Laura
I had been attracted to Magni for as long as I could remember. With his brooding personality and incredible strength, he was the essence of a true alpha Nman. Every fairy tale that I had read as a child had been about heroes like Magni who protected their women and saved them from danger. He was an intimidating champion and could silence men with a single scowl.
Our first night after I returned from the Motherlands was fiery and passionate. Magni wasn’t a talker, but the way he had sex with me said it all. He was angry and punished me in the most delicious way.
Lying in bed next to his large body, I listened to his deep breathing and thought about the conversation I had with my sister, April, yesterday.
“I almost regret calling you if you’re just going to yell at me. Here I thought you’d be happy that I was back,” I complained.
“Of course I’m happy. It was just a selfish and foolish thing that you did. Ramses has been going through so much shit because of you. Everyone’s mocking him – saying that he has to keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t run away like my twin.” April spoke in a hushed voice as if afraid her husband would hear her. “He’s very angry with you and so am I. For six months I haven’t heard from you. How could you do that to me, your own sister?”
“I’m sorry, April. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Laila Michelle is angry with you too.”
I sighed. Laila was my best friend and we’d grown up together. Unlike my sister, who lived on the East Coast, Laila Michelle lived close by and we used to see each other almost every day before I’d left.
“She gave birth to her twins while you were gone and I went over to see them. Laila Michelle cried a lot and kept saying that she really needed you to be there.” April’s tone was blameful. “You didn’t think about that, did you?”
“April, I didn’t exactly plan to go. It was a spontaneous thing and I never intended to hurt anyone. I love Laila Michelle and I love you. That’s why I came back.”
April’s tone was softer when she spoke. “We’ve all been so worried about you. Especially Magni. He kept contacting me hoping that I’d heard from you. You should have seen him, Laura. He didn’t eat, sleep, or function for a long time.”
“I know. He says that he got in a lot of fights too.”
“He has had the worst of it. Promise me that you’ll be the best wife you can be after this. You owe him for what you did. Whatever he wants, you’ll give it to him, right?”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t want to be a good little wife, April. I want to work, speak up, and have an opinion. Men and women should be equals.”
My sister had always been traditional, but it still shocked me when she hissed at me, “You’ve become a radical like those Momsies. If you bring more shame to me, I’ll never speak to you again.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t want to be known as the twin sister of the feminist who ridiculed her husband and brought shame to our family name.”
“Don’t tell me you’re happy being bossed around by Ramses.”
“He’s a good man, Laura, and he protects me.”
“In the Motherlands women don’t depend on men.”
“I don’t want to hear about the Motherlands. Those women are masculine and extreme in their opinions. I’ve heard they remove the testicles of their baby boys.”
“That’s a lie.”
“How do you know? Did you see the men’s testicles over there?”
“No.”
“They are not our friends, Laura.”
“I met some nice people that I would call friends.”
April scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. You know they oppress us, and they are plotting to capture some of our men and show them off like freaks in a circus.”
“What? Where do you get this stuff from? Finn and four others just visited the Motherlands and people were nice to them.”
“Sure, they smile for the cameras. But we all know they see us as freaks and consider us less evolved than them.”
“Have you ever spoken to a Motlander, April?”
“No, but I can tell you this much. They’re the freaks with their tiny bodies and the men looking like peacocks with all their make-up. We should catch a few of them and have people point fingers and laugh. See how they would like it.”
Shaking my head, I sighed. “No one is going to point fingers at anyone. The Motlanders are nice people.”
“Sounds like you like them better than you like us, your family and kin.”
I rubbed my face and turned on my side, pushing the thoughts of my conversation with April out of my head. At least Laila Michelle had been more forgiving when I’d called her, and I couldn’t wait to see her and her twins.
Magni grunted in his sleep and kicked his duvet off. The man was always warm like he had a furnace inside of him. I had never taken the initiative in sex between us but seeing him sprawled naked next to me, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself. He was pure perfection with his ribbed muscles, and the tattoos I knew so well. His lips were parted a little, and his chest rose and fell with his deep breathing. When my finger trailed down over his chest he turned his head muttering something under his breath. My curiosity was heightened when he repeated it. “I love.”
I wanted to shake him awake and ask him to tell me to my face that he loved me, but the next words he spoke made me jerk back. Did he just say, “I love Mila”?
My heart was racing with the possibility that Magni had fallen in love with another woman.
“Mila,” he repeated.
In my mind I imagined that one of the women he’d carried yesterday had introduced herself as Mila, and now he was dreaming of her. Jealousy twisted a knife in my belly when a mild smile spread on his handsome face.
