Very Much Alive td-1

by Dana Marie Bell

  "Don't you dare, Logan Saeter!"

  He laughed. “Oh, I'm in trouble now! She used my full name! "

  Kir shook his head, his lips beginning to turn up in a grin.

  "Smart ass.” He could hear the laughter in her voice.

  "Better a smart ass than a dumb ass."

  "That whole line was asinine."

  "Ooh, good one.” He winked at Kir, who shook his head at him.

  "The reason I called was to ask if you wanted to get together to go over the YouTube video."

  Logan thought about what he'd have to do to get the condo ready for a date. Kir could clean while he got the makings for a meal. He looked over and saw Kir nodding as he headed out of the den. They'd been together long enough that they could practically read each other's minds. He smiled to himself when he heard Kir rummaging around in the closet where he kept all of his cleaning supplies. “I think we can swing that."

  "What time?"

  "Tonight, at seven?"

  "Sounds good."

  "Don't eat anything; we'll make it a dinner meeting.” Logan knew one of the ways to a person's heart, male or female, was a well-cooked meal, and he planned on wowing her tonight. He picked up a pen and paper, all ready to write down what he'd need.

  "More pizza? Yum! Especially if you order from the same place as last time."

  Logan mentally rolled his eyes as he jotted down a quick menu. You and Kir are going to get along just fine. “I was thinking of cooking, actually."

  There was silence for a moment. “Pizza's good."

  One eyebrow twitched up in disbelief. “Hey, I'm a good cook."

  "Um. Okay."

  He frowned. “What's up?"

  "It's just, this guy I dated said he could cook, too."

  "So?” What if she has a boyfriend? He tried to ignore the shaft of jealousy as the thought occurred to him, but couldn't quite manage it. He could feel his teeth grinding. He would soon be an ex boyfriend if he and Kir had anything to say about it.

  "So he set dinner down on the table."

  "And?"

  "And his cat tried to bury it."

  Logan blinked, the tip of the pen arrested on the paper. “The cat what?"

  "His cat hopped up onto the table, neat as you please, and tried to bury the food."

  Logan tried to stifle the laugh, but knew he sounded strangled. “Was the cat right?"

  "Hell, yes.” He could hear the creak of her office chair as she leaned back. “A buzzard probably would have passed it by. The biscuits alone were prime building material."

  Logan started to laugh.

  "For some reason, he never called me back after that. Might have had something to do with me asking if he could make some more, since my mom really wanted to build this stone water feature out in her backyard."

  Logan leaned back in his own chair, grinning like a loon. “Let me guess, they matched her siding or something?"

  "Something like that. I got the impression I'd insulted him."

  "Some guys have no sense of humor."

  "Tell me about it."

  Jordan bit back a moan as the last bite of tiramisu slipped between her lips. He's gorgeous and he cooks ? I'm in so much trouble. “You, sir, can make me a meal anytime."

  "I plan on it.” Logan was smiling at her over the rim of his coffee cup. She felt her face heat up at the intensity of that smile. He'd been flirting with her off and on throughout the entire meal, and damn if she wasn't responding to his teasing touches and lingering glances.

  Kir, on the other hand, had watched the two of them with indulgent amusement and a hint of heat, like a lazy cat basking in the sun, waiting his turn to play with the little mouse toy. And that's kind of how she felt. She was the small prey to their mighty hunters. The sad part was it was working. Her panties hadn't been this damp since her brother Magnus pushed her, fully dressed, into a lake when she was twelve.

  Time to get things back on track before I leap across the table and do something foolish with my stupidly raging libido.

  "Any ideas on what we should do for the video?” She turned to Kir, hoping to avoid Logan's lazy smile for a few moments. “What can you do that Logan can't do, other than thunderstorms?” She leaned forward, putting her chin on top of her folded hands, and stared at Kiran intently, her mind starting to drift into what she thought of as “work mode". “We need the video to prove to the others that it's really you and not some trick of Logan's."

