Exhausted and barely able to reach forward, I'm grabbing for another stick of wood to put on the fire when I hear a crash behind me.
The door opens behind me, and I gasp as my head spins around. He's taller than I remember. Blocking the fire light, his shadow taking up the entire doorway, Eric looks almost super human. He lays his sword, and a battle axe against the wall, along with his furs, tunic, and pelts.
He sees me trying to stoke the fire, and he turns around to walk right back out immediately.
"Eric!" Don't go now! I haven't even gotten to kiss him. He comes back and wraps long, powerful arms around me. Bliss.
"First thing's first", he says. "I need to know you're warm. Hold on." He comes back with an armful of plenty of wood, and puts it by the fire. He stokes it up until the room is lit with orange light, and I can feel it becoming warmer.
"Min kärlek", he says, kneeling and taking me tightly in his arms. It's dark and there's a huge pile of furs in my lap. He hasn't noticed.
"Min kärlek", I say back, sobbing. My love. He sits beside me on the pallet and I collapse into his arms.
"I was so scared, I was so scared! Another week, and I don't know what state you would have found us in. I'm so tired." I just let myself cry in his arms like a baby.
"I'm always coming for you, always", he whispers against my ear. "I'm so sorry, I wanted to return a month ago."
"I need help, I can't do it alone", I wail.
"My little Viking, you don't have to. You have nothing else to worry about. I'm here now, and so are 65 other strong backs. But I promise you this will never happen again, you'll never be without us this long again", he says, cuddling me. "You stayed."
"I told you I would", I say squeezing him back.
His lips claim mine possessively. I pull him against me. His strong arms, his smell, his thick golden hair , brilliant blue eyes. I missed everything about him, every single detail. And now he's back, and now I feel safe, as I haven't since the day he left.
"I missed you every minute", he says.
"Every minute", I answer.
Half a year with Eric was better than a lifetime with anyone else.
His powerful body eclipses mine, and I nearly disappear in his arms. If anything, he's even more carved than before. Biceps, muscles running down the front and backs of his arms, solid shoulders, the lovely curve of muscle down his sides, his back. Ridged abs. The results of months of swinging heavy swords. He raises an eyebrow when he catches me staring.
Hee hee, I can hardly wait. He pulls back the furs, and I watch his face carefully. I'm naked. And very pregnant.
He gasps and looks me over.
"Min kärlek", he gasps, holding me to him. "When did you know?"
"A couple of weeks after you left", I say with joy, twining my arms around his neck.
He pulls me tight against him, the releases me fast.
"Jag att skada barnet?!" he cries.
"No, no, my darling, you're not hurting the baby."
And then, my big strong Viking bursts into tears.
I rock him in my arms. My sweet darling.
"It's okay", I murmur and hold him tight. "Everything is fine. I'm healthy, the baby is healthy." He's gotten me to momentarily forget our problems.
"Our family will go on", he whispers against my hair.
"Yes", I say and pull him into a kiss.
He kisses me back, and then deepens it, and he's changed on me right in that moment. His mood has shifted. He pulls me into deep a kiss and plunders my mouth.
"Let me look at you", he gasps. "Vacker." Beautiful.
He cups my head and lays me flat on the pile of furs. There are no furs left of top of me, and he looks my naked body over from head to toe. I'm self conscious and reach for the furs, but he stops me.
"Rund", whispers, and dips his head to kiss our growing bump over and over. "Rund." Round. Any other woman would take that as an insult, but the way he says it, it sounds like praying.
He moves up to my larger breasts, and weighs them again as he did our first night together. He smiles and takes a nipple in his mouth, sucking gently. He pays them worshipful attention. Then kisses up my neck, my cheeks, my forehead, and finally seizes my lips.
"Make love to me", I whisper against his ear.
"I'm too large, my Sookie. I might hurt the baby. Perhaps we should speak to a midwife first", he says. This is my dream and there's no time to send for a midwife who would probably shake a voodoo doll over my head.
"It's perfectly safe." I open my legs for him, and his desire is great, growing with or without his permission. He runs a finger up my inner thigh, practically drooling. "We'll be slow and gentle", I say. He's already hard as a rock, and he moans as I take him in my hands. He missed me a lot. I pull him down on top of me and he doesn't have the strength to argue. Easy, baby.
Oh….there. He's home. When he slips gently inside, it's like he never left. It feels like we made love just last night. My body has his memorized. He holds himself up on his arms. The feel of us tightly pressed together is gone, but there are other pleasures. Once I was in my second trimester, I became too horny to think straight, and it's continued since. I want to be pounded, but I guess that's off the table.
"Fill me", I beg him, "I missed you so much."
He cries out in pain and pleasure, trying to hold back. Neither of us wants him to. "I need….help me, Sookie", he whispers, his whole body shaking with need. His emotions are so frantic, his nerves are so shot, he's gotten stuck in them.
"Give in, min kärlek you're home", I whisper to him and he explodes hot and wet, shaking for minutes afterward.
"You missed me", I say.
"More than you could ever know. You're everything that's good and pure in this world."
Ha! But it gives me pause. Does my Eric think that?
He lays down next to me, his head on the furs next to my belly.
"Barn", he whispers. "Mitt barn." My baby. He's kissing me over and over again.
I run my fingers through his hair. He's home and warm and safe. And thrilled about our child.
"Min kvinna." My woman. He sits up and takes my lips for a claiming kiss.
"Yes", I whisper pulling him closer and he erupts into loud, happy laughter.
Tears are rolling down his cheeks again. I cry, just watching his joy.
"Mine to love, mine to protect, forever", he says. He sits up, stokes up the fire, and then pulls me down next to him. Then he lays down, pulling the furs up to my chin, spooning me. He splays a large hand over my tummy. "Min."
"Are you pleased?" I ask.
"Mycket nöjd", he answers. Greatly pleased.
I sleep like a rock.