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Brenda wore a simple dress when she got married, and Douglas wore simple clothes. They were married on the same shore where they had first met. It seemed as though a lifetime had passed since that fateful day. The water lapped against the shore, and Emmel performed the ceremony, and for once, he didn’t annoy Brenda. The golden sun shone upon her as she promised herself to Douglas, and when he made the vows in his rolling burr of a voice, her knees went weak.

The sea stretched out endlessly before them, and Brenda knew that their future was paved with gold as well. There was nothing that they couldn’t accomplish together, and it was important for them to put their sorrow behind them. The last two years of Douglas’s life had been a void filled with pain and despair. There was a lot that he had to miss out on, and a lot of catching up he needed to do.

Meanwhile, Brenda was full of hope and vigor. She knew what she wanted in life, and she was happy to stand by Douglas’s side and protect him. Other people might have seen him as a traitor. Other people might have seen him as scarred and beyond saving. But not her. She saw the man beyond the pain, the one who could offer her love and who would always be devoted to her. There had been more than a few times when she had been confused about his intentions and his feelings toward her, but as they stood together on the beach and swore their vows to each other, she had no doubt at all.

Erik, her father, gave them his blessing. Her mother and Connell returned from the mainland to attend the wedding, and Sigrid was there as well, with the younger Erik. The small island was filled with people for the wedding, and there were surely more people on the island than there had ever been before, but everyone was happy. Lena spread flowers and danced around while the villagers all rejoiced at this happy union. The village had been cleared of dead Vikings, and the remnants of battle had been left fully in the past. There had not been any rumblings of retaliation by the Bjork clan. Without Gorm leading them and with other leading figures either killed or captured, the clan had lost much of its power.

But that was the farthest thing on Brenda’s mind.

Once the vows had been made, Brenda and Douglas sealed their union with a kiss. They were blessed by the gods and by all their family members. Even Dougal was happy enough that his son was getting married, albeit to a girl who had Viking blood in her. Later on in the day, there was going to be a feast. People in the village were already roasting great chunks of meat on spits, and the aroma made everyone hungry, but before then, Brenda wanted some time alone with her husband. While everyone else remained on the beach, singing songs, playing games, and testing each other’s prowess in duels and feats of strength, Brenda and Douglas walked away, arm in arm.

“Where are we gaeing?” Douglas asked, a simple smile on his face as he walked away with his bride.

“I told you there’s a place that I want to show you, my favorite place on the island,” she said.

They walked around the sandy shore to the side of the island that faced Norway. It wasn’t visible from this distance. The sea met the sky in azure bliss, and it was easy to believe that they were one and the same. The beach gave way to craggy rocks. The sea was cool and clear. Fish swam along while gulls cried overhead, and they sometimes saw the sight of a crab scampering around. Brenda led him over wet rocks, and then she flashed him a smile before she dove down into the crystal water. Douglas looked shocked for a moment before he dove down as well, figuring that she wasn’t about to lead him into danger.

The water was cool, and as he emerged into the lagoon, his eyes had to adjust to the dim light. Brenda had already emerged on the surface and was sitting there, her clothes drenched, her skin shining, her hair silky, darker than usual because of the weight of the water. Water dripped from her body on rocks, and she beckoned him forward with a curled finger. Fronds hung from the roof of the lagoon. It was a private, quiet, secluded place, and he could understand why she liked it here so much.

“Sae this is where ye like tae come?”

“I do; it helps me think. When I’m here, I can pretend that I’m the only person in the world. I just find it relaxing,” she said. She patted the surface beside her. As Douglas approached, he realized that there was a patch of soft moss beside her. He settled down close to her and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

“I never thought I would be in a place like this,” he said.

“Let’s not think of the past for a while. Let’s just think of the future,” she said, placing a hand upon his cheek, caressing him gently. She kissed him softly, and the kiss quickly deepened. Aside from the gentle sound of the water lapping against the rocks, they were entirely alone. Douglas’s hand ran through her wet hair, brushing it away from her face. Droplets of water trickled down her skin, teasing her, quickly seeking to escape before they were turned into steam as her skin was flushed and hot.

She tilted her head as she tasted him, welcoming his tongue into her mouth, and she arched her body as his hand ran around the back of her neck. She reached out to him as well, feeling the dampness of his hair before running her hands down his shoulders and arms. The wound he had suffered in battle had healed, and the bruises he had when they had first met had faded.

