Hunting Season (The Gathering Book 1)

by Shelly Laurenston

  “Okay. I’m done.” Neecy pushed Katie away and she chuckled at her idiot sisters. “I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted and still freezing.”

  Janelle put down her coffee mug. “What about Yager, Neece?”

  She shrugged. “I love him.”

  “Yeah. We got that part. But what are you going to do?”

  “I need some time. Lots of life changes in the past couple of weeks.”

  Delia, busily cutting up apples and cheese, tossed over her shoulder. “He’s not going to wait forever, ya know.”

  Neecy brushed her bangs and the fuzzy little balls off her forehead. “I never asked him to.”

  “Your colors meld together so beautifully,” Arri burst out as fresh tears began flowing again. “He’s so in love with you!” she finished on a wail.

  Janelle’s head fell back. “Oh, my God! How long are we going to have to put up with the sobbing?”

  Arri turned so fast in her chair she startled everyone as she pointed one small finger at Janelle. “Hey! You open a portal to Helheim and see how you do!” Then she burst into another round of tears.

  Rolling her eyes, Neecy stood up and gently pulled Arri out of her chair. “Okay. That’s it, ‘Tear-leen’. Let’s get you to bed so you can get some sleep. Otherwise you’re gonna drown us all.”

  Crying too hysterically to answer, Arri simply nodded and allowed Neecy to steer her to the kitchen door. But before they reached it, Connie’s voice stopped her.

  “Look, Neece. I say this as the one woman here who never cares if you have a dick in you or not…”

  Neecy turned to Connie. “Uh… okay.”

  “But you need to face a cold, hard fact.”

  “Which is?”

  “The Gathering will never in this lifetime be as nice to you as Wilhelm Yager. In fact, we’ll probably go out of our way to make your life hell because that’s what we do. So if I were your dumb ass, I’d grab that shit with both hands.”

  Neecy took in a deep breath and calmly stated, with none of the emotion she’d been feeling the past week living with Yager, “Ya done?”

  Connie glanced around the room and the other Crows nodded. “Yeah. We’re done.”

  “Good. Now listen up. What I do with Yager is my own goddamn business. You little cunts try and get into the middle of it and I’ll squash you bitches like flies. Are we clear?” she finished with a warm smile.

  “Yeah.” Janelle gave a surprised chuckled. “We’re clear.”

  “Wonderful. Good night.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Her first day back at school was surprisingly uneventful. But that could have been because she didn’t have to kill a single person with an ax or have anyone sent through a portal to hell.

  A good number of her students actually looked glad to see her back, and when she wasn’t in class she was in her office talking to all her PhD and master’s candidates.

  She didn’t bother going to her apartment. She had a full night of work ahead of her. So she went back to the Bird House, changed into her standard fighting clothes, and headed out with her crew. They had a full slate this freezing-cold January night.

  The first three scumbags they dealt with were just idiots. They hadn’t used their items yet, so luckily for them, their blood wasn’t necessary. But for fun the Crows scared the living shit out of them.

  The last one of the night, however, was a real piece of work. He’d not only opened a doorway by sacrificing some junkie he found, he’d enhanced his strength. He put up quite a fight, too. No Ravens showed up to “help out”. And Neecy was confident she didn’t need them, even when she ended up in the alleyway Dumpster. Yet she couldn’t shake the disappointment of not seeing Yager.

  After she dug herself out of the Dumpster, she’d decimated the man with the help of her crows, leaving barely enough to toss into the doorway Arri pulled open.

  Once it was sealed, the team surrounded her.

  “Wanna come out with us?” Janelle asked as she slid her blades back into her boots and covered up the weapons with her jeans. “We’re hittin’ a club or two tonight before it starts snowing.”

  A blizzard was supposed to be heading their way and Neecy had to admit she was looking forward to a few snow days. No school!

  “Nah. I’m exhausted. I’ve been lounging at Yager’s too long. It’s weakened me.”

  Connie smiled. “The Ravens may be at one of these clubs. Tye was the one who told me about ‘em.”

  “Then I’m definitely not going. I’ve got a lot to think about tonight. Don’t need any distractions.” Especially those Yager-type distractions.

