Page 32 of Alien Viking's Passion

“I remember,” he made up on the spot, “from my younger days, that the shipbuilders would put water inside the ship to make the wood expand. That helps tighten and close the cracks before the ship is pushed into the ocean. They would leave it like that for quite some time.”

Aretha nodded. “We should make sure that it won’t sink in the middle of the lake. I know how to swim, but I don’t want to. The water is cold.”

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- Aretha -

Craxon squeezed her shoulders. “I shall make sure that you are always safe, whether our proud ship sinks or not. Have you given any thought to what it shall be called?”

“I know that longships have very mighty and fearsome names,” Aretha said. “Like Earl Bragr’sKraken. But I think a small ship like ours should have a small name, one that has nothing to do with heroes and monsters. What about theKvad?”

“Excellent!” Craxon exclaimed, his laughter echoing from the trees. “We both enjoy making poetry, and the ship is about as beautiful as one of my rhymes. Very well, our ship is calledKvad!Now let’s make sure it will hold water out.”

They used big leaves to scoop water into the little boat, wetting the planks they had tied to the outside of it.

“It’s not running back out,” Aretha observed. “At least the bottom of it will hold water.”

“Kvadis a well-made ship,” Craxon agreed. “She will float lightly over the waves like the most elegantfidr, making barely a wake to tell of her passing.”

Aretha straightened her dress. “Do you think that’s enough water now?”

It was only about an inch above the bottom of the shortship, but filling it was tedious work.

“That should be enough,” Craxon said and tossed the leaf away. “I recall the craft of the old shipwrights, and this is indeed how they would do it. Then they would drink myod, waiting to see if their work was to the satisfaction of Njord, the god of the seas. Sometimes they would wait for days, if they could not read the signs with certainty.”

“Bereft of sweet myod

The poet prince and the tired maiden

Had to drink water instead

But the berries were sweet, as well,”Aretha made up. “I can’t get it to rhyme. I need a poet prince for that.”

“If I see one, I will tell him,” Craxon returned. “Speaking of berries, we can’t possibly leave this island without stripping it entirely of its fruits. It would not be courtly of us. I think we’ve still left some on the trees.”

“That’s just wrong,” Aretha cheerfully agreed as they walked back into the woods to search for food. She was in no hurry to leave this island. Or rather, to leave Craxon. He had thawed up a lot since he hit his head, becoming almost playful. But once they were back at the jarlagard, with the Vikings and the rest of the Ragnhildros people, things would change. She was sure of it.

And so what? It wasn’t as if she was going to fall for anyone on this alien planet. She was going home to Earth, and that was it.

Of course she hadn’tfallenfor Craxon. He was a gorgeous alien Viking, fine.

Okay, so he had a playful streak that she hadn’t seen in him until now, and he was a fierce protector. Cool. Surely all Vikings were like that when you got to know them.

All right, he was the finest male she’d ever set eyes on. And she kept thinking of the sex they had by the coast that night. Her knees went weak with the memory. But none of that waslove. It was just…attraction.

She didn’t want to be in arelationshipwith him. Imagine coming home to Earth hand in hand with Craxon!

She stared at his wide back, covered in frost-like marks that Josie said were so painful to get that she was sure she’d die. The giant muscles rolled with each step he took, the sun glinted off his horns, his hair shone like burned gold… back on theUnity, he would have caused a riot.

And on Earth itself? She imagined walking down the street with this demigod of a male, a Viking more fearsome and real than the Earth Vikings had ever been.

Fine, she would be proud to introduce him to everyone. ‘This is my boyfriend, he’s a Viking alien prince, he’s saved my life many times, that’s his sword named Krakhogg, he has a natural smell like midsummer dusk in Norway, he likes to make poems, and basically he’s straight out of a fairytale. Oh, and his cock is the size of a baseball bat and feels beyond incredible.’

The memory sent delighted tingles down her front. She squeezed her thighs together to maximize the rising heat. Ithadbeen incredible. Whatever happened from here on in, she wouldn’t regretthatpart.

He sent a glance behind him as if to make sure she was still there. His gaze dropped down her body and lingered at her center for just a heartbeat before he smiled and walked on. There was definitely movement at his crotch.

The breath caught in her throat. Maybe they could do it again? After all, she needed stories for her media tour on Earth after she returned. And a fleeting tryst with an alien prince would need some spice added to the story.

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