His lips moved to her neck. His breath was hot, like fire against her skin. Tingles ran up and down her body, as though there was something inside her aching to break free. Soft moans poured from her mouth as her eyes fluttered shut. She pawed at his clothes and pulled his top away, revealing his hairy, manly torso. She licked her lips at the sight of his toned muscles. He was less gaunt than he had been when he had washed up on the shore. There was more color to his flesh, but he was still the lean, strong man that bristled with strength. Her fingers danced upon his body, following the hard angles of his muscles until she brought them to rest against his heart, the heart that beat powerfully for her and only for her. Her breaths deepened to fervent gasps, and then they were suffocated as his lips crashed against hers again.

His eager hands pinched her dress and started to fumble with the clasps. One by one, the buttons fell away. Inch by inch, her skin was exposed. It rippled down her body, helped by his hands that pushed it away. Suddenly, his hot hands were upon her, brushing away the drops of water, searing her smooth skin with heat. They were locked on a kiss as she felt his impossibly huge hands roaming around her body. When they settled on her breasts, she felt a burst of pleasure, a deep swell that started curdling within. His fingers teased and pinched. Exciting sensations careened inside her, and she murmured her delight, kissing him with ardor. Her hands, in turn, moved down. Brenda had never been a woman to be filled with fear, but she had never lain with a man in this manner before, so there was some hesitancy to her hands as they descended down his body, resting against his thigh.

She could feel the throbbing heat and the bulging desire. Her fingers drifted toward it, as though pulled toward him, gasping as she touched the outline. A smile spread upon her face at how big it was, how mighty. The groan that came from him was rumbling and deep, and she wanted to hear more. She kissed him ardently as she pressed her hand against him and started to stroke, but it wasn’t enough to feel it through the wet fabric of his clothes. He broke away from her for a moment and stripped himself of the rest of his clothes.

Brenda sat there, watching in awe as every inch of him came into view. Her breath deepened, and her heart beat even more rapidly at the sight of him. He pulled her closer into a kiss, and her hands fell to him again. Her fingers curled around the heat, and she moaned with desire at the sight of him. She moved her wrist, following the rhythm of his moans, squeezing and stroking and teasing the smooth tip. Douglas was getting more and more aroused with every passing moment, and she loved making him feel good.

They collapsed upon the soft moss, his hands teasing her nipples and her breasts while she continued to stroke him. Wild sensations careened around her body, and she felt more alive than she had ever felt before, but she was about to feel a whole lot wilder. One of his hands drifted down the middle of her body. It was innocuous at first, the fingers dangling like vines, tracing lines around her body and her stomach. But he was gradually getting deeper. She didn’t notice at first because she was so consumed with the way he felt in her hand, with the tremors of his body as he moaned in pleasure, but then suddenly his hand was pressed against her burning thigh and moving up at an alarming speed. Something popped in her mind, a knot tightened in the pit of her stomach, but then he was touching her, and warmth spread all around her.

A low, guttural moan drifted out of her and filled the entire lagoon as he touched her. His fingers were deft and long. He stroked and teased, somehow touching her in a way that she had always longed for without ever realizing it. Shuddering breaths passed through her, and the pleasure swelled like a growing wave. He stroked and caressed her, curling his finger back and forth. Suddenly he touched one part of her that was more sensitive than any other, and her entire body was jolted with lightning pleasure. Her mouth formed an O shape, and she gripped his wrist as she gasped deeply.

“There ye are,” he murmured, and continued to tease and elicit pleasure from this sacred part of her, a part that only he had ever found.

Brenda wanted to continue pleasuring him, but what she experienced made her such a wreck that she couldn’t summon the strength to continue stroking him. Her hand fell away, and her arms splayed out around her. Her head lolled to the side, and all she could do was embrace the passion that burned her from the inside out. He kissed the hollow of her throat, her breasts, her lips, and it all served to focus her pleasure in one writhing storm that expanded from the middle of her all the way out. She could feel it at the top of her head, at the ends of her toes, and all the way through her. She could feel him inside her, creating all of this, and knowing that the two of them were so close left her breathless.

Before she knew it, all of these sensations were pouring out of her in one glorious burst. It was as though the sun was contained within her heart and needed to break free. She felt radiant. She felt glowing, and when it hit her, she knew she was in paradise.

The long, low moan rippled through her, and she felt as though she was melting into the rock.

She cracked open her eyes and gazed upon his smiling face.

“How did ye dae that?” she said breathlessly.

“That’s just the beginning,” he said. It was a promise. A threat. A vow.

He extricated his hands and cupped her face. She caught the scent of her femininity and managed to summon enough strength to take him in her hands again. She twisted around, rolling him back, and she gazed upon him. She breathed in all the rippling veins, the sheer masculine glory of him. She used two hands to pull the skin up and down, finding a good rhythm that made him smile. Sweat trickled down his body. She kissed his neck and his stomach and his thighs, and then she was filled with a yearning to kiss him.