  Logan sat back and watched them quietly, his fingers casually cradling his coffee cup. Kiran nodded

  slowly. “One way would be to perform some kind of miracle.” He exchanged a quick look with Logan, who shrugged. “There are differences between the magic of the Jotun and the miracles performed by the gods."

  "What differences?"

  "For instance, if it's associated with the spring season, I can influence it. Spring storms, flowering plants, green and growing things, are all under my influence."

  "Don't forget sex and fertility."

  Kir rolled his eyes, but not before she'd seen the quick heat come and go at the mention of sex. “Down, you horn-dog.” He turned back to Jordan. “So, okay, add fertility to the list."

  "Is there anything Logan can do that they'd point at and say, ‘That's Loki, not Baldur'? In other words, can Logan imitate you?"

  Logan's expression sobered immediately, the two men exchanging a long look. “That's been part of the problem for years. As a Trickster God, I can imitate quite a bit of what Kir can do, but if you know what to look for you can tell it's not the real deal."

  Kir leaned forward and propped his chin on his hand with an irritated frown. “No matter what we do, Grimm can claim it was Loki and the others believe him. We need to come up with something that's indisputably Baldur.” Kir sat back again with a sigh. “The problem is, what can I do that Logan can't imitate?"

  "Hopefully the video itself will fix some of that."

  Jordan looked at Logan. He was staring at her mouth. “Earth to Logan, come in, Logan."

  His gaze snapped up, his mouth curling into that devil's grin she was coming to know so well. “If they can see Baldur performing the miracles, they'll know it's really him. There are some things I can imitate, but there are one or two things I simply can't imitate. Those are the ones we'll use."

  She ignored him when his gaze went once more to her mouth. “How will they know it's you and not him?"

  Kir looked ... guilty. “They'll know."

  She raised one brow in disbelief. “Just because they can see you?"

  He nodded, looking uncomfortable.

  "Are you going to share with the class?"

  Kir ignored the question and began gathering the dishes.

  Logan leaned forward, one finger stroking a line of fire down the back of her hand. “I'm more than willing to share.” He glanced at Kir, who was now standing behind her chair, one strong hand resting on the table beside her plate. They had her surrounded in their heat. “Are you?"

  Jordan gulped. Good-bye dry panties, hello inner slut-puppy.

  The satisfaction on Logan's face as he stood to help her out of her seat didn't help. Kir's hand at the small of her back, guiding her out of the room as Logan took over clearing the table was almost a relief.

  Almost. Kir's hand stroked her back in small, gentle circles as he guided her into the living room. It felt so good, she almost melted at his feet.

  Oh, yes. So much trouble.

  Kir watched as Jordan checked out the computer, making some notes on the programs they had. She was muttering to herself, Adobe this and Movie Maker that. Logan was sprawled on the sofa, watching her with that lazy, hooded look that always sent heat straight to Kir's cock.

  She bent over to examine the plugs and slots on the laptop. The fabric of her jeans stretched taut across her shapely ass, displaying it perfectly. Kir nearly groaned out loud.

  She couldn't have picked a more perfect way to torture them if she'd tried.

  He heard L
ogan move on the sofa and knew he'd had the same reaction to the sight of Jordan bent over.

  He could picture one of them fucking her while the other watched, the two of them taking turns to make her scream. Better yet, one of them fucking her sweet, sweet pussy while the other reamed her tight ass, making her so tight she'd nearly squeeze their cocks off.

  And none of the visuals currently running around in his head would get them any closer to their twin goals of winning their freedom and gaining their now ultimate prize: Jordan.

  "So, what do you think?” He shifted in his seat as his erection throbbed against the zipper of his jeans.

  Damn, he wanted her.

  Logan stood and moved over to the side of Kir's chair, his gaze never leaving the small woman moving around the laptop on the dinette table.

  "I can work with this, not a problem. We need to pick up a camcorder, though, one that works with YouTube.” She stood, hands on hips, her expression completely professional. The uncertain female they'd lazily seduced over dinner was gone, replaced by the confident, strong woman she'd first shown them in her office.

