Journeyman’s Ride

by Marie Harte

  “I came hard. And it’s all in you.” The satisfaction in his voice pleased her. She’d made him feel good. Miranda—not some other woman, but her.

  “Mm, yes.” She shifted her hips and felt him move within her. “You feel so good, Danner. And you’re so thick inside me still.” She glanced up him. “Is this normal?”

  “No, it’s not.” He grinned with a boyish happiness that warmed her heart. “I came so hard I lost control there at the end. And it felt so damned good.” He leaned down and hugged her. “But honey, that was just round one. We have all night, and you surely haven’t experienced all the ways to make love.”

  Make love. Not fuck or have sex, but make love. She liked that.

  She liked it even better when they did it all over again.

  Chapter Nine

  They spent the night making love. Danner commanded her body, teaching Miranda with pleasure about parts of herself she’d always taken for granted. She’d never known her breasts were so sensitive. Or that the spot on her neck, just under her ear, would make her wet when kissed just so. Or that she loved to be taken on her hands and knees, so that Danner could reach that deep place inside her that brought her to bliss in seconds.

  Now cleaned up and dressed once more, she stood waiting for him to join her. He’d left to scout ahead. She sighed, wishing they could have spent forever right here, together. Unfortunately, Last Chance was just beyond Crooks’ Pass. The last town before the Spyder Haven, and just four days’ walk from the Crystal Palace.

  She didn’t know what Danner would do once they reached their ultimate destination. Would he see her inside or just leave? And when he left, would she ever see him again? Depressed at the thought, she didn’t hear Danner return. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped.

  “Easy. Skittish as a colt, aren’t you?” He smiled and stroked her cheek. The wariness usually in his expression when looking at her was absent. Instead, warmth and affection darkened his gaze. “Gods, you’re prettier every time I look at you. Even in that awful hat.”

  She blushed. She couldn’t get used to Danner calling her beautiful. “Awful? What’s wrong with my hat?”

  “It hides your hair and your face.”

  She took it off and handed it to him. “Better?”

  He roamed her face and settled on her mouth. “Much.”

  She glanced down his body to see the telltale bulge between his legs. A fantasy she’d had of him came to mind. “Danner?”

  “Yes, darlin’?”

  She liked it when he called her that. Before, the platitude had bothered her. But now, it sounded like an endearment. “Remember I told you about that moving picture I was forced to watch?”

  “What about it?”

  Every second spent with Danner was precious, one more experience she’d hold tight to her heart. Joy she’d been free to indulge in, taken because she wanted it, not because someone had forced it upon her. Danner, for all his faults, freed her in ways she’d never imagined, and it literally hurt to think of going on in life without him. “I don’t know how much time we’ll have after we reach the Spyder Haven.”

  “I know.” He sighed. “Too bad we can’t stay up here for another forty or fifty years.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. Well, there’s something I wanted to do with you—that was in that picture—that we haven’t tried yet.”

  He blinked and then slowly grinned.

  “Don’t look so surprised.” Miranda tugged him closer. “I fear you’ve created a monster, Mr. Danner,” she said with just the right amount of primness.

  “Ah, corruption of the innocent. I like it.” His drawl thickened.

  She kissed his chin. “I’m addicted to you.”

  He lowered his face to hers and took her lips in a sultry caress.

  “But there’s one part of you I’ve yet to taste,” she murmured, unable to think about anything but kissing him there.

  He raised his head and narrowed his stare on her lips. “Yeah?” His breathy voice told her he wanted to hear more.

  “Do you think we could make time for a little interlude?”

  “Hell yeah.” Danner cleared his throat. “Now, what’s this fantasy of yours?”

  “I just need you to stand right there. Don’t move unless I say so.”

  “Bossy, hmm? I like that.” Danner’s expression turned from carnal to downright desperate when she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Oh hell, please tell me this is leading where I think it’s goin’.”

