Tendril Hearts (Immortals Book 11)

by LJ Vickery

  “How we’re…what?” Again his brain went to mush.

  “How are we going to do it?” she repeated, a dirty-girl look on her face. “Should you bend me over that stack of suitcases or maybe press me up against the wall? Should we make a pile of coats on the floor with you on the bottom, and I can climb on?”

  She wasn’t actually tapping her mouth with her finger, was she? Wasting precious time, pondering the perfect position?

  Dumuzi couldn’t stand it any longer. He’d been very patient, but now he lost it. Veronica was his Chosen, and with that fact established, he needed to possess her in the fastest and deepest way possible. And thanks to her teasing, it would probably be very fast.

  “That’s it, Veronica. No more bullshit.” He brought his hands down and closed the two feet that separated them in one stride. He grabbed both sides of her panties and yanking outward, shredded them to nothing. Verrie didn’t even look surprised. Gods, he loved how she baited him.

  Standing tall and pulling her close, his prick became happily cradled against the warm smoothness of her belly, his balls tickled by her downy nest of pubic hair. Dumuzi groaned, wedging his hand between them and swiping a finger through her pussy crease. Ahh. His mate was completely ready for him. Feeling and smelling her arousal did him in.

  Shifting slightly, he grabbed both globes of her ass and lifted her easily to the proper height. His hips split her in two and with one swift move and a single gasp from Verrie which he swallowed into his own mouth, she was speared—impaled deeply on his cock—then shoved back against the wall. Gods, she felt so damned good…so tight around him. It was all he could do to hold his immortal strength in check. He suddenly became scared at the depth of his need. He was a god, and she was not yet a goddess. He had to pull back…lighten things up before he hurt her.

  “So, I guess it’s the wall,” she interrupted his thoughts with a rasping chuckle, letting her know she was more than fine.

  Still, he was concerned with his indelicate handling. “Are you okay? Am I being too rough?” Muze focused on her face which showed only joy.

  “Better than okay,” she hummed back at him, going in for a quick, deep kiss and rotating her hips. “What about you?”

  “I think I’m going a little unglued and crazy here,” he answered, warning her, but also scooping her higher, halting her motion and positioning himself to angle deeper into her hot spot with renewed vigor.

  She keened at the new trajectory. “Oh gods, Muze. Don’t let me stop you.”

  Verrie dug her nails frantically into his shoulders, and the sharp little bites snapped what was left of his self-control. He found himself thrusting and thrusting to the accompaniment of her voice in his head screaming, Yes. Yes. He couldn’t have held back if he wanted to, and restraint was the last thing on his intrepid mate’s mind.

  The world outside him and Verrie―outside the strangely illuminated closet―ceased to exist. He moved a hand between them and parting her hair, found her clit and pinched. She screamed into his ear, and it was the biggest fucking turn on he could imagine.

  Verrie grabbed at his head and demanded his mouth. When he gave it, she forced his lips apart and thrust her tongue deep. When his joined the battle, she sucked it into her mouth and held him captive, demanding the same dance from his tongue as his dick performed in her pussy. Dumuzi was more than happy to oblige.

  Oh shit, Muze, she trilled in his head. I’m going to come.

  He didn’t need to be told. He could feel the tightening in her channel, the extra rush of wetness that preceded her orgasm. His own juices gathered, poised in his balls with screaming impatience. She needed to let go first…she needed…Ahh. Her contractions grabbed onto his cock, thirstily milking, and with her cunt’s unwitting permission, Dumuzi opened his floodgates to burst cum up inside of her with an explosion unprecedented in his long life.

  He had to fight to keep his feet, his emitted sperm suddenly rendering him as helpless as Sampson’s cut hair, but unlike the emasculated Sampson, Muze quickly recovered and felt like the most powerful being on earth. He wanted to shout, to yell, to proclaim to the world he’d found his woman.

