Planet Mail (18 page)

“I’ll marry you, Marcus.”

He gripped her hands, his face a blaze of joy.
“Now?”

She glanced around and tried to locate Marge. A crowd had grown around them. Her friend was caught behind Sven, trying to push her way past.

“Captain, do we have time to get married?”

Marge nodded.
“If you can make it quick.
I can log it on our ship’s records as well as on this planet’s. Then it will be all official.” She grinned at Douglass. “I’ll go and help Sven rustle up the Valhalla equivalent of a pastor. Congratulations, pal, or should I say,
Your
Majesty?”

Douglass scarcely heard her, her gaze locked with Marcus’, her hands grasped firmly within his.

“I love you, Douglass.” His quiet words were for her alone. She wanted to cry again as happiness bubbled through her. “I’ll wait for your return, however long it takes.”

She smiled into his eyes. “You can come and visit me and Danny on Earth, you know. I’m sure our son would love to meet you.”

He chuckled, the sound low in his throat. “No, he won’t. I’ll just be someone that distracts his mother. But I will work hard to become his friend and his father if that is his wish.”

She pressed his hand to her stomach. “That’s very sweet of you but I didn’t mean my son. I meant
your
son.”

Marcus went still. “I do not understand.”

“I think you do.”

“My
son
?”

Marcus fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed the slight swell of her abdomen, his voice sounded choked. “You have given me everything I ever wished for. With this precious gift to look forward to, I will certainly come and visit you on Earth.”

When he looked up at her, tears fell down her cheeks. His eyes radiated a fierce joy she had never experienced before. It made her feel like a goddess. He got to his feet, keeping her hand in his.

“I will send Sven, Harlan and
Bron
with you to Earth to take care of you.”

Douglass frowned. “I don’t need to be cosseted, Marcus. Having a baby is a perfectly normal event.”

His mouth set in a familiar hard line. “If I cannot be there, I wish your servers to take my place. Surely as my queen you will be expected to have servants?”

“I have a two-bedroom apartment, pal. Where will they all sleep?”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “With you, of course, how else will they be able to service your needs and protect you?”

Douglass stared at him. “They can’t do that on Earth. I’d end up in all the tacky papers as some kind of sex fiend! And I have a child who lives with me.”

He smiled at her. “We will discuss this after our marriage, consort. We will—what is it you say—reach a compromise.”

He nodded decisively. “Aye, I will speak to the captain about this before you leave and ask if I might contact the government officials on Earth. If your planet recognizes mine as a sovereign nation, you will be treated like a queen. They will be obliged to protect you and provide suitable living accommodation.”

Douglass stopped smiling. “I thought you said we would compromise?”

He looked surprised. “I am. If it was up to me, I would insist you took twenty-four of my bodyguards with you and were protected night and day.”

She poked him in the chest with her index finger. “As long as I’m on Earth, I’m going to live the life I’m used to. I’ll pay my own bills, I’ll keep my apartment and I’ll continue to go to work.”

He touched her cheek, his expression tender. “I admire your courage and I understand that you have had to be self-reliant to bring up your child alone. But the fact that you have agreed to be my wife, and you carry my child, will change things.” He hesitated. “I have the means and the desire to make your life easier, to share your responsibilities and bear some of your burdens; will you not allow me to do so?”

She stared at him for a long while as the preparations for their hasty wedding went on around them. It would be hard for her to relinquish some of the control she’d fought to establish over her life and harder still to trust him with her heart and with Danny. But he’d said he was willing to give up his planet and his people for her. He was prepared to meet her halfway. If she truly loved him, could she offer him anything less?

She took a deep breath. “I love you, Marcus.”

He kissed her mouth. His unique taste and scent made her want to cling to him forever. “We will learn to please each other, consort. We will learn to live in harmony with our children.”

His quiet confidence made her want to cry. Before she could reply, Marge reappeared with
Thorlan
at her side. “This guy says he can do it, okay?”

The entire crew of the
Eagle One
spread out below the staircase, joined by the curious planet dwellers, a sea of colors and faces turned up to the spacecraft. Sven, Harlan and
Bron
stood on the steps like three gigantic bridesmaids. All of them were smiling, whether at the prospect of traveling to Earth or purely for the joy of seeing their king married, Douglass couldn’t quite say.

Marcus bent close to murmur in her ear. “When you return to Valhalla we will hold another more private ceremony in the ancient temple. I look forward to seeing you displayed and aching for me, your cream flooding your sex, your nipples hard and sensitive to my fingers and mouth.”

