“You love me,” he whispered there and my limbs tightened.

“Yeah,” I whispered back.

“Say it,” he growled and I closed my eyes and turned my head so my lips were at his ear.

“I love you, baby.”

I barely got the words out before his head came up and his mouth came back down on mine. This kiss was slow, gentle and sweet as well as wet and deep.

When he broke the connection of our mouths, he rested his forehead on mine and my hand slid from his hair to cup his bearded jaw.

“I’m sorry, honey,” I said quietly and he closed his eyes, the pads of my fingers dug in and he opened them again. “I left it too long and the longer I left it, the harder –”

“Okay, my Circe,” he cut me off, tipped his chin to touch his mouth to mine, he rolled to his back so I was on top and his arms were tight around me. “Okay,” he whispered in my ear.

Okay.

Man, I loved it when he said that.

Yep, I was a dork.

But I could not let it go at that. He was my Lahn and he deserved more so I lifted my head and one of his hands came up to pull my hair back and hold it bunched at the back of my head.

“I’m glad you think it’s okay, baby, but I need to know you understand I’m sorry,” I said softly.

“I understand,” Lahn returned, his voice as gentle as his handsome face.

I licked my lips and shared, “I missed you,” I closed my eyes, tipped my head and dropped it so my forehead was on his and then I opened them, saw the warm softness in his dark ones and continued,

“I missed you when I was gone and I missed you when you brought me back.”

Lahn didn’t reply but his arm around me squeezed.

My hand still at his jaw, I swept my thumb over his beautiful lips as I said quietly, “I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”

His eyes closed slowly and his hand in my hair tipped my face so I would touch my mouth against his then he released me and I lifted my head away just an inch.

“Are we good?” I whispered.

“Yes, Circe, good,” he whispered back.

My thumb swept his lips again and then moved back over his cheekbone as my eyes watched.

“Linas, kah Lahnahsahna,” Lahn demanded quietly and my gaze shifted back to his. His eyes were warm, his mouth soft and his

voice softer when his hand in my hair slid around to my face and his thumb pressed lightly under my eye. “There she is.”

I felt my smile wobble as my lungs squeezed and my eyes got wet.

“Did my Lahn resurrect her?” I asked softly and his hand slid back into my hair, pulling me down for another lip touch before letting me move away an inch.

And that was when I saw his brutal, fierce golden spirit burning bright in his eyes for me to see and I knew his answer before he gave it to me.

“Yes, my Circe, she burns bright again for me.”

“Dohno,” I whispered then kept whispering, “Now I know what I suspected to be true. My husband is a god. He can do anything. ”

I caught his grin before he rolled me to my back.

Then he muttered in my ear, “Let us see if this is true.”

“Okay,” I agreed readily and listened to his chuckle as it rumbled against my skin.

Oh yeah.

I was home.

* * * * *

I watched Lahn walk back into our room after putting down Tunahn who I just fed.

Night had fallen but candlelight lit the room softly. If I was lucky and fell asleep quickly, I could maybe get four hours in.

Lahn got under the covers, stretched out beside me, shoved an arm under me and curled me to his long, warm, hard side.

Okay, fuck that. No way I was sleeping.

I lifted up on an elbow, rested my hand on his chest and looked into his dark, beloved eyes.

“Do you make trainee warriors buff your saddle?” I asked and he blinked.

“What?”

“Trainee warriors. Do you make them buff your saddle?”

His mouth twitched. “Warriors in training learn and do many things, kah Lahnahsahna. Buffing saddles is not one of them.”

My eyes drifted to his shoulder and I muttered, “Oh.”

“Something they do learn,” he went on and my eyes moved back to his, “is not to waste time performing deeds that are not worth performing. Like buffing saddles.”

I started giggling. Lahn’s arm gave me a squeeze as his lips tipped up into a smile.

I rested my chest into his, my arm curving around him, my face getting closer.

“Did you really lose your virginity when you were twelve?” I whispered and his eyes immediately shuttered so I shook his body with my arm. “Lahn.”

“Meena,” he said shortly.