“Well, isn’t that special,” Beletseri’s voice dripped with disdain. “Now take this knife out of my hand and let me go.”
Nergal nodded to Marduk, who stepped close to Beletseri to remove the blade.
“Wait.” Minrella, who had been moving around the room, uncovering bits and pieces of ore, stopped next to the evil goddess. “She has a quantity of ore on her, my king.”
“The belt.” Nergal glowered at Beletseri. “You’d take it with you so that you could continue to haunt us unseen.” His face turned cold. “Remove it now, or I will have my gods remove it for you,” he ordered.
“I think not.” Beletseri would not concede her precious belt that easily. “Just like your idols attachment to you, and Huxley’s odd attachment to all of the ore, this belt has bonded to me, and only I can take it off.”
“It’s true,” Matthew huffed from the ground where he’d just come to. “She even wears it when we have sex.”
The king didn’t like that picture at all. “Shut up, human.” He turned back to Bel. “You dare play games with me?” Nergal wasn’t about to take any more bullshit. He put his queen into Enlil’s arms—much to the wind god’s confusion since he’d been told he couldn’t touch her royal highness upon pain of death—and got into Beletseri’s space again. “Remove the belt yourself then, or I’ll send you off with that dagger in your hand for all eternity. Let’s see how you fare on Earth with such an appendage and no powers to sustain you.” He laughed at her triumphantly.
She remained unrattled. “Eventually, I will find a god or someone with god blood to remove it.” She looked at Glory, letting all the gods know she’d be hunting their future Chosen. “And then you’d better beware.”
Nergal knew it could happen. He never underestimated an opponent who had bested him once. He bit the inside of his cheek and grudgingly offered her a concession.
“Here’s a deal for you,” he said, even though it killed him. But he wouldn’t let her get away with the belt. “I’ll set one of these pathetic individuals free in exchange for the belt.”
****
Beletseri was floored. This was not something she had expected the king to concede. She looked to the spot where Matthew lay. Both her human consort and the god Nedu looked at her imploringly. She weighed her options.
What the fool king didn’t know? She had hidden more of the ore away at a remote location. She’d never been one to put all her eggs in one basket. It would be difficult to forge another belt—and it would be nice to have it in the ensuing weeks as she did her best to hide away—but she could wait. On the other hand, it could take a very long time before she would be able to get the dagger removed from her hand. That could put a real damper on things. The decision became easy.
But which male to free? The choice should be obvious. Nedu possessed god strength, and god powers lay at his disposal. Between her immortal skills and his, she could easily come up with a new plan. She opened her mouth to speak, but looked one more time at Matthew lying pitifully on the floor.
Damn him.
He was the best bed partner she’d ever had.
She opened her mouth quickly before she changed her mind.
“Take it,” Beletseri said, removing the belt and handing it to Marduk. The gods waited for her decision.
“Give me the human.” She tossed her head, inwardly cursing her momentary weakness. She had no doubt she’d be regretting her decision all too soon.
Marduk wrenched the blade from Beletseri’s hand while Matthew made his way slowly to his feet. He approached her, looking stunned. He took her undamaged hand with reverence, and the pair walked out the door.
The last thing Beletseri heard as they left was Nedu’s incredulous cry. It followed her down the hall.
“Nooooo…”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Huxley gave a sigh at seeing the back of the evil goddess, and watched as Nergal looked around for his queen.
“Did I give her to you?” Nergal’s brow furrowed as he approached Enlil where the lesser god held Ereshkigal. “I must be slipping.” He wound his arms around his mate and took her from the wind god. “Didn’t I say that if you ever touched her again, I’d kill you?”
Huxley nearly snorted. Enlil looked like he’d been struck dumb. As if he’d had a choice when she’d been thrust into his safekeeping.
“Nergal.” The queen hit her husband lightly on the chest. “Stop teasing.” She kissed the underside of his chin. “Can we just go home?”
Her voice was weak and showed just how tired she was from her ordeal. Nergal looked instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, my love. We’ll be there in a flash,” he promised, but Huxley knew that a couple bits of business still needed taking care of before the pair left.
