His eyes dropped to my mouth then his hand shifted up so his thumb could stroke my cheekbone as his eyes lifted back to mine.
Then he whispered, “I was in love with you when I ordered the elves to bind you to me.”
My body stiffened slightly under his and I shook my head and whispered, “Frey –”
“It is true I didn’t know it,” he interrupted me. “All I knew was when Nillen told me you were set to leave, I couldn’t abide that. Nillen warned me there would be consequences but I decided I would accept whatever they were as long as I knew you could never leave me.” His face dipped closer and his voice dipped lower when he went on, “You already had a hold on my heart, Finnie. You must believe I would not have done what I did if that wasn’t true.”
“You barely knew me,” I pointed out quietly.
“I knew you were beautiful. I knew you smelled good. I knew you filled out a gown very nicely. I knew you could cook. I knew your cheeks got pink and your eyes lit when you were excited. I knew in just weeks you made friends, you chattered brightly, you were interested in me, you smiled easily, you laughed readily, you would come to my defense when you thought I faced danger, you responded to my touch and,” he grinned, “you did that wildly.”
I rolled my eyes.
Frey kept talking so I rolled them back.
“And I left you alone in my cabin and you didn’t just survive, you thrived so I knew you were an uncommon woman, an uncommon woman who would match me. So I knew you, Finnie, and I bound you to me knowing I wanted to know you more and knowing I would like having a lifetime of that discovery.”
Oh my God, did he just say that?
I stared at him, my heart in my throat.
He said it.
Then, my voice husky, I started to threaten, “Frey Drakkar, if you make me cry –”
He cut me off. “But what I didn’t know until later was when the elves bound you to this world, they also bound you to me so when I returned from their realm, I knew where you were, I sensed you, I could find you, I went right to you, taking the dragons with me. I sent a messenger to bring my men to me so they would be safe from the dragon’s fire then, as you ran with your witches through the forest, I knew exactly where you were so the fire I aimed from my beasts never got near you.”
That was when I blinked and breathed, “Really?”
He grinned again and whispered, “Really.”
“Cool.” I whispered back, still on a breath and watched my husband’s grin get bigger.
Then his face grew soft and his warm eyes roamed my own as he muttered, “By the gods, I hope you never lose your wonder for all that is life, my wee Finnie.”
“Well, as long as I’m in a world with fire breathing dragons, magical elves, hot guys who are impervious to extreme heat and fantastic ships straight out of a movie that are named after me, I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” I told him and his head tilted to the side.
“Straight out of a what?”
I cupped his jaw, lifted my head and touched my mouth to his.
Then I dropped my head back down to the pillow and whispered, “I’ll explain later.”
The look in his eyes shifted, that shift corresponded to a tingle someplace really good and his hand slid from my jaw, down my neck, my chest and my side as he murmured, “You will?”
“Unh-hunh,” I agreed, pressing my body to his as my hands moved on him and his head dipped closer, his nose sliding along mine.
“When?” he asked quietly.
“Later,” I answered, hooking a leg around his hip.
His lips came so close I could feel his breath on mine but his eyes stayed open and held mine captive.
“So then, what are we going to do now?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said breathily. “Do you have any ideas?”
“A few,” he answered, his voice slightly gruff, his hand sliding back up my side to cup my breast.