by LJ Vickery
Matthew was beyond coherence. Everything Bel did now looked as if it were happening to someone else, but the pain…the pain went on and on.
He watched as she nestled his severed digit into the hollow she’d made in his shoulder before quickly scoring across her own palm to send her goddess blood trickling into the cavity.
Tears and moisture streamed from Matthew’s eyes and nose, so when he tried to ask if she was almost finished, if she would please stop the pain, Bel couldn’t decipher it because he was blubbering too hard.
“Hush,” she admonished him. “I can’t afford distraction. The timing has to be perfect.” She concentrated on his shoulder carefully.
****
Jake watched Dani-Lee cleanly cut his little finger from his right hand. If everything progressed smoothly, he was told the blood loss would be minimal. She spoke as she worked. “I’m assuming a finger is used because it’s a hollow bone.”
He knew that the scientist in Dani couldn’t wait to see how this would work.
“I position it just so”―she emulated the proper angle for the amulets she’d worked with previously―”and use Anna’s blood.” She slowly poured the liquid she’d taken from Anna’s arm earlier into the hole to activate the transformation.
“Get ready, Anna. You’re next.” Dani hadn’t wanted to cut into Anna until they were sure Jake would generate an amulet from the procedure. And as far as he could tell, it looked like things were working. The glow commenced slowly, burning brighter and brighter by the moment.
Ish-Din, who had seen the ceremony before, and had coached Dani on the finer points, spoke into the silence, “Now, Dani. Now.”
The doctor sliced the newly formed amulet in half, forcing the first, agonized grunt from Jake. He’d been told that once the amulet lit within him, he would begin to feel things.
Dani placed the incised half on ice while she swiftly cut into Anna. The idea was, that the half of Jake’s newly formed amulet would meld with Anna’s dormant one, and create the bond they needed.
The prone goddess had opted not to be knocked out. She’d heard from the other goddesses about their heightened sexual post-op experiences, and had told Jake she wanted to be awake. He shook his head. He couldn’t imagine any sex worth that kind of pain, but he’d withhold judgement.
He viewed Anna’s face closely while the incision was made, and could tell the minute it hit her like a scorching fire. Within minutes, though, her agony turned to something else. He’d be damned if she didn’t appear to be on the verge of climax, and before he had a second to think that over, his dick was as hard as steel, and a mind-blowing orgasm bit into the base of his spine, hovering just out of reach.
His raging hard-on swiftly became apparent to all under the damned hospital gown he wore. Dani wasted no time, thank the gods. She had Anna’s amulet paired with his, and watched the muscle and skin for a few long moments. Almost before he could stifle a groan. Almost.
Panting now, Anna turned fevered eyes to his. And he could feel her. Like they’d been joined, and his cock already pounded in and out of her cunt in time to her heartbeats.
He heard the watchers let out a collective breath as both shoulders glowed, sparked, and finally generated into full and healthy life. But Jake was beyond caring. He wanted this finished and the damned gods gone from the room so he could grind his lust away between Anna’s thighs.
Dani closed the tissue over each talisman, and everyone sighed as the incisions instantly healed. All eyes turned to the hand where his finger had been severed, a sacrifice for the ceremony. It pulsed wildly, so he knew what was happening. But he was so caught up in the throes of desire, that he, unlike the onlookers, missed its regeneration.
Jake was fast approaching sexual nirvana, and was now so in tune with Anna that he knew she was there too.
“Everybody out,” he roared, and a mass stampede ensued. Thank the gods.
“I can’t wait,” Jake growled as he rolled atop his new goddess-wife, preparing to plunge.
“I can’t either,” she hissed back at him, and grabbed his hips with super strength, rearing up and driving his cock home.
They both peaked instantly, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head as they finished together in a burst of color and light.
****
Thank the gods. Matthew’s shoulder was glowing. Bel had bared her shoulder in preparation, and quickly plunged the knife into her own flesh. The pain was unbearable, but oddly she was also suffused with a pleasure that surprised her with its intensity.