  Yeah, we know, was the reply from a highly amused Anshar. All of us do. You guys should be more careful to use your filters. Not that it wasn’t amusing, but I’m afraid Sienna may be scarred for life and the rest of us? Well…we’ll all be in our rooms by the time you two get cleaned up and come out of the closet. Oh, and did I mention, that now, as well as the sign-up sheet for the naughty room in the basement, the girls are going to put one outside the coat closet? The sky god’s snickering filtered away, along with the after-tremors of Verrie’s orgasm.

  Dumuzi looked down at his lover. How was she going to take their inadvertent PDA?

  Her face screwed up and turned red, but before he could get words started that would calm her down, Verrie began chuckling. Her chuckle turned to a chortle, and her chortle to a big, roiling belly laugh. Muze felt the vibrations all the way down to his still embedded cock…and it was most pleasant.

  “Oh, dear,” she finally wound down to a snicker. “I’m going to have to do some serious damage control with my daughter.” Tears from laughter left tracks down her lovely, flushed face. Muze kissed the wet trails.

  “It seems to me she’ll take it all in stride. Neither you nor your friend Frank seems to have brought your girls up with anything but honesty and a healthy love of life―with all that entails. I’m sure she’s already processed it and let it go.” Muze decided Verrie might need a little extra reassurance. “Besides, if I know the women of the household, they head-blocked the girls from the worst, once they got wind of what we were doing.”

  “Still…to have everybody listen…” Verrie’s face turned a lovely shade of ultra-violet pink.

  It was Dumuzi’s turn to laugh out loud. “Oh, please. Do you know how many couplings I’ve been witness to since the guys started finding their Chosen? Something about you fated ladies has us forgetting our boundaries and leaving our good sense on the floor next to our discarded jeans. Please, do not think twice about this.” He kissed the top of her head and reluctantly slid out of her body, thinking quickly, retrieving a scarf from a shelf above his head to deal with “fall out.”

  Verrie looked down while he mopped them up, her shoulders shaking again. “I hope that wasn’t anyone’s favorite?” she laughed. “You’ve gotten some of your…photosynthesis…on it.”

  Sure enough, Muze looked down, and spots of light-up ejaculate dotted the material. He grinned at Verrie. “We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we’d just had night-time sex like normal people. It would have put the whole amulet fear to bed before it even got started.”

  “That’s true,” she giggled back, feeling young and carefree for the first time in years. “And we would have found out about your awesome new glow-in-the-dark paint earlier, too. Do you think we should bottle it?”

  Dumuzi snarled and put a hard kiss on her mouth for her cheekiness, but her playful words gave him ideas about various ways he might be decorating her body in the future.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Once Verrie got over her embarrassment of having nearly-public sex―and with the help of some hilarious stories from the Goddess League―she was able to ascertain Sienna hadn’t heard anything that would require therapy. Life was settling into a nice pattern. The girls were happily escorted to school each day, and Frank was accompanied to work, kicking and complaining, but her complaints were overridden by the gods—better safe than sorry.

  Verrie and Dumuzi were having scads of fun vying for dominance in their relationship, sexually as well as intellectually, finding that switching off on the partner-in-charge was more titillating than having it all one way or the other.

  The uncertainty pervading the household was due to waiting for word from Sham and Lahar. The pair still wasn’t back from their ancient history crawl, and it looked like―although the gods couldn’t hold off the summer solstice―the a
mulet ceremony might have to be postponed. This caused a great deal of worry for Dumuzi who wanted Verrie to be a full-fledged goddess during the next cycle of the moon when the voices would return.

  To that end, he’d done a lot of thinking, and Veronica knew he’d come to a decision with which she would be displeased. When she woke up one morning, and her mate-to-be was not wrapped around her, but pacing back and forth outside on their balcony, she knew his decision had been finalized.

  Verrie got up and slipped a robe over her shoulders, quietly pushing the slider open.

  “Hey.” She moved easily behind her big man and threaded her arms around his middle, pressing her nose to his back, inhaling his woodsy scent. “What’s got you up and out of bed so early?”

  He reached for her forearm. “It’s time we act instead of react,” he said cryptically. “We need to go see Marduk…and Nergal.” He turned in her arms and rested his chin on top of her sleep-tousled hair. “I have an idea how to take care of your demon voices before they hit again.”

