by LJ Vickery
“That should do it.” He looked over at Dumuzi with Dagon. “They’re still working on theirs, so let’s see what Lahar and Shamash have come up with, shall we?”
This time he let Verrie hear him.
Lahar, Sham, we’re ready for you to show us what you’ve got.
The one named Shamash popped in out of thin air, and the one named Lahar subsequently walked through the door. At Verrie’s raised eyebrows at the two different modes of entry, Marduk gave her the reason.
“Shamash has gone through the amulet ceremony with his Chosen, so he can mist in and out of places at will. Lahar has yet to meet his significant other, so he is tied to his body within one hundred yards of his descendants—Glory, Douglas, and Quinn—and completely invisible if they’re not around. Hence, Sham materialized, and Lahar had to use his own two feet.”
“Sucks to be you, man.” Shamash clapped Lahar on the back. The big golden cat god had only gained total control of his body a few weeks back, so his teasing was mild and from the heart.
“No problem. You’re just jealous I’m so good looking, I don’t need to hide with invisibility like you.” He made a fake grimace at the golden-curled god, but Verrie knew it was all for show. She looked the two gods up and down. They were, without a doubt, both very good looking. One might even say “smoking.”
Not.
What? The word sprung out of nowhere….well, not nowhere. She turned narrowed eyes to the red-head still bending over the table. A slight tinge of crimson stained his cheeks. Oh yeah? He’d sent her that terse, one-word command? Was he reading her mind now?
Well, read this, buddy.
Verrie screwed up her face and thought back to the ass and ball fantasy she’d had before. She had nothing to lose. If she and hunky green-man were destined to be mates, she wanted…no, needed to see if he’d be any fun in the sack. God or not, it would suck to go from no sex to boring sex again.
Dumuzi’s mild redness became a hot glow. Hah. The huge god liked it. Score. Verrie wanted to do a high five with someone.
Score? Really Mom? It was Sienna’s voice that came back to her, not the deep growly one she’d expected. Do you have any idea you’ve just transmitted your very inappropriate picture to everyone who can do this mind-thingy?
Oh shit. It was Verrie’s turn to color up. She’d only wanted to poke Dumuzi a little, but instead ended up embarrassing the crap out of herself…and him too if his dropped head was any indication.
Apparently, the Blue Hills population didn’t find any of it inappropriate.
Lucky man, Muze, the periphery voices began.
Hopefully, veggie-man, you can grow some big ones to keep her happy.
Full hands are happy hands.
I love me some ass time.
The last one was Lenore.
Verrie wanted to disappear into the floor.
“Listen…I’m sorry. Uh,” Listen, I’m sorry, she said it both ways, waiting to get a reaction from the only one who really mattered.
Dumuzi didn’t turn around, but my Lord. Did he actually just wiggle his tush at her?
First things first. His strong but amused voice made her squirm in more ways than one. I’m teaching you how to talk selectively which is what I’m doing right now. Until then, no more outbursts. Do you feel me?
His words threw her provocative pictures right back into her head…in full color.
Verrie gasped as she swallowed which sent her into a paroxysm of coughing. Her eyes watered. But oh, the big devil. Verrie’s toes wiggled in delight. He was someone who could take shit and dish it back.
Her lifelong crap-o-meter just nudged a little toward the positive direction.
Chapter Ten
“Listen, why don’t you two kids go play?” Marduk looked from Verrie to Dumuzi, having picked up on their interaction. “We have enough to go on we can finish up here. I’ll call another meeting when we’ve analyzed all our data.”
“What if…” Dumuzi didn’t want to even speak the possibility out loud.
Marduk knew what he asked, and so did the other immortals in the room. But the thunder god played it as if it was only Verrie they had to worry about. “We have Sienna with us. She’ll let us know if the voices start up.”
Sienna nodded vigorously.
“And I’m assuming Archie will give you advanced warning,” he finished.
