Page 88 of The Champion
She rolled to her side and scooted back against me, holding onto my wrist of the arm that I had wrapped around her. For a long moment we lay in silence and then she whispered. “I worry, you know.”
“About what?”
“About you having sex with someone else now that I need to wait.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ve had my share of women and I wouldn’t risk what we have for a meaningless encounter.”
“Are you sure?”
“Once you feel rested, we can still play around while we wait for you to heal. There’s nothing wrong with your hands and mouth so we’ll be fine. Orgasms are supposed to boost your immune system so if I give you plenty, maybe you’ll heal faster.”
Freya gave a tired chuckle. “For someone so cerebral you have a lot of sex on your mind.”
“I can’t help it. It’s a cultural thing.”
“Yeah, Linea says that it’s how you French connect.”
“Makes sense.”
“Don’t connect with anyone else, sexually, please.”
“Freya, you think too much. Close your eyes and sleep now.”
“I love you, Victor, times a gazillion.”
With a smile, I said the words that now felt so natural to me. “I love you too, Freya Xavier.”
As she dozed off, I played with her long brown hair that was shorter now than when we first met. A million thoughts went through my mind, from my work to the day we had spent with her parents. It seemed ironic to me that if someone had asked me a year ago if there was a chance of Freya and me having a life together, I would have said a hundred percent no.
I smiled as I remembered something Shelly had told me the other day. It was typical of her to rant about random stuff when we worked, and often, I would close off to focus. But one thing she had said had resonated with me. “People have called me a genius from the time I was a child. I don’t see myself that way, but if I were to define my gift it would be that I’m a pathfinder. People tend to see only the roads others have walked before them, but my favorite thing is to clear a way into places where no one has gone before.”
That was exactly what Freya and I were doing with Wisdomia. We hadn’t gone the usual way of the Northlanders or the French. We were forging a new path that felt right to both of us.
I kissed her hair and thought about her confession that she was worried I might be with someone else. Before Freya and I became a couple, I would have said it was inevitable that we would both need variety. I didn’t feel that way anymore. Before I was able to sleep with her, I had picked women who reminded me of Freya. Now that she was my wife, the idea of sleeping with a copy of her seemed laughable. I couldn’t imagine going back to meaningless and mechanical sex after experiencing the deep satisfaction of having sex with someone who loved me. Closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep knowing that there was no place in the world I would rather be than right here with my wife and child.
EPILOGUE
End of an Era
The Northlands 2492
Twenty-Four Years Later
Freya
Isobel looked lovely in her black dress as she moved across the ballroom with her long brown hair cascading down her back. With the way her hips swayed in a graceful and natural way, she reminded me of a younger version of my mother. Squatting down in front of me, she had a warm smile on her pretty face. “Mom, are you all right?”
I nodded, my throat tight and my heart full of grief.
Turning to my mother, who sat between Thor and me, Isobel’s green eyes shone with empathy and concern as she took Pearl’s hand. “What about you, Grandma? Do you need anything? I could get you something to drink.”
My mom’s voice cracked a little. “That’s kind of you dear, but I can wait until after the speeches.”
With a nod of understanding, my twenty-four-year-old daughter rose and walked back to her seat, unaware of the longing glances she received from the young Nmen in the room.
“Freya.”
I turned my head to see Thor leaning forward to get my attention. He had a somber expression with deep lines marring his forehead.
