Hunting season

Chapter Twenty

Waldgrave stared at the woman he thought long dead. Dressed only in an enormous tank top, she looked as stunned as he about her sudden appearance during their religious rites of power. They’d been invoking the goddess in preparation of their final Hunt of the Crows. They hadn’t even gotten to the final sacrifice yet.

He found the Crow surprisingly attractive for such a butch female. He preferred his women pliable and fearful. This woman looked like she feared nothing, and that’s how she looked when he scouted her out in that store. He wanted to see the woman his goddess wanted dead so badly, and one look at that cold face and powerful body, and he knew she had to go. She’d do anything to protect her fellow warriors. Anything to keep his goddess from getting what She wanted.

And now he knew he’d been right about her. This would be no easy kill. He knew it as soon as she jumped to her big feet on the altar and took up a classic battle-‐ready pose.

The enormous but plain ax she held firmly in both hands, appeared unused. No nicks or marks marred its surface. Waldgrave would bet money she’d never fought with it before.

Smiling, he hefted his own ax. An ax awarded to him by his goddess. With a powerful move of his arms, he swung the ax over his head and brought it down on the solid stone altar.

An explosion of sound filled the room as half the altar crumbled in his ax’s wake.

“Fuck!” she snapped as the bit of altar she stood on fell away at her feet. She hit the ground in a cloud of dust.

Not willing to give her time to recover, Waldgrave swung his ax again, aiming for where he’d guess the female’s head would be. It came down in a perfect arc, and already he felt her defeat in his heart. But the clang of metal and an agonizing pain tearing up his arms showed him she still had no intention of being an easy kill.

The dust from the altar cleared and he saw the female had put up her own ax, blocking his. It should have crumbled like the altar. But now that she’d used it, he could see the glowing runes along both sides of the blade and on the black handle.

The bitch’s protector goddess had given her a weapon of great power, which annoyed him. This insignificant female was not his prize. She was simply in the way of his prize. He needed her gone so that the full-‐on assault on the rest of those women could begin. Without her, they would be lost. Without her, they’d never be able to protect the one he wanted.

With a vicious snarl, she pushed forward throwing Waldgrave away from her.

She sprang to her feet and swung her ax, once, twice. One acolyte lost his head, the second she split from one hip to the other.

The other Hunters backed away from her, circling her and Waldgrave. Her eyes strayed to the big picture windows of the ballroom. Then to the doors.

“Going to run, little girl?”

She acted like she didn’t hear him, her body turning away from him to see all the exits. Then he heard her muttered reply.

“Crows don’t run.”

He barely brought his ax up in time as the crazy bitch spun and swung her weapon, aiming for his head.

Bobby Anders hefted his M-‐16 in his arms and sighed. Goddammit, he was cold.

Exactly how long was he supposed to stand here anyway? Ever since his fellow brothers took out that one Crow, Waldgrave made sure to have sentries on duty at all times. At first, Bobby was all for it. It made complete sense. But a week later and nothing. Nothing but nearly frostbitten fingers and toes and a good old-‐fashioned cold.

Yet something was going on. A battle cry from within the house caused half of the sentries to charge back inside. Bobby wouldn’t leave his post, though. He was there to ensure no one attacked from the outside and that’s exactly what he would do.

But, he realized, no matter how ready he thought he was or how fast with his weapon he might be, he would have never seen this one coming.

Enormous didn’t really do the man justice. And for someone his size, especially with those wings stretching big, black, and ominous from his back, he shouldn’t be able to move so fast. But the man moved like lightning. One second Bobby stood all alone and the next the big man easily snatched the weapon from his grip.

Still, the hands attached to the chain wrapping around his neck…those were female.

So was the voice in his ear. “Say goodnight, sunshine.”

Tye grinned as Janelle released the chain and allowed the Hunter to drop to her feet like a sack of garbage. She’d snapped his neck the way some people break a candy bar in half. And she made Tye so hard he physically hurt.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to focus on his little lust muffin. The rest of the Crows and Ravens were silently dropping from the sky, taking out the sentries quickly and quietly. Like the birds themselves, Crows and Ravens were crafty. Why go in screaming and announcing their presence, when they could sneak in and kill everyone efficiently? It wasn’t logical.

And Tye was all about logic.

The little one landed behind Janelle, nearly falling on her ass as her feet touched solid ground. Tye cringed. Man, what a clumsy little thing. But he found her entertaining because she hated Mike so much. It was like watching big-‐league wrestling. Personally, he put his money on the runt.