“What?” Verrie shook her head. “How can your dog possibly know when my voices are about to appear?” She looked suitably confused, and Dumuzi figured it was time he gave her an answer that would gently ease her into his fucked-up-ed-ness. He prevaricated, but only a little.
“I have something that happens to me, sort of like you, that Archie senses coming on. We think it may be related to your episodes. It’s the reason we’re making these charts. We want to see if my…thing…happens at the same time as yours.” He turned to look fully at Veronica for the first time since the hallway.
His mouth slammed shut. Damn it all to hell, he’d been right—she was fucking spectacular. Not only that, but at his partial revelation he might share her curse, empathy began to shine from her very expressive butterfly-blue eyes, digging a hole right down into his parched heart.
He squared his shoulders. He needed to get a grip, train his reaction in a different direction, no letting his heart get involved. He had nothing to offer Veronica—a mated life with him would resemble a fucking horror flick. How fair would that be? Because unlike all of his god buddies, his transformations had nothing to do with being agitated. If that were the case, he’d be in the clear and zip-a-dee-doo-dah, incident free, since he’d been self-medicating one way or another from childhood. But for him, his nightmare came without provocation, and most likely would for the rest of his eternal life. How could he pin that on Veronica, too?
“You don’t have to feel sorry for me,” Dumuzi dropped his eyes and groused. Shit. If he kept looking at her, all bets were off on what he’d want to do. They needed to keep things between them strictly business. He shouldn’t for a minute bring back to mind the little fantasy scene where she’d been fondling his nads…oh yeah, he did. Shit. Dumuzi stifled a groan.
“I’ve been fucked up a lot longer than you have.” He saw her grimace at his choice of words, but there they were, reality on the table. “So don’t lament my life. I’ve had time to get used to it.” Or not, Dumuzi thought.
She walked over and reached for his hand, ignoring his edict while clearly attempting to diffuse the tense moment. “Why don’t you show me around?”
That fucking voice came out of her again as smooth as a leaf of Lambs Ear. He was suddenly very scared. The way she made him feel, he might be able to deny her nothing. He fumbled for words.
“Sure,” he said, letting her tug him out of the room and away from everyone’s watchful gaze. “Do you want to start at the top or at the bottom?” he questioned. Seeing Verrie suddenly bite her full lower lip and stifle a giggle, he mentally kicked himself. Geeze. Were they going straight to double entendres?
“That’s not what I meant,” he sputtered. Holy crap. He was used to playing the innuendo game with his buddies, but he’d never played it with a woman before…if you could discount Candy and Lenore, who were completely raunchy all the time and practiced their craft arbitrarily.
“Why don’t we start at the top and work our way down?” she finally answered, letting him off the hook…and great, he felt the color creep up his cheeks again. Now he was thinking of alternate meanings.
“Listen,” She turned to Dumuzi and stopped him with a hand to his chest. “I have a better idea. What’s through that door?” Veronica pointed to the vast coat closet that had rarely been used before gods had become visible and taken mates.
“It’s just a closet. A big closet,” he answered, puzzled. “Why?”
“Come with me.” Veronica jerked on the hand she still held, leading him to the portal.
Was she cold? Did she want a jacket?
She pulled open the doo
r, giving a quick look behind them to make sure no one watched, and scooted inside, yanking him in behind her.
“Veronica? What are we doing?” Dumuzi watched her close the door behind them, and the small room plunged into darkness. She moved toward him with sure steps. He could see in the dark, but could she? Perhaps. Some of the Chosen could before they had been mated.
“Getting something out of the way,” she told him, her voice no-nonsense as she backed him into a corner. “I’m not leaving until you’ve thoroughly been kissed, and I know for sure this whole thing is going to work out.”
She couldn’t have shocked Dumuzi more if she’d told him all plant life was purple. Until he’d been thoroughly kissed? The stunned god grabbed both of her wrists as she moved them toward his chest.
