The Unyielding

by Shelly Laurenston

  He handed his things over and she got out of the lake, taking the time to carefully place the clothes on branches.

  When she returned, he warned, “Those won’t be dry by morning.”

  “No problem.” She held up her dripping wet hand and Stieg watched flames wrap around her fingers. “I’ve got a trick for that, but it’s a faster process if the clothes aren’t soaking wet.”

  “You really like your flames, huh?”

  “They make me feel like a superhero.”

  Snuffing out her flames, Erin grabbed his hand and closely examined the metal cuff he still had on his wrists. “We should have had that witch take these off you.”

  “These are made by dwarves. I’m not even sure Odin can remove them.”

  “Well, we have to cut through Nidavellir anyway. We’ll see if they can help.”

  “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It is to me. It was bad enough you were dragged here, but then you were treated like an unruly pet by elves. I feel totally guilty. And I don’t usually feel guilty.”

  “Maybe that’s because you’re in love with me and you don’t want to see the man of your dreams suffering.”

  “Really?” Erin asked, dropping his hand. “You’re turning my own bullshit against me?”

  * * *

  They dried off by the pit fire and ate some of the dried meat and bread that Princess Seanait had given them.

  What kind of “meat” they were eating, neither asked. It was something they didn’t want to know. But other than the mystery meat, it was an enjoyable evening.

  Erin couldn’t remember the last time she’d had an enjoyable evening with any man. She had them with her sister-Crows all the time but those were different. True, they were sometimes naked at the time—some of her sisters were real comfortable being naked whenever and wherever—but they were women.

  Other than sex, men didn’t really hold much interest for Erin. She found them kind of annoying and easier to torment than to actually have a conversation with.

  But Stieg could hold his own with her. More important, when he didn’t know something, he didn’t pretend he knew something. She hated that as much as a guy who couldn’t shut the fuck up. A specific Erin pet peeve so well known by the other Crows that those with chatty boyfriends went out of their way to ensure they never left the poor guy alone with her unless they wanted him taught a lesson. Something she was more than happy to do for her sisters.

  Erin finger-combed the tangles from her hair and, since she was naked anyway, looked over her wounds. She had a few but nothing she was too worried about. The beauty of being a Crow—fast recovery.

  Deciding she was basically fine, Erin stretched out on her bedroll and began to fall asleep. Until Stieg stretched out next to her. She slapped her hand against his chest to halt him and said, “I’m not fucking you.”

  “I know,” he replied with a yawn. His arm slipped around her waist and he settled in beside her, his face pressed against her shoulder.

  “If you know, what are you doing?”

  “Trying to sleep, if you’d shut up.”

  “We’re both naked.”

  “And?”

  “Don’t have condoms.”

  “And?”

  “And why can’t you sleep over there?”

  “Because I want to sleep here, beside you.”

  “I’m not fucking you.”

  “Is there a reason you keep saying that, Erin?”

  “Just making sure we’re clear.”

  “We’re clear. Can I go to sleep now?”

  “Stop pretending you’re above it all,” Erin told him. “And is actual cuddling necessary? Can’t we just lie next to each other?”

  “Sleep, woman!”

  “No need to yell, Mr. Bitchy.”

  * * *

  The beasts woke Stieg up when the sun was barely peeking over the mountains. They made sounds that he took to mean they were hungry, so he dragged himself over to them, yawning and scratching his head, and removed their bridles so they could get their breakfasts out of the river. They hadn’t tried to get away last night so he didn’t think they’d bother now, which was good because he was in no mood to run after them.

  Erin was still asleep, and he settled in next to her, his hands behind his head.

  She turned toward him, her arm over his chest, her jaw pressed against his shoulder.

  Stieg breathed in deep. If the elves weren’t such assholes, he actually might enjoy living here, but humans were clearly not welcome in the lands of elves and that was all he needed to know.

  Erin softly snored and Stieg smiled a little until he felt her hand slide down his chest, past his abs, and finally wrapped around his cock.

  “Uh . . . Erin?”

  She made a little sound in the back of her throat and her hand tightened, but she still didn’t wake up.

  Now Stieg blew out a breath. “Erin?”

  Her grip tightened even more.

  “Erin!”

  She snapped awake. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Remove your hand or move your hand. Those are your two options at the moment.”

  “What?”

  He nodded toward his groin and her gaze followed until she laughed.

  “Oh!” She pulled her hand away.

  Not exactly what he was hoping for, but . . . whatever.

  “Sorry,” she said around giggles.

  “You did that on purpose,” he accused.

  “No, I didn’t. When I’m asleep my hand has a will of its own.”

  “Guess I should be glad you didn’t set Jackie on fire.”

  “I do not set things on fire unless I—” She blinked and leaned back to see his face better. “Jackie?”

  “Jackie the Man.”

  “You call your dick Jackie the Man?”

  “You’re trying to tell me that you, Erin Amsel, don’t have a name for your pussy?”

  It took a moment but, after propping herself up on her elbow, she finally admitted, “Lady HappyKitty. She purrs when she’s petted.”

