Royally Screwed

by L. J. Vickery

  “We have this thing gods do where we communicate in our heads.”

  “Like implants of some kind?” She narrowed her eyes at him, taking yet another small step away.

  “No. We’re just born with it.”

  Now he was serious while messing with her. Did he think her a frigging idiot? “Fine, if that’s the way you want to play it, let’s see if I’ve got this right.” She made small movements in the direction of her car, while trying to maintain the appearance that she distractedly paced. “You’re a bunch of ancient-ass gods, you can hide something the size of a freaking stadium behind invisible barriers. You move at the speed of light, and you live in a castle like fucking Cinderella.” She stepped away a little more. “And not only am I supposed to buy this, but you expect me to take a hike and leave without the guy who’s my paycheck? Guess again, douchebag.”

  She would not give up on this situation, but would make tracks to her car as fast as her fucking boots would carry her. Once safe, she would alert the goddamned FBI, CIA, and whoever else would listen that there was something big going down in the Blue Hills. Candy made her best move, not dodging, not feinting, but plowing right through the big guy, sweeping his feet out from underneath him as she flew by. Hopefully it would take him the seconds she needed before he got up and followed. By that time, if she got lucky, she’d be in her rental, locked in and ready to roll.

  The only problem, as she approached the vehicle, the god, or whatever the fuck he was, already leaned on her driver-side door, his hands clenched at his sides, looking all kinds of pissed off.

  “That wasn’t nice.” He growled.

  “Neither was your saying you’d ‘get rid of me’, asshole.” Candy dropped to a fighting stance, prepared to defend her possibly now-short life.

  Enlil sighed and pushed himself to full standing. “Not what I meant.” He ran a distracted hand through his hair. “You know what? I’m through with you. You’ve forced me into wiping your mind clean, and I’d looked forward to playing a little longer.”

  Was that a pout on his luscious-looking lips? And what? He wanted to wipe her mind? Not without a big fucking fight.

  “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “It won’t hurt. Much. And when I’m through with you, you’ll think that you’ve just been out for a hike. You’ll go back to Maine and tell your employer the investigation is over. Now stand still.”

  “Touch me and you’re a dead man, buddy.” She lifted her gun and aimed it right at his chest. He didn’t flinch, but stared her down.

  Candy felt something tickle behind her eyes. As she glared at Enlil, the tickle became an uncomfortable pressure. Shit. During her extensive field training, she’d endured various tortures, drugs, and mind coercion to see if she was tough enough to withstand anything an enemy might try. And she’d passed with flying colors. But this? This proved to be an invasive procedure she’d never experienced. It felt like the guy drilled right into her head.

  Candy winced, and dropping her gun, threw up her hands as if to hold him back. The discomfort intensified and before she could protest, his voice echoed in her head.

  You will forget about everything here. You will forget about hidden compounds and gods. You won’t remember why you came here in the first place. You’ll turn right around and go back to Maine without question. You’ll give up the search for Huxley and leave us alone.

  Candy fought the miasma. She battled the fog that threatened to engulf her. Keeping her hands to her head, she raised her eyes to Enlil’s and answered the prick…right in his head.

  Like fuck I will.

  Huxley turned off the monitor, and forcibly shut down his head. He’d seen and heard enough. This new damning piece of business was going to bite him in the ass, and nothing he did now could stop it. Better he turned his attention to training Dani and tried to work off his frustration and trepidation on the mats. He only hoped he could keep himself under control.

  Chapter Eight

  “Listen, Dani. I’m sorry about what happened this afternoon in the gym.” Huxley grabbed onto Dani’s arm and waylaid her in the hallway outside the living room where everyone crowded in, ready to watch some October ball.

  The Boston team had made the World Series and played the guys from LA at their home venue for opening night. This was normally something for which the gods would go into town. But considering the number of bodies at the compound, and the fact that a corporeal group would have to procure tickets, the gods opted for home viewing instead.

