by LJ Vickery
Ken, her brother, was among the restrainers, and at a lull, she strove to get his attention.
“Ken,” she hissed, looking over the bunch on the floor and not seeing Absu. “I need to talk to you.”
Marduk had a big hand in Ken’s face, covering his mouth. Anshar answered for him. “Now’s not a good time, Charlie.” He looked like he was actually enjoying himself. Some of the others did too. “I thought you had a date?”
“That’s my problem.” Charlie shut up for a moment as a new roar left Marduk’s throat, due to no apparent provocation that she could see. When he quieted, she continued, “Absu never showed up.” She tried not to sound too dejected. “I wondered if any of you guys know where he is.”
Enlil separated himself from the melee. “We believed he was with you.” His eyes turned blank and he held himself still. Charlie wondered if he was having some kind of a seizure.
“Shit, guys,” Enten snapped out. “No time to waste. Absu’s under attack.”
With Charlie watching, and her mouth gaping open even more than before, booted feet scrambled down the stairs in a flying exodus. Marduk led the charge, still huge and roaring bloody murder.
Charlie, panicked to hear that Absu was in trouble, spun left then right in the hallway. How had they…? Wait. It must be more of those hidden earpieces. Although, why they’d all wear them at home was puzzling. Charlie turned to follow the men, but before her foot hit the top stair, a female cry echoed down the hallway. Were the women under attack from within? Not one to back down from a fight, she quickly headed in their direction.
The door to Tess’s room was slightly ajar, and Charlie peeked in to see a cluster of women around a bed. The harsh wail sounded more familiar now. Been there, done that, Charlie commiserated. As rewarding as the end product of childbirth was, it totally sucked for the duration.
Candy looked up just as Charlie was about to back away. “Come on in,” she called. “Tess decided to make it a party.” The woman on the bed was panting after a particularly long contraction and an extended push that hadn’t resulted in much.
“Thought you were having sex,” Tess huffed at her. “Not that I’m ever having sex again.” She moaned as another series of contractions ramped up.
“Absu didn’t show, and now the guys said something about him being under attack and took off. Including Marduk, who I think might be having some kind of psychotic episode,” she whispered to Candy, not wanting to worry Tess.
Lenore and Candy shot steely glances at each other. “Permission to be dismissed, Tess?” The two women suddenly looked eager to be gone. “For some reason my, uh, skills don’t seem to be working for you.”
Charlie wondered what skills those could be. Reflexology perhaps?
“Go.” Tess exhaled on a spasm, her face contorting with rage. “And don’t let anyone kill Marduk before I get the chance.”
The pair leaped to their feet and ran out the door. None of the women left behind seemed concerned, so she figured Absu had to be in good hands if everyone who’d gone to join him looked more excited than worried.
Charlie took one of the vacated seats and reached for Tess’s hand. She could help here. “Clamp down, Tess, and push with those glutes,” she encouraged knowingly. The women in the room all blinked.
“What?” Doctor Dani looked as clueless as the rest. “This is my first delivery, Charlie. If you have anything that will help, please share, because I’m a surgeon not an obstetrician, and what you just said is a new one on me.”
Charlie pinked up under all the scrutiny. “I’m just going from memory. When my midwife was helping me deliver, she said I was using the wrong muscles to get Maity out. She told me to push with my butt.”
“So be it,” Dani declared. “Tess, next time I say push, do it from the ass.”
Things progressed rapidly from there.
****
Absu was never happier to see the gods materialize around him. He’d already been sliced several times on the arms and chest, attempting to get into the demon’s mouths. A few moments before, they’d tripped him, knocked his head into a tree root and almost rendered him unconscious. It was only due to his god reflexes that he’d been able to get his feet up and into the soft belly of one, tossing him over his head and into the other. It had given him a split second to regain his equilibrium, but his head was still reeling.