Douglass shuddered. “Let me have the baby first, and then I’ll let you know whether I ever want you near me again.”

He looked thoughtful as his gaze drifted over her body. “You will want me.”

Thorlan
cleared his throat as Marcus’ satisfied gaze fell on a blushing Douglass.

“If you would like to stand beside the king, my lady, we will begin the ceremony.”

When Douglass stared into Marcus’ eyes, the unorthodox setting for her wedding disappeared from her thoughts. They’d fight, for sure but she knew, without any doubt, that her future life as Queen of Valhalla would never be described as boring.

Epilogue

Earth, seven months later

“Are they all with you?”

The admissions nurse swallowed hard as she tried to keep her gaze on Douglass who waited impatiently in front of the desk, arms crossed over her huge belly. Douglass looked over her shoulder. What was the problem? The guys all had white shirts, leather pants and boots on, so they looked respectable. Sven had Danny on his shoulders, Harlan and
Bron
were on either side of her mother and Marcus was…where was Marcus?

Another contraction ripped through her and she grabbed hold of the desk.

“Of course they’re with me. Why else would they be here?”

Sven tapped her on the shoulder. “Don’t forget your breathing, My Queen. It will ease the pain.”

Douglass glared at him and then returned her gaze to the nurse who was smirking at Harlan. “Excuse me? Can you just admit me? I don’t want to have my baby in the hallway.”

The nurse blushed and checked her screen. “Name please?”

“Blood Axe,” Douglass said through her teeth. Where the hell was Marcus when she needed him? And why did she feel so stupid having to call herself Mrs. Blood Axe? She should have registered in her maiden name.

Another contraction crashed over her and she almost bit through her lip.

“Are you sure you are registered here?”

Douglass placed both her hands on the desk. “Of course I am. Do you think I’m doing this for fun?”

“Excuse me, My Queen, but I believe the teacher at the birthing class said you should try and maintain your serenity for the sake of the baby,” Sven murmured close to her ear.

She swung around to face him. He took a step back, his face blanching. She pointed at the door. “Take my mother and Danny somewhere quiet and find Marcus—now.”

“Is
Bloodaxe
all one word or two?” asked the nurse.

Douglass closed her eyes. Two strong hands came around her and supported her weight.

“Blood Axe is two words and there is no need to worry about registering my queen,” Marcus said. “I have just spoken to the hospital’s chief administrator and my wife is already cleared to proceed.”

“I’m not a spaceship,” Douglass murmured. Trust Marcus to go to the top. He kissed her cheek.

“No, you’re not but I’m sure you’d like to get on with having our child.”

Douglass opened her eyes to see her husband smiling down at her. She was so glad he’d been able to get here for the birth. He’d been with her for four weeks this time and wasn’t planning on returning to Planet Valhalla for a good long while afterward. Thanks to the hard work of the Interplanetary Health Organization, the cleanup process on the planet was going well. The contaminated soil had been removed and the people were receiving the best treatment available to recover their health and fertility. A delighted Marcus was busy planning for their return.

She tried to relax as Sven reappeared and reported that her mother was settled with Danny in the waiting area. She’d made all her servers take the birthing classes alongside her, just in case they were needed, but things had worked out just fine.

“Oh my god, you’re that Viking king from the stars, aren’t you?” The nurse shrieked and clapped her hands over her mouth. Douglass glared at her. How typical that the nurse should only recognize the Blood Axe name when she saw Marcus. In the past few months, news of their “space romance” had leaked out and they had become the topic of several lurid articles in the
Intergalactic Enquirer
. Despite the size of San Francisco and even with state-of-the-art security, it had proved impossible to hide four strikingly handsome Vikings and a visibly pregnant woman. Thankfully Douglass saw her obstetrician approaching and they were able to walk away before the nurse asked for an autograph.

Sven, Harlan and
Bron
followed after her, their expressions purposeful. She glanced up at Marcus as another contraction shuddered through her. He held the door of the birthing room open for her.

“Do you want them to stay outside?” Marcus asked.

She glanced back at her servers’ hopeful faces and sighed. “Oh come in, you’ve experienced everything else with me, why should you get to miss out on the fun part?”

The delivery room seemed to shrink as everyone crowded inside. As another contraction swept through her, she gripped Marcus’ fingers until he winced. Despite the pain, a sensation of peace settled deep within her. Her new child would know who his father was and he would always be loved. Surrounded by the men who had taught her about pleasure and allowed her to rediscover love, she prepared to welcome her son into the world.

Also by Kate Pearce

Eden’s Pleasure

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