She had been afraid of passing out, the only possible glitch in her plans, and had coached one of the higher-functioning demons on how to proceed in case it had happened. But it was not necessary. She grew wetter by the second, her pussy pulsing with each glow of Matthew’s amulet, and her lust almost annihilated her pain, and her need to remain vigilant. Almost. Her timing with placement had to be impeccable.
Was it glowing strongly enough? Damn. She didn’t want to jump the gun and screw it up. But if she overshot the timing, it wouldn’t work correctly either. And besides, she needed Matthew between her legs like yesterday. Fuck it. She lowered the knife and sliced the thing in half, grabbing it with shaking fingers to thrust it into her own shoulder to mate with her pulsing talisman.
The pleasure, as it became seated, suffused her body and far surpassed anything she’d ever experienced. And thank the gods. By the rabid look in Matthew’s eyes, he was feeling it too. Bel quickly slapped the flaps of skin together on his incision and hers.
Her pussy was on fire. Even as the wounds healed, she ripped the front of Matthew’s pants open with one, hard wrench. She bared his throbbing cock, hiked up her dress, and climbed on top of his prone body, fitting his straining cock up into her ready wetness.
He moaned his approval and canted his hips upward, using all the mobility she’d left him. “Fuck. You feel so good, you bitch,” he grated.
She rode him hard for a total of ten seconds before they both erupted in the most powerful orgasm she’d ever enjoyed. Beletseri keened. Matthew bared his teeth, roaring his pleasure. He came deep within her, maybe deeper than he’d ever penetrated before, and filled her in a prolonged series of gushing torrents from his cock.
Bel collapsed on Matthew, who smiled in a triumphant manner.
“Nice,” he growled.
She felt both his hands on her ass, and looked down to where he’d ripped from his restraints using his new god strength.
“My prick is ready again, Bel.”
She shivered in anticipation. She wanted him like a drug.
“And fair warning,” he growled, “I’ll take you as many times, and in as many ways as I want, because I’m totally in charge. Now and hereafter.”
He looked down at his missing finger.
Bel glanced that way as well. It was meant to regenerate, but clearly her impatient timing had skewed the results. She sighed. “Do you mind so much, Matthew?”
“A pinky for god powers?” His eyebrows rose. “I think it’s a good trade.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Absu had selected Enten to do the honors at his and Charlie’s mating ceremony. The winter god’s duties as best man would be to cut into Absu’s shoulder, score the amulet in half, and pass it off to Dr. Dani-Lee for implantation into Charlie. Absu knew that Charlie, like Candy and Anna, had opted for no anesthesia. Especially after witnessing the not-so-subtle lusty scene that had occurred between Jake and his Chosen at their joining. Absu couldn’t wait.
Maity had been put to bed and was being watched, along with baby Girin, by the nursemaid Vesca, but everyone else was in attendance. Absu glanced from the back of the room around at the myriad of mortals and immortals standing in the audience to witness the event. All were garbed in various ceremonial regalia, and looked on as thirteen of his friends made their way down the long aisle to the altar.
With the exception of himself, the twelve gods of Merrymount plus Huxley, were adorned in the finest
of garments. Solid gold torques and armbands accentuated the large, finely honed muscles in their chests and arms. Loincloths woven with fine jewels wrapped around lean hips, riding low and probably giving pause to erotic thoughts from the ladies attending.
He glanced around again and saw that Obedience had finally come out of hiding in the cottage, and had hunched herself away in the shadowed back row of the chamber. And even with all the pomp of the ceremony about to begin, Absu was aware when she caught her first glimpse of Kulla in almost four hundred years. She trembled visibly. At that very moment, the divine architect turned as if he’d felt her regard and stared her down, her eyes became soft and liquid.
Absu smiled to himself. Good for Kulla. There was promise and determination in the set of his mouth and jaw. So much so, that Obedience sank deeper into her chair, and turned her gaze anywhere but at her fated mate.