Yager landed beside Tye. There were a lot of things in this universe Tye didn’t much like. And the look on Yager’s face at the moment was absolutely at the top of his list.

Following behind his leader, he shook his head. Anything not Raven or Crow would not be getting out of here alive tonight.

How any goddess in her right mind could think putting these psychopaths on her ass was a fair Trial, she’d never know. And now that Neecy knew who was truly behind this—who truly wanted her dead—that made this whole thing much more disturbing. She saw the rune on the altar. She knew who these Hunters belonged to. And Skuld was right. A war was coming—a war among gods. And their warriors were merely pawns.

But at this point, Neecy no longer cared about any of that. They could deal with everything else later. Her only goal at the moment was to kill Waldgrave and keep her girls safe. She sensed that without their leader, the rest of the Hunters would be easy pickings for the Crows and Ravens.

And she knew the two Clans were coming. She knew Yager was already here.

She could feel his presence. Like a physical touch.

Neecy studied Waldgrave. She’d seen this man before. In the video store. And even though she’d only seen him for a brief second, the details were completely accurate. A big, wide man, Waldgrave had muscles on top of muscles bulging under his clothes. But she was a bit taller than him and she knew she was faster.

She swung the ax again, aiming for his head. For a moment, Waldgrave was startled but he recovered quickly. Blocking her move, he twisted his blade to pull her off balance.

Neecy rolled with it, ending up on the other side of Waldgrave, but with her ax still in her hands. She rolled to her feet and immediately swung again. Again, Waldgrave blocked her, but Neecy moved in close and slammed her foot in his groin. He grimaced and although he didn’t double over in pain like most men would, Waldgrave still lost enough momentum for Neecy to pull her ax away and swing. Unfortunately, the weapon had turned in her hands and the blunt end of her ax, slammed against Waldgrave’s head. But there was enough force behind the move to knock him off balance.

Waldgrave landed face down. Quickly, Neecy walked over to him and planted her foot in his back, keeping him down. She swung the ax over her head, but before she could split his skull in two, Waldgrave spit out a spell that threw her back and across the room, slamming into several slow-‐moving Hunters.

Waldgrave smoothly got to his feet. “Did you really think my goddess was going to let some abomination of Skuld’s stop me?”

Neecy pulled herself up, her eyes glued on the man walking toward her.

“She wants you gone and it’s my job to ensure that you go.”

Gripping the handle of her ax tight, Neecy felt the power move through it. She knew the runes on it. Knew what they could do. In fact, she knew exactly what she had to do.

But before she could move, glass shattered, a Hunter’s carcass tossed through one of the enormous windows.

Janelle grinned at her…and waved. Crazy fuckin’ female.

Yager stepped through the window, his beautiful face rigid with anger.

Well, no one not Crow or Raven is gettin’ outta here tonight.

“Perfect.” Waldgrave leered at her as the Crows and Ravens followed Yager into the room. “All the players in one place.”

He turned to his men. “Kill them all. Get the girl.”

Neecy didn’t wait for him to turn back to her. Crows didn’t give a “fighting chance” or a “head start.” They were Crows. Mean. Smart. And brutal.

She lifted her ax and swung, her muscles screaming from the effort. Waldgrave turned in time to see the blade flying toward him. He raised his own ax, but he wasn’t fast enough. Not fast enough to stop a Crow.

Neecy cleaved his head in two and never made a sound.

Yager watched Neecy Lawrence, dressed only in his tank top and covered in dirt and blood, bury her ax in Karl Waldgrave’s head.

A Hunter ran toward him. Without turning to face him, Yager snatched him up, wrapping his hand around the idiot’s throat and squeezing until he crushed every bone in his neck. He dropped the body at his feet and looked up at the rest of the Hunters.

He didn’t know what they saw on his face…but they ran.

Neecy walked toward him, her eyes never leaving his, as she softly spoke to the two warrior Clans.

“None of them leave this house alive. None.”

“Yes!” Mike and Janelle cheered at the same time. Then both groups were moving and destroying.

Standing in front of him now, Neecy stared at him. She had fresh cuts and bruises on her bare arms and legs, but he didn’t know from what. He didn’t care.

“How did you guys get here so fast?”

“Fast? It took us over an hour. Wind was against us.”

She smiled as she stepped closer to him. “Skuld helping us out?”

“Or Odin. You know how he is.”

She glanced around. “Where’s Arri?”

He gently pushed her bangs off her face. “Outside with Tye. Doing me a favor.”

Neecy’s brow peaked up. “A favor?”

