For the next three days, Cassandra had the distinct feeling that something was up. Whenever she drew near Wulf and Kat when they were together, they would immediately become quiet and act nervous.
Chris had taken up with a group of young female Apollites that Phoebe had introduced him to when she'd taken him shopping to buy electronics that would keep him from being bored. The Apollite girls thought his dark coloring was "exotic" and they adored the fact that he was so into computers and technology.
"I have died and gone to Valhalla!" Chris had exclaimed the night he met them. "These women appreciate a man with a brain and they don't care that I don't tan. None of their people do either. It's great!"
"They're Apollites, Chris," Wulf had warned him.
"Yeah, so? You got an Apollite babe. I want one too. Or two or three or four of them. This is so cool."
Wulf had shaken his head and left Chris to them with one last warning. "If they make a move on your neck, run."
By day five, Cassandra was really starting to worry. Wulf had been nervous since the moment she woke up. What's more, he and Kat had been gone for hours the night before and neither one of them would tell her what they'd been up to.
He reminded her of a skittish colt.
"Is there something I need to know?" Cassandra asked after she cornered him in the living room.
"I'm going to go find Phoebe or something," Kat said, shooting for the door.
She made a hasty exit.
"There's just something, I..." Wulf paused.
Cassandra waited.
"Well?" she prompted.
"Wait here." He left her to go to Chris's room.
A few minutes later, he came back with an old Viking sword. She remembered having seen it in a special glass case in his cellar. The two of them must have gone back to his place last night to retrieve it. But why they would take such a chance, she couldn't imagine.
Holding the sword in his hands between them, Wulf took a deep breath. "This isn't something I've thought about doing in more than twelve hundred years and I'm trying to remember everything, so give me a second."
She didn't like the sound of that. She drew her brows into a deep vee. "What are you going to do? Cut my head off?"
He gave her a peeved stare. "No, not hardly."
She watched as he took two gold bands out of his pocket and placed them on the blade. Then he presented them to her.
"Cassandra Elaine Peters, I would like to marry you."
She was dumbstruck by his proposal. The thought of marriage had never even entered her mind. "What?"
His dark eyes burned into hers. "I know our son had a strange conception, and will most definitely have an odd life, but I want him to be born the old-fashioned way-to married parents."
Cassandra covered her face with her hands as tears welled. "What is it about you that you make me cry all the time? I swear, I never wept until the day I met you."
He looked as if she had struck him.
"I don't mean it in a bad way, Wulf. You just do things that touch me so deeply in my heart that it makes me cry."
"So you'll marry me?"
"Of course, you silly man."
He moved to kiss her. The sword tilted and the rings went rolling across the floor. "Damn," he snapped as they scattered. "I knew I was going to botch this. Hold on."
He got down on his hands and knees and retrieved the rings from under the couch. Then he returned to her and kissed her lips hotly.
Cassandra savored the taste of him. He had given her so much more than she ever hoped for or dreamed of.
Nipping her lips, he pulled back. "In Norse custom, we did things backward. The couple exchanged plain bands at the betrothal. You'll receive your diamond ring when we get married."
"Okay."
He slid her smaller ring on her trembling hand, then handed her the larger one.
Cassandra's hand shook even more as she saw the intricate Norse design of a highly stylized dragon. She slid it onto his finger, then kissed the back of his hand. "Thank you."
He cupped her face gently and kissed her. Cassandra was instantly dizzy.
"I have everything planned for Friday night if that's okay with you," he said quietly.
"Why Friday?"
"My people always married on Fridays to pay tribute to the goddess Frigga. I thought we could combine the customs of your people with mine. Since the Apollites have no set day of the week, Phoebe said it wouldn't matter to you."
Cassandra pulled him back to her lips and kissed the devil out of him. Who knew an ancient barbarian could be so thoughtful?
The only thing that would make this more perfect would be to have her father present, but Cassandra had learned long ago not to ask for the impossible.
"Thank you, Wulf."
He nodded. "Now Kat and Phoebe need you to go shopping for a wedding dress."
He opened the front door only to have Phoebe and Kat spill into the room.
They both gave false smiles as they righted themselves.
"Oops," Kat said. "We just wanted to make sure everything was going as planned."
Wulf shook his head.