by Dante Steel
“You’re not allowed to quit,” Oliva admonished.
“No? Why not?”
She leaned close and whispered in his ear, “I don’t fuck losers, so you sure as fuck better win.” Olivia licked his earlobe and then pulled back, grinning.
"With you all by my side, how can I possibly lose?" Gary asked.
Honestly, despite coming close to dying, Gary felt on top of the world. This time would be different. He was certain. Smaug would die. They would go home. Their world would change, but they would find a way. Nothing could break the bond of love Gary shared with Olivia, Elena, and Nicoletta. Nothing. Even Yuna had bonded with them. Not sexually. No. Not sexually for him.
Except when he fell asleep a few moments later, the Japanese woman was the one he dreamed about. She tied him down for "experiments," and each one was something different sexually. In the dream, Gary came over and over and over. No surprise, he woke hard as hell, and his clothes were wet.
His mind rejected Yuna. So did his heart. His body, though, was weak.
A worry for after Loki and after Smaug.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gary woke up in the same room, only this time, he was alone. He took quick care of his erection, daydreaming about Elena, Nicoletta, and Olivia taking turns riding him, sucking him, or him thrusting deep into their pussies or asses. He made a point of not thinking about another woman.
Once he cleaned up, he left the room and followed his nose to the kitchen. The others were there already, eating some biscuits and drinking tea.
“This place based on England?” Gary asked.
Yuna nodded. “Yes. How are you feeling?”
“Ready to kick some trickster ass.”
“Good.” She pushed her teacup toward him, but an NPC bustled over with food and drink for him. “We have been discussing how best to approach Loki.”
“Can’t he turn into a horse?” Gary asked. “I think I read something crazy about him being the mother of something? How?”
“Because of being a horse. He was a mare, and yes, he gave birth to Sleipnir,” Yuna said.
“Sleipnir?” Gary repeated. The name sounded so foreign.
“An eight-legged horse,” Olivia said.
“You know about everything,” Elena said.
Olivia shrugged. “I’m huge into Marvel. And I love mythology.”
“And Tom Hiddleston is hot,” Nicoletta added.
“Damn straight.”
All of the girls laughed. Even Yuna giggled.
Gary shook his head. “Glad you all agree on that point.”
Olivia laughed again. “He’s also the father of the wolf Fenrir and a sea serpent. I don’t remember its name.”
“Don’t remember or can’t pronounce it?” Yuna teased.
“Both.” Olivia grinned.
Yuna gestured for Gary to eat, and he obliged. “I do not think we’ll have to worry about his children, only Loki. To answer your question, Gary, Loki has historically shifted into a mare, a salmon, and a fly. It is possible that he can change into other forms as well. It would be best if we do not engage him in conversation. He will try to trick us and turn us against each other. He has a silver tongue.”
“There’s nothing that will tear us apart,” Olivia said confidentially.
Gary so badly wanted that to be true. He wanted everything to be perfect, with just him, Olivia, Elena, and Nicoletta. Yuna had become a dear friend, and, yes, he was attracted to her, but he didn’t love her. With her, it was just lust.
That realization had him wholly and completely accepting his love for the other three. A harem truly was what he wanted, but it was born out of love. Anyone who thought differently was wrong. It had taken him a little while to fully accept this, but love wasn’t normal. It wasn’t the same for everyone.
But his love, his harem, he could definitely see Loki trying to ruin it.
They talked and joked as if they weren't about to fight a battle that would be their toughest challenge yet. The team armed themselves and prepared to leave.
“Loki’s eastward,” Yuna said. “Flying will be our best bet. Olivia, you fly Nicoletta. I’ll fly Elena and Gary.”
“Why me?” Nicoletta asked.
“Aw, I’m feeling the love,” Olivia said. “Don’t you want another kiss?”
Elena’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. Out of the corner of his eyes, Gary saw the metal superhero lick her lips. While he hoped this meant she was willing to broaden her horizons, he wasn’t about to be carted around as if he was an invalid.