Chapter Twenty-‐One They all stood behind Arri as she chanted. On her knees, her eyes closed.

Neecy was freezing in the blanket they’d given her. She wanted to go home, get warm. At this rate she’d catch a cold or the flu. But she wouldn’t rush Arri, not when the girl worked some powerful Magick over Karl Waldgrave’s family mansion.

Waldgrave’s house gave a sickening lurch. Followed by another sound, like a canon shot, and suddenly the house folded in on itself, sucked through a big enough doorway only Arri had the power to open. With the house went any bodies of the Hunters as well as those who might still live but had successfully hidden from the two Clans.

It took less than thirty seconds for the house and its occupants, living and dead, to disappear through the doorway Arri created. In the end, all that remained was burnt grass where the house once stood.

Then little Arri Chang burst into tears.

Mike turned toward Yager, his face desperate. “Yager, man. She’s fuckin’ cryin’ again!”

Neecy motioned to Katie and Connie. “Get her. And let’s make it quick. I’m catchin’ my death here.”

As if to emphasize the point, Neecy’s head flew back, then forward, a huge sneeze bursting out of her.

And just like that…she was airborne. Her wings snapped out and she flew back twenty feet, slamming into the trunk of an ancient tree.

Connie pulled Arri to her feet as Katie laughed.

“Well,” Didi offered dryly, “she got her wings back.”

Neecy pushed herself to her feet. “That’s it. I’m now officially done for the night.”

She walked back to the warriors. “We’re out of here. I’m freezing. I’m exhausted. And, is it my imagination…” She glanced at her enormous black and purple wings. “Or are my wings inordinately large?”

“They are bigger.” Katie walked around her. “I could be wrong, hon. But I think Morgan gave you Raven’s wings.”

Neecy let out a huge sigh. “Typical.”

“They’re bigger than Yager’s,” Janelle added.

Katie looked at Yager. “Does that make you feel inadequate?”

“Katie!” Neecy pushed the woman’s shoulder, then motioned to the rest of the Gathering. “It’ll be dawn soon, Crows. Move out.”

Wait a minute. She was leaving…him!

Yager grabbed her arm. “Neecy?”

Neecy turned toward him and rewarded him with a warm smile. Going up on her toes she leaned in and kissed him.

“Later.” She kissed him again. “I promise.”

Neecy and the Gathering took off as Neecy’s birds descended on the remains of those not taken with the house. The Hunters they’d dealt with before making it inside. The birds would wipe away any evidence the Hunters even existed.

“You ready, Bro?” Tye stood next to him. “Like she said, it’ll be dawn soon.”

Yager shook his head. “I don’t get it, Tye. I don’t get her.”

His friend smiled as he patted him on the back. “And don’t even try. She’s a Crow.”

Tye was right. Yager was not going to bother trying to figure Neecy Lawrence out. No more playing this game on her terms.

This bullshit was over as of now.

“Now, hold still.”

“Ow!”

Katie stepped back from Neecy. “I didn’t touch you yet.”

“I’m projecting into the future.”

Arri, her eyes still red from crying, turned to Janelle. “See?”

Disgusted, Janelle walked over to the kitchen counter on the other side of the room. She slid onto the countertop, taking the cup of coffee Delia handed her.

“So what happens now?” she asked before sipping her coffee.

Neecy shrugged as she leaned away from Katie and her mercurochrome. “Got me.”

“Didi says she’s out of here soon.” Katie sighed and leaned back. “Would you stop acting like a child, so I can clean off these scrapes?”

“So you’ll be taking over, right, Neece? I mean you survived and everything.”

Neecy looked around the Bird House kitchen at the warriors ready to call her their leader. Which seemed really strange, considering how she was dressed.

Her thermal underwear, under aqua blue Snoopy pajama bottoms from Fran, a pink Hello Kitty sweatshirt from Katie, fuzzy green bunny slippers from Janelle, and a purple knit ski cap from Arri, which for some unknown reason had droopy knit balls hanging from the top that kept tickling her nose.

She didn’t look like a leader. She looked like the crazy lady in her old neighborhood who used to say Moses was in her bathtub drinking a forty ounce.

“I don’t know. I mean, I guess. It’s hard to tell with Skuld. I somehow doubt she’ll show up to tell me or anything.”

“Well, whatever you do make sure you have a big supply of porn on hand.”

Neecy looked at Delia. “Huh?”

“Penthouse Forum is her favorite.”

“No, no, she likes Penthouse Variations.”