  Kir wanted to take that woman and flip her onto her back, her legs over his shoulders as he ... Better not go there, or I'll have a permanent zipper mark on my cock.

  From the uncomfortable look on Logan's face it might already be too late for him.

  "I know exactly where to pick one up, too. We'll head over there tomorrow."

  "Why not use yours? Don't PIs all have camcorders?"

  She grimaced. “I broke it last night. Or, should I say, I had it broken for me."

  Kir's eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?” Someone laid hands on her? Thunder sounded off in the distance and he quickly averted his eyes. There were just some things he didn't think she was ready to see yet, the

  sharp edge of his temper being one of them.

  She shrugged. “Not everyone appreciates having their cheating ways videotaped. Some of them get violent. Luckily I'd already removed the tape when she took the camera from me."

  "She?” Kir's tension eased a bit. From the way Logan was standing, however, the revelation that Jordan's adversary had been female hadn't alleviated any of his anger.

  "The other woman, in this case. The dickhead husband just stood there and laughed.” She said the words absently, like what had happened was no big deal.

  "Who was he?” Unless you knew Logan really well, you'd think the question was casual. Logan's expression was one Kir had seen before, and it did not bode well for whoever Jordan had been tailing.

  Considering he wasn't happy with the unknown man either, he was not inclined to enlighten her.

  Jordan didn't know Logan well enough to figure out that he was supremely pissed off. “Just a bozo who doesn't know how to keep it zipped in his pants."

  Logan's head tilted. “You know, if you tell me who it is, I can visit a little something special on him.” Kir could see the fire dance in Logan's eyes, quickly doused by the other man's will.

  Someone is in for an interesting time. He had no doubt that Logan would find out who the man was and make his life ... interesting, whether she told them who it was or not. He relaxed, knowing the man and his mistress would pay for laying hands on their woman.

  Wait. When was that decided?

  She grinned. “Like what, an STD?"

  "Nah. Odds are he'll get that anyway.” Logan waved off Jordan's nod of agreement. “I mean something along the lines of dead fish in his curtain rods."

  Jordan's grin melted away. “Huh?"

  "Just tell your client that when she files for divorce she should let him have the curtains, complete with rods.” His expression was devilish. “Trust me."

  "I've heard of that before. Something about sewing dead prawns into the bottoms of the curtains, and when the fish rotted, the cheating couple was forced to move due to the smell. Only they took the curtains with them.” She leaned against the dinette and crossed her arms over her chest. “That's some kind of urban legend, isn't it?"

  Logan nodded. “And it makes a hell of a stench, too."

  She stared at him. “Are you telling me it isn't an urban legend?"

  "I am telling you no such thing."

  Her expression of disbelief was almost as amusing as Logan's attempt at innocence. “Why don't I believe you?"

  Logan chuckled as he took her arm and led her to the chaise. “Do we know now what we need to pick up tomorrow at the video store?"

  Jordan was still frowning at him, but allowed him to lead her to the chaise. She seemed startled when Logan took a seat on the chaise next to her, draping his arm casually along the edge behind her. “Yes, I know exactly what we need tomorrow."

  Her face was suspicious again. Kir took a seat on the ottoman across from her, his knees brushing hers.

  He did his best to look harmless, but he wasn't certain if he managed it or not.

  "Good. Work's over, right?"

  Kir saw the expression on Logan's face and knew he was about to make some sort of move on Jordan.

  “I think we're done for the evening, yes."

  Jordan clapped her hands, making both Kir and Logan jump. He'd been lost in a vision of the two of them seducing her. “Good! Then I'll head home and meet you guys nice and early.” She tried to stand, only to find Logan's hand on her shoulder. The confusion on her face forced Kir to hide the smile threatening to get away from him.

  "How about a movie?” Kir gave Jordan his best “I'm harmless, you can trust me” look.

  "What movie?” From her expression she wasn't buying it. She still looked suspicious.

  "What would you like to watch?"

  "Your door shutting behind me as I head home for the night."

