can separate that.”
It was not long before their bodies once more demanded satisfaction. Ivar kept his promise, and they made love throughout the night just as they had for years. But they both sensed there was a new dynamic, a new power to their coupling. It was as the early dawn light filtered around the window furs that they drifted off, but their sleep did not last long as they woke one another to join throughout the day. Hunger drove them to open the door several times over the next week, but only the thralls who delivered the trays saw them. They surrendered to the comfort of their love nest, and their family was wise not to interrupt. When they emerged, it was clear to all who saw them that they were a couple who would defy any attempt by man, gods, or nature to come between them, their bond invincible.
Epilogue
“How could I have imagined I was missing anything? This hurts more than I ever imagined,” Lena panted as pain ripped through her belly once more. “It’s a lie. This is not like my monthly cramps. This is nothing like it. I still fight and work with those. This makes me want to rip my own belly open and pull this babe free.”
“I know, Lena. We have been through this ourselves, but in a few hours, you will hold your babe. Your son, if we believe Signy from all those years ago.” Disa wiped the sweat from Lena’s brow.
“Hours! No. I can’t. Not without Ivar. Where is Ivar? He promised,” Lena whimpered as pain once more threatened to tear her asunder. “What if— what if I can’t? What if—again?”
Tears streamed down Lena’s cheeks as she thought of the babes she had already lost, never carrying them beyond a few months. No one had an explanation for why she so easily got with child but could not carry one to the end; there had been several such losses over the first year of their marriage. Now Lena lay in the bed she shared with Ivar, labor pains contorting her face, as she wondered if her husband would return from the hunt in time. Ivar had not wanted to go, but Soren and Magnus had goaded him into it. They teased that he was worse than a mother hen when it came to how protective he was of Lena. Just as she was about to give up hope that Ivar would return in time, the door burst open and a sweat-drenched, livid Ivar stormed in.
“No one came to tell me! I ride in and Einar comes running to tell me you’re about to deliver, swearing that I was a louse and shite for a husband.” Ivar pushed through the attendants that gasped at his abrupt arrival. The women had silently mocked Lena for believing and for needing her husband. Most would not admit that they wished their husbands were so attentive. “Lena?”
Ivar’s face blanched as he looked at his wife, who seemed so tiny surrounded by the pillows and furs that propped her up. Her face was a deep shade of red as she panted in agony. He did not hesitate to shuck off his mud-splattered boots and rip his fur cloak from his shoulders. He tugged his dirty tunic over his head before gingerly climbing onto the bed. Ivar took Lena’s hand, and for the first time since they were children, he realized how much smaller hers were and how much more fragile the bones appeared. It was a contrast to how he saw her as a warrior and his spirited bride. Now fear seized him after seeing her bear the pain of losing so many children. That seemed like mere discomfort compared to the agony she appeared to be in now. He rubbed his hand over her arm before tentatively hovering his hand over her belly. When she nodded and covered his hand with hers, he rubbed slow circles around the hardened flesh. She sighed as she eased back, shifting to find his shoulder.
“Wait a moment,” Ivar whispered. He pressed Lena forward, and despite her moan of protest, he slid behind her, cradling her between his powerful thighs. Her talon-like fingernails sunk into the muscle, making Ivar wince.
“Brenna, how did you do this? Strian was so big when he was born, and you are so tiny. I’m taller than you, and I feel like this babe shall rip me in half!”
“What choice did I have?”
Brenna smiled in sympathy as she bounced her one-year-old son on her hip. Strian had been a large baby, but his chirping and bubble-blowing cherubic face made it hard to remember how much Brenna suffered bringing her son into the world. Lena looked at Disa, amazed once more that the woman had given birth to four sons. The woman looked as fit as she must have been before she had any children. It convinced Lena her body would never return to the lithe and muscular frame she once had. She even looked over at Frida, her brother Jan’s wife, and was mesmerized how she was up and walking, visiting her only a few weeks after giving birth to her own son Bjorn. Frida and Jan’s marriage took everyone by surprise. The young couple had secretly courted during the ordeal with Inga, but it was obvious they were a love match and did not marry because Frida became pregnant. That did not happen until the honeymoon.