  Those moving pictures Philippe had shown her refused to leave her mind. All she could think about was Danner, his head thrown back as he cried out in orgasm. Last night they’d done everything for her pleasure. A slow and building introduction into lovemaking with a man who knew the meaning of the word give. Now Miranda wanted to give back. A little something for him to hold on to before the real world intruded once more.

  She smiled up at him, and he smiled back. His firm lips curved up, his eyes crinkled and his expression held a softness she’d rarely seen. That loving look was back in his eyes again, the one that warmed her to the depths of her heart. He ran his hand over her hair and waited.

  She unfastened his trousers and watched the sudden stillness that overcame him. Slowly, Miranda pushed his trousers aside and reached in for the heavy, stiffening part of him she never tired of touching. Danner’s cock thickened as she held it, and then she did what she’d been wanting to do. She kissed him. There.

  His hand tightened over her scalp. “By the lightning. Miranda, darlin’, yes.” He sighed and trembled as she sucked the head of his cock and tasted the salty cream beading at his slit. She continued to lick and suck him, taking more of him to experiment with what he liked. He moaned and tried to remain still, but the subtle thrusts into her mouth told her how much he enjoyed this.

  She withdrew her mouth and licked him from base to tip, loving the way he trembled above her. His eyes were shuttered, his face flushed, and his sensual lips parted on a breath.

  “Does it feel good?” She cupped his sac in her hands.

  “You have no idea.” He widened his stance and thrust his hips forward, encouraging her.

  “I think I do.” She winked at him and continued to lick and suck on various parts of his cock until he growled at her.

  “Damn it, Miranda. Suck me. I need to come, you little tease. Swallow me.”

  Sparks of lightning streaked his eyes, and she knew he neared his climax. She squirmed on her knees, aroused at the sight and taste of him. She wondered what it would feel like to drink down his seed, especially since he’d done his share of eating her last night and never seemed to tire of it.

  Miranda put her lips around him and placed her hands on his hips, drawing him closer.

  “I’m trying to be gentle, darlin’, but I have to push. Gods, you feel so good.” He moaned and surged deeper, his cock impossibly hard.

  Miranda hollowed her cheeks as she sucked, stroking with her tongue that spot just under his cockhead, the one he’d showed her last night when he’d taught her how to handle him. Apparently she hit it just right, because he swore and angled deeper.

  “Oh fuck, oh fuck. Yeah, I’m coming hard. Miranda.” Danner filled her mouth as he shuddered in climax.

  She swallowed him, totally enamored with the journeyman who’d given so much of himself. He tasted like lightning and heat, and she felt no shame at all on her knees before him. Pleasing him satisfied her need to be closer.

  “I’ve never…That was so…” He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Then in one smooth movement, he pulled her to her feet and fastened his mouth to hers. As he kissed her, he shoved a hand down the front of her trousers and sank a finger inside her, sliding easily through her slick channel. He pulled his mouth away and whispered, “Gods, you’re so wet. You liked that, didn’t you?” His fingers continued to move. As he pumped one inside her, he thumbed her clit.

  In seconds, she exploded, clenching around his finger.

&
nbsp; “Shh, that’s it,” Danner said and removed his hand. He hugged her tight and began stroking her hair. “You are so sweet, Miranda. So fucking good.”

  They stayed like that for a while, until they sighed and said together, “Time to go.”

  Danner kept his eye out for trouble. No way in hell would he allow anything to harm Miranda. He’d fucking die first. They tracked through Crooks’ Pass, where thankfully, a few shots of rock salt and wicked jolts of his weakening lightning kept the thieves and murderers at bay. But it wasn’t them he worried about.

  “Dear Freyja, what are they?” Miranda gasped and stepped closer to him. He looked to his right, where her gaze had focused some distance away.

  Next to an overturned Conestoga wagon lay a few barrels, scattered clothing and putrid field supplies. What looked like a small family—the tattered frames of a man, woman and, gods help him, two children—huddled together in death, surrounded by a half dozen cannibals. The stench of rotting flesh carried, and he couldn’t mistake the leg roasting on a spit for anything but human. Then one of them grabbed a piece of the dead female and started chewing on her leg.