Absu let his eyes slide back to Charlie at the front of the room. Dressed in a plain white robe, she stood next to the doctor near the altar, looking around and waiting for those in the procession to complete their chants. Of course, at the moment, only some of the gods were visible to her and to the watchers who weren’t immortal, but for her, that would change soon. When Charlie had her amulet, she’d meet all those gods whose names she’d heard, but whose visages she’d never had the pleasure to gaze upon. They were a good-looking bunch, but Absu could not be jealous. Charlie was his. The amulet never lied.
The king and queen of the Underworld had been invited, and were settling in while the gods recited their supplications toward he and Charlie, lighting the plethora of candles and incense required to mark the occasion. Everyone came to their seats, and seconds later the queen’s sister, Ish-Din, and her new mate, Erra―the god of war―misted in.
“Sorry we’re late,” she whispered loudly, and turning her head to Charlie, gave her a wink and a thumbs-up.
When Charlie’s eyes grew wide, Ish-Din punctuated the wink with a small and knowing nod, and Absu noticed she mouthed the word, “later.” He could only wonder what that meant, but knew better than to question a goddess, so he kept his mouth firmly shut.
In a plain linen loincloth, Absu stepped briskly down the aisle and caught Charlie’s warm brown eyes with his. She was so beautiful. Her long, wheat-blonde hair had been swept back, but left loose to fall across her back. And her naturally pale skin glowed in the candlelight as if buffed and polished with oils. His powerful strides brought him to her side. He had no doubts or second thoughts about their joining.
Absu laid his back against the stone altar slab that had been raised to a standing position. His Chosen did the same beside him. As one, they grabbed the handholds meant to help keep them from moving, and Enten gently placed the leather bits between their teeth to brace against the upcoming pain.
The chanting stopped. Enten raised the osmium knife, muttered something under his breath, and released a brief exhale onto the site of Absu’s amulet. Absu gasped behind the leather. Enten had frozen his shoulder. The blade lowered and cuts were made, but Absu hardly noticed the intrusion. Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before? The pain deeper in was barely tolerable, but Absu had no doubt, as sweat poured down his face, that he was feeling but a small part of what his already mated brothers had endured.
He flinched. Frozen flesh aside, the pain caused by splitting the amulet became excruciating. Absu fought the urge to turn, not wanting his bear loose among the crowd. If he were out of his mind, what might he do to them all? By the time he talked himself down, Charlie’s half of his amulet had been removed, and his pain level subsided. Enten gave the same freeze treatment to his mate’s shoulder, before standing back for Dani-Lee to continue.
Charlie’s gaze met Absu’s and he snapped out of his self-absorption. As her shoulder was sliced and the amulet was placed, there was no mistaking the lust in her gaze. She was so aroused, she arched toward Dani-Lee, now turning to seat the talisman properly. Absu stared at Charlie in wonder…and rising hunger. He was mating a brave woman. Charlie gasped in ecstasy and writhed against the rock altar as the amulet was gently manipulated into place; and he couldn’t wait to get his hands all over her.
Absu nearly crowed in delight. There was no waiting for the sign of a successful mating between them. The talismans sent bright pulsing lights shooting across the room almost before Charlie’s half was fully seated. She moaned around the leather, and gods help him, Absu shared her sweeping arousal. His cock rose hard and insistent in sympathetic harmony.
The flaps on both their shoulders were quickly closed, but Absu stood still, as did Charlie, unable to tear their eyes from each other as the erotic fire spread and multiplied in their bodies, each experiencing the other’s sensual fervor.
Absu, normally private with all his thoughts and actions, didn’t care that his turgid cock was readily apparent to those who watched. All he could think about were the sensations flooding his body, the illusion that Charlie’s hot pussy clenched around him. Sweat beaded up at the base of his spine. Dammit. He was going to erupt, and his brain told him Charlie, breathless and flushed, was a second from the throes of her climax.
She screamed and came hard. Within seconds, Absu soared to the same heights, crying out with a great bear’s roar as his body convulsed, the pulse in his cock beating in time to her pussy’s rhythmic spasms.
