“I wish to ask you something,” I said. “May I touch your face, to feel what you look like?”

His hand took one of mine and brought it to his face.

I felt the rough wiriness of a long beard. I followed it up toward his face, my fingertips tracing a hooked nose, broad cheekbones, and a strong brow. I traced back down toward his lips, hidden beneath the scruffy beard he bore. I felt him kiss my fingertips before he took my index finger between his lips and gently sucked, his teeth grazing my fingertip before his tongue flicked the nip away. A hand slid up my side to caress the underside of my breast, while the other wrapped around my hips, pulling me closer against his body. Beneath my bottom, I felt something harden and rise. I shifted, unsure of what exactly was happening. He groaned softly, as if he was being tortured.

“Those men of the village were fools,” he muttered. “You are a woman as glorious as Freyja herself.”

My body shivered again with that unnamed desire. “Who is she?” I asked, and Aldric moved his head to nuzzle at my throat. “She is a goddess, of love, sex, fertility, war, and death. She is everything wonderful in life itself.”