“Whatever. She’s a Penthouse fan. Just keep that in mind.”

“So you’re telling me the powerful goddess we worship and serve likes amputee sex?”

Katie shook her head as she finally cleaned out a light wound on Neecy’s neck.

“Nah. She likes the bondage.”

“And she loves ass play.”

Delia chuckled. “There’s nothin’ like a good corn-‐holin’.”

“Okay. I’m done.” Neecy pushed Katie away as 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 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. Calmly, 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 asked 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 masters 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 humanely 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, don’tcha, 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’ smart ass.”

“Would you prefer I was a dumb ass?”

“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 it 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 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.”

Fighting really hard not to smile, he said, “Anything else?”

“Just one. I like that you’re nice to me, even though it still weirds me out a little.

But if you promise not to stop, I’ll promise to work really hard not to get that panicked look on my face when you do something particularly sweet.”

Yager couldn’t fight it anymore. He grinned. How could he not? She was wonderful. “That’ll work.”

They stared at each other until Neecy gestured with a flip of her hand. “Your turn.”

“I get a turn?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Um…let’s see. The only pussy I want or will ever want is yours. So no worries there.” He grinned. “It’s very tasty!”

“Yager…”

He held his hand up. “Okay. Okay. Um…I don’t really have a favorite holiday, but whatever will make you happy is what I’ll do. The only thing, Mike comes to Thanksgiving dinner. His other option is his father’s and I can’t do that to him.

Of course, I figure you won’t mind since you already had his ass in your face.” He glared at her before continuing. “Even though I don’t have a favorite holiday, I do love summer time. Um…oh! I spend hours on the computer. Hours. Not just for the business, but because I really love it. But I have laptops, so I won’t spend all my time in the office. And nothing makes me happier than the thought of sitting next to you on the couch working on my laptop while you watch Law & Order.”

She smiled warmly at his words. “Especially knowing that I can just reach over and start finger fucking you.”

Neecy coughed in surprise.

“I hope you’re not a pet fan, ‘cause I really don’t want a pet. I could care less about kids. And on very rare occasions, Odin may drop by…in bed…with us.”

“What?”

“I already told him he shouldn’t do that on a regular basis anymore. Ya know…cause you’ll hurt him. I’m not cranky in the mornings, but I do love to fuck when I wake up. Which was one of the reasons I was annoyed you kept leaving.” He glared at her again but she only chuckled. “So, cranky or not…just be prepared for a regular dose of morning cock…as I like to call it. I’m okay with not dating, but I have every intention of marrying you and I want the full-‐on honeymoon. Two weeks in the Caribbean. No telephone. No gods. No work.”

“Just me in a bikini!” Neecy reared back startled. “Now where the hell did that come from?”

Yager shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Suspicious eyes locked with his, but she apparently decided not to pursue it as she asked, “Anything else?”

“Just one.”

“This isn’t the Will thing again, is it? Cause I actually like calling you Yager.”

“No.”

“The nice thing?”

“No.”

“The this-‐is-‐the-‐only-‐pussy-‐you-‐can-‐ever-‐have thing?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Tell me you love me, Neecy.”

She blinked, an expression of horror spreading over her face. “I…I didn’t? I didn’t already say that?”

“No. You didn’t.”

Neecy smoothly sat up so that she rested on her knees. “Oh God, Yager, I’m so…”

She stopped trying to move toward him, the chain halting her. Growling, she held her arm up.

Yager bit back his smile as he grabbed the key from off the bedside table.

“Sorry about that,” he chuckled as he unlocked her.

“Where did you get this thing from anyway? It looks fuckin’ medieval.”

“Tye.”

Neecy stared at him for a long moment. “Okay. Keep him away from my girls.

Especially Janelle.”

Now free, Neecy crawled into Yager’s lap. She placed her hands on both sides of his face, stroking his jaw and staring deep into his eyes. He brushed her nipples with the back of his knuckles and when she sighed, her wings unfurled, black and powerful from her back. He’d never seen anything more beautiful besides Neecy herself.

“I love you, Yager.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly. He knew what it took for her to say the words. And he knew she’d only say them if she meant them. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I love you, baby. I’ll always love you.”

She gave an uncharacteristically shy smile as she leaned into him. “So what do we do now?”

“That’s easy.” Yager pulled her tight against him and her wings curled around them as she slid her arms around his neck. “We’re going to spend our snow day being nice to each other, Neecy Lawrence. Over and over and over again…until one of us passes out or dies.”

Neecy smiled, resting her forehead against his. “Now that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”