Absu barely registered that the entire crowd sighed. He did, however, hear Enten shooing everyone out of the room. “These ceremonies just keep getting better and better.” He chuckled. “But best to leave the couple alone for a while.”
Before Absu’s eyes uncrossed from the force of his orgasm and he could focus solely on his new mate, he saw Obedience slip out the door, hurrying ahead of the assemblage. He spared some quick empathy for Kulla. Poor guy.
Absu wasted no time spitting the leather from his mouth and removing Charlie’s, an act he did with tenderness, while her rapt attention toward him swelled his heart. He whipped the loincloth from his hips, and while Charlie looked on, he used it to clean the spent release from his groin and thighs. Not the smoothest move he admitted, but a necessity given the violence of his eruption.
****
“Are you looking for more?” Charlie’s voice was rough as she watched Absu stroke his member, and her mouth watered at his engorging and twitching cock.
“I’ll always be looking for more from you.” He reached forward and drew a slightly elongated claw in an emphatic line down between her breasts. Charlie felt a pull deep within her pussy.
“Put your hands back to the pegs,” he ordered. “Hold on to them and don’t let go.”
Charlie hadn’t believed she could be any more aroused, but Absu’s dominant words sent a new flood of moisture to her core.
“Spread your legs.” He didn’t wait for her to fully comply. As she moved to do his bidding, he cupped her soaking pussy with one hand and parted the lust-swollen lips. Holding her open, he thrust his shaft into her hot sheath.
The sound of rapture that exploded from her throat was swallowed by a deep kiss from his demanding lips. As she moaned into his mouth, he fucked her hard up against the rock altar, thrusting again and again. He dipped his hands up under her thighs and lifted her ass so she could wrap her legs around his hips, which she did willingly.
He pulled his marauding mouth back for a second to say, “Hold on tight.” Before he began his assault again.
Charlie arched her back and thrashed forward off the standing altar as much as she was able. He held her in place so fiercely, yet she found she had new goddess strength and met his wildness with savagery of her own. She could feel Absu. Really feel him. It was as if she were both of them at once, and she could tell what it was like to be seated and clenched within tight muscles. It sent her pleasure beyond exponential proportions.
Absu had to be feeling the same connected passion because he knew just how to thrust, when to draw back, and when to plunge. He must know how the fullness of his cock hit all the nerve endings up insi
de of her womb, because he swelled to even greater dimensions to enhance their combined bliss.
“Let me come, Absu…Master…please?” At the moment, because of their bond, she didn’t feel like a sub at all. His dominance swirled in her gut, letting her feel his power. Yet her training kicked in, and she could feel his lust soar as she asked permission.
“Yes, my sweet sub. I can deny you nothing right now. Let go. Come for me,” he hissed.
Cleared to seek her pinnacle―which didn’t take long―she felt him right there with her. She sensed his balls tighten up, she matched his elevated heartbeat with her own. His roar of completion was hers, and when Charlie stilled at the apex of pleasure, the world stopped for both of them, and they tipped into the abyss together, panting and groaning in its powerful aftermath of shudders.
As Charlie came down from that mingled euphoria, their legs buckled and they ended up a sweaty, satisfied heap on the stone floor.
“My gods, will it always be like that?” Charlie asked in wonder minutes later when she was finally able to speak.
“I’m told it is.” Absu cradled her on his lap. “But I’ll strive to make it even better.” Absu actually winked. “With the right equipment and incentives, I’m sure I can have you screaming in ecstasy.”
“I’m already there, sir.” She tipped her head up and bit his chin.
“Ah,” he acknowledged with a chuckle. “And so the tally of your misdeeds begins.” He sighed deeply. “You know I don’t want to stand, but there’s a party going on upstairs in our honor. It wouldn’t be right to keep the celebrants waiting too long,” he groused. “We need to go.”
He helped her to her feet, smoothing her gown down over her hips. Charlie grinned at his nakedness. “And what will you do for clothes?” She pointed to the damp, crumpled mess he’d discarded. “There’s no way you’re putting your loincloth back on.”