  The cannibals looked out of place in the majestic mountains. He thought they’d be more at home in the wasteland of the Damned Plains. The one eating the woman was bald, rangy and rancid. Brown eyes tinged with red stared out of a scarred face with ragged teeth. Like the others, boils from his plague-infected days pockmarked his face and hands.

  While he feasted, a few of the others turned to a canine that had the misfortune to still be alive. It whined and tried to move but was missing its back legs. When they neared the dog snapped at them, trying to hold on to precious life. The damned dog would have been better off dead, because cannibals prized the taste of the living, and the weaker the better. They made clicking sounds as they surrounded it, the noise made by internal clocks keeping their hearts beating. Most cannibals ranged in age from a few decades to well over two hundred years. The fuckers were savage but smart, and made for one helluva fight. The dog fell in seconds, and the cannibals, sensing their fun at an end, returned to the deceased family and began snacking.

  “My word, those are children,” Miranda said in horror, pointing at a gingham dress and tiny clothes over the smaller corpses by the wagon.

  “Were children.” He pulled her closer.

  Thankfully, the cannibals were far enough away not to be a threat, and occupied with the family and the dog, they left them alone.

  “I told you there were monsters.”

  She swallowed audibly. “So you did.”

  The rest of their trip to Last Chance passed with little fanfare. A cannibal here and there, a few wild wolves and bands of cutthroats, but nothing they couldn’t skirt around without being seen. One good thing about Crooks’ Pass—Danner knew his way around. And he knew where most of the scum liked to hide in wait.

  Hours later, they came to a small, two-bit town on the other side of the mountain. Set up by privateers to make money off those idiots trying to make a name for themselves by tangling with the unnatural, Last Chance had whores, bars and supplies jacked up at unreasonable prices for those willing to pay. Danner had brought everything they needed, familiar with Last Chance’s racketeering.

  “So this is Last Chance?” Miranda asked.

  “Yeah. Your last chance to turn around before the spyders.” He waited, knowing what her answer would be.

  “I have to.” She sounded apologetic.

  “I know.” He kissed her forehead, wanting to take her in his arms and hold her tight. Instead he motioned for her to continue forward. “Well, this is it, Miranda. First thing tomorrow, the fun really starts.”

  Miranda had expected danger. She hadn’t expected to walk through a valley of wonder. Silken strands gleamed in the sunlight, streaming rainbows of color as far as the eye could see. The trees acted as foundation for the many webs overhead and all around them, giant structures strong enough to hold spyders weighing as much as seventy stone, or as Danner had corrected in his Western drawl, half a ton.

  They walked silently through the silken wonderland, through what looked like a newly made path. Yet the deeper they moved into the Spyder Haven, the more uneasy Danner grew. He remained tense, his gaze constantly searching. He held on to his rifle, keeping her between him and the now armed auton. When she’d first seen it, she hadn’t realized it had more than defensive warning. Danner had since informed her he could fire it up in an emergency. He tapped the residual lightning that lingered in his blood and used it to power the auton’s defenses. In the Spyder Haven they’d need all the help they might get.

  “Where are they?” she whispered. She’d expected to run into a few of the mechanical monstrosities when they’d entered the forward part of the lair.

  “I don’t know. And I don’t like it. I about drained my lightning into the auton.” He swore under his breath. “I wish you had your Ride right the hell now. You could flash out of here into safety.”

  She noticed he didn’t mention himself. “What of you?”

  “I lost my Ride years ago.” He glanced away from her, concentrating once more on their surroundings.

  “So you said.”

  They continued to walk carefully through one of several large trails though the webbing around them and kept their voices low.

  Miranda asked, “Would you tell me why?”

  He stepped closer to her. “You really want to know?”

  “I really do.” I want to know everything about you.