“Lavarette?” The king addressed his glowie. “You and Minrella make sure you have all the ore. Call a few more of your people up just to be sure.”
He got a swift salute, and Nergal cursed Shamash out loud for making cable TV available while he tech-decked out the Underworld. “Must you do that?” he asked the glowie. Hux was amused. He figured that Nergal had gotten lucky. Depending on the movies available to the glowies, the pair might have started kissing his feet.
The king gave an audible sigh. “I want all of you,” he said to the visible and invisible gods, “To escort our prisoner to a holding cell in the Underworld.” He cast them all a grim stare, letting them know who he would hold responsible if Nedu escaped. The gods circled quickly to pen the north god in.
It looks like Dani’s been knocked around, your majesty. Huxley heard Ishkur point out before he had a chance to say it. Not that Dani could hear the god speak up for her. Might I suggest that one of the visible gods escort her home?
“Let the prince do that.” The king waved airily in Huxley’s direction then turned and took a good look at him for the first time since his arrival. “What the…”
It hadn’t been apparent to the king because Huxley had hung back, but as all eyes focused on him, he had no choice but to step into the limelight. His shoulder, wrapped in a makeshift bandage, glowed like crazy and sent rivulets of blood down his body to disappear into the waistband of his jeans. Despite the pain it still gave him, he felt healthy as hell.
“Does someone want to tell me what this is all about?” The king’s voice held a tinge of disbelief. Dani spoke up first.
“Nedu and Matthew beat him almost to death. They ruptured his spleen.” This was news to Hux, but by the way he’d felt, he understood it had been a killing injury. He figured—by the looks going around—that all the gods knew he’d come close to dying.
“The queen gave Holly an empty amulet several months back to help her get in and out of the Underworld. A few weeks ago, Holly had some strange idea that the amulet kept calling to her and telling her to give it to me.”
Huxley blinked as Dani continued.
“I’ve been carrying it with me ever since and oddly, as soon as Huxley showed up to get us out of here, the darned thing warmed up. When he became mortally wounded, it practically burned a hole through me, and Queen Ereshkigal was certain the amulet wanted to get to him…to save him.” She looked around, appearing oddly sheepish.
“I know I probably shouldn’t have done the operation, because of all your god rules and stuff, but if I hadn’t done it, he would have died.”
Dagon attempted some humor to let her—and Huxley—know that no sacred rules had been broken. “Ahh…remember, Dani. I took the initiative with Anshar’s amulet, and nothing bad happened to me.” An impish look crossed his face. “Of course, the same can’t be said about him. He ended up with Lenore.”
Anshar punched him in the arm and smiled. “That’s right. Thanks, cuz.”
“That answers the glowing part of the question about Huxley’s shoulder,” the king interjected. “But,” he indicated the bandage and the ensuing trail, “why is he still bleeding?”
“We don’t know, Nergal.” Ereshkigal was still cradled in her husba
nd’s strong arms, and apparently that wouldn’t change any time soon. “Usually the tissue heals once it’s put back into place, but Huxley’s has not.” She indicated with her hand, his standing position. “It has completely healed him of his other injuries, but the amulet isn’t happy for reasons we cannot decipher.”
Huxley looked down and silently swore. It was pretty clear he should not be permitted to transport himself back to the compound, let alone for either he or Dani to drive. The king also quickly figured this out.
“Enlil,” Nergal barked. “Absent yourself from prisoner escort and drive these two back to the compound.”
Enlil looked pleased with the king’s decision, and Huxley wondered if it had anything to do with the god wanting to check up on Candy, who wasn’t present. “Where is our resident DEA agent?” Hux asked. “It doesn’t seem like her to miss the action.”
Marduk answered, “Since we all misted in, Candy couldn’t join us. We sent her back to the compound.”
“And she better be there,” Enlil growled.
Yup. It sure looked like the wind god had a thing for the kickass Candy. Enlil turned to Huxley and nodded. “Let’s go.” They both bent to Dani and gently, each took an arm, avoiding her bumps and bruises, and stood, waiting to see if any more orders got issued.