“Yuna, I don’t need you to fly me,” Gary protested.
“You need to conserve your strength,” the Japanese woman said firmly.
“I’m fine.”
“You are our strongest asset. You can heal us. You must be able to do so.”
Gary gritted his teeth, but he nodded. She had a point. He wasn’t going to pretend that healing wasn’t an amazing new skill.
“What else can people with telekinesis do?” Gary asked.
“Can we talk as we fly?” Olivia asked. She was bouncing on her toes.
“You’re that eager to kill Loki?” Nicoletta asked.
“It won’t be easy. Is he as hot in the game as is he in the movies?”
Yuna shook her head. “We have to kill him.”
“Yes, yes,” Olivia said with a sigh.
They left and took to the skies. Gary didn’t even bother to glance around to see what time period the town had been from. Yuna was able to make Gary and Elena fly without touching them. He knew Olivia could do the same, but she always held onto the persons she flew with. An extra reason to touch us. He didn’t blame her at all.
Just thinking about Olivia and her touching Nicoletta had Gary hard. So inappropriate. Not the right time at all. It had been too long since he last made love to one of them.
To distract himself, he asked Yuna again, “What else can people with telekinesis do?”
“Come on, now, Gary,” Elena said. “You should be able to think of one other thing at least.”
He frowned and considered what telekinesis was. Moving objects with his mind, so flying, the forcefields…
“Bending spoons!” Elena laughed.
He sighed and groaned. “You didn’t give me a chance to think long enough!”
“Are you trying to claim you would’ve thought of that?”
“The world will never know.”
Yuna glanced from Gary to Elena. “You two are adorable.”
Elena blushed. “Thank you.”
“Nothing about me is adorable,” Gary grumbled.
Yuna giggled. “I did not mean to offend you.”
“Oh, I’m not offended. I’m just correcting you, that’s all.”
“You can’t correct an opinion,” Elena teased.
“Will you ever stop ganging up on me?” Gary asked, shaking his head. One would think shaking his head would make him dizzy while flying, but it didn’t. The flight was so smooth that if he just focused on the women, he wouldn’t even realize he was flying.
“Um… not likely.” Elena shrugged.
“As for other skills—” Yuna started.
The rest of her words were drowned out by the rumble of thunder. There were no clouds, and the lightning that streaked in the sky started at the ground and headed upward.
Toward Olivia and Nicoletta.
Gary glanced below. It took him a moment to spot the fucker.
“Smaug,” he said.
He destroyed the link between himself and Yuna so he could zoom forward toward the other two. Reaching out telekinetically, Gary didn’t put a forcefield around them. Instead, he encased Smaug, hoping that would be strong enough to contain any more lightning strikes.
He laid a hand on Olivia’s and Nicoletta’s shoulders. “We should fly away. We don’t want to face him. Not now, not yet.”
They nodded and headed back toward the others when Gary smelled smoke. He glanced over to see Nicoletta throwi
ng a massive fireball straight for Smaug. It was the largest blast she had ever produced. Swiftly, Gary tried to shift the forcefield so it would allow the fire to obliterate Smaug.
Even more incredible than its sheer size was the explosion the moment the fireball collided with Smaug. Smoke billowed toward them.
“Wicked!” Olivia shouted.
They continued to fly away from the smoke, the blast, and Smaug, when suddenly, Nicoletta shrieked. A rod pierced her side, and she slumped down, flying yet because of Olivia, but unconscious or perhaps dead.
Shocked, Gary could only nod when Olivia shoved Nicoletta into his arms. The others surrounded him, and he barely noticed Olivia swooping downward. Gary was too preoccupied with reaching inside of Nicoletta with his power. He wasn’t sure if he could remove the rod without causing more damage, but he tried to make things right inside her body. It was guesswork, of course. He wasn’t a doctor and had no medical training. But up close like this, nearly subatomic, he could piece things back together as if the muscles and bones were puzzle pieces to sort. The blood was trickier, but he did his best, working from the left side of her body toward her right, shoving out the rod as he went.
