Page 70 of Ulf's Destiny
Ylva took her friend’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Come, let’s go inside. The ceremony will be tomorrow. I need to be ready.”
Judith let out a laugh. “I think you already are.”
Yes, in truth she was. Desperate.
If someone had toldYlva as a little girl of five living with her parents that the first wedding she would ever go to would be her own, she would have been appalled. All little girls wanted to go to weddings. But as it happened, she loved the fact that she had nothing to compare this ceremony to. Not that she would have found it lacking in any way, she didn’t think. But it was certainly different from any she had ever heard of.
It was a Norse wedding, which had to account for the novelty. She was already big with child, which contributed to making it unlike the others. And the groom by her side was unlike any man her childish mind could have conjured.
In short, it was perfect.
The banquet afterward was just as perfect. She danced with Ulf, with Oslac, Rothgar, Haakon, Thorfinn and even once with Steinar. She talked with her friends, drank, laughed and ate until she was sated in every sense of the word.
Later, once they were alone in the hut, Ulf gathered her in his arms. The low fire at their feet was the only source of light but neither thought to light any candles. This was more than enough, and pleasingly intimate.
“This has been the best day of my life,” he told her, cradling her in his arms. “Thank you for being part of it.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“No,” he growled. “Your pleasure will come now, on our pallet. All night, I will make sure you erupt again and again. You won’t be able to think or move by the time I’m finished with you, only breathe and remember how much I love you.”
Every nerve inside her ignited. She didn’t doubt this would be the most passionate night of their life. And the best part? There would be many to follow. She intended to make the most of the next few months, because all too soon her belly, and then her recovery from the birth, would force them to put their lovemaking on hold.
“I don’t mind you seeing to my pleasure, all night if you want to. But please tell me I will be allowed to repay the favor,” she purred, placing a hand on his chest. Mmmm. So hard. So masculine.
“You will, never fear. But before that, I have something to show you, wife,” he said, placing a kiss at the end of her nose. He had enjoyed using the name. And she had loved hearing it. “I hope you’ll like it.”
Eyes gleaming with mischief, Ulf started to remove his tunic. When he tugged his undershirt from his braies, Ylva smiled. “I’m pretty sure I will like everything you have under there.”
“Will you?” He looked at her, bare-chested and magnificent, straight as an arrow, potent as a weapon.
“Mm. Yes. I definitely like this.”
He snorted, as if pleased by her reaction, then turned to the side to show her his left bicep. “Here.”
It didn’t take Ylva long to see what he was showing her.
“Your arm ring,” she whispered. “It’s different.”
There was a big oval gem in the center of it, glittering in the light of the fire. It appeared to be of a deep blue color but theflickering flames made pink sparks dance through it, rendering it even more special.
“I had Caedmon modify it,” Ulf explained, as she fingered the jewel. It was exquisite, polished to a smooth finish, embedded in the metal in a seamless manner, as if it had always been there. “I told you I always thought something was missing, just like I thought something was missing from my life. Now that I have you, the woman who has made my life complete, I thought I would give my arm ring its own gem. We searched high and low for the perfect stone and finally found one with the same deep color as your eyes. I knew it was the one I needed as soon as I saw it.”
For days, Ylva had been sure she loved this man. She now knew it had been nothing in comparison to what she felt now.
And,” he added before she could dissolve in a puddle at his feet, “I had one made for you, as a wedding present.”
With those words he reached to the purse at his belt and extracted a silver bracelet that matched his in every way. The only difference was that the band was half the width of his and the gem at the center smaller, of a clearer shade of blue. She suspected that, seen in the sunlight, it would appear just as dazzling as her husband’s blue eyes. This was really the perfect wedding gift.
“I…”
She was speechless, was what she was trying to say.
“You like it then?”
“No. I love it. Put it on me, please.”
She couldn’t wait to feel the cool metal against her skin and she already knew she would never take it off, just like a true Norsewoman. It would remind her that they belonged to one another.
