Page 50 of Viking
Thecreakof the porch steps announced Viking’s return before the door swung open.His massive frame filled the doorway, early morning sunlight gilding his blond hair and beard.Our eyes met across the kitchen, and something warm unfurled in my chest, the same feeling I got every time I saw him -- safety and desire woven together into something I was finally allowing myself to call love.
“Morning,” he said, his voice still rough with sleep even though he’d been up since dawn, checking the compound’s perimeter with Tank and Tempest.
“Bacon’s almost ready,” I answered, unable to keep the smile from my voice.“Coffee’s hot.”
He crossed to me in three long strides, one large hand settling at the small of my back while the other brushed my hair aside so he could press his lips to my forehead.The simple gesture melted something inside me, as it did every time.This man, who could kill with his bare hands, who had taken down an entire black ops team to protect us, handled me with such tenderness it made my heart ache.
“You’re up early,” he murmured against my skin.
“Despite being tired, I couldn’t sleep.”
His low chuckle vibrated against me before he pulled away, turning toward Athena who had noticed his arrival and was scrambling to her feet.
“Daddy!”she cried, abandoning her church service to race toward him.
He crouched, opening his arms as she launched herself at him.“There’s my girl,” he said, scooping her up as he stood.She seemed impossibly tiny against his broad chest, her small hands patting his bearded face with familiar affection.
“Hopper was preaching,” she informed him seriously.
“Was he now?”Viking settled her on his hip with practiced ease.“And what was Reverend Hopper’s sermon about today?”
“Being brave,” she answered, resting her head against his shoulder in a gesture of trust that still amazed me.
Viking’s eyes met mine over her copper curls, both of us recognizing the significance.Brave was the word we’d been using with her in therapy -- brave when she tried new foods, brave when she talked about her feelings, brave when she remembered her father.
“That’s a good sermon,” he said, carrying her to the table and setting her in the booster seat we’d installed.“You think Hopper would let me attend next time?”
She nodded, already reaching for the crayons and coloring book I’d set out earlier.Viking watched her for a moment, something soft and wondering in his expression before he turned back to me.
“Need help?”he asked, already moving to flip the bacon sizzling in the cast iron pan.
We moved around each other in the familiar dance we’d developed these past weeks, his large body somehow never crowding me in the small kitchen.He poured coffee while I slid biscuits into the oven.I scrambled eggs while he set the table, working around Athena’s artistic endeavors.The domesticity of it all still startled me sometimes -- how easily we’d fallen into these routines, how right it felt.
“Savior called this morning,” Viking said as he refilled my coffee mug.“The club’s planning a barbecue this weekend.Wants us there.”
I nodded, sliding eggs onto plates.“That sounds nice.Athena loves playing with the other kids.”
“It’s more than that.”Viking leaned against the counter, his voice dropping.“The club wants to make our status official.Savior will announce it to everyone.”
My hand stilled on the spatula.My heart fluttered with equal parts excitement and apprehension.I wasn’t sure I was the right fit to be his woman, but I also refused to let him go.
“That’s not all,” he continued, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a folded document.He placed it on the counter beside me, his fingers lingering on the paper.“I had Wire get this for me.”
I set down the spatula and picked up the papers, unfolding them carefully.Adoption papers, with Athena’s name at the top and blank spaces for signatures below.My eyes blurred as I scanned the formal language, phrases jumping out at me: “permanent legal guardianship,” “parental rights,” “best interests of the child.”
“I know you already adopted Athena, but I want to make this official -- all of it,” Viking said, his voice rougher than usual.“You, me, Athena.A real family.”
My fingers went instinctively to the locket around my neck.My brother had sent me to Viking for protection, but had he imagined this?Us becoming a family?Athena calling me Momma and reaching for Viking like he hung the moon?
“Karo?”Viking’s hand covered mine, warm and steady.“Talk to me.”
I looked up from the papers to his face, seeing the uncertainty there despite his confident words.This giant of a man who could face down killers without flinching, looking at me like I held his heart in my hands.
And I did.
I set the adoption papers on the counter between us.“It’s a big step.”
Viking nodded, his blue gaze never leaving my face.“It is.”