With a possessive need for Magni to want me, I slid my hand down his chest and belly, following the trail of dark hair leading to one of my favorite parts of his body. Using my hand, I massaged him and it only took a few seconds for him to grow erect. He stirred in his sleep and stretched. If he could use sex to claim me, I could do the same to him. With burning jealousy, I straddled him and slid down over his erection.
Magni blinked his eyes open, yawning and rubbing his eyes with an expression of surprise and disbelief. “What are you doing?”
I raised an eyebrow, signaling that it was obvious what I was doing, and moved my hips to take him deeper.
“Ahh, nice. I see you have consented to my terms,” he said and placed both arms behind his head, as if he was going to enjoy the show.
“What terms?” I asked, supporting myself on his strong chest, while rotating my hips and enjoying him stretching my insides.
“That we don’t need to ask for permission.”
I stilled.
The smirk on his face made me want to punch him. He said, “I don’t recall you asking me for my permission to use my body. I assume that means you agree I don’t need your permission either.”
I hadn’t considered that when I impulsively straddled him, and he had a point.
“Hey, where are you going?” He caught me when I moved back. “You can’t start something like that and not finish it.”
“I shouldn’t have done it. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Look at me, Laura.” With a finger under my chin, Magni forced me to meet his eyes. “Do you know how hot it is to wake up and find my wife riding me?”
“No.”
“You have my permission to do it as often as you’d like.”
“Who is Mila?” It flew out of me, and I pulled free from his hands.
“Who told you about Mila?”
“Answer the question.”
“Answer my question first. Who told you about Mila?”
“You did!” My voice was accusatory. “You talked in your dream and all I heard was ‘I love Mila’.”
Magni frowned. “I said that?”
“Yes. So who is she?”
“Only the cutest, sweetest, most beautiful…”
My annoyed outburst was as surprising to me as it was to him. “Just say it!”
“Wow, I’ve never seen you jealous.” Magni chuckled.
“Do you love this Mila?”
“Not in a romantic way.”
That confused me even more. “What?”
“I’ll take you to meet her later today.”
“Why won’t you tell me who she is?”
Magni got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, keeping the door ajar while peeing.
I was still in bed when he returned. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” My voice was full of irritation.
“Give a man a minute to enjoy his wife being jealous.” Magni looked smug. “Mila is a ten-year-old girl from the Motherlands who lives on Boulder’s Island. It’s a secret, so you can’t tell anyone.”
I dropped my chin. “A girl from the Motherlands, living here? How is that possible?” My heart was beating so fast it almost hurt. “What did you do, Magni?”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t hurt the girl. All I did was kidnap a priestess.”
“You kidnapped a priestess?” My voice was loud and shrill. “When? Where is she?” I spun around, my eyes searching the suite again.
“Calm down. She’s the woman Finn went to see in the Motherlands. Her name is Athena.”
“I’m confused. Tell me everything.”
Scratching his chest, Magni began explaining. “I sneaked into the Motherlands to find you and when I couldn’t, I figured I could take a hostage and ask the Council to return you in exchange.”
My hands flew to my hair. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this?”
“I thought they did.”
“No. Do you seriously believe I would have let an innocent suffer because of me?”
“She was only here for five days.”
“And then you let her go?”
Magni scrunched his face. “Of course not. What do you think I am? A softie?”
“Did she escape then?”
He snorted. “No, Athena didn’t escape. Pearl took her place, and I’m pretty sure it’s been all over the news in the Motherlands. How can you not know this? Pearl came to see you, remember?”
“Yes, but she never told me about the hostage situation. She said that she and Khan had met during some negotiations and that they fell in love.”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to feel bad about causing others pain.”
“That would make sense.” I nodded. “I feel like a fool for not knowing all of this, but to be honest, I stayed away from any news sources.”
“Why?”
“First of all, the news in the Motherlands is a waste of time. There are no juicy stories about violent episodes or rebels trying to overrun the Council.”
“Then what do they show?”
“Mostly inspirational stories, tips on gardening, self-help advice, and some videos with pets that do silly things.”
Magni rolled his eyes. “Figures.”
“I guess I also avoided seeing the news because I didn’t want to be reminded of home in case something came up.”
“Sounds like you’ve been living under a rock, Laura.”
“Pretty much.” I massaged my temples, a headache brewing. “I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you kidnapped an innocent woman.”
“Yeah, you almost started a war. Did you think I wouldn’t try to get you back?”
Guilt gnawed at me. I had been impulsive and taken off without realizing the consequences it could have on others. “I had no idea you would get that desperate.” My head hung low in shame.