  Danner glanced at her, clenched his jaw and glanced away. “I slept with Vi’s wife.”

  “What?”

  “Shh, keep it down.” He looked around him, a worried pinch to his expression. “I never was very good at relationships. Never had a use for women other than to, um, well, you know.”

  “Do tell.”

  He blew out a breath. “It’s not like that with you, Miranda. I just…”

  She softened. “Tell me.”

  “The gods are a lot like mankind. They love and hate, feel jealousy, rage, bitterness.”

  “Love?”

  He shrugged. “I guess. Vi is constantly screwing anything with two legs. And I do mean anything,” he added, quirking his lips when she flushed. “Sorry, honey, but it’s true. Problem is, his wife isn’t happy with him when he’s less than attentive. Guess she wanted to get back at him. She’s Loki’s sister, a real trickster herself.”

  “The god of mischief has a sister?”

  “Not a well-known fact, but yeah. So she decided to get back at Vi with me.”

  Miranda frowned. “You don’t strike me as the type to involve yourself with married women.” He seemed so much more honorable than that.

  He snorted. “I’m not. She got me drunk and invited herself into my lap, disguised as a harem girl. Next thing you know, I’m waking up with my arms full of a goddess and Vi’s on my ass.”

  “But if that’s the case, then you were an innocent victim.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. I should have known better than to hang with Thor when he was drinking.” He grimaced. “It was a mistake, and not really my fault, but no one else saw it that way. Some of the immortal women aren’t that fond of me, I guess. And the men were all too happy to make an example of one of Odin’s sorry bastards.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.”

  “But…Odin didn’t stand up for you?” I’m talking about Odin as if he’s just any man. My life has surely taken a turn for the bizarre. Miranda felt doubly sorry for Danner, but his obvious pride wouldn’t let her share her compassion just now. “I suppose we have more in common than I’d thought.”

  “Yeah, we do.” He stroked her cheek. He touched her often since they’d become intimate.

  “I don’t understand why your friends didn’t stand with you, though. You’re a gruff sort, but I like you.”

  Danner’s smile lit his face. “Well, thanks for that.” His grin faded. “Thing is, I never connected with anyon
e before you. I had a lot of, ah…I mean, I made friends, I guess you could say, but the friendships never lasted.”

  She arched a brow. “You mean you had sex with many women. And that’s all you’d let it be. Just sex.” She instantly recalled him telling her what they’d done was no cause for concern, no reason for marriage, and her hope for a future with Danner dimmed.

  “With them, that’s all it was. A few of them wanted more, but I never lied. I was open about my needs, and truth be told, I don’t think any of them wanted me anyway.” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “My life was all about my duty. Guiding people, showing them the way when they got lost. And somehow, I guess I lost myself in the doin’.”

  Poor Danner. He seemed so alone, when he didn’t have to be. “With them, that’s all it was,” he’d said. What about with her? What did he feel for her? Before she could ask, loud chittering vibrated the webs all around them.

  “Shit. Stay close to the auton. Don’t forget what I told you. When they come for me, you get to safety. Take that compass I gave you and run.” His eyes flashed with heat, and she knew he’d called upon that strange energy that now drummed within her.

  To her despair, spyders appeared in front of them in a rush. Some the size of horses, others the size of small buildings, neared on metal legs. Joints made to resist rust, sharp-ended legs designed to pierce flesh in battle, and eight eyes that could capture images and preserve them onto daguerreotype. The York kingdom had used the spyders extensively in the Spyder War to quell the Viking rebellion, at first as spies and later as actual battle brawlers. Apparently, Philippe used them the same way, because she heard the clicking of several taking snapshots and saw the flare of flash before two of the smaller spyders scrambled away, probably making haste toward Philippe to share information.

  Danner didn’t do more than stand there, waiting.

  She didn’t know what he thought he could do. This route wasn’t supposed to be one used often by the spyders. Perhaps that was why he’d been so uneasy when he noticed the amounts of silk along the trees.