“My brain is abominably woozy,” he admitted to his friends. “But there are only these two that I am aware of. I’m quite certain that thirteen of you…ah,” the goddesses arrived, “fifteen of you can take care of things here.” He slumped down against a tree, and looked at his cut-up body. Blood pumped from a severed artery in his forearm at a rapid rate. Not that it would kill him if they stopped it before he was entirely drained, but it certainly would slow him down as those type of injuries were not a quick heal. He feared he would need Dr. Dani’s services with a few stitches before the evening was out.
Enten was the first into the fray. “I’m going to freeze them into immobility,” yelled the god of winter. “Someone needs to extract their life forces.”
“Behind the right upper incisor,” Dagon barked out, circling to make the move.
“Let me,” Marduk bawled.
Absu snickered. It wasn’t a request.
Enten did his Mr. Frosty, and Marduk dove in for the kill. The birth pains the boss god was experiencing clearly drove him to new heights of aggression. It was a thing of beauty to watch. He wrenched open one rigid demon mouth, drove his hand past the lethal teeth, and delved into squishy tissue to extract the creatures “heart.” He crushed it in his fingers, watching it pulse dully out of existence.
“No fair, you get all the fun,” Candy sent a roundhouse kick into demon number two, crouching to avoid its teeth as he whipped his head in her direction.
“Whoa. Why do I feel dizzy all of a sudden?” She struggled to get up off the ground.
“Sleeping gas, my love.” Enlil bent and plowed his head into soft ghostly guts. The dangerous exhale blew out harmlessly. Once the demon was down, Enten sent him into deep freeze, and Marduk did the honors a second time. Suddenly, it looked like the boss was feeling better. Absu pondered the situation. Perhaps they’d have to remember that a good fight could take the edge off labor pains.
“How were you all made aware to come to my aid?” Absu asked, struggling to his feet. “I didn’t call you.”
“You missed your date, lame ass.” Anshar clearly wasn’t going to let Absu off the hook just because he had some giant gashes in him. “The lady was not happy that she got stood up.”
“Which leads me to the question of why you’re out here?” Marduk flexed his abdominal muscles and looked at his friends in confusion. “And why do I feel almost normal all of a sudden?”
Lenore’s head snapped up. “The baby,” she yelped. “Tess must have delivered. Go. Go.”
Ken had arrived on foot to see the last of the fight, and watched as the gods and goddesses disappeared again.
“Dammit, you guys,” he yelled after them in frustration at being left behind. “Can’t anybody walk around here?”
Little did he know that he was Absu’s only option for a helping hand. The hurting god picked his invisible self up from where he leaned against a tree and limped painfully toward the compound alongside the pissed off agent, becoming visible as he came within one hundred yards of Charlie.
Ken jumped at his sudden appearance. “Shit. I hate when that happens. I knew you were out here. But, buddy, do you know you’re bleeding all over the place?”
“Yup,” Absu answered. And the strange sounding word felt good coming out of his normally proper mouth He stumbled, and Ken kept him propped up and moving.
They barely caught up with the rest of the immortals, and only because the group had materialized outside of the front door just in case Charlie was roaming about. Absu and Ken followed the bunch in and up the stairs.
Outside of Tess’s room, they paused. All was quie
t except for a small, fresh cry. Marduk nearly fell through the door in his haste to get in, with the guys quickly following. What met their eyes was a beautiful sight. The lovely Tess was sitting up in bed, with a small, wizened head at her breast. It was the most awe-inspiring thing Absu had ever seen.
“Hey, big guy.” Tess’s eyes were all for her husband, and her smile was pure divinity. She turned her body to show one tiny closed eye and a delicate little fist resting up against her skin. “I want you to meet your son, Girin.”
Absu watched as a lone tear blazed a trail down Marduk’s cheek. The new father brought a shaking hand up to run across the baby’s back. He leaned in and tenderly embraced his family. Never had Absu seen the thunder god happier, or more humbled, than in that very moment.
