I watched as the pleasure washed over Ingrid’s face, saw her cheeks flush further, her mouth part, and heard her cry rise above everything else. My heart thundered, a war drum beating against my very soul, the very heavens, as if knocking on the gods’ door.

“Gunnar,” she whispered, and I came right then, filling her up, making her take all my seed. When she’d wrung me dry, my balls emptied in her tight, warm body, I slowly pulled out of her. Our bodies were dotted with perspiration, and I didn’t stop myself from leaning forward and running my tongue between her breasts. She tasted salty and sweet, and all mine.

I collapsed beside her, breathing like the winds that whipped around our longship when we sailed. Looking at Ingrid, I was struck by my love for her, by the fact that I made her smile daily.

“You’re happy, sweetness?”

She had her eyes closed, but the smile she gave me told me she was. That had pride filling me.

“I am,” she whispered. I pushed the damp hair from her face, slid my finger along her jawline, over her neck, and kept descending. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

I grunted, not caring if the other warriors were in the main hut with mead and food. I’d rather starve and please my wife any day. “Tell me you’re happy, that I make you that way.” She turned over and faced me, and I slid my hand down her belly, cupping the slight roundness. My child rested in there, safe, warm, healthy. She had her hand over mine, her smile still in place.

“You make me happier than I can put into words.”

I leaned down and kissed her, taking in her very breath, the very essence of her.

“Do you wish things were different, that you could change your decision with me?”

“Never,” she whispered. “This is where I belong. I knew that the moment I looked into your eyes back in my destroyed village. I knew I was meant to be here with you.” She shook her head slowly. “I can’t explain any of it, but I don’t want to. I want to be able to enjoy this, to not worry about anything else because I know this is where I’m supposed to be, by your side.”

I pulled her in close, kept her tucked against me, my hand on her belly, my life content. “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Right here. With me.”

* * *

“So strong, so beautiful.”

I could hear Gunnar, but my heart was thundering in my ears, my body was damp with sweat, and the pain I felt racked my entire body. But this was all worth it. I was going to have our baby. Our lives would change for the better. The scent of herbs burning and the traditions of our people surrounded us.

And then my child was born—our son or daughter—and it felt like the heavens opened up, brought down the gods and Valhalla itself into my life.

The little cry that came through was one of a warrior. Whether boy or girl, this little baby would be strong, would be proud of where he or she had come from.

“A son,” Gunnar said, and I felt my smile stretch across my face.

Once the baby was cleaned and wrapped in warm cloth, Gunnar handed him to me.

“A son, Ingrid.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “You make me so proud, so happy.”

I smiled up at my husband. Then we both looked down at our son.

“Little Lachlan,” I whispered, touching his head, the blond hair like the softest fur I’d ever felt.

“He’ll be strong, know how to fight, to defend.”

I nodded.

“He’ll know that his family, his people love him.”

I looked at Gunnar then. “He’ll know of our history, of our path,” I supplied. Gunnar rested his forehead on mine, and we breathed the same air.

Family wasn’t just about Gunnar and me together. It wasn’t about the baby we’d just welcomed into our community.

It was about the world we were in, the people that surrounded us, and the love we had for each other. I knew without Gunnar, without me agreeing to come with him after everything, my future would have been bleak and dark.

It was my Viking that made my world bright, made me see each day with a positive outlook, and brought this little baby into our lives.

Together we were stronger than anything else.

He was my Viking, and I was the strong woman by his side.