  It had only been a day since she last saw Yager, but she missed him. No, tonight she was going to make a decision and stick with it. And tomorrow, she’d talk to Yager.

  Then she’d fuck the living hell out of him.

  “Okay.” Connie spread her wings. “See ya later.” She took off, Katie right behind her.

  Arri gave an adorable little wave and followed. The doorway she’d opened this night didn’t require much power and Arri didn’t even sniffle when she was done.

  Janelle bumped Neecy with her shoulder. “See ya, Big Wing.”

  “Stop calling me that.” Before she could take off, Neecy grabbed Janelle’s arm. “And watch out for her.”

  “Who? Arri?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You think she needs it?”

  “The girl’s got more power than is humanly possible and she has no idea how to really use it yet. Not fully. So we need to watch out for her. Remember, it wasn’t me they wanted, J.”

  “You know who’s after us, dontcha, Neece?”

  She nodded. “I saw the rune on the altar before Waldgrave destroyed it.”

  “And?”

  “It was Hella.”

  Janelle whistled. “The Queen of the Underworld?” She laughed, until Neecy glared at her. Clearing her throat, “Uh… sorry. So, why use Waldgrave?”

  “Her warriors can only be on this plane of existence for a few hours… they’re already dead.”

  “Dust to dust?”

  “Dust to dust. She needed someone who could focus on us full-time.”

  “You going to tell the others?”

  Neecy shrugged. “Eventually.”

  “But you think Hella wants our little Arri?”

  “Maybe.” Neecy shrugged. “I really don’t know. I do know Arri’s the weakest of us. The most vulnerable. At least until she’s better trained. But to be honest, I don’t want to risk any of you guys.”

  Janelle smirked. “Okay, Mom.”

  Neecy playfully cuffed Janelle on her shoulder. “Freakin’ smartass.”

  “Would you prefer I was a dumbass?”

  “Some days… yeah.”

  Janelle laughed and followed after the team.

  With a deep, tired sigh, Neecy unfurled her new, way-too-big wings and headed home.

  The wind was blowing her way, and it took her only ten minutes to make it downtown. She climbed through her window and stumbled into her dark apartment. Somehow she made it to her bathroom in the dark without bumping into anything. She could barely keep her eyes open, so she decided against a shower and just took a quick toilet break. Once done, she stumbled her way in the dark back to her bed, turned, fell back… and hit the floor.

  “What the…” Neecy sat up and struggled to see in the dark. She really couldn’t make anything out, so she got to her feet and made it across the room. She hit the light switch and turned to find her apartment damn-near empty.

  “He… he wouldn’t.” But she knew he would. She went to her closets. They were empty. As was her bathroom and all her bookshelves. Her bike was still there as was the basketball net.

  “I’ll kill him!” she screeched as her exhaustion faded away, leaving only raw rage.

  She went back the way she came in and launched herself from the small ledge, heading uptown to Yager’s apartment.

  Even with the heavy wind against her, she
still made it to his apartment in record time. She was too pissed to let something like nature get in her goddamn way. She flew to the patio. The glass doors leading into the apartment were unlocked and she knew he’d left them unlocked for her. She stormed in only to find the living room deserted.

  Growling, she moved through his home, finally tracking his tight ass down in his kitchen. He stood at the counter, his back to her, wearing only a pair of boxers. He ate an enormous sandwich, read the newspaper, and looked goddamn gorgeous doing it.

  Just seeing him sent her heart racing. Had it really only been a day since she’d last seen him? It felt like forever. All she wanted to do was lick his spine from one end to the other.

  She shook her head. She was pissed… remember? And she planned to stay that way until he explained what the fuck he thought he was doing with her shit.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

  Yager turned around and froze. “Christ, baby, what happened to you?”

  “Got thrown in a Dumpster,” she bit out.

  “That’s disgusting, Neecy.”

  “Look, Yager. You and me, we need to talk.”

  “Uh-huh.” He walked up to her, but stopped abruptly. “Baby… you’re funky. Let’s get you in the shower.”

  “Wait. We need to talk now.”