  They’d sent the witches out to buy the biggest flat screen they could get at the local electronics center which turned out to be an eighty-inch LED that rode home quite nicely in the backseat of their big old American convertible…top down of course.

  Some of the boys spent the late afternoon making sure the TV was up and running, and Absu, with Tess’s help, had been in the kitchen creating a plethora of munchies. Everyone was psyched.

  Dani looked down at Hux’s hand on her arm then slowly brought her eyes up to his. She didn’t see embarrassment, she didn’t see passion, she didn’t even see regret in his face. All of these would have been understandable…and acceptable in their own way.

  What she recognized instead was nothing. A look devoid of emotion, like he’d taken everything that happened and stuffed it away behind locked doors. Dani was disappointed.

  The session in the gym with Huxley had started off helpful and informative, even though she could tell something had happened in the woods that set him on edge.

  Turning off the laptop, he’d started with some easy tips that all the police shows told you about: fingers to the eyes, knee to the groin, top of the head or heel of the hand to the nose. It didn’t matter that she’d heard it before, Huxley made her practice it while he attempted to restrain her.

  Dani liked this for two reasons. First, she would learn a few things, and second, it brought her into close contact with Huxley’s hard body. She’d soaked up every clinch and inhaled his scent deeply every time her nose came in close proximity to his skin. Oddly and erotically, he smelled like leather even without his biker’s jacket.

  Eventually, Hux had progressed to showing her a few methods to break someone’s hold, and how to follow through with a couple of smooth moves that would incapacitate an attacker long enough to run or scream for help. He’d told her never to skimp on the vocals, especially sounding off in a perpetrator’s ear.

  Dani sighed. The incident he referred to as he waylaid her—showing about as much emotion as a dead fish—happened after Dani-Lee had done a takedown on the mat, sending Huxley to his back. She’d known he’d let her have that moment. She was no fool, so she’d stood there with a mocking grin on her face, looking down at him and shaking her head.

  “You let that happen,” she accused.

  He stared back, an expression on his face she couldn’t read.

  “Maybe. But what did I tell you to do once you had your opponent down?” Hux asked the question silkily.

  “I don’t—” Dani had no time to answer as he snaked a hand out to her ankle and yanked her to the mat. He gathered her up and rolled so his hard muscles held her captive beneath him.

  “I told you to run.” Huxley’s face hovered only a few inches above hers. He kept talking. “Now your body is at your attacker’s mercy.” He thrust his hips at her and wetness instantly pooled between her legs. Dani barely stifled a moan.

  She grabbed her bottom lip with her teeth to keep silent and waited. This was the stuff her fantasies had been made of ever since they’d been in Northampton.

  “Fuck,” Huxley stated and lowered his head, nuzzling her neck. He explored lower through her damp shirt. Dani gave in willingly, gripping his head as his teeth found a sensitive nipple and latched on. He wasn’t gentle, and Dani loved it. She snaked her arms around him and held on tight, arching her body up into him. She had no games to play. She told no lies. Her body let him know just how much she wanted it all. And, thank God, he continued doing it.

&n
bsp; His hand travelled to the hem of her shirt and snaked up underneath. She moaned as his mouth strayed away, but his fingers found the underside of her breast; his thumb brushed over her hard bud where it pushed expectantly at her bra. As she trembled, he lowered the cup and surrounded her breast with a warm hand, then his thumb and forefinger came together in a brusque pinch. She writhed beneath him as his hard cock wedged against her clit, enflaming her even higher. Waves of glorious sensation swept over her body. Was it possible to orgasm with clothing still separating them? She arched her breast farther into his hand. She needed to find out.

  His mouth swept across her ear, teasing her with his breath, while his fingers worked magic. She cried out when his hand stopped its exquisite torture.

  “Settle, baby,” he crooned, lifting his body slightly. She felt his fingers move from her breast to the waistband of her shorts. He hesitated a moment, as if asking.

  Dani could only whisper, “Yeah.”

