Ægir's Wife Ch. 10

He shook his head without even looking at her, "You don't need me for those things. You have my brothers. Mikael and Bjorn can..."

"Sure, Mikael can give me the pain my body craves. And Bjorn's love has always given me confidence. But you, you forget, it was you that I came to; you, Sven. It was you that drew me to Tilbury that day. You. You that touched my elbow and pulled me through that turnstile. That offered me a new life."

He turned his head away, "No. Even then, it was us. Bjorn and Mama, who choose you. Even as reluctant as he was, Mikael kept his part of those conversations going too. Maybe he knew how much Monika needed you."

"Yeah, and you wanted the Russian girl. Because she would have been safe. Another safe little sub that would not have been a threat to the walls around your heart. Well, tough shit. She was an abusive mother, which means she wasn't much of a woman either."

"So, you're stuck with me. Get used to it. Because I am not going anywhere. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not for the rest of our lives. And since you finally realize that you aren't going back to sea, that means you and I are going to be seeing a hell of a lot of each other."

"I'm not just your wife. I'm your physical therapist. The mother of your children. And the Homdling might be big, but it isn't big enough to hide from me. Oh, and if you think you're going to finish that other house? How? I don't think you're in much shape to be climbing roofs anymore, do you?"

He turned back to her; his eyes were icy blue, cold, and distant. "Since when did you forget, you're the sub. And that potty mouth? You deserve to be punished for the way you were talking."

Kirsty chuckled, "If one of my Doms were around, maybe he would. Are you going to tell Mikael or Bjorn that I'm not a nice pliable little doormat? They know. And what's more, they respect that I've become a strong shieldmaiden. It makes my choice to submit to them even sweeter."

"You always did prefer women that were easy. The ones that never questioned you. Never demanded more from you than you were willing to give. And maybe that is okay when you see them once every few weeks when you're in port. Or when all you really do is top."

"But this is about relationship. This is a marriage. And it doesn't work like that. Domination is not about controlling another person in order to have things your way; keep yourself safe. It's about respect. Mutual respect."

"It's about trust, too. And you don't earn that by running away or hiding behind the Big Bad Dom mask. You earn it by being there. By being honest and real. By being human. And yes, sometimes you do that by crying, by being vulnerable. And none of that requires a working cock."

Sven was silent. He just sat in that chair. Staring into the fire. Kirsty was not sure what she should do. But she knew one thing, if she got up from her knees now; if she did what he asked, if she left him alone and went back to her room, then Sven won. No, that was not right. They lost. All of them. And she was not ready for that.

Sometimes battles were hard. Sometimes you even lost them. But when you were a shieldmaiden, you didn't run. You stood your ground. You lifted your shield. You locked them into place with your comrades. And you fought to the death.

That was what this was. Perhaps not physical death, but to lose this battle was to lose her family, her dreams, all that she believed in and wanted. And that was not an option.

She inhaled, sat back on her heels, her hands rested on her knees, palms up. She felt the cold wetness of the hard wood beneath her knees. She knelt in her cum, wet and growing cold beneath her. Perhaps other women, other subs, might have found it humiliating.

But not her. Kirsty knew that was her power. Her life force. The blessing of the goddess herself. And she drew strength from it, allowed it to seep deep into her heart, mind, and soul. She was woman. She was a priestess of the goddess.

She held the power to give life itself within her. Not merely with these babies either. She had unlocked Monika's world. She had given Petrine solace. She had brought Mikael back to life. She had fulfilled Bjorn. And she would reach this man. She had to. There was simply no other choice.

She dropped her head and prayed to the goddess that her Dom showed up. That he was inside that broken man somewhere. That it truly was not late for them. All of them.

***

Sven stared into the flames. He left their cold heat to the core of his soul. The worst had come. The fire and cold reminded him that Niflheim, the Norse hell of ice and mist, was said to lie near the flames of Muspelheim. Opposites. Yet somehow compliments?

What she said made sense. Perhaps more sense than he was ready to hear, but did he have any other choice now? As she said, he could not simply run off to the sea anymore. And where would he hide? Did he even want to keep hiding?

