Six months later....

The wind blew a pair of strangers through her door, and Árdís glared as they tracked mud all over her floors. It felt strange to have a home, especially one that lurked in the shadow of her brother's volcano. Haakon had built it for her with his bare hands, and though his heart belonged elsewhere, they would stay here until the threat of her mother was subdued once and for all.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, pointing to the muddy floor even as a surge of joy made her dizzy. "And what is that on your face?"

The stranger scrubbed a hand through his fine blond bristles. "It's called a beard. I haven't been able to shave. Someone broke my mirror," he said with a pointed look toward his companion, who laughed.

"You see," she said, setting her hands on her hips. "You look like my husband. You smell like him. But he was supposed to be home weeks ago, and he doesn't wear a beard. How do I know you're really him?"

Haakon eyed her. "You have a little mole, right here," he said, stabbing a finger into the right side of his chest. "You adore emeralds, and you are a terrible cook, and you are very ticklish right between—"

"That's enough!" she said breathlessly. "I believe you."

"Right between where?" Tormund asked, looking mildly interested.

"You don't like it?" Haakon drew his hand through his beard, his eyes twinkling. "And you know it’s me. Haven't you felt me coming closer every day?"

“I didn't say I didn't like it.” Her heart throbbed in her chest, and she took a step toward him. "I could grow used to it, perhaps. Where have you been? You were supposed to go see your mother and then come straight back home to me. If I couldn't feel you out there, then I'd have been terrified you'd met your end."

Haakon grinned at her, "And this is the way you greet me after I've been gone for nearly two months?"

She couldn't hold herself back anymore. She threw herself into his arms, pressing her hungry mouth to his. The taste of him exploded through her, and his hands cupped her under the bottom, driving her against a certain sign he was more than happy to see her. It was a sloppy kiss, and his beard tickled her mouth, but she couldn't draw away. It left her breathless, and suddenly she couldn't remember why she was so angry anymore.

Haakon slowly set her down, a certain look in his eyes. “It's been a long time.”

“It has,” she returned.

He smiled. "But I need a bath first."

Haakon stepped aside, swinging his cloak from his shoulders. Tormund held his arms wide with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. "My turn?"

She rolled her eyes, but she hugged him too.

"Just keep your hands and lips to yourself," Haakon warned, from where he was settling his saddlebags over the back of her kitchen chair. "I'd hate to have to break your fingers."

She could barely control herself. She felt giddy. "You still haven't told me where you've been. What happened? Is your mother well? The children? Your sisters?"

"All well. I have more nephews and nieces. They're breeding like rabbits."

Her smile softened, and she didn't quite press her hand to her lower abdomen. That was a secret between them, and she didn't wish to share it with Tormund yet.

Haakon stripped out of his coat, the white of his shirt blinding. He tugged something from the collar of his shirt, but she couldn't see what it was. Something on the end of a chain. "We made a slight detour on the way home."

It took the wind right out of her sails. "Is that—?"

Haakon's palm unfolded, revealing a very familiar ring. The ring twinkled on her finger. Árdís clapped her hands to her mouth, and tears filled her eyes, as they were prone to do these days.

"Your ring," Haakon said gruffly, taking her hand and sliding it slowly onto her finger.

Árdís could barely breathe. She had her ring back. Her ring.

"We are legends now. You are looking at Tormund Kraken-slayer." Tormund grinned at her. "Your husband said he could spear the bastard first, but I was the one who took him down. And then we dragged it ashore, and cut out its heart—"

"That was the easy part," Haakon muttered. "Its heart was the size of a cow, so we had to find a wagon to haul it. You cannot imagine the stink of it after a week overland. I daresay Lord Fáfnir was not as pleased with his end of the bargain as he thought he might be."

She stared at him, her mouth open.

"Aye," Tormund added. "It was almost a relief to hit those sulfurous mud pools. Something to cleanse the nostrils."

"You slew a kraken?"

"Not a simple endeavor," Haakon drawled, "but it was easier than the other options Fáfnir would trade for, and I was pressed for time."