  Yager took her hand. “Okay.” He headed toward his bedroom, dragging her behind him.

  “I’m serious, Yager.”

  “I know. So talk.”

  She growled again. The man was pushing her patience.

  “First off, you took all my shit.”

  “You make it sound like I gave it to gypsies.”

  “I don’t know what you did with it.”

  “What do you think I did with it?”

  She knew exactly what he did with it. Her clothes were in his closet, lined up right next to his. Her books were in his bookshelves, mixed in with his. And all her tampons and soaps were somewhere in his bathroom cabinets. Bastard.

  “Look, Yager, this isn’t fair.”

  He stopped in the middle of the bedroom and pulled the wool socks off her arms. Tossing them aside, he lifted her tank top over her head, forcing her to raise her arms. “How so?”

  “We’re talking about major changes in my life. I need time to think. To plan. To strategize. You don’t rush into this sort of thing.”

  Her black jeans hit the floor and she desperately tried to ignore the fact that the man she loved now kneeled in front of her to remove her boots and shuck her pants. “All that bullshit takes too long.”

  “It’s not bullshit, and that’s not your call.”

  “No. It’s probably not. But I have no patience and I was tired of arguing.”

  He dropped her dirty clothes in the hamper. Giving her a quick wink, he again grabbed her hand and dragged her into the bathroom. He released her long enough to turn the shower on and adjust the water temperature.

  Neecy wrapped her arms around her body. She was freezing. Not surprising. She was always freezing after hunting in the winter. “I don’t care if you were tired of arguing. And I didn’t want to argue. I wanted to discuss.”

  “Yeah, well, I was tired of discussing, too.”

  He turned around and frowned at her shivering. He moved up close to her and rubbed her arms.

  “Look, all I’m saying is this isn’t an easy thing for me to do. I need time.”

  Shit. How did he get her bra and panties off without her even noticing? Goddamn him!

  “I’m really not in the mood to give you time.”

  “You’re not…” Before she could punch him in the face, he lifted her by the waist and carefully placed her in the shower. By the time she pushed her still-too-long but now thoroughly wet bangs out of her face, Yager had shucked his boxers and stood behind her.

  “This isn’t about whether you want to give me time.”

  He put that freakin’ expensive shampoo on her hair and began massaging her head. She almost came from that alone.

  “True. But I warned you I wouldn’t play fair, now didn’t I?”

  “That’s not the… the… Oh, that feels good,” she sighed.

  He gave a little hum in response as he moved close behind her. She could feel his hard cock pressing into the small of her back. His hands felt wonderful on her scalp and the feel of his flesh rubbing against hers was making her sopping wet and crazy.

  Dammit! This was why she needed some time alone! Because the man could distract her without even trying.

  He finished washing her hair and finger-combed his expensive conditioner through it. While he left that in, he washed the rest of her, taking his time, lingering over her “hot spots”.

  At this point, she didn’t even bother arguing with him. As it was she could barely speak. Once done rinsing her off, she simply took the soap and began washing him. He closed his eyes and let her do what she wanted, a small smile playing on his lips the entire time. When she was ready to wash his hair, she looked up at him.

  “I never thought I’d ever be able to say this to a man who wasn’t in the NBA, but you’re too tall for me to wash your hair.”

  She waited for him to bend down a bit so she could make his scalp feel as good as hers, but instead he slowly dropped to his knees in front of her.

  Steeling herself at how beautiful this six-seven Viking god looked kneeling at her feet, she began washing his hair. As Neecy worked really hard to concentrate on washing his hair from root to ends, she felt Yager’s hands slide up the back of her legs. His big fingers gliding over her wet skin, drawing out those intense feelings she never had with anyone else in her life. As she massaged his scalp, his hands gripped her ass and pulled her closer to him.

  “Open your legs, Neecy.”

  Clearing her throat, Neecy tried to get control over her exploding emotions. It wasn’t really working, but she still made the attempt. Silently, she braced her feet apart and buried her fingers deeper in his hair.

  Yager leaned forward a bit, burying his face between her legs. His tongue took long licks of her pussy as his hands squeezed and massaged her cheeks.

