Her sound of pleasure as he sank deep ignited him, and it was all he could do to hold back and just feel the tightness of her warm pussy around his rigid cock, hugging sumptuously.
Ereshkigal could barely breathe. Nergal’s thickness filled her completely, and the walls of her cunt quivered at the unaccustomed, yet welcome intrusion. She wanted to stay still and relish the thickness of his cock forever. She wrapped her legs up around his hips and tilted to give him more room. And then he moved.
She had forgotten how powerful her king proved in bed. How his strokes came long and sure. Eresh felt it deeply. Every thrust of his cock knocked the breath right out of her body. She clenched him with her interior muscles and dug her nails into his taut backside. The oil spread between them and sliding skin to skin against each other, added to their heightened pleasure.
He threaded his fingers into her hair and brought their mouths together. Their tongues danced in time to their bodies’ rhythm, and Ereshkigal found herself climbing toward that place of no return. Nergal must have sensed the nearness of her orgasm because he brought his hand down to rest on her engorged clitoris, which sent her spiraling out of control. She cried out with her release, arching up into him and pulling him even farther in.
Nergal, it seemed—although Ereshkigal didn’t know how it was possible—had been holding back. He groaned now that she’d achieved her climax, and picked up his pace, pounding into her, his face contorting with pleasure.
“You are amazing, my love,” he hissed. “I’m not going to last long.” He crushed her body up against his with a growl but far from scaring her, Eresh felt her sexual synapses firing again. She wrapped all of her limbs around him, silently urging him on. His arms quivered, his legs shook, and she felt his orgasm building, his penis getting harder, larger, until finally she experienced an enormous surge from his loins. Nergal roared, and he spent himself in long, violent bursts inside her womb.
Ereshkigal loved watching him come. He’d thrown back his head and the chords in his neck stood out in stark relief. His eyes remained shut tightly, as if it was almost too much. But Eresh knew differently.
Her lover-king of old—and he’d just proved he most assuredly was—would cradle her for several minutes, then be quickly back between her thighs. He’d be giving her a second, and even a third orgasm before she could even blink.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We have company.” Enlil brought up a couple of the camera feeds for Marduk and Lahar, who’d arrived back from Hell far sooner than he had expected. It was a good thing, too. Lahar expertly took over the camera joystick that Enlil could only fumble with.
“Well, Candy did warn us.” Marduk ran a hand over his chin, watching the DEA agents crawling all over their perimeter.
Enlil made a sound of disgust. “How many?”
“Looks like seven,” the god of logic stated.
“Thoughts?” Marduk asked the two, even though he wouldn’t commit to a course of action yet.
“I say we go out and discourage them.” Enlil made a fist and punched it into the palm of his other hand. “Then we wipe their minds and equipment clean of everything.”
“If you recall, that didn’t work with Candy,” Marduk reminded him. “She’s had enough training to prevent mind control. I’m assuming her team has the same capabilities.”
Lahar spoke up, “I think they’ll stick around for a while, but eventually give up.” He reasoned. “There is nothing here for them to find except an anomaly on their readings. I say they won’t spend too much time and effort here. After all, it’s not their dime. It’s government money.”
Marduk clapped Lahar on the back. “Let’s hope you’re right. My inclination is to let it play out as well.”
Enlil made another sound of disagreement. Marduk turned to put a finger into the wind god’s face. “That means no interference, Enlil. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.” Enlil was about to leave when Marduk stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“How’s Huxley?” the thunder god asked.
Enlil had been keeping vigil on both security and the patient. “Fine, but his shoulder is causing him a great deal of pain.” He looked distraught over what was happening to his blood progeny. “We can’t figure it out.”
“What’s being done for him?” Marduk’s next stop would be Dani’s infirmary.
“Nothing right now. Dani’s just making him comfortable and keeping him quiet, which is tough to do because, other than the burning pain in his shoulder, he’s now got all the powers and strength of a god, and he’s dying to check them out.”
