Page 84 of The Very Virile Viking

"I am a farmer, Angela. It is all well and good here at the Blue Dragon, but I miss the care of my milch cows, the satisfaction of seeing my gardens bear fruit, the regeneration of the earth year after year, springtime plowing, autumn harvests, the smell of fresh-mown hay—"

"Bullshit!" she said.

"That, too."

"You are impossible!" She threw out her hands in disgust, turned on her heel, and sprinted up the steps to the porch. He grabbed her by the upper arm and stopped her before she went inside.

"Explain yourself, woman."

"I was hoping you would say your dearest wish was to spend a lifetime with me, but I'm not entirely delusional. What I thought you would say was that your dearest wish is to spend the night with me."

Oh, now I am beginning to understand. But, bloody hell, where is all this hostility coming from?

Must be that time of the month. But he was not dumb enough to express that thought. Instead, all he answered was, " 'Tis."

" 'Tis not," she replied, mimicking his form of speech… which was really unkind of her.

"Settle down, Angela," he started to say, and immediately realized his mistake. Never, never, never tell a woman to settle down . What was he thinking?

Her nostrils flared.

Time to cut my losses. There is only one way to stop a woman when she is on a rant. He picked Angela up off her feet by the waist, wrapped his arms around her tightly, and proceeded to kiss her thoroughly… so thoroughly that he hoped her bones were melting, because his certainly were. With his lips still firmly locked on hers and her feet still dangling off the porch floor, he turned and leaned his shoulders against the wall. His staff, which had been at half-mast for the past week, went full sail, pressing into her stomach.

How could Angela doubt how much he wanted her?

Certainly all his children, as well as Grandma Rose and Juanita, who were surely watching the spectacle he was creating, must realize how much he wanted her.

When he finally broke the kiss, he murmured, "How could you doubt my desire for you?" Any more desire and I will burst into flames .

"A hard-on does not equal true affection, and that is what I want."

A hard-on? A hard-on? That was certainly blunt enough. He did not need a translator to know what that crude term meant. Looking down at Angela's passion-dazed expression, he whispered, "It is my dearest wish to be with you… sex or no sex… for as long as I am able." Now, that was a stretch of the truth. "Do you believe me?"

She nodded.

He still wanted a cow.

But he was learning when to share his thoughts, and when to keep his big mouth shut.

We are family…

Magnus and his children felt like family to Angela; so she decided to take them on a family outing the next day.

Oh, she was still annoyed with Magnus about his preferring a cow over her, but obviously not too annoyed, because her choice for their day away from the Blue Dragon was the regional Grange Fair and Craft Show, a preliminary to the state fair in the fall. The dolt would probably get to see a cow or two today.

Torolf's friend, Juan, was coming with them. He had borrowed a van for that purpose. The Universe Studios van had been returned days ago on the demand of a furious Darrell Nolan when he learned that his prize Viking was not going to be his prize Viking. He had threatened lawsuits and such for breach of promise, but Angela didn't think anything would come of that.

Also accompanying them was Lily, who had already proclaimed that she had a crush on Torolf. Kirsten was casting googly eyes toward Juan, who, at eighteen, was much too old for her.

Grandma said she'd rather stay home and relax… which meant that she was probably planning to chainsmoke the whole time they were gone. Magnus had organized hired security personnel and Blue Dragon workers to patrol the grounds while they were gone; he and his older boys would cover the night shift.

Fourteen of them piled out of two vehicles as they arrived at the fairgrounds.

After strapping an adorable Lida, with her Winnie the Pooh sun hat and matching jumper, into a fold-up stroller, and after Angela insisted that everyone slap on sunblock and wear baseball caps or sun visors, they made for the entrance.

"I have been riding a longship on the high seas and working my fields for thirty and more years without suffering a sunstroke or the skin sun-disease you speak of," Magnus grumbled as he began to push Lida's stroller. One of the things that amazed her about Magnus was how he took on certain caregiving tasks without ever questioning whether it was masculine or not. He was that secure in his own masculinity… as he had every right to be.

"Stop complaining. I could tell you enjoyed my slathering that cream on your face and arms."