Chapter Seven
“We’ve lost two demons, dammit.” Their life forces had just gone off her computer tracking. Beletseri was pissed. She’d literally gone through Hell to get those demons, along with four more, and just today, another eight. Now, her numbers were down again. She’d have to go back to the Underworld and try for some more. Maybe a different species this time that weren’t as stupid, although all demons were pretty thick in the brains department.
“They were supposed to do reconnaissance only, watch the comings and goings at god central, and not engage the enemy. How much more explicit could I get?” Incensed, Beletseri threw a paperweight at the wall.
“I told you we’d be better off if I did the scouting,” Matthew, her right-hand man and lover, told her point-blank. He got right in her face with his gripe.
Matthew was human and insolent, which was what the goddess revered about him. As powerful as she was, he refused to be intimidated by her. When the Blue Hills gods had foiled her plans to hold their queen captive, she’d played a few valuable cards and been given the opportunity to pick either Matthew or a lesser god from the Underworld to accompany her to freedom. She’d picked the human. Emotions had ruled her head, but she was happy now with her decision. She couldn’t scare him, and he fucked like an animal; better than any god she’d ever had.
“I will not put you in jeopardy. You are not expendable, my love,” Beletseri told him, a purr in her voice. She didn’t even pretend he meant nothing. She liked him to feel that he had some power over her. “Besides, you wouldn’t be able to see the invisible ones, and we need you to remain incognito to seduce little Miss Charlie away from the oh so proper Absu. If I haven’t missed my guess, he still has his dick firmly tucked into his pants.”
Matthew threw back his head and laughed. He hadn’t met the god, but Beletseri had told him enough that he couldn’t wait to beat the crap out of the dandy…and steal his woman. They just had to find a way to get Charlie interested in him.
“But you know I’m only doing it for you,” he smoldered. “As if anyone could entice me, now that I’ve had the hottest woman on all planes.”
Bel looked over at him. The front of his pants had tented, and she preened at his response. Matthew loved her displays of temper.
“You’re the only one I want.” He inched up behind her where she sat at the computer. The apartment they shared wasn’t big, but even so, the bedroom seemed too damn far away.
She shivered as he swept the long dark hair off her neck and bent to nip at the top vertebrae of her spine, the one that stuck out a little farther than the others. She held her breath, waiting for his next move, knowing what he would find. As he slid his hands around to her full breasts, her nipples hardened appreciably under her black silk shirt. She’d worn no bra. He had told her earlier that she was forbidden to wear undergarments today, and by the quick tweak and twist he gave the eager buds, she knew he was disappointed that she had complied. After all, when she disobeyed Matthew, punishment could be such fun.
“I have work to do, Matthew.” Beletseri attempted to concentrate on the screen. “You know we have no time for play today.”
Matthew bit the back of her neck and she gasped.
“Screw that. You have twenty seconds to save your laptop, because everything else is coming off the desk.”
She knew Matthew. He wasn’t kidding. They’d played with which one would control their sexual relationship, and Matthew had prevailed in a big way.
Bel quickly closed the laptop and placed it safely on the floor. His arm then came across in one powerful arc and swept papers and paraphernalia off the desk.
“There needs to be room for you.” He threaded his hands around her waist and lifted her from her seat, shoving her roughly forward so her head and chest rested against the hard wood. She started breathing rapidly, anticipating his next move.
Matthew took his time, holding her prone with one hand pressed to the back of her neck and letting her listen as he ripped off his belt. “I’d better find no panties under this skirt,” he warned, running his free fingers up one leg and down the other, coming within three inches of her now drenched pussy. She shuddered.
“Spread your legs, Bel,” he commanded. She did as he asked. This was what the goddess loved about him. She could stop his heart in an instant with her immortal powers, but still he pushed her to the limit every time.
“Good girl.” He moved to finger her wetness and encountered a scrap of silky material instead. “What’s this?”