“Huh,” Marduk pondered. “Maybe the amulet isn’t positioned correctly. Dani was under a lot of stress when she placed it in him.” Another thought occurred to him. “She also used a non-osmium knife. Maybe it only takes if you use the right kind of blade?” He shrugged. “We’ve never done it any differently.”
Lahar listened to the exchange. “That makes sense.” He concurred. “If I were you, I’d call everyone together into Huxley’s room, and have a do-over.”
Enlil winced. “His shoulder is so enflamed right now that digging his amulet out and putting it back in again isn’t going to be any fun.”
“Neither is walking around with an oozing shoulder wound for eternity.” Lahar looked up at Enlil from where he sat.
“Good point,” Enlil conceded, “But I don’t want to be the one who holds him down.”
Marduk agreed. He misted out of the control room and appeared in the infirmary moments later with Enlil hoofing it, but close behind.
“Hey, Huxley, Dani.” The thunder god got an expectant look from both of the room’s occupants. They must figure he’d come up with a solution.
“So what’s the plan?” Marduk could see that Huxley could barely contain himself. He lay on the bed, blankets to his waist, baring his bandaged chest. Obviously prone against his will, the lines etched on his face told of his pain, but he was raring to go otherwise.
“We think it might be necessary to repeat the insertion of your amulet using an osmium blade.” Marduk delivered the bad news.
Huxley blanched. Dani too. She addressed him solemnly, “Will I be able to sedate him this time?”
Marduk puzzled over this one. Gods needed anesthesia in extremely large doses before it became effective. In all the amulet ceremonies Marduk had witnessed or performed, half of the medallion would always be excised and then placed into a Chosen, making the transfer too dangerous under the influence of a high quantity of drugs. Since this operation would be a simple in and out, not involving a Chosen, perhaps it could be done.
“I don’t think it would hurt him,” Marduk finally decided. “You’ve used anesthesia on us before for other repairs, and it’s been fine.” He walked toward the patient. “Mind if I take a look, Hux?” he asked.
“Go for it,” Huxley said, propping himself up with pillows on his hospital bed. But the minute Marduk’s hands touched his bandages, Huxley arched away in agony…and so did Marduk.
“Shit.” The thunder god jumped back, stunned. “What the fuck?” The damned thing had zapped him hard, and he hadn’t even had his fingers on it.
Huxley’s shaking hand went to the bandages, and he slowly removed them himself. Huxley fumbled, clumsily making a botch of things.
“Here. Let me.” Enlil walked tentatively forward, got a nod of approval from Huxley, and touched the bloody mess. He and Huxley both cried out. Hux batted Enlil angrily away.
“Stop. What’s with you guys?” His eyes turned questioningly to his fellow gods. Marduk was completely confused. His fingers still stung as if he’d touched a nest of hornets.
“I just brushed against you.” Enlil had not been rough. They’d all seen it this time. “Can you touch it yourself?” the wind god asked.
Huxley’s hand eased to the site of the incision and pressed gently. He drew in a sharp breath. “It hurts, but not like when you guys touch it.”
Everyone to the infirmar
y. Marduk sent out to all the immortal residents. He would get to the bottom of this.
Soon the room was full to bursting, and Marduk described the problem. “Everyone knows that Huxley isn’t healing over his amulet.” He received nods all around. “But now we’ve found it gives him tremendous pain for anyone to go near it. And I think it attacked both me and Enlil,” he said with a self-deprecating grimace. “I’m wondering if anyone else would care to see if they can get near it?”
Dagon was the first to volunteer. “I’ve handled my share of these things,” he assured Huxley, bending down to have a closer look. The makeshift bandages were only half off at this point. Dagon started at the far end of the material, and worked his way toward the site. He and Huxley both let out a sharp cry when he got within two inches.
“That’s just fucked,” Dagon expostulated.
“Let me,” said Tess, moving toward her brother, but got a chorus of “negatory.”