“It’s not all bad,” Magni said and lifted my chin. “Pearl is a major pain in my ass, but she and Khan have created an experimental school with kids from both sides of the border. Mila is one of the students.”
“A school with girls?” My eyes widened. “But girls don’t go to school here in the Northlands. We’re home schooled.”
“I know, but these are Motlander girls. There’s eight of them and two boys.”
“Ten children from the Motherlands?”
“Uh-huh.”
I blinked my eyes, trying to catch up on all this new information. “I can’t believe it.”
“I know, it’s crazy how much has happened, and now with the border down, we have a chance to conquer the world. It’s fucking time men take back power.”
His words upset me. “You would attack a neighbor country that’s already suffering?”
Magni looked at me with disdain. “What better time to strike than when your enemy is weak? It’s a fucking miracle that we didn’t suffer much from the earthquake. I take that as a sign that some higher power is on our side.”
“The people in the Motherlands aren’t our enemies. They’re peaceful people.”
“Who rule the world and keep us isolated up here,” Magni pointed out in a hard voice.
“I thought you liked the Northlands,” I said.
“Sure, but I would like to see more of the world. Wouldn’t you?” His laugh was hollow. “Oh, I almost forgot. You did see more of the world.”
“Tell me about Mila,” I said to change the subject.
Magni’s eyes softened. “Mila is pure and innocent. She looks like an angel and has the cutest dimples.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, and you know what the most amazing thing is?”
“What?”
He pounded a palm to his chest. “She asked me to be her dad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Boulder and Christina adopted one of the Motlander girls and since Mila’s mom died, she asked me to adopt her.”
“Why?”
Magni’s head turned and he frowned at me. “Because unlike you, she wants me to protect and care for her.”
I swallowed hard and looked down.
“It’s a shame that the Council of the Motherlands would never allow me to adopt Mila. They don’t like Nmen much in general, and after I kidnapped Athena, they hate me.”
“But they let Boulder adopt a child?”
Magni shrugged. “Only because he’s married to a Motlander and because the girl’s mother agreed.”
“I see.”
Magni’s wristband vibrated and he looked down. “We’ll have to continue this talk later. Khan wants me to join him for a strategy session before the negotiations with the Motherlands.”
“What negotiations?”
He got up and turned to face me. It was hard to keep my eyes from wandering down his magnificent body.
“Khan is all about integrating our countries and he’s willing to hold back our troops from attacking the Motherlands.”
“That’s good.”
“I disagree. But anyway, Khan believes he can get the Council to give us what we want in exchange for holding our men back from the border. My troops have been patrolling our side of the wall all night.”
“And what is it that you and Khan want?”
Magni moved to the bathroom. “We want men back in power, of course.”
“You’re not talking about men on the Motherland Council, are you?”
“For a start.” With a hand on the door, he gave me a speculative glance. “I’ve got a long list in my head, but first I’m taking a shower. You want to join me?”
“Only if you promise not to hurt any Motlanders.”
Magni raised an eyebrow and there was a hint of a rare smile on his lips. “What are you now? The protector of Motlanders?”
“I have friends there, and I’m not letting you attack them.”
“How noble of you to care so much, but you forget that I don’t take orders from women.”
I took his words as a challenge. Getting up from the bed, I moved closer with my head high and my movements feminine and graceful. My confidence was fueled by the way his eyes ran up and down my naked body and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. Magni might think he was in control, but he had done desperate things to get me back. I had much more power than he wanted me to know.
“Promise me that you’ll never kidnap an innocent woman again.”
“Promise that you’ll never run away again.”
I nodded my head. “Deal. If I ever leave I’ll talk to you about it first.”
“Good girl. And you know what my answer will be.”
I gave him a mocking smile. “Hopefully something like ‘As my equal you are free to make your own decisions. I’ll support you in whatever you do.’”
“Hmm… more like, I’ll support you in being my wife who does as she’s told.” He took a few steps and turned on the water.
I shrugged. “Clearly, we still have some work in front of us.”
Magni stepped into the shower, closed his eyes, and lifted his face to the spray. With one hand, I confirmed what I suspected; the water was too hot for me.
“It’s boiling. Make it colder.”
Magni complied and adjusted the water before he moved a bit to make room for me.
Stepping close to him with my back to the water, I leaned my head back with a smug smile. “So you do take orders from a woman.”
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “No, but I listen to requests.”
“Magni, you’re impossibly old-fashioned.” My hands trailed over a scar on his shoulder. “At least your body compensates a bit.”
His lips tugged upward. “Is that right?”
“You have my permission to make love to me.”
He laughed and it made him look almost boyish. “Make love to you? Sure, if that’s what you want to call me fucking you hard against the wall.”