  “Why do I know I’m not going to like what you’re about to suggest?” Verrie’s gut tightened. The gods were all used to Underworld intrigue, violence, and demons, but she’d led a pacifistic lifestyle and wasn’t sure she could agree with the “might makes right” attitude her new housemates espoused. And she was certain that’s what Dumuzi had in mind. “Are you going to tell me what’s up your beanstalk or make me wait?” she attempted to lighten his worries.

  “I think you should wait so you can weigh in with your opinions after hearing everyone else’s. If I tell you now, you’re just going to try to dissuade me.”

  That sounded regrettably ominous, but Verrie could see by the set of Dumuzi’s jaw, his mind was made up. He wouldn’t tell her, no matter how much she coerced or threatened. She moved away from his warm body reluctantly and took his hand to draw him back inside.

  “Then let’s get dressed. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to important things like…sex.” And that was the truth. She couldn’t hide it and didn’t want to. Verrie was so voracious for her man, copulation was never far from her mind…or his either, thankfully.

  “If what I have planned works, everything will be solved, and I’ll never have to let you out of bed again.” He reached up under the bottom of her robe and palmed one warm globe. “Except to eat,” he teased, nipping at the soft lobe of her ear. “We’ll need to keep up our strength.”

  Verrie almost let go of her anxiousness with his deliberate attempt at misdirection, but when Muze’s god-voice made a general announcement, she ended up stiffening and pulling away.

  Marduk and anyone else who’s interested in hearing a strategy I’ve conceived, join me in the meeting room in ten minutes. And Marduk, can you call Nergal to attend as well as Lavarette?

  This better be good, Muze. Marduk’s grumpy voice came back. Girin finally slept through the night last night, and Tess and I were full of energy this morning…if you catch my drift.

  Dumuzi laughed, Hah. Serves you right for all the meetings you’ve called on me at inopportune moments. Sucks to be you. Sorry Tess, he sincerely tagged on.

  Don’t fret, the goddess came back. If this is about solving Verrie and Sienna’s problems, I’m on board. You shouldn’t have to consider the sexual needs of an old married couple while you’re trying to launch your own lives together. She spoke both from the heart and tongue-in-cheek at the same time.

  There was more distinct mumbling and grumbling from all quarters at Dumuzi’s request, but the one bit of communication totally unexpected came from the glowie, Lavarette.

  I’m, uh, already on-premise, Marduk, her little voice replied. So, there’s no need to have Nergal try to locate me.

  That got a major response of “Oohs and Hmms” from the household at large, but no one seemed to have an actual handle on why Lavarette was already at the compound. If Verrie wasn’t mistaken, the glowie―whom she had yet to meet―was in for some major interrogation by the Goddess League.

  Okay, everyone, you heard Muze. Ten minutes. Marduk cut off the on-air speculation.

  Verrie and Muze hit the shower, but unfortunately, there was no time for play. It was a quick in and out…and not the good kind.

  The final tally in the conference room, when taken, was a quorum minus eight. Among the missing were Sham and Lahar who were still in the middle east, Dagon and Enten who had accompanied the girls to school, and Absu who’d gone with Frank―excited to pick up a few ideas for food from around the North End where Frank worked.

  The big news of the morning, causing lots of raised eyebrows and open mouths, was Lavarette easing through the door quietly behind King Waylon of the Lauernley…holding his hand.

  It was apparent Waylon’s blue entourage was aware of what was going on between their king and the glowie and felt quite protective. They had formed an impenetrable ring around the pair which spoke of something more than a wish to keep the gossipy goddesses from approaching.

  Verrie was astonished getting her first look at a glowie. She didn’t know what she expected, but it was nothing like the lovely sight Lavarette made. Slight and ethereal, the waifish female was white with a blue cast, had enormous dark eyes, and was completely bald. There was something very sexy about her, and it was quite clear why Waylon would be smitten. He postured arrogantly when the Underworld king began to speak to the fey being.

  “So this is where you’ve been ‘vacationing,’” Nergal broke the flood of quiet speculation dousing the room. “I had no idea you were even acquainted with the Lauernley, other than when the battle was waged below.”