“Pregnant. Duh,” chastised Lenore, easing the waddling sibling back out of harm’s way. “I’d do it myself if I didn’t have a little tadpole Anshar to worry about.” She patted her own flat stomach, where she’d yet to start showing.
“Lahamu,” Anshar disagreed quietly, invoking, Marduk knew, the name of his deceased mother. “It’s a girl, you know.”
“It’s a boy,” Lenore disagreed most heartily.
“Girl,” Anshar hissed.
“Boy,” Lenore countered. Anshar would not win this one.
“Enough you two,” Marduk intervened. “In another few weeks, Dani will do an ultrasound and settle it.” He looked back and forth between the battling couple. “But right now, we have to solve Huxley’s problem.” He perused the room. “Anshar, Enten, Glory, Lahar, do any of you want to give it a try?” He spoke to the other four physical immortals in the room.
Anshar went forward and tentatively reached out. Even though Huxley steeled himself to expect it this time, upon contact, he still jumped. He became weaker with each hit. The trauma of every jolt now highly evident.
Dani, who’d been standing by watching quietly, was clearly done with this. “All right. Enough.” She spoke sharply before the last two gods or Glory got their chance. “You’re through now.” She covered Huxley up, drawing the blankets over his chest and shoulders, while keeping a gimlet eye trained on the assemblage.
Huxley gasped and Dani leaped back from him.
“Oh, jeez, Hux. I’m so sorry. Did I touch it?”
Huxley looked at her, feeling gut punched. “Uh, Dani? You did.” He looked up at her, then at Marduk. “And it didn’t hurt.”
Huxley lowered the blanket, and gently requested of Dani, “Do it again.”
“Hux, I…”
“Put your hand on my shoulder, Dani.” This time Huxley’s voice sounded firm. She took tentative steps forward and shakily put out her hand, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“What if I cause you more pain?” Her face screwed up with concern. Huxley shook his head.
“Remove my bandages, Dani.” He brooked no argument. His tone commanded, yet he tried to look reassuring at the same time.
He waited while Dani shakily groped in her white coat pocket and removed a small pair of scissors. She leaned forward, and blowing a piece of copper-colored hair out of her face, gently touched then cut away the binding.
Hux gave a sigh of relief. She hadn’t hurt him.
He glanced down. His shoulder appeared raw and unhealed, and the amulet blazed an angry scarlet he’d never seen before in any of the ceremonies he’d attended. He implored Dani again.
“Touch my wound, Dani.”
She reached for the purple gloves in a box by his bedside, but he laid his right hand over hers before she could get one out. “No gloves,” he stated quietly.
“But infection. And…”
“I’m a god now, remember?” He gave her a small smile. “No infections for me, and no pathogens to give to a mortal.”
“Right.” Dani breathed in and brought her hand up and across his body. Her fingers touched him gently and everyone in the room sighed with relief. Huxley’s shoulders relaxed under her light caress.
“That feels good,” he murmured.
“And the color has changed,” Lahar pointed out. “That’s fucking weird. It’s now got a normal glow, like one would get from—” He stopped himself.
Marduk clearly had no problem continuing Lahar’s contemplation. “A Chosen.” The boss moved a little closer to the bed. “It sure looks that way.”
Dani snatched her hand back, and Huxley shook his head at the implication.
“What are you saying?” Tess looked back and forth between Dani and Hux.
“He’s saying what all of us at the compound have been thinking for months.” Enlil smirked. Huxley huffed. Leave it to Enlil to cut through the bullshit and go right to the heart of things. “Dani is Huxley’s Chosen.”
Nobody in the room seemed surprised except Hux, who blinked rapidly, and Dani, who had gone completely still.
“And if I can extrapolate from there,” Enlil smirked. “I’d say his incision won’t heal because the amulet is waiting to be shared.”
This time the room erupted into sounds of agreement.
“It makes sense.” Lahar nodded.
“Goody,” Lenore squealed. “Another member of the Goddess League.”
Holly sent a warm look toward Dani. “You’ll make a welcome sister-in-law. Dad will be very pleased.” The elder Abelard was due back from his current cruise any day now. Vaguely, Hux registered that it would make his dad happy.