  “You have a tagline?” Stieg asked, laughing. “Seriously?”

  “Lady HappyKitty deserves a tagline. She’s given me so much pleasure over the years.”

  “No wonder cats hate you.”

  Erin went suspiciously quiet and stared down at him, her lips pursed as she looked him over.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Thinking.”

  “That’s not your thinking face.”

  Erin snorted. “I didn’t know I had a thinking face.”

  “You do. But what I’m looking at now is your plotting face.”

  “Well, I was just thinking—”

  “You said no sex. Or to paraphrase you, you’re not fucking me.”

  “Look at you, knowing the word paraphrase.”

  “I expect the Silent and the Protectors to think we’re stupid, but you broads should know better. And be careful about throwing stones from that glass house.”

  “Look, all I’m saying is that in the light of day, now that I’m not so exhausted and pretty much healed up . . .”

  “We still don’t have condoms, and with our luck we won’t die here, we’ll just end up going back home with you knocked up with some fucking elf baby.”

  “I love how guys think condoms are only to protect against pregnancy, but I can’t have that conversation with you right now.”

  “Because safe sex lectures are so hot.”

  “I’m just suggesting that before we get up and face the day, we have other things we can do.”

  Stieg grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

  Erin rolled her eyes. “First off, that’s an exit, not an entry, so you can get that idea right out of your head. And, again, don’t make me pull out the safe sex lecture.”

  “I like how you use it as a threat.”

  “The beauty of me,” she offered with a toss of her head, “is that I can make anything pleasurable or absolute torture. The ques
tion is . . . how much do you irritate me?”

  “If you asked me that a week ago, I would have said a lot. But I sense I’ve charmed you in our time together.”

  “Not really, but it’s cute you think so.” Keeping her eyes on his face, she lowered her hand again and wrapped her fingers around his cock.

  “I think you’re just using me to satisfy your sexual needs, Amsel.”

  “I am.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”

  * * *

  He had Erin on her back before she could blink.

  She didn’t know what was going on with her. She was so determined last night not to be bothered, but she woke up this morning needing him. That had never happened before. If it was just sexual, she could take care of herself, but it wasn’t just sexual. Not anymore.

  Of course, she wasn’t about to admit that . . . ever.

  Instead she pulled him close and kissed him, her hands moving over his shoulders, down his back. Instinctively, she began to open her legs to him, to lock her ankles behind his back, but he pulled away with a grunt.

  “You’re a woman of mixed emotions. You’re driving me nuts.”

  “It’s a gift. You know . . . to me.”

  That’s when he spun her around and she saw his dick hard and waiting. She would have been put off by the move if he hadn’t already buried his mouth against her pussy, his tongue circling around her clit before lapping at it, then circling. Fingers slid inside her and Erin moaned. Then he abruptly stopped.

  “What are you doing down there?” he demanded.

  “Nothing but enjoying myself.”

  “Yeah. I know. Get to work, woman.”

  “Am I really the only one who notices our size difference? Some positions may be beyond our capabilities.”

  He gripped her by the hips and lifted her up, eyeing the space from where she was and where his dick was, and yes, there was a good amount of distance between the two. “Dammit.”

  Erin laughed. “Hold on.” She wiggled away from his hands and sat on his chest, facing away from him. She wrapped her fingers around his dick once again and held it. Then, she took her time sucking the entire thing into her mouth.

  Stieg placed his hands against her back, sliding his fingers up and down her spine; the cold metal of the cuffs on his wrists lightly brushing her skin.

  Enjoying the feeling, she happily sucked his dick a few times before pausing to run her tongue from base to tip and back again. She sucked on the head only, her hand stroking the shaft. Then went back to sucking the entire thing.

  Stieg’s fingers began to grip her waist, his hips rising off the ground. She could hear his moans and it made her want to get him off. It felt like nothing else in the world mattered but doing that.

  She deep-throated all of him—not easy, the guy was obnoxiously big—and swallowed a few times to contract her throat muscles. His moans turned to hard panting and his grip on her tightened. She sucked him harder, her hand around the base until every muscle in his body tightened and he came hard in her mouth, nearly choking her.

  Erin wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned, but Stieg suddenly yanked her back until her pussy was on his mouth and he was sucking the life from her.

  * * *

  God, she was already wet. Getting him off had made her hot and wet. Nothing else could turn him on more. He didn’t even bother to turn her around. He just used his tongue to toy with her clit and slipped two fingers inside her pussy, stroking back and forth while his tongue teased and played.

  Erin squirmed on top of him, her hands braced against his abs, her hips rocking back and forth against his mouth. He moved his fingers around inside her until her hips almost jerked right off him. Using just one finger, he stroked that spot while sucking on her clit.

  Her entire body began to vibrate, the toes resting by his shoulders curling, her muscles tightening. Then she exploded, her groans echoing through the trees, her entire body shaking until she crashed on top of him.

  She rolled away, the two of them staring up at the sky.