The others were talking, screaming, crying. Gary ignored them all, listening only to Nicoletta’s heart. It beat slower and slower, and he tried to speed up the process, to help her, heal her, save her.
“No! You’ll die like Nicoletta!” Yuna shouted.
“But Olivia!” Elena yelled back. “He’s killing her a gazillion times over!”
Gary eased out the rod.
Nicoletta’s eyes fluttered, and she gasped, looking around wildly. “Wh-What happened?”
He forced her to look at him. “Are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine. I don’t understand. I thought I was dead.”
“You’re okay?”
She nodded.
Gary handed her off to Yuna and then dove down. The smoke lingered yet, making visibility difficult, but he spied Olivia and then Smaug. The supervillain stood over the flier, pummeling her with lightning from his fingertips. He looked like a dark overlord.
Fists held out, Gary flew as forcefully as he could and plowed straight into Smaug’s back, knocking him to the side. Gary allowed one more hook and then an uppercut for good measure. A bolt of lightning seared through Gary as he tore back toward Olivia. He ignored the pain, the shock, cradled her body, and zoomed away as quickly as he could, bypassing the others.
Once a-fucking-gain, they had to flee.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gary didn't stop flying for what felt like hours. Olivia wasn't unconscious, and she never left the game. The flier just clung to Gary as if she was terrified she would fall.
“I got you,” he kept repeating. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now. I got you.”
“Nicoletta,” Olivia whispered through tears. “Is she…”
“She’s fine. Are you?”
Olivia clung to him even tighter and closed her eyes.
Yuna eventually bypassed him and led the way. They reached an island of ice, and Yuna brought them to the town. Once they were settled in a room in the inn, Gary tried to release Olivia, but she wouldn’t let him.
“I can’t,” she murmured, trembling.
“Can’t what?” he asked, rubbing her back.
She shook her head and buried her face into his chest.
“Olivia,” Nicoletta said, sounding strong and compassionate.
Olivia stilled, slowly released Gary, and turned. “I’m so sorry. He nearly killed you and—”
“And you didn’t hesitate to go and fight for me, to distract him so that Gary could heal me.” Nicoletta held out her arms, and the two embraced. Nicoletta brushed back Olivia’s hair and kissed her full on the lips.
Gary almost felt as if he was intruding on a private moment, and he glanced away.
“You rescued me as much as Gary did,” Nicoletta whispered. “I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know how to repay you.”
"You don't need to unless you want to…" Olivia wiggled her hips.
Nicoletta laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”
The Hispanic’s smile faded, and she whirled around to face Yuna.
“You. Olivia was killed so many times. What level are you now?” Nicoletta demanded.
“That doesn’t matter,” Olivia protested.
"Yes, it does." Nicoletta turned back to Yuna. "What level are you?"
“Two hundred and two.”
Holy crap. Already? She was one hell of a gamer. Her powers were no joke.
“Olivia, please don’t make me ask you again.”
“Less than that,” Olivia admitted in a whisper. “But that doesn’t matter!”
“Of course it matters!” Nicoletta exploded. “Can you fly?”
“I’m sure I can. I could do that since the start of the game.”
“Can you make me fly?” Nicoletta asked.
“I… I don’t want to try.”
“Then fly with Elena,” Nicoletta pleaded. When Olivia shook her head, Nicoletta tried again, “Or Gary.”
“She won’t stop,” Gary said. He held out his hand.
Olivia reluctantly accepted his hand. She rose into the air a few inches, but Gary didn’t.
“Your powers are so reduced that you can’t fly anyone else.” Nicoletta glanced around and found a cup. “Try to lift this.”
“Nicoletta, please,” Olivia begged.
“Just try.”
Olivia tried. The cup never lifted from Nicoletta’s hand. Olivia’s control to make objects outside of herself fly was gone.
“This is all my fault,” Nicoletta said.
