Barbarian's Bride (Ice Planet Barbarians)

The dancing turns into drinking and eating, and Dagesh insists on doing everything for me. He makes me a plate of food and fills my cup with sah-sah, which I have to turn down due to my pregnancy. He is a little crestfallen at that, but it's quickly replaced with tea. "With no white roots," he tells me proudly, as if that is supposed to mean something specific to me.

All around us, everyone is eating and drinking. People come up to me and shout “mazel tov” in my face, and it's so funny to see the sa-khui get so into the celebration. A lot of them have no idea what they're saying, but they say it with such glee that it's adorable. The women in the tribe kiss me on the cheek and give me small presents—from tea to roots to a pair of small, carved hoops for my ears.

"I feel a little guilty," I confess to Georgie as she brings her gift of a few tallow candles. "No one else had a wedding and now I'm having an enormous one."

"No one else wanted one," Georgie says, waving aside my concerns. "Dagesh told us all about how upset you were about not having a proper Jewish wedding, and well, the rest of us aren't Jewish, but we did what we could. I hope it's okay?" She gives me a searching look. "We want you to be happy here. All of us, of course, but especially your mate."

I look over at Dagesh, who hasn't left my side since the moment I stepped into the cave. He's got an intense look on his face, as if he's searching my eyes for some sort of answer. I reach out and squeeze his hand, and smile at Georgie.

I don't know where they got the idea that I wanted a big Jewish wedding. It's incredibly sweet of them, but I've always been a bit of a bad Jew. I'm terrible at observing the Sabbath, and while I've always stuck to kosher, that's a lot harder to do here in our current situation. I figure the Almighty will understand.

But I never expected to have a big Jewish wedding back home, much less one here. And yet…somehow Dagesh got the idea in his head that I did? I wonder who told him that…because it wasn't me.

It's a conversation for later, though, when we're in private. For now, I smile and laugh with the others, and look like I'm having a wonderful time. I am. I'm so thankful and pleased with how much thought everyone has put into this. I feel like the entire tribe has welcomed me all over again, and I'm on the verge of tears with how lucky I feel to have this big ice planet family.

I hug everyone.

I eat so much feast food that I bloat up.

I hold Dagesh's hand the entire time.

And when the hunters are drunk on sah-sah and want to get us up on the stools to carry around the cave again, I put my foot down. I don't trust them not to accidentally dunk us into the pool at the center of the cave. "I'm going to take my mate and we're going to have our wedding night," I tell them, giving my leather veil a flick.

Harrec and Hassen look fascinated. They exchange a look. "Does something different happen on a wedding night?"

"Wouldn't you both like to know?" I grab Dagesh by the arm, link my hands in his, and drag him towards our cave.

"We would like to know," Harrec calls after us. "That is why we asked."

"He is drunk," Dagesh tells me, chuckling. "But I would like to know."

"You already know," I point out, leading him to our cave. "But I'm open for another demonstration if you like."

"I always like touching you," he tells me, following eagerly behind. We duck into our cave, and before anyone can follow us, Dagesh puts up the privacy screen. In the distance, I can hear the thwarted groans of Harrec and Hassen. I snort with amusement. As if I'd demonstrate for them. No thanks. I love the tribe, but I don't love them that much.

Dagesh pulls me into his arms the moment the screen is up, kissing me. I wrap my arms around him, leaning back into the kiss. He always has to hunch over to kiss me like this, and for some reason, I find it endearingly sweet. Do I wish he'd pull on my hair? Sure. But if he doesn't…I still adore him. His mouth is hungry on mine, and he pulls the leather veil off my head, then lifts his face to study mine. "Was it everything you wanted?"

"The ceremony was absolutely lovely," I tell him with a smile. "I feel twice as mated to you."

"And it was…what you wanted?" The look he gives me is searching.