  "I'm not sure we have that one."

  Jordan rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “Seriously, if we're going to get to work in the morning, I need to head out.” She looked down at her watch and groaned. “Damn, it's later than I thought."

  "Then stay here for the night.” Kir stood, checking out the clock on the entertainment center and grimaced. Midnight. Not sure I want her driving home this late, especially if Grimm catches wind of us meeting.

  Jordan started hunting around for the small carry-on luggage she called a purse. “No, thanks. It's really late, and I need my sleep, something I don't think I'll get if I stay here."

  "You got that right."

  Kir kicked Logan's ankle as discreetly as he could, glad that Jordan's distraction kept her from hearing the other man's muttered words. “Then do us a favor?"

  "What?"

  "Let us walk you to your car, and call us once you're home."

  "Why?"

  "To make sure you get home safely."

  She seemed to think about that for a moment before nodding. “All right."

  Logan got out the door first, making sure it was safe before going to the elevator.

  This left Kir to enjoy the view of the two best asses in the world walking right in front of him.

  He was glad to see Jordan drove a sensible sedan, though it was an older model than he liked. Logan assisted her into her car, every inch the gentleman, shutting her door for her and watching carefully as she started her car.

  She waved good-bye as she pulled out of the parking garage, confusion still lighting her features but a smile dragging at her lips.

  Logan walked over to Kir, his arm going around Kir's waist and pulling him back to the elevator. Kir smiled. “That went well."

  Logan snorted. “It didn't go that well. She's not upstairs."

  Kir smiled. “Patience, love."

  Logan pulled Kir into the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. “Patience is a virtue, and you know I'm not very virtuous."

  "I noticed something you didn't."

  "What?"

  "Her scent."

  The elevator began to rise, along with Logan's grin. “Ahh. Damp, was she?"

  Kir looked over at his lover, not surprised to see that Logan's cock was a hard
ridge behind his jeans.

  Sometimes it paid to be a fertility god. It allowed you to notice all sorts of things others might wish you couldn't. “Very."

  Logan took his hand, holding it against his thigh as they watched the numbers rise. His thumb absently stroked Kir's palm, soothing him. His smile was smug. “Good."

  Logan watched the sassy sway of Jordan's ass as they got out of Kir's Mustang. They were headed to a computer store on Market Street Jordan frequented. She wanted to pick up a video camera with some sort of YouTube specific software, or hardware, or whatever. He wasn't quite sure what the hell that was supposed to mean, but he figured she did, and that was good enough for him. And Kir had nodded like he knew what she was talking about, so as far as he was concerned it was all good. The two of them had chattered like happy little techno-geeks the entire ride over while Logan amused himself by shooting imaginary bullets at every pigeon, blackbird and crow he could see.

  Kir glanced back at Logan with a frown. “Are you sure this is going to work?"

  Logan rolled his eyes. Kir was such a worrier sometimes. It drove him nuts. Kir and Jordan might have the technology down pat, but when it came to the magic part ... that was the part where Logan shined.

  Kir should know better than to worry about that part.

  "Yes,” Jordan answered, confidence seeping from every pore as she stepped aside. Logan pushed her seat forward so he could get out of the Cracker-Jack box Kir called a car. “Follow me, boys."

  "With pleasure,” he purred.

  She looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at him, but he could still see the uncertainty in her.

  He noticed Kir's attention was also focused on Jordan's ass and stifled a smile. Since they'd decided to claim the luscious Jordan for their own neither one had kept their interest to themselves. Jordan was acting a little confused by all of the attention. She'd better get used to it. She was going to be on the receiving end of a lot of attention, if they had their way.

  The thought of Kir, Jordan, chocolate sauce and tongue baths was probably what kept him from noticing the large blue sedan that pulled up alongside them.

  Jordan bellowed “Down!” as she pushed him hard enough to knock him on his ass. It was his first clue that something was seriously wrong. A sound like a firecracker pierced the afternoon air. Jordan grunted in pain, and Logan literally saw red.