“Marduk. Take care of things below. And don’t come looking for me once you’ve incarcerated Nedu.” The king gave the thunder god a telling stare. Marduk’s lip quirked upward.
“I wouldn’t think of it,” he replied smoothly. “I hoped for a quick trip to the Underworld, but now that I see how…uh…busy you’ll be, I’ll more than willingly take over the paperwork involved with our prisoner.”
Huxley smirked. Marduk would not deny Nergal the time the king needed to mend over three thousand years’ worth of fences with his queen. He doubted whether anyone would see the royal pair for days. Maybe even weeks.
Nergal and Ereshkigal flashed out, and Marduk poofed behind them along with the other gods and their prisoner in tow. Huxley had every faith the thunder god would take care of things in the Underworld until the king and queen came up for air.
****
Ereshkigal looked around. “This isn’t my chamber or yours.” She raised a brow at her husband—still in his arms after they materialized—as he strode down a long hallway. It was clearly the Underworld, as evidenced by the stone walls and packed dirt floors. The queen took a good look around, and realized where her husband took her.
“The hot springs pool if I’m not mistaken?” she asked, a little breathlessly. Nergal’s quickening heartbeat under the hand that rested on his chest trembled.
“You need to relax and heal,” he said in the low rumbling voice that always thrilled Ereshkigal to her bones.
“You already took care of my wounds,” she reminded him. What she really needed now was for him to take care of something else. Something that had been waiting for his attention for millennia.
“You still look worn down, Eresh. You’ve been in that bitch’s captivity for a long time.” She knew her husband well, and it still burned him that he’d had to let his former secretary go, although it was probably a comfort to understand that the game was far from over.
“But I’m home now,” the queen admonished, snuggling closer to him and brushing her hand across one of his nipples, causing it to harden instantly. She ducked her head and exhaled warm air onto the interested bud.
The king drew in a deep, sharp breath. “Stop. My intentions are to pamper you, but you’re going to undermine me if you don’t behave.” Eresh hid a smile against his skin. The hard beating of his heart stood testament to that.
“And I am going to take care of you.” Nergal shifted Ereshkigal’s weight so her head wasn’t quite so close to his chest. The queen relaxed back against her husband. Fine. She’d let him think himself in charge.
They entered the warm chamber, and the sound of the waterfalls reverberated like music to her ears. Nergal took his arm out from under her knees, and Ereshkigal’s feet slid gently to the ground.
“Oh.” She purposely let her legs fold underneath her and clung to her husband. “You’re right, Nergal. I seem to be a little weak.” She studied his instantly concerned face from under lowered lashes. She would have to walk a fine line between helpless and seductive to get the attention she wanted.
The king scooped her up again then strode across the grotto and laid Eresh on the soft, glowing, moss-covered ground. She sank back compliantly. “Do you know what would be really good right now?” She sighed exaggeratedly.
“Just name it, Eresh, and it’s yours.” Nergal went to his knees beside her.
“I’d love to have all the aches and pains rubbed out of my body.” She looked up at him with wide, imploring eyes. “I have a selection of oils in my room.”
“I’ll return instantly.” Nergal misted away only to come back moments later with several bottles. “I didn’t know which one was your favorite?”
Ereshkigal recognized the jasmine scent that had always sent him over the edge in the old days. She’d only worn it in the past thousands of years when he would be absent from their realm for a day or days. The queen picked that one now.
“I like this one. It soothes me,” she said then pretended indifference as she added, “I’ll have to take off my dress.” She attempted to sit up, only to have Nergal catch her around the shoulders and support her weight.
“Let me help.” His voice came out raspy, and Ereshkigal smiled innocently up at him.
“You don’t have to do this.” She reached up and touched his face. She shouldn’t taunt him so. Eresh only wanted truths between them as they started this new chapter of their lives. No games. Total honesty.
“I know,” Nergal replied. “But I want to.”