  “And a good morning to you, too!” she announced to the world, making Stieg laugh again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  With the help of the map Tyr had given them, Erin and Stieg made their way through Svartalfheim with few problems, only needing the king’s necklace twice, and the need to kill once.

  Kind of a relief considering what they’d already done.

  The mountainside that was the doorway to Nidavellir, the land of dwarves, was not guarded in any way. Nor was there even a forest around for guards to hide in.

  Erin and Stieg stood outside the open mountainside for a good thirty minutes, just staring at it.

  “Are they really not worried? You know, about intruders?”

  “Apparently not.” Still mounted on his beast, Stieg looked around. “Are we just going to sit here or are we going to go?”

  “We have to go. We’re running out of time and I’m not sure how long it’ll take us to get to the Land of the Dead.”

  They led their beasts toward the exit, but when they were a few feet away, the animals balked, rearing back, refusing to go any farther.

  “Guess we’re on foot from here,” Erin said, dismounting and removing everything from the beasts. They even took off the saddles and bridles so the animals could roam free until other elves took them in or they made their way back to their home.

  With weapons at the ready, Erin and Stieg entered the dark cave, but still . . . nothing. No guards. No soldiers. Nothing protecting the entrance into Nidavellir.

  Erin stopped. “What are we doing?”

  “Being cautious . . . ?”

  “I’m so bored by that.”

  “I really wish you’d gone to that appointment for the ADHD testing.”

  “Come on. Let’s just go.”

  “Erin—”

  “Come on! It’ll be fun!”

  “No. It will not be fun. It will be dangerous.”

  “Don’t you want to live on the edge?”

  “I’m hanging with you. I’m already on the edge.”

  She took a few steps forward and raised her hands, unleashing a wide circle of flame and lighting up the entire area. Pulling her hands back, she turned to Stieg and said, “Oh, shit.”

  * * *

  They stood at what he guessed was the top of a set of very narrow stairs that led down and down until they could no longer see them. Unlike entering elven territory from Jotunheim, there seemed to be no mystical doorway that would simply take them to the next world. Instead they’d have to walk down the long, narrow set of stairs with no handrails.

  “I can’t express to you how much I don’t want to do this,” Erin muttered, staring down.

  “That makes two of us.” He thought a moment. “Maybe we can fly.”

  “We’ll have to wait on that. All I see around the stairs is darkness. We can’t fly into complete blackness. Who knows what we’d fucking hit.” She was right, of course. Although the fact that they couldn’t see into the darkness surrounding the stairs meant that it wasn’t normal either. She even sent down a ball of flame and it was simply swallowed up rather than lighting the area.

  Erin rubbed her hands together. “Let’s just do this.” Again, she was right. They didn’t have time to delve into their phobias.

  “I’ll take the lead,” he said, but Erin’s arm shot out, halting him.

  “So the guy with no flame and no flame protection should get in front of the woman with flame?”

  “When you put it like that . . .” Stieg stepped back and gave a small wave toward the stairs.

  Erin walked to the top of the steps and let out a long breath. Then she started walking. Stieg gave her a moment to get ahead and followed.

  The entire time neither spoke as they walked down except to say when a break was needed. Then they sat on the step they were standing on and took that break, which was less for physical strain than an emotional one. After ten minutes or s
o, they carefully stood back up and started again.

  It was one of the most unpleasant experiences Stieg could remember having. Even their time with the elves hadn’t been as bad. Because this was just . . . hell. And it felt like it lasted for days, terrifying because they had no concept of time. Except for the stairs being strangely lit, there was no other light. No sunlight. No moon. No torches. Nothing.

  Even worse, there was the occasional sound of what he could only describe as scuttering. A word he was positive he’d never used in a sentence. But that’s what was coming from the stone walls.

  Scuttering.

  And the knowledge that something could come out at them from the darkness did not help the situation in any way. Especially when the last thing one wanted to do was jump suddenly.

  This was not the place for any sudden movements.

  But they kept going. They had to; they had no choice.

  Erin stopped. Stieg assumed she was ready for another break, but she didn’t sit. She didn’t move forward. She just stood there.

  “Erin?”

  “It stops.”

  “The stairs?”

  “Everything. There’s like two more steps and then nothing but dark.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

  That was something he’d never heard Erin admit before, which meant she was really stressed out. Not that he blamed her. The mystical doorway between Jotunheim and Svartalfheim had been a swirling vortex, scary but also active. Like jumping into a raging river. It gave the illusion he might have some control. But nothing? He didn’t know what to do with nothing. And clearly neither did Erin.

  “So what are our options?” Stieg asked.

  “We could stay here forever.”

  “Seems a tad illogical. We can go back up the stairs. See if Dualtach can help us.”

  “Dude . . . back up those stairs? Are you high?”

  “You have dancer’s legs,” he teased.

  “I do. But I’m not about to walk back up those fucking stairs.”

  “Then we don’t have any other options.”

  “Okay. You’re right.”

  He watched Erin stand there, taking in deep breaths like she was about to run a marathon.

  “Erin Amsel.”

  “What?”

  “You’re a Crow.”