Page 70 of Viktor at Sea

“Thank you,” Astrid smiled brightly at me, looking far more excited than a woman should be to receive a seating pillow.

I moved the small table a little further from the wall and placed the pillow beside my one. I didn’t want us to sit opposite each other, not when we could sit next to each other and still enjoy our meal.

“Do you feel like things are a little awkward between us?” Astrid murmured as she sat beside me, our arms brushing when she shifted to get comfortable.

“A little,” I admitted with a soft chuckle. “I think things will be a little awkward between us for a few days, but we’ll find our groove.”

“We were so normal before the wedding,” she sighed. “I hope we find our groove sooner rather than later. I really want things to be great between us.”

“They already are,” I grinned and leaned in to steal a sweet kiss. “We just need a little time for things to fall into place, and then everything will be smooth sailing from there.”

Astrid scrunched her nose at my use of a sea pun, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

And I truly believed that. All we needed was some time to adjust to this new life. This new, beautiful life.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to join us?” I whispered in her ear, tightening my arms around her waist and pulling her back flush against my chest.

“No, you can’t,” Astrid snorted, pulling a face at the thought of spending the whole day out on the water. “Besides, I’m needed at the school today.”

“I’m going to miss you,” I frowned and dipped my head, nuzzling my nose into the crook of her neck and inhaling the addictive, fresh cotton scent of my wife I loved so much.

“I didn’t know I was signing myself up for a whiny, needy husband when I agreed to marry you,” she joked and leaned back into me, turning her head to the side to give me better access to her neck. I smiled at that and couldn’t resist the urge to pepper kisses down the smooth slope of her neck. I groaned lowly at the taste of her, my hands having a mind of their own as they slowly travelled up her waist. When I cupped her voluptuous breasts, she moaned quietly and arched her back, pushing her boobs into my hands. She placed her hands over my own and squeezed harder, moaning again.

“And I didn’t know I married a woman who hated the sea so much.” My voice was husky. “I’m really going to miss you today, my siren.”

“Well, the sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll come back to me.” Astrid turned around, looped her arms around my neck and pulled my face toward hers, pressing her mouth against mine.

“That is a very good argument,” I murmured against her lips, groaning when she sunk her teeth into my bottom lip and sucked gently. “But the sooner I leave, the less time I have to spend with you right now.”

“Well, pirate,” Astrid whispered, arching her back and pressing herself closer to me, allowing me to feel and savour everything my wife had to offer. “It appears we’re at a crossroads.”

“What do you propose we do?” I grinned against her mouth and parted my lips when she requested it with her wet, slippery tongue. “Perhaps I could let Garth play Captain for the day, and he could take the kids out on the ship?”

“I don’t want you to do that,” she murmured and nipped my bottom lip again, quick to soothe it with a sensual swipe of her tongue. “I want you to go out on The Serpent and have fun. I know how much you love being on the water.”

“That I do,” I groaned when she sucked my tongue into her mouth. For a woman that wasn’t ready to have sex yet, she sure liked sucking on my tongue which got me thinking about her sucking something else. “And since you still don’t want to come with me, I guess I’ll see you this evening when I return.”

“And you can have all the kisses you want then,” Astrid grinned, pulling away slightly to gaze up at me from under those beautiful, long lashes of hers.

“That is very tempting,” I chuckled.

“Well, as long as you don’t come back stinking of fish,” she clarified with a teasing smile.

“I’ll shower before I kiss you. Will that work?”

“I can live with that,” Astrid grinned, and when her eyes dropped to my lips once again, I knew what she wanted. Not one to deny my wife such a simple ask, I bowed my head and pressed my lips against hers in a hard, bruising kiss.

“Viktor!” Roscoe called out for me loudly and knocked hard on the door, impatient as always.

“That’s the third time Roscoe’s come calling for you,” Astrid whispered, kissing me once more before pulling away slightly, her lips stretching into a humoured grin. “You should go before he knocks the door down.”

“But I’m not finished kissing my wife yet,” I whined and dipped my head once again to press my lips against hers. “Okay,” I sighed dramatically and stole another kiss. “I’m done now.”

“I’m not,” she grinned and rose on her tiptoes to press one more hard kiss to my mouth. It was short but far from sweet. It was the kind of kiss I would remember all day and feel on my lips until I returned this evening for a repeat of our makeout session.

I was loving married life. I was truly thriving in the role of husband.

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