  Huxley worked his hand over her abdomen, rubbing against her damp skin. He slipped between the material of her shorts and her flesh, moving lower and lower, torturing her with his touch. When he brushed her clit, a protrusion that had been begging for attention, she couldn’t help the loud moan that tore from her throat. Her body rocked to meet his hand.

  “Shit, sweetheart. You’re shaved.” He’d encountered baby-soft skin below a small patch of curls.

  Tap, tap, tap. Oh God. Magic fingers. He staccatoed ever so lightly but directly on her clit before moving lower. He stilled, silently asking for permission to put his fingers into her pussy where it waited, damp for his entry.

  Dani-Lee nodded, unable to speak, anticipating what would come next. She held her breath. His fingers spread her wet folds then worked their way up, ever so slowly, inside her. She thought she’d die. This was Huxley on top of her, Hux who invaded her depths. She whimpered his name and wildly bowed up into him, spreading for him and giving him access.

  At the same time, she grappled with his T-shirt. Dani wanted his bare skin. She wanted to caress all of his muscles under her hands, while he brought her closer and closer to climax. Damn. She was nearly there already…and crazed. She’d never had this frantic kind of rising before, never felt anything like it, and it would rip her apart. She was sure.

  “Hux…Hux.” She panted, and must have sounded panicked.

  “Let it happen, Dani,” he soothed then nipped at her neck. “I want to feel you come around my fingers.”

  His words combined with his actions drove everything from her head except for what was happening between her legs. She could do this. She would.

  Dani cried out, aware of nothing but his strong, hard fingers stroking places up inside her she didn’t know she owned. His cock throbbed against her hip as he leaned in, plunging deeper. Her chest seized, lights flashed behind her closed lids. The world stopped and so did her body at a point so still she became certain the Earth ceased to exist…right before everything shattered. And damn did it shatter. She screamed as her cunt spasmed, sucking at his fingers greedily. My God. She held her body rigid, allowing the tremors to rip through her, until finally she went limp, her damp back connecting with the gym mat. Dani drew in a deep breath and willed herself back to reality. The aftershocks quaked nearly as intensely as the main event. Her pussy continued to clench around his fingers, milking them while her world righted itself.

  Dani finally pried her eyes open and owned gravity again. She felt the warm curl of his palm against her damp pussy lips as she slowly and reluctantly came back to normal.

  “That was…that was…” Dani ducked her head shyly against Hux’s exposed chest. She’d somehow managed to remove his shirt during their make out session, but she didn’t remember doing it. Her heart beat rapidly. “You are…” She couldn’t find words. Instead, Dani groped for the button to his jeans.

  If she couldn’t find a description of just what that meant to her, she would show him. Dani gently kissed his chin and murmured quietly, “Now it’s your turn.”

  That’s when things went bad. Huxley had drawn his hand from her pants as if on fire. He’d rolled off her so swiftly he’d ended up in a crouch several feet away, looking like a trapped animal. He’d snagged his shirt from the floor without once meeting her gaze.

  “We shouldn’t have done that,” he’d mumbled. “Gotta go.”

  While Dani blinked in confusion, Hux had leaped to his feet, grabbed the laptop, and crossed the gym in seconds, practically running out the door. He’d left Dani alone and trembling at the center of the room where she’d lay, stunned.

  “What just happened?” she’d asked the empty room. A single tear had slipped down the side of her face but she’d dashed it away. There was no need for emotion. She’d had a great orgasm, complements of Huxley, and if he regretted it, well, damn it, that was his problem, because she certainly didn’t. It was the best fucking orgasm she’d had in her entire life, and she wouldn’t let that go. Hell no. She’d remember it for the rest of forever.

  ****

  That was then, and this was now, standing outside of a room filled with people who looked ready to get rowdy. Dani-Lee glanced at Huxley’s blank face and did the only thing she could.

  She told the truth.

  “Don’t apologize, Huxley. I liked it,” she said bluntly. “I told you last time we kissed and fooled around a little that I liked it. I’m not going to play games with you. I wanted everything you dished out.”

  Huxley let go of her arm and stepped back.