“How?” Gary demanded. “You were impaled!”
“I should’ve been flying faster—” Olivia started.
“You were flying as fast as you could. It was not your fault.” Nicoletta shook her head several times. “I’m furious with myself, and with you, Olivia. You never should’ve gone after him like that!”
“It had to be me,” Olivia said darkly. “He doesn’t scare me, and I’m the only one who can die and not actually die. I’m an avatar.”
“You aren’t just an avatar. This isn’t just a game, and it hasn’t been for a long time.” Nicoletta whirled on Yuna. “You. How could you have not gotten rid of Smaug? How did he get through again? Why isn’t he dead? You have so many powers yourself. You should be able to kill him without the rest of us as backup!”
Yuna hung her head and stared at the ground. “I am so very sorry that you lost so many levels, Olivia. Nicoletta, I’m so sorry you were—”
“Nearly killed? Yeah, I survived, but not thanks to you. What exactly have you done since you’ve come here?” Nicoletta demanded.
Elena stepped forward. “I think we need to get some food and ale. A lot of ale. Anything you want.”
“Not with her,” Nicoletta said, lifting her nose into the air.
Arm in arm in arm, Elena, Nicoletta, and Olivia departed the room.
Yuna did not lift her head. “Do you hate me, too?”
“No,” Gary said honestly. “I… I think I’m in shock. I don’t see how that could happen. How did he know where we would be?”
"We weren't far from Loki. He must have either looked into how to become a superhero or else he is tracking us."
“He’s not Smaug. He’s Gamer Hunter,” Gary muttered.
“I mean it. I am so sorry for all that has happened. If Nicoletta had died—”
“She didn’t. Not this time.”
Yuna nodded miserably. “Go to them.”
Since he had nothing else to say to her, Gary left and headed next door to the tavern.
The girls were tucked in a corner, talking, laughing, and eating. Gary joined them, and they spent a few hours flirting. Eventually, Nicoletta began to nod off, and Elena picked her up.
“I’ll take her to bed.”
Olivia smirked. “Do you realize how that sounds?”
Elen
a blushed and walked away, nodding for Gary to stay with Olivia.
He turned to Olivia. She eyed him and seductively licked her finger.
Gary chuckled. “We should talk.”
“Is that how you want to term it?” Olivia ran her foot up his leg and placed it against his cock. She had taken off her thigh-high boots.
“I don’t have a foot fetish. Sorry.”
“Ah, don’t be like that. If anything rubs hard enough, long enough, you’ll get off.”
“Nope.” He lifted her leg onto the top of his thigh and began to massage her foot.
“Ah.” She squirmed, smiling. “That feels good.”
“Just imagine my hands elsewhere.”
Olivia laughed. “Right now?”
“Please.”
“No.”
He groaned. “You’re a damn tease.”
“You blew your load when I touched you last time!”
“Because you’re such a damn tease!”
“Just imagine how good it’s gonna be when we actually do.”
“It better be soon,” he murmured. “I don’t think my balls can last much longer.”
“You sure you don’t want my foot somewhere else?” she teased.
“I’m sure.” He grinned but then grew serious. “I think you need to train. Hard. You need to be strong. Stronger.”
She sighed and sat up, dropping her foot from on his leg. “Honestly, I think it would be best for me to lay low and not play for a while.”
“I fucking hate that idea,” he blurted.
Olivia drew a circle on the table. “I know. I don’t want to.”
He reached over and claimed her hand. “I hate it, but I completely understand.”
She bit her lower lip, clearly considering something, and she stood, tugging him along and bringing him to a different room at the inn. Without a word, she stripped him down. His cock sprung out the moment she lowered his clothes, nearly hitting her.
To his disappointment, when she stepped back, she didn’t take off her clothes. All she did was give him a slow once-over before smiling and nodding.
Olivia dropped to her knees in front of him, opened her mouth, and swirled her tongue around his tip.
“Fuck,” he groaned.
She laughed throatily. “Already? You are easy.”