Dragonslayer (Twilight of the Gods Book 3) (21 page)
Read Dragonslayer (Twilight of the Gods Book 3) Online
Authors: Eleri Stone
Two years later
A carpet of red and green wrapping paper covered the scuffed wooden floors of the cabin. Jacey bent to scoop up an armful, and shoved it in the waiting trash bag as Christian entered the room. “Kids asleep?”
He nodded. “As soon as they hit their pillows. I think the party wore them out.”
She touched the sleeve of his flannel shirt. “I think their Uncle Christian wore them out.”
Ice skating that morning, and then the clan gathering at noon. By the time they’d gotten back to the cabin to celebrate with Christian’s immediate family, she’d been dragging. That was right when the kids had gotten a second wind, though. Christian held the bag open, and she popped the last ball of paper inside. While he tied it up, she dropped onto the couch in front of the fire. Christian joined her a moment later to wrap his arm around her shoulders.
“My mom didn’t give you any trouble today, did she? I was worried about leaving you alone with her.”
Christian’s mother was frighteningly direct. She hadn’t been particularly happy in her perfect son’s choice of a spouse at first, and it’d taken her a while to get over the fact that Jacey didn’t have one single drop of Æsir blood in her. But apparently she was finally coming around to accepting her new daughter-in-law. “She asked me when I was going to give her a grandchild.”
Christian winced. “Did she remind you of your duty to the clan?”
Jacey snorted. “You’re the sucker for the duty speech, not me. No, all she had to do was point out the window.”
Christian turned his head to look at her. He hadn’t shaved that morning, and the firelight caught the tiny gold whiskers on his jaw. She nestled her head against his chest. “You had Shelby on your shoulders.”
“I was the dragon.”
“That explains why Brant and Calder were coming at you with sticks, then.”
He laughed, a low rumble in his chest. “They probably would have come at me with sticks anyway.”
They stared into the dying fire for a few moments, letting the silence settle around them. Christian toyed with the ends of her hair. “What do you think about that?”
“About what?”
“Kids,” he said softly. “Do you ever think you might like to have children with me?”
He sounded so hesitant asking that it nearly broke her heart. She’d known from the beginning how important family was to him, but he’d never pushed. She tried to imagine little blonde children with Christian’s bright eyes and easy smile, swinging swords pretending to slay dragons. There’d be no stopping them. Lifting her head so she could look him in the eyes, she placed her hand to his cheek. “I’d like that very much.”
He took her hand and turned it, pressed a kiss to her wrist and then leaned forward to brush his lips across hers. “Maybe we can start working on it when we get back to Ragnarok.”
On this visit, they were sleeping on a pullout in the converted porch. Christian’s sister wanted everyone under one roof, and their mother and stepfather were in the guest room. Since it was a small Æsir town tucked in the mountains, there wasn’t a hotel nearby. She didn’t mind sleeping on the pullout, but she did mind the lack of privacy. Christian dipped his head to kiss her again, hesitating just before his lips touched hers.
“I’ll call Raquel to set up the portal jump in the morning.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. “Good. You know, before we start a family, we really should go on that honeymoon we’ve been talking about. Aiden said he’d be able to find someone to cover for you, especially if we go before spring.”
He brushed her lips, skated down across her jaw and nuzzled at the sensitive spot on her neck that always made her shiver. She did so now, and he smiled against her skin. “Have you decided where you want to go?”
“I have.”
He’d promised to let her choose their destination, and Christian was a man who took his promises very seriously.
He looked up at her, blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Where exactly do you wish to go, my sweet, impossible wife?”
“I want to see another world.” She pressed her lips to his, swallowed his groan and smiled as she withdrew. Her smile widened when she saw his expression was closer to exasperation than refusal. “How about we start with Asgard?”
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Dragonslayer
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Eleri Stone is a RITA-nominated author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Born and raised in New Jersey, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children. All of her stories have some element of speculative fiction, and they all end with a happily-ever-after.