“I repeat, what are you doing, Veronica? Taking matters into your own hands?” It made sense she’d want some control over their future together. He just hadn’t figured she’d jump on it so fast.
A seductive smile came to her plump little mouth. “Maybe that and seeing how well matched we are,” she murmured with a sigh, pressing her body forward despite her restrained arms.
Fuck it. It had been far too long. Dumuzi let go of her hands and scooped up under her ass, lifting her higher against him. She found and tweaked both of his nipples on the way up, causing his grip to tighten and his head to seize. Wow. He’d never had his nipples pinched before. It made him nearly limbless and he paused, waiting breathlessly to see what else Veronica might do.
She didn’t take long to show him.
His delicate flower skimmed his mouth lightly, moving soundlessly from right to left, and when her butterfly lips finally settled, it was all about soft and seductive. He made a noise low in his throat, and she must have liked it because she gave him the same delicate brush two, three more times before he opened his mouth under her explorations and allowed her tongue to taste him. He tasted back. Divine, like ripe, forbidden fruit.
With a groan and one thrust, he went deep.
Things went from calm to frenzied in seconds.
She sucked his tongue into her mouth, climbing him higher and clinging to him like a vine. Her hands and feet―oddly devoid of shoes now―were everywhere at once, wrapped around him. He barely had to hold her up, so strongly had she entwined with his body. And her hot core—my gods, her hot core even through their jeans―slammed into the thickness of his cock, giving it the sustenance it needed to grow thicker and longer. Dumuzi could barely breathe.
This is what it felt like to be with a Chosen. He got it now.
Dumuzi was ready to strip her naked right now and get the mating underway. But in the fucking hall closet? Not the most romantic place to get to know your eternal partner. He forced his brain to re-engage. What did it mean that Veronica had practically attacked him? And which did he want first, sex or answers? His woman made room between them and stroked his turgid pistil through his pants.
Okay. Decision made. Sex first.
He reached for her breast, but Veronica jumped down and backed up.
Or not.
He bit his tongue in frustration. Had she changed her mind?
“I need to see you…naked,” she breathed out, nestled among the hanging jackets.
Shit. She was able to see in the dark…and hell, yeah. There was no god alive who was ashamed of his body, and Dumuzi was no exception. Confidently well-built and overly endowed, Veronica would surely love what he had to offer. His hands went to his belt buckle.
“Wait.” That silky voice again.
Dumuzi licked his lips.
“Let me,” she implored.
He moved his fingers away, more than willing, and hers got busy. He wanted badly to touch her back, but he was letting her call the shots. To keep himself from temptation, he linked his digits behind his head.
Veronica looked up, and her eyes blazed. “Oh, yeah, baby. I love that position.” Could her tone get any smokier?
Dumuzi felt his jeans hit the floor, the boxers underneath all that covered him. His root rubbed against their confines, struggling to seek air.
“Tell me you want them off,” Veronica crooned. “Beg me to let your cock loose.”
Dumuzi didn’t know what game they played, but he liked it. “Strip off my shorts, Veronica.”
She purred out loud before slowly, painfully, and in long, drawn-out increments, obliging. She lowered the rear of the material first, exposing the tops of his butt cheeks, running her fingertips back and forth across the expanse of his skin, teasing the twin dimples he knew lay at the top of his cheeks. Another small tug to the seat and the still air in the closet warmed his backside, helped by her palms which enveloped the top few inches now revealed.
Dumuzi impatiently moved to help, but Veronica stepped back and dropped her hands. He gave her a questioning look.
“Do you want me to continue?” Her small tongue poked out and licked across the swollen pinkness of her bottom lip.
“I’d like nothing better.” Was that his voice? All dark, low, and…engaged? What was she doing to him? His normally inattentive self had fled the closet along with his good sense.
“Then stay still and keep your hands up,” she ordered.
“Yes ma’am.” And why not? This whole scene was beyond hot.