Árdís slammed a fist against his chest. "You idiot! You could have been killed. You know my mother and her dreki are watching us. And a kraken! They've been known to tear ships to pieces."

"Damned near did," Tormund admitted, and then shut his mouth abruptly when Haakon's head turned sharply toward him. "Not," he added. "It did not come close to tearing the ship apart."

"What were you thinking?" she cried.

"I told you not to trade the ring to him."

"I had no choice! It was either it—or you. Now I'm starting to regret that decision."

"Ah, ah, ah." A growl curled out of his throat, and he hauled her into his arms. "Mind your temper, Árdís. I just battled a kraken for you, and then tricked an enormous dreki into handing over your ring in exchange for its heart. I'm not scared of you anymore."

She grabbed a fistful of his collar.

He smiled.

Gods, that beard. A lick of heat wet her thighs. If she didn't kiss him again, and soon, then she was going to erupt.

"Tormund." Haakon gave his cousin a telling look.

Tormund sighed, and slapped a pile of coins on the table. "Fine. You do know her better. And on that note, I think I have a sudden urge to go see to my horse."

"Do that."

"And stay in the barn tonight," she called.

Tormund backed away with both hands in the air.

Árdís growled as soon as the enormous man vanished through the doorway, shutting it quickly behind him. "You bet on me?"

Haakon let her go, and crossed his arms over his chest. "He seemed to think he knew you better than I did. He said you'd be overwhelmed with gratitude when I brought your ring home. I said you'd be furious. At first."

Árdís stabbed a finger into his chest. "Fáfnir is not someone to toy with, damn you. He hates my father. He made me trade the ring because he knew it would cause me the most pain. Or he thought it would. Do you know why I gave it to him? Because if he had any clue how much you meant to me, he would have bartered for you instead."

"It's your wedding ring," he growled back, trying to fight a smile. "It belongs on your finger, so all the world knows you're mine."

Her voice rose. "Stop smiling at me. You're ruining this."

"Ruining what?" He took a step toward her, and her back hit the wall. "Are you trying to work up to a good fight, sweetheart?"

"Trying."

Haakon pressed his forearms against the wall, and leaned closer. "Mmm." He bit his lip, a twinkle in his eyes. "Maybe we could just skip the argument for once? Get right to the good stuff."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "I swear—"

"To all the gods." The back of his fingertips brushed her cheek. "Are you happy to have it back, Árdís?" he murmured, pressing her to the door and brushing his lips along her jaw.

"Don't think...." A soft gasp escaped her as his erection ground right where she wanted it. "Don't think you're going to kiss your way out of this one."

"No?" His mouth whispered across her lips.

A surge of pure heat sheared through her. Somehow her unruly hands were in his hair.

"Damn you, I love you. My mother could have captured you. Any of the court could have made a play for you, and I wouldn't have known until it was too late." She held his face to hers, staring deep into his eyes. "You knew I couldn't follow you."

"Not without risking the child, no."

The precious child she'd discovered she was carrying. She'd gone into heat the second she bound his soul to hers, as if the bond had flicked some switch in her brain. It had been an overwhelming couple of weeks where everyone, even Rurik, had barely dared knock on their door. All Árdís could remember was naked skin beneath her lips, her hands, and her husband pinning her to the bed, driving himself into her. She'd been insatiable, and Haakon had more than made up for lost time, until they could barely move.

Heat incinerated her. Haakon licked at her lips. "Perhaps I can kiss it all better?"

Oh, gods. She gave up, and wrapped her arms around him. "I will let you kiss it better," she growled, "as long as you promise not to go hunting any more dragons or kraken, or wyrms or trolls.... Or anything else that might take you from my side."

Haakon caught her up under the thighs, and locked her legs around his hips as he strode toward the bedroom. "It's a deal, my love. No more dragons for me. Just this one little temperamental dreki to master."

"I'll give you 'master.'"

He laughed, even as he captured her mouth in a kiss.

Dear Reader,