The first night she spent in the harbinger's bed was more than a little weird.

Selena had somehow avoided the charge on Nomadin and after their fight, Ragnar had permitted her to sleep the second night alone as well. From the way he'd presented the option to her, Selena would have thought he was making a sacrifice no man ever had in the history of Nayanors.

She had no excuses on Luminos. They were on Ragnar's turf now and Selena didn't think the harbinger was going to let her get away with separate rooms in his fortress.

She'd been correct.

After Selena had acquainted herself with the quarters and they'd had a solemnly pleasant dinner, Ragnar had announced in his gruff and strict way that they were a fated couple now. Selena hadn't caught the moment between two courses where that had come to be, but it was hopeless to argue with Ragnar.

"It means my bed is now ours," the harbinger finished, the tone of his voice making it very clear that it was bedtime.

Selena searched her brain for anything she could raise in her defense. If Ragnar had been Terran, it would have been a hell of a lot easier for sure. Arguments like "that's not going to happen" and "I'm not ready" and the classic "no" would have worked.

"Okay," was what Selena said on Luminos.

Ragnar had been right before. She had to pick her battles and this one she was bound to lose. So Selena was determined to use the weapon that remained to her, which was endlessly nitpicking her fateds orders.

He said we have to sleep in the same bed. All right. Then we shall sleep, and nothing more.

As a means to protect herself further, Selena went through everything in a high-speed mode. She had taken care to learn the ins and outs of her new strange clothes very well to know how to undress as fast as she could.

All that time, Selena was very aware of Ragnar's eyes on her. The harbinger had a way of making her feel like he was burning his way through her with his gaze.

"Aren't you going to undress?" she asked, not turning around. "I don't want to sleep next to that sword. Or the armor."

Instead of a response, Selena could hear the harbinger moving and the distinct sounds of the heavy armor being discarded. Trying to use the brief time she had when Ragnar was otherwise occupied, Selena dropped the last of her clothes. Keeping her shirt and panties on, she slipped between the sheets before Ragnar could see too much of her.

Not that he already hasn't. I still can't believe I stripped in front of him.

Pulling the sheet up to her throat, Selena had a chance to look at her fated.

Just like on the harbinger's flagship, she couldn't entirely deny herself just how much the sight of such a man turned her on. There was no helping it. No amount of reminding herself of the things Ragnar had done or focusing on the crimes Nayanors committed against humans took away from the sight.

Ragnar was flawless from top to bottom, from his powerful, long legs to the biceps that Selena couldn't have wrapped her hands around. From the pecs that guiltily made her want to lick them to the eyes that were definitely undressing her right at that moment.

Selena hoped sleep would come quickly to save her, because that was not how she wanted to think of her fated. It was a gateway to much more and she wanted none of that.

Right?

"You can touch me soon enough," Ragnar said with a hint of amusement in his voice and Selena realized she'd been caught staring.

"No," she said quickly, raising her argument shield. "You said we had to sleep in the same bed. This is what I'm prepared to do. Sleep. I'm very sleepy."

"You can't escape me forever," Ragnar said as if procreating was something that Nayanors did like a chore. "And I see the way you look at me. I heard you on Nomadin."

Selena gritted her teeth. That had not been her best moment and she still couldn't believe she'd been that careless.

"I look at you because you're in the same room as me," she tried. "Whenever two people are alone, it's polite to look at the other while you're talking."

Dropping the last item of clothing and standing in front of her in nothing but black, tight boxers, Ragnar smiled. It was the first time Selena had seen him do that. The smile brightened up the harbinger's severe expression as he observed her with a knowing smirk. It wasn't a full-on laughter yet, more a grin than genuine joy, but it was something.

It showed that even Ragnar was capable of emotion other than stoic seriousness.

Selena liked that. She didn't know why she cared, but she did.

"I am not a stranger to the desiring looks of females," the harbinger said, coming to join her on the bed.

Selena had another internal argument with her following that statement. The flash of jealousy that had shot through her had been so sudden and so unwelcome she couldn't think of anything to say to deny that.

She could imagine the other women in Ragnar's bed and the image wasn't leaving her as uninterested as Selena would have preferred.

"Is that really something you want to bring up with me?" she asked, hoping to come off sounding playful instead of jealous. "How many women you've fucked on this bed?"

Ragnar gave her a hard look, pulling the sheet over himself and hiding his wondrous body from her sight.

"On this bed?" he repeated. "None. I would not bring another female to the bed I'm supposed to share with my fated."

Selena didn't know why, but it made her glad.

"Okay," she said quietly, turning her back to Ragnar and hoping he would let it be. "Good night."

She could feel the harbinger moving and the lights in the room died down, leaving only the soft swaying of the luminescent plants on the wall. Selena watched them, a smile on her face. She hadn't lied to the harbinger before – the sight truly was one of the most beautiful she'd ever seen in her life.

She nearly bit her tongue, though, when Ragnar pulled her into his embrace. Selena stiffened up like she'd been frozen, her breath caught in her throat. She could feel the harbinger's hard cock pressing against her ass. It was long and thick and she had to be imagining at least half of its size because if she wasn't, Ragnar had to be joking if he wanted to fuck her.

The harbinger's body was hot and firm against her back and against all reason, Selena found herself wishing she hadn't left her shirt on. There was a treacherous, aching part of her that wanted to feel her fated’s warmth against her naked skin.

Ragnar pressed a kiss on her neck and Selena let out a small whimper.

It sounded somewhere between frightened and hopeful.

"Relax," Ragnar told her quietly. "I swore not to hurt you. I said that in my arms was the safest place where you could be and it's still true.

"There is a cruel, bitter world out there. Beauty and danger are always paired on Luminos, but as long as you're with me, you can breathe freely and forget about it all."

His hand came to rest on Selena's and she didn't push him away. The spell he'd cast had taken a hold of her and she didn't think the harbinger had any idea how well it had worked.

It had been a long time since Selena had felt safe. The years she'd wasted on Jake were one continuous nightmare and after she'd left him... It got worse. She was free from him and the torment he'd put her through, but every night Selena laid half-awake, unable to sleep, imagining Jake walking through her door.

There were days when she got up in the middle of the night to go and check that the door was locked, only to repeat it five minutes later.

Safety was a concept Selena had forgotten.

Lying there, wrapped into Ragnar's warm embrace, feeling the harbinger kiss her neck and shoulders softly, Selena was starting to remember. After Ragnar settled down, content to merely hold her despite the fact she could feel how aroused he was, Selena let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

It was liberating. Like she'd also forgotten what it felt like to rest her head on a pillow and actually feel tired enough to sleep. On Terra, Selena's dreams had always been distorted and broken by her fear.

Now she found herself in the arms of the one man who should have been the last person in the galaxy to make her feel good, yet he did.

It didn't feel right to enjoy Ragnar's offer, but Selena couldn't resist. Not the offer, and if she was being perfectly honest with herself, not Ragnar either.