  “But I warn you.” She purposely clipped her words. “Whether you like what we do together or not, you will never walk out on me like that again.” Dani’s face hardened, and Huxley looked like a deer in the headlights.

  “I made a request, Hux. Did you hear me?” Dani didn’t let up.

  “I get you, Dani.” Huxley nodded, and his eyes suddenly showed a little life. “I get you and don’t worry. I’m going to fix everything, and it’s going to be cool.” His assurance came with a weirdness the doctor couldn’t put her finger on. But she supposed that was okay…for now. Huxley just agreed that if he started anything, he wouldn’t walk away. That worked for Dani.

  “Now, let’s join the crew.” Dani inclined her head toward the living room and Hux gestured that she should proceed him. Huh. Maybe her day just picked up. Boston’s finest would make things even better if they could pull out a win.

  The couches looked empty, but Dani knew better. “Can you show me to a safe spot, Hux?”

  The doctor, unable to see the invisible gods, stood a fifty-fifty chance of picking a seat already taken. Huxley looked around the room, looking for the best place to put Dani-Lee.

  Put her fine ass right down over here. Ninurta patted his nonexistent lap. He seemed in high spirits. I’ll keep her happy, and she won’t even be sure why.

  Huxley sent him a fuck-you look, drew up a padded desk chair from against the wall, and placed himself in it, dragging Doctor Dani down with him. If she had to sit on anyone’s lap, it would be his.

  He could sense that everyone in the room attempted to keep straight faces and ignored it, but Huxley noted a snort escaping from somewhere up front. Screw them. He settled down, relishing the warm body that crushed his semi-hard cock. And screw that too. Dani said she wanted him, so he would damn well feel free to let his boner loose.

  “Has anybody seen Lenore?” Anshar interrupted Hux’s fantasies, coming in from the kitchen laden with beer and a plate of Absu’s hot wings.

  “Nope,” a chorus of answers arose.

  “Last time I saw her, she’d headed over to her mom’s,” Tess said, inclining her head to Angie, who had a home team cap pulled tightly down over her short curls, but backward in rally cap tradition.

  “She left my house right before I did, oh, about half an hour ago.”

  “Probably making some fashion statement to go with the game.” Holly giggled. “And you can be sure it’ll be hot pink.”

  An instant later, the door fl
ew open and an enraged virago stormed into the room.

  “You left her in the basement,” Lenore shrieked. “With the rats.” She threw an inflamed look at all the gods.

  Hux noticed the small, bemused woman at her back, taking everything in. Shit. Lenore had sprung their intruder. Huxley squirmed. Anshar’s wife was no bigger than the female behind her, but that didn’t mean the goddess felt intimidated by all the god power in the room. Hell no. Every male there wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor and disappear.

  Hux was curious, though. What would the newcomer see? A big screen TV, food, the females—one of them very pregnant—and the handful of guys who had confronted her earlier?

  “Excuse me?” Tess spoke up first, sending a smoking glare over toward her husband. “Did Lenore say that you locked her in the basement?”

  “Fucking right I did.” Lenore caught Anshar trying to sneak back into the kitchen. “Don’t move a muscle, serpent boy.” The woman who’d introduced herself to Enlil as Candy, seemed a bit bemused by that description. “Explain things, right the fuck now, and let me tell you I already have Candy’s side of the story, so yours ought to be good.” Lenore’s overlarge breasts heaved, but not in a good way.

  It slowly came out, between all of the gods, how the afternoon had progressed before they’d settled into the TV room for the game. Hux had been privy to what happened, even though busy with Dani, but remained silent, letting Marduk take the lead.

  “We had no choice, Lenore.” He attempted to assuage the goddess. “After Enlil tried to wipe her mind, Candy got all up in his head, and things got…uh…more interesting than we’d considered. Enlil used bad judgment letting her in on compound secrets. But, in his defense, he believed her mind could be cleared and all would be well. That didn’t work out so well.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Lenore snarled. “Keep explaining.”