  Without meaning too, Neecy let go. She let go of having her ass tossed in a Dumpster, of getting used to her overly large wings, and of taking over leadership of a clan of indescribably rowdy, bitchy women. She let go of anything that didn’t have to do with Yager and her snatch. Tomorrow. She’d worry about all the bullshit tomorrow.

  As all her stress and worries melted away, Yager’s tongue and an interestingly placed finger shot her over the edge. Her head fell back as she gasped out her orgasm, her fingers still buried in Yager’s gorgeous hair.

  When the shaking simmered down to a gentle trembling, Yager stood up, quickly rinsed his hair, and then lifted her in his arms.

  “God, baby. You’re exhausted.”

  “I am. But I can still walk on my own.”

  “I know. But this is much more fun.”

  Placing her carefully on the bathroom sink counter, Yager grabbed a towel and dried her off. Once done, he quickly dried himself off and took her back to the bedroom. He pulled the covers back and put her down on the soft bed.

  Yager clicked off the light and snuggled up behind her, his arms tight around her middle, his face buried in the back of her neck. This really seemed to be his favorite position.

  Feeling Yager’s big body surrounding her, Neecy felt safe, content, and home. With that last thought making her smile, she went to sleep.

  Yager woke up to find Neecy staring at him. Her arms wrapped around her legs, her knees tucked up under her chin.

  He stretched and smiled. “Hey, baby.”

  “Morning, Yager.” She held up her arm, the metal cuff loose around her wrist, the chain attached to the bed frame clinking against itself. “What is this?”

  “I wanted to make sure you were here when I woke up.”

  She blinked. “You’re a little crazy, aren’t you?”

>   He shrugged. “I’m not sane.”

  Sighing, she looked out the window. “Blizzard hit last night. And it’s still going.”

  Well that explained why it was so freakin’ bright in the room.

  Grinning, “Cool! Snow day!”

  She laughed. “God, you’re such a geek, Yager.”

  “Yup.” Yager sat up and leaned in, his eyes focused on her breasts. He couldn’t wait to get her nipples in his mouth. He couldn’t wait to be buried balls-deep inside her. But one brown hand slammed against his chest.

  “Hold it.”

  He growled. “What?”

  “Don’t growl at me,” she snapped. “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t wanna talk. I wanna fuck.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll talk.”

  “Can’t it wait?”

  “No.”

  Yager gave a deep, painful sigh. Sitting back, he dropped against the headboard, wincing as his head hit hard steel.

  Clearing her throat to stop herself from laughing, Neecy raised her chained arm. She gestured to it. “Hello?”

  “I’ll take it off when you’re done.” There may be a blizzard outside, but he didn’t put it past Neecy Lawrence to still try and bolt.

  Rolling her eyes, she again wrapped her arms around her legs, successfully blocking her pretty tits from his view. Dammit.

  “So this is the deal, Yager. Take it or leave it. If I stay—”

  “If?”

  “If I stay, I won’t leave. It means we’re together. Forever and all that shit. I don’t sneak around and I’m too honest to cheat. So if you plan on keeping me, you’d best be prepared that this is the only pussy you’ll be getting until Ragnarok comes. If that’s a problem for you, then you best call the movers and start moving my shit back.”

  “I didn’t call movers. The Crows brought your stuff here.”

  “The… they…” She took a deep breath. “I’ll deal with that later. Where was I?”

  He pointed at her lap. “That’ll be the only pussy I’m getting.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay. So, make up your mind now. I will keep teaching. I will lead the Crows until Skuld tells me otherwise. I don’t know if I want kids or not. It’s definitely not a priority. So, if that’s a problem for you, say it now.” She took another deep breath. “I am really cranky in the mornings and no, coffee doesn’t help. That’s why I don’t drink it. Christmas is my favorite time of year and the Crows do Secret Santa since there’s so many of us. Although I always give something special to my team. I say we avoid trying the dating thing again, since that seems to lead to mutilation. I don’t go out much, except to party with the Crows. To me a fun night is pasta, Law & Order, and masturbating. Although if we can switch out the masturbating for sex… I’m okay with that.”