“Hold on now.” Dani put up a hand to stop them all. She looked directly at Marduk, seemingly avoiding Huxley’s gaze. “What if you’re wrong?”
“Doubtful, but it seems like the two of you should talk about it.” He turned away and spoke to the gathering. “Everybody take five. Hux will let us know when, and if, we need to come back.”
Huxley sighed to himself. An amulet sharing was not something anyone wanted to miss, and depending on whatever went down between him and Dani-Lee, there might just be a celebration at hand. He knew he wanted it. It remained to be seen if Dani still wanted him after what he’d revealed from his past.
The room cleared within seconds, and Huxley took Dani’s hand, tugging her down to sit beside him on the bed. He then placed her fingers back on his shoulder.
“Much better.” He sighed, closing his eyes in relief. He didn’t open them again, coward that he was, but he feared what he might see on Dani’s face. “So what do you think?”
“I think,” Dani replied, clearly choosing her words carefully. “That we need to discuss all of the possible reasons that this might be a bad idea.”
Huxley’s heart nearly stopped. He braced himself. “Okay. So tell me.” He opened one lid a small fraction.
She rolled her head as if to dispel tension. “It means dropping all of the barriers you’ve erected and being totally honest with me,” she said. “We can’t go into this amulet sharing thing unless you’re really sure about me. About us.”
Hux opened one eye fully and looked at her. “Why not?” He shrugged. “If the amulet doesn’t take when it’s put into you, we’ll just figure out something else.” Hux waited for her response. He was being a jackass. He perceived exactly what Dani wanted to hear, but he couldn’t bring himself say the words he’d never said to anyone but his family before.
“It’s not that simple,” Dani corrected primly, pinching her lips together against his intentional jibe. “If it’s put into me by mistake, and I’m not really your Chosen, your amulet will not regenerate.” She flashed her eyes at him, daring him to understand.
“You mean…” Huxley swallowed. He got the picture and he couldn’t finish his sentence.
Dani nodded. “Yes. You will die.”
Huxley stilled, momentarily without words, but Dani filled in the long silence. “I’ve already told you how I feel, Hux. I’ve never pretended I didn’t love…every moment of
you touching me.” She played with words, when what Huxley needed to hear was a true, uncoerced declaration. He was such a prick, but he held out hope that she’d give him the words first, before he had to lay his heart bare and on the line.
Then Dani gave him her purposefully blasé, doctor’s voice. “So it seems like my body is sure. And the amulet is sure.” She paused. “So that just leaves you.” She fixed her gaze on a blood pressure gauge across the room, steeling herself for his response.
Huxley was having none of it. “Look at me, Dani-Lee.” His hand grasped her chin and brought it down so she stared directly at him. A single tear splashed on the back of his hand. His heart nearly broke. Didn’t she know? Couldn’t she see what his battle had been all along? Could he manage to pull his head out of his ass before it was too late?
“Oh, Dani.” He shook his head in wonder. “I have no idea why, or if I’m really the one you want.” He sighed, and another tear spattered. “I’m not anywhere near worthy of you.”
****
Dani looked at Huxley through damp lashes and squared her shoulders. That “not worthy of you line” was the pat brushoff in every cheesy movie she’d ever seen. And if she hadn’t been giving Huxley physical relief by having her hand on his incision, she would have leaped to her feet right then and fled the room. Instead, she managed to choke out a get-out-of-jail-free response for him. “Don’t worry, Huxley. I get it. You don’t have to say any more. I know you don’t want me. It’s okay. It’s not like real life gives you what you want.” Dani bit down on her lip to keep from sobbing.
Huxley opened his mouth and gaped like a beached fish. She assumed he was about to deliver the requisite denial before shutting her down completely. “Dani. Listen. The first time I kissed you in the dressing room while you bought underwear, it was because I dropped my guard and felt like a normal boyfriend for a few minutes. It felt so innocent and damn, so good.”
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