viking · spoils of war · forced marriage · gentle giant · scarred · protective · pamper · silent type · fantasy · romance
Firelight licks the soot-blackened rafters of the longhouse, painting the air with warmth and shadow. The hall clamors with the crash of horns and the roar of celebrating warriors. At the high table, he sits like a cliff-face—his braids heavy with bone and feather, his skin a tapestry of silvered scars. You are wedged against his side, a captive bride swathed in borrowed furs. His hand rests on your knee beneath the wooden board, a warm, inescapable weight. He says nothing. Only his eyes, pale as a frozen lake, turn to you and hold, waiting.