Free A Viking's Peace: Futuristic Science Fiction Romance (Vikings in Space Book 1) by Zoe York

love didn’t always last, and throwing her career was a big deal.  
    And it would be a career-ending move, even if the wedding would have the tacit approval of the FedNat. Reinn was a possessive man. He wouldn’t want her to leave on deep-space missions—she wouldn’t want to leave him either. If she let herself fall for him, she’d fall all the way. And wake up in ten years with four small Vikings and be trapped on the other side of the galaxy from her home.
    How is Earth any more your home than Midgard? Her father lived on Earth’s Moon. Her mother had relocated from Florida to the western coast of Australia. Neither was close enough to share a regular meal with. And Ashleigh had signed up with the Forces because she didn’t want to be stuck on one planet.
    So here she was, considering tying herself to a man very much attached to another planet.
    I’m not considering anything .  
    Nice dress, Ashleigh, the other side of her brain scoffed as she headed almost blindly toward Agathe and Bern’s home. She was done with the party.
    What had she been hoping? That he’d show up—because she knew he would, for all her grumbling—and drop to one knee when he saw her in his native garb?
    Yes .  
    With a strangled yell, she kicked at a bucket on the ground.  
    “What did that bucket ever do to you?” Reinn drawled behind her.
    She whirled and pointed her finger at him. “You.”
    “Yes, me.” He lifted his hands. “Don’t kick me, either.”
    She kept going towards the house, walking backwards now. Just like in the market, even when she was mad at him she found it hard to look away. “You suck at proposals.”
    “Let me try again.”
    “No.”
    “Watch out for the—” Her heel caught on the board at the bottom of the doorframe and she went tumbling onto her ass into the common room. Reinn stood over her, a gentle, laughing smile twisting on his face. “Step. Watch out for the step.”
    She pushed to her feet and headed for the stairs. “You also suck at giving people space.”
    “You don’t want me to leave you alone.”
    “And listening. You suck at listening.” She was halfway up the steps when he grabbed her from behind, hauling her close.  
    He held her firmly at the waist and he settled her bottom on his thigh. He leaned them both against the wall, bringing his lips to her ear. “We’ve got a lifetime to sort that out. I look forward to endeavouring every day to be a better husband to you.”
    “You talk about it so casually, like it’s just that easy.”
    “You said marriage isn’t something to rush into. And you’re right. When people make a conscious decision to become spouses, that takes thought and consideration. But I didn’t choose you, Ashleigh. You were chosen for me. You’re my mate, selected for me by the gods, and all I need to think about are the details of protecting that. Protecting you. I’m not rushing into anything.”
    “How can you know that? I don’t know that. I think that’s something we both need to be on the same page about.”  
    “I love you. I thought I loved Ylsa, but I was wrong. I met you and my world righted itself. And now that I’ve got you, I’m never letting you go. I know you’re scared, min elskede . But I also know you feel the same way. That’s why you’re frightened. Because it’s so damn big. Bigger than anything else.”
    The whispered words fired up the hope she’d been trying her damnedest to tamp down, which only made her madder. She jerked forward, fighting his hold on her.
    “You want me to let you go?” He kissed her neck. “Ask me nicely.”
    “Please, Reinn,” she whispered, but then she stopped. No, she didn’t want him to let her go. She wanted him to listen and talk to her, but the last thing she wanted was distance. He eased his hold on her, and she used that moment to turn in the circle of his arms. She stroked her hands up his chest and around his neck, enjoying the way his pulse jumped under her palm. He always