She moved closer, and reaching around, tugged the back of Dumuzi’s boxers to sit beneath the rim of his ass. This time when her hands found his flanks, she moved her palms inward and dipped deliberately between his globes, causing him to clench.
Uh, maybe not. Nobody had ever touched him there, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“Loosen up, immortal,” she hissed against his chest, making sure not to rub against the part of him that wanted all the attention.
Dumuzi bit the inside of his cheek. She obviously wouldn’t get to the good stuff until he complied with her wishes. The god forced himself to relax.
Veronica moved a finger down through his cleft but thankfully, didn’t delve any deeper. He let out a pent-up breath.
“More fun for another time,” she taunted seductively, giving his rear-bud a tap.
Damn. He tensed right up again. He’d see about that.
“Now, what about this lovely, hard cock of yours?” She stepped away when what he wanted was more forward motion. “It’s straining for release.”
Veronica was right about that. And not just the release she was talking about. His balls, if they got any tighter, were going to punch a hole up into his abdomen before sending ejaculate to the closet ceiling.
“Ahh.” One finger breached the elastic top of his boxers and brushed whisperingly over his cock.
He refrained from crying out as she spread the teardrop of moisture around the turgid tip but vocalized when she removed the inquisitive digit. “Shit. More, Veronica,” he growled.
“Quiet now, immortal. We wouldn’t want anyone to hear us, would we?” She took the questing finger, stuck it between her lush lips, and sucked. “Mmm. You taste delicious. Earthy.”
Dumuzi breathed deeply through his nose. Veronica was something else…and speaking of earthy. He could smell the dampness that oozed from between her legs, swamping her pussy. He pictured her glistening nether lips, and his prick grew inexplicably larger. There was nothing he’d like more than to lap up all that moisture. He sent her a picture of his head nestled between her legs and felt her deep, satisfied sigh.
“We’ll get there. Don’t worry. Right now, I’d like to see all you have to offer.” She stopped her slow torturous method of clothing removal, and in one smooth move, tugged his boxers down to his knees. When she finished, his cock stood directly in front of her face.
“Oh my,” she whispered. “I’m not sure if I can…”
Dumuzi wheezed out when instead of continuing, she ran her tongue up the length of his pulsing flesh before engulfing him in one swallow. Damn. It was the most intense suction he’d ever felt, so good, his spine tingled with a release imminent.
He
moaned as she slid her lips up, and his prick popped free.
She chuckled, low in her throat. “What would you do if I sucked you like that again?”
He wasn’t even close to embarrassed when he answered. “I’d come in about three seconds.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” And in another move he hadn’t expected, she wrapped her hot little hand around him instead of her mouth and held firmly. “Listen carefully.” She tightened her grip. “You don’t have my permission to come yet.”
What the…what? Did Veronica just say what he thought she said? Did she have any idea who she was talking to...and, hell, what she was doing to him? By telling him not to come, she’d just driven him close to the edge. She was playing in dangerous territory, and he growled. Time to change things up.
He grabbed her hand so both of them held his cock. “No more games, Veronica.” He couldn’t help but move their entwined fingers up and down his considerable length, shuddering at the pressure. “You’re letting go of my cock, and as soon as you do, your pants are coming down. You’ll face the wall, and bend over. Then I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll…”
Hey? Where are you two? Marduk’s voice sliced through the thick tension like an edging tool. It’s time to get back to business. I’ll give you two more minutes.
“You heard the man.” Veronica’s eyes sparkled up at him with a potent mixture of unrequited lust and mischief. She removed her hand and quickly lifted his boxers, tucking him back in with bitter-sweet efficiency. “Two minutes won’t finish this, and,” she lowered her voice and mocked Marduk’s tone, “we’re wanted in the ready room.”
Dumuzi growled again. “And here I thought this was the ready room.” Dumuzi was going to kill Marduk. Dead.
When Veronica shrugged and turned to go, he reached out and grabbed her arm, voicing what he’d wanted to ask before being distracted by sex.