His laid-back response threw her mother, who was used to dealing with Vikings like her father, Arvid. While her father had a loud voice, he didn’t use it often. He’d never been much of a talker, but he could roar like a lion when he was angry or in the heat of battle.
Arvid had a volcanic temper when riled.
Hella wasn’t used to a man facing her derision or frigid attitude with a calm demeanor. She knew how to push buttons and often used insults and contempt to anger her opponents and muddle their thinking.
It had been a long while since anyone had met her disdain with nothing more than curiosity.
“I don’t think so,” her mother replied.
Claudia’s hand clutched Astra’s because she recognized the same thing Astra did—Hella was wavering.
“What can I do to convince you?” Rune asked.
Arvid came over and clapped Rune on the shoulder. “Signing her collection of your books would probably go a long way.”
Then, the most insane thing happened. Hella Falk—the matriarch of the Falk family, the terror of Vikings everywhere, a warrior who had taken on men three times her size—blushed.
Rune spoke to Arvid and Hella, but his eyes were on Astra as he answered.
“I’d love to.”
ChapterNineteen
Rune Ferguson understood now why Astra was so hesitant to introduce him to her family.
Hella and Arvid Falk were intimidating as hell. If he hadn’t been wildly in love with their daughter, he would have run away from them as fast and far as possible because he wasn’t a warrior. He couldn’t imagine what he would do when they started in on what Astra called their “shenanigans.” Claudia, Sirena, and Devorah had filled him in on a few of their pranks during their visit earlier in the week and he hadn’t been able to suppress a shudder.
However, he discovered tonight that the pen truly was mightier than the sword. Especially since Hella Falk wasn’t just a fan, she was a dedicated one. After Hella turned toward Astra, Devorah, and Claudia and asked them to finish getting dinner ready, she led him into a library that made him positively green with envy.
Dark wood paneling lined the walls and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves were filled with books of all shapes and sizes. Wall sconces with green glass globes shone from their positions on each of the four walls. A small gas fireplace with green tile surrounding it stood against the back wall. A huge desk that matched the paneling crouched on the carpet to his left. A brown leather couch and two massive chairs faced the desk from the other side of the room.
It was his dream study.
“This is a beautiful room,” Rune murmured, his eyes traveling over each detail. When he and Astra purchased or built their house, he was definitely asking Claudia to design a room like this for him.
“Thank you,” Hella said. “My daughter-in-law designed it.”
Oh, yeah, Claudia was already hired as far as he was concerned.
She led him over to one shelf and he saw all twelve of his books there. His first book had been published only in mass market paperback and she had two copies, one extremely well-worn and the other looked brand new. All his other books had been released in hardback first and she had every single one.
“Mrs. Falk, I’m honored that you have all my books in this wonderful library.”
The Valkyrie turned to face him. She was the same height as her daughter, which put them nearly at eye level. “You can turn off the charm now, Mr. Ferguson.”
“It’s not charm, it’s sincerity.”
She shot him a dry look.
“Mrs. Falk, I’ve been published for eight years now, and I am always,always, thrilled when someone tells me that they’ve read my books. Especially if they’ve read and enjoyed them all. I never thought anyone would want to read my stories, much less be willing to spend money on them.”
She cocked her head in the same way she had earlier when she asked him if he was a vampire. Her eyes, the same green that he’d seen in Astra’s but without the gold, were piercing. “I hate to say it, but I believe you.”
“Why do you hate to say it?” Rune asked.
“Because that means I have to reconsider my usual procedure when I meet one of my daughters’ suitors.”
“What procedure is that?”