Bel sighed happily. He was clearly pleased. She had disobeyed him and donned a thong. Now the game could be prolonged. He raised her skirt above her waist and bared her panty-clad ass for his inspection. “I do believe I told you not to wear these today,” he intoned, his voice caressing her deepest fantasies. He ripped the offending scrap from her body. “Better,” he said gently, “but now you’ll have to be corrected for your disobedience.”
Beletseri couldn’t find her full voice. She let loose a breathy squeak.
“What was that?” Matthew inquired. “You agree with me?”
“Yes, sir,” she moaned.
What would he use on her ass? He had such a wonderful and twisted imagination that Bel became hotter just imagining. He knew how to prolong her tension, letting her brain work overtime. She squirmed while he started a running commentary, knowing she could easily break free, but not in the least bit interested in finding freedom.
“I suppose I could use my hand.” He gave one hard smack to her right cheek, and she could almost feel his satisfaction as she jumped. “My handprint is pink on your skin,” he rumbled, letting that sink in. “But there’s a nice ruler in the top drawer that would make a sharp noise and an exquisite sting.”
A new gush of wetness flooded her pussy, and her nipples tightened to hard buds.
She heard the drawer slide open and waited, her toes practically curling with need. But he didn’t give her what she expected, rubbing gentle circles on her trembling posterior instead. “Does thinking about it make you wet?” Matthew taunted. He brought one finger slowly down and around her quivering ass until he found her pussy. He ran the digit once through her swollen slit. “Yes, very nice.” He answered his own question.
He spent a few seconds tapping her engorged bundle of nerves before removing his hand altogether. She whimpered in need.
“Now, now. Not before you’re properly chastised.” He leaned over and nipped her ear, pressing his still clothed body against her so she could feel his rough jeans and enormous erection on her tender skin. “Only then will I fuck you so hard you’ll feel it for the rest of the day.”
She wiggled back against him, and he shifted away. Smack. Another hit to her ass, this time with the ruler. Her pussy spasmed.
“Not yet,” he reproved. “Before you get my cock, I think we might use my belt.”
She moaned in pleasure. He released her neck and told her, “Don’t move. I want both hands to stay on the desk. You’ll take…I do believe…ten lashes.” She heard the rasp of his zipper being lowered and the whoosh of the belt as he picked it up from the desk, wielding it in the air, over her back. He snapped the leather to make a satisfying noise. “Now, I want you to count.”
He brought the belt down with a sharp crack on her flesh.
Belteseri let out a joyous, satisfied cry, the sting resonating deep in her core; every nerve ending standing at attention.
“I didn’t hear you count, my sweet.” He laughed evilly. “Now I have to add an extra stroke.” Matthew brought the belt down again in a new spot.
“One,” she gasped, arching into him, practically begging for more.
“Nicely done.” Matthew proceeded to wield the belt an additional ten times. He’d learned just how to get the maximum pleasure out of it for both of them; not striking in the same spot twice, and using a flick of the wrist that made more noise than contact. But the sting was definitely there, along with the red marks she would wear all day. By the time he was finished, Bel felt lightheaded, her pussy swollen with need. It was a wonder she hadn’t passed out from the pleasure.
When Matthew finished, he brought one of her hands from above her head, to the front of his pants. His cock had sprung free of its own volition, and he led her fingers to his throbbing rod. Together, they smoothed the pre-cum over the swollen head. With his free hand, he spread her now sopping pussy lips and, taking control of his cock, plunged into her with one strong motion. His roughness tore a scream from Beletseri’s throat as he came to rest as deeply as her flexing channel would allow.
“Are you good?” he asked, leaning over her. He had entered her more aggressively than usual, but Beletseri nodded and moaned.
“Yes, gods dammit.” She whimpered. “Now move that prick.” She attempted to buck against him but he held her tight.
“I run this show, Bel, my love.” She knew his cock must be ready to explode, but he held back. “We move when I say so.”