  We had to rescue Kulla a few weeks back, Dumuzi let Verrie know.

  Nergal turned harsh eyes to the blue royal. “You’re treating my head of security well, I hope, King Waylon?” There was no mistaking the warning behind Nergal’s words. He clearly cautioned Waylon not to toy with Lavarette, or the Underworld would bring forth great wrath.

  “In answer to that, I’ll just say she might not be your head of security much longer,” Waylon responded smoothly. “I’d start taking resumes if I were you.”

  Wow, Verrie thought. It was quite clear Waylon wasn’t talking about an alternative job offer, but what was up with Lavarette’s sourpuss at his announcement? Trouble in paradise already? Verrie could commiserate. These alpha types didn’t make loving them very easy.

  “Congratulations then.” Nergal didn’t look convinced.

  “Lavarette, Waylon, I’m sure the two of you will be very happy,” Marduk truncated the conversation. Was that a pissed off light suffusing the little glowie’s body? If so, it was the loveliest form of anger Verrie had ever seen.

  Marduk redirected everyone’s attention again, “And now, down to business.”

  Gods and goddesses found seats while Dumuzi gave a reassuring squeeze to Veronica’s hand and strode to the front of the room. He looked at all the sleepy faces.

  “I’m sorry to drag you out of bed so early, but I had a thought that kept me up most of the night, and I figured I’d share.” He paused and looked at Verrie. “You all know the last time Veronica called to the demons, you were unable to find the cretins. The closest you came was ascertaining they weren’t in Nergal’s home territory.” He stood straighter, and his brown eyes took on a greener tinge. “Now, because I was somehow connected to Verrie’s ancestors, thousands of years ago…”

  “Because of a drunken bet made at Aham-nishi’s Inn one night,” Shamash’s amused voice cut into Dumuzi’s speech as the cat-god and Lahar appeared in the room, dusty and tired.

  Dumuzi’s eyes widened, suitably confused. “Hello to you, too.” He shook his head. “Do you want to run that by me again?”

  “In a minute,” Sham coughed. “Anybody able to rustle up some food and water before we get started?” He made an open-lipped grimace as if ridding his mouth of centuries worth of grit. He looked around, not seeing the god who usually fed them. “Shit. No Absu? Who’s going to make food?”


  His wife rushed gleefully to his side and gave him a fierce hug.

  Leftover veal parm, she assured him. It’ll only take a sec. She gave Charlie a look, and the pair popped out, then poofed back in a few heartbeats, one goddess holding two plates of cold Italian, and the other proffering giant mugs of iced water.

  “Ah. Angels.” Shamash moved to take the offerings and put a sandy kiss on his mate’s mouth. She didn’t seem to mind the added element to their lip-lock. The god eventually broke away and sat down to eat…with gusto.

  While the returning pair shoveled in food, inconsequential chatter started up around the room. Soon, it was like the boisterous group had forgotten all about business as the air filled with quips and laughter. Dumuzi put an end to that.

  “Guys. Are you going to fill us in or just fill yourselves?” he roared over the clamor. The room went silent.

  Verrie shot him a look. The two god-travelers had just spent the last week and a half in the desert, gathering information to help her. She didn’t want her mate to appear ungrateful.

  “Eat first. We can wait,” she assured the duo.

  “No. No. I get it,” Sham smiled at Dumuzi. “We can talk and eat at the same time. My mouth can do food while my brain takes care of conversation.” He switched to head-talk.

  Sorry, Muze. I won’t keep you in suspense. Funny thing, history. It turns out we were a bunch of drunken sots in our old days, Shamash smirked. You can’t believe the shit we uncovered in the ruins of the temple of the gods. Luckily, the remains of our lives are buried deep underground and in a place where it will never be discovered by archaeologists even with the advanced satellite imaging they use to find buried building and roads.

  We, on the other hand, continued Lahar, were able to hone in on the remaining half-life of god-forged isotopes to eventually locate the exact spot we were looking for. It took a lot of digging―through millennia of good gossip―and when our own cluster-fuck is solved, Sham and I have an ark-load of juicy tales to share. But for now…