He remembered the cold of that other night. The long night without dark. He had lain there, drifting in and out of consciousness and pain. He had made so many promises then. If he had just one more chance. If he could see these babies, his daughters born. If...

But then the reality had come. And it was not what he had wanted. Not what he had bargained for with the gods. Njord, Ran, and Ægir had turned their backs from him. His legs and now even his cock had betrayed him, refusing to do as his mind commanded.

Still, some part of him held on. Held on to life as it had that night, willing himself to remain alive, for just one more chance. To see her. And those babies. Perhaps he did not deserve it. Hell, he was sure that he didn't. But he had it. Was he going to waste it now? How many more chances would he get?

"Strip," a single word. A command, the first he had truly given since she came home. Would she obey? Was it too soon? Did he need to 'earn' her submission? Her trust? It was almost a foreign concept to him. He was not sure he even knew where to begin.

But she had stayed. She had not run back to the safety of her room. She had even remained on her knees before him. The perfect pose of submission, or the best she could do when you are seven months pregnant with twins. That counted for something, right?

He saw the scowl on her face and chuckled, "That's five more minutes, Kirsten. Do you want to go for fifteen? At this rate, you will be standing in the corner all night. And I had so hoped to try some of that fancy rope work you like so much."

"Shibari?" She looked up with a smile.

He nodded, "But that is only after your punishment. While most of what you said might be true, how you said was neither submissive nor polite. You will be punished for all those foul words. Good girls don't cuss."

"They also don't argue and delay their punishments when their Doms give them an order. I said, strip. I won't repeat it, Kirsten."

She started to nod her head but caught herself, "Yes, Sir."

"I see you are right. My brothers are too lax with you. They don't seem able to keep you in line at all. I guess you're right. You do need me. Need some boundaries and proper rules."

Her hands gripped the arms of his chair, and his hand on her elbow helped to steady her as she got awkwardly to her feet. But grace of movement was the last thing he was worried about at that moment.

He saw her hesitate, her fingers toying with the hem of her baby doll nightie. "Kirsten" was his only warning.

Her fingers gripped the sheer material and tugged it over her head, leaving her standing before him completely naked. The perfect picture of a parturient woman. Her chest, neck, and face a beautiful rosy color that reminded him of how magnificent her bottom looked when it was that same shade.

But that would have to wait for another time. He debated fifteen minutes or half an hour. She needed her rest now, especially. And quite honestly, he was not sure how much patience he had for just watching her stand in the corner. He knew that what he wanted to do with the ropes would take some time too.

"Fifteen minutes in the corner, Kirsten. Then you may bring me the ropes from your bedroom."

"And my tablet, too, Sir. I know that Mikael would definitely want a photograph."

He laughed, "Oh yes, how could I possibly forget my brother's pregnancy and lactation fetish. Very well then, Kirsten, your tablet too. Let us torture my brothers while they are at sea."

***

Kirsten giggled as she walked to the corner. This was not the punishment it had once been. Being naked with them, all of them felt less intimidating than it once had.

And honestly, she was coming to like her new parous form. She had never felt this beautiful. This powerful. But maybe that was as much the shieldmaiden and daughter of Freyja talking.

No, she had no problem standing in the corner naked for fifteen minutes. Not that she was telling Sven that. Who knew what other dastardly punishment he might be forced to think up then. Besides, she wanted to get on to the rope. She could hardly wait as she danced from tiptoe to tiptoe in the corner.

She was glad that Sven could not see the smile that spread across her mouth. Yes, the night was going better than she had hoped. Well, considering. They were going to make it — she and Sven. But also as a family.

Things might be hard. The business might be struggling to keep up with the orders that were coming in. Sven might never walk without a cane or a walker. Hell, they might never have sexual intercourse again, although that was unlikely. As soon as the doctors were confident that his heart was stronger, once the new diet brought his cholesterol down, they would talk to them about some of the drugs. No, she was confident that this ED was not permanent. But even if it were, they would handle that too.

As a family. Yes, things were going to be just fine.