“And I want you to make love to me.” She stayed his hand as it attempted her zipper. “I’m not a weakling, Nergal. If you take my clothes off, there’s no turning back.” Ereshkigal held her breath. If he withdrew from her now—as he had for centuries—she wouldn’t survive it.
“Not turning back.” He leaned in and kissed her bared shoulder. “I love you, Ereshkigal. And I want you to know I never stopped.” He lifted his head. His eyes glowed down at her, a deep, bottomless green. “I played games to push you away, knowing if I let my guard down, I wouldn’t have been able to resist taking you as my wife again.” Ereshkigal ached for her king. He had been cruel to her to mask his own pain.
“Shhh, my love.” Ereshkigal placed a hand over her handsome husband’s mouth. “We were both wrong.” She breathed. “After the death of Girin…” Twice now, she’d said his name, and it felt good to have it on her lips. “We blamed ourselves, our preoccupation with each other for his death. We believed he died alone in his crib while we made love, but in truth, Beletseri killed him, and nothing we could have done would have saved him. She would have found a time, whether we were together or not, to do her horrible deed.”
“I know.” Nergal’s voice was barely a whisper. “I figured all that out for myself in the past few weeks.” He stopped and looked down at her with nothing but love in his eyes. “But now, with all of our added security precautions, the glowies and the Blue Hills bunch—not to mention that all the evil demons in Hell aren’t under Beletseri’s command anymore—I’m willing to try again.” He paused. “Are you?”
Her answer was to bring his head toward hers with both hands until their lips met in a soul searing kiss. Nergal’s hand lowered her zipper even further.
Ereshkigal felt the material of her dress fall to her waist. No cloth barred her husband’s way to her flesh. While deepening their kiss, he hefted one of her needy breasts into his hands, and brushed his thumb over her taut, straining nipple. He caught her moan in his mouth then eased her back against the moss, momentarily breaking contact.
“Raise your hips,” he growled, and as soon as she complied, he skimmed the dress down her body and off her legs, then tossed it away. His eyes burned as he
gazed at her total nakedness. She fumbled, attempting to tug off his loincloth. He batted her hands away.
“No,” he admonished. “You’re going to get your massage first.” The promise in Nergal’s voice made her shiver. He opened the bottle she had chosen and dumped some on his hands. “Turn over,” he commanded. Warmth pooled in Ereshkigal’s stomach as she complied.
The king moaned as the long-forgotten scent of the jasmine hit his nose. It spoke of passion and sex, and it ignited his senses as he rubbed it in circles on his wife’s warm shoulders. She flexed beneath his big hands.
He worked so slowly, and every time she arched so he would move lower, he brought his hands back up. He stroked her back and shoulders, teasing.
Her ass rose again, involuntarily, the next time he dipped to the small of her back, and with an indrawn breath, his hands found those warm round globes and rubbed deeply. He slid his fingers lightly into the crack of her ass, and she moaned, but he didn’t linger. No. His hands refused to give her the orgasm that built. He parted her legs, and dripped oil down into her spread crevice, and she sobbed with pleasure.
“Please, Nergal,” she begged. “Please.”
“Not yet, my love.” He squeezed her thighs in his big hands, skipping right over her begging pussy, and rubbed ever so slowly all the way to her feet.
Between the oil and her own juices, his queen was swollen with need. When he finally turned her over, capturing both of her breasts with his oiled hands, his cock was so hard he’d surely explode from one touch.
Ereshkigal used her goddess strength, strained up for his shoulders, and forced him down toward her. Clearly she was finished with teasing whether he liked it or not.
Nergal resisted for a few moments, relishing her goddess strength then dropped and ravaged her mouth again. His resolve came completely undone when her hands left his shoulders and worked up, under his loincloth to shred the light linen material that trapped his swollen sex.
Once his cock sprang free, his control entirely dissolved. He had meant to take her sweet pussy into his mouth, tasting her and giving her multiple orgasms before he satisfied himself. But her honeyed warmth beckoned, and with one great, forward motion, he plunged into her depths as far as he could go.
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