CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Erin and Stieg rode through the night and all the next day, leaving the royal nightmare behind them. When the sun went down again, they finally had to stop. Luckily, they found a river where they set up camp beneath some nearby trees. While he built a fire, Erin removed the bedrolls from their saddles and unrolled them.
She was about to sit down when Stieg asked, “What do we feed them?”
She had no idea until the beast she’d been riding roared and pawed the ground impatiently.
She really wished the elves had given them horses. Whatever these cat things were, they smelled awful and tended to spit. It was disgusting. But, even Erin had to admit, they were fucking fast. Faster than horses and with a lot more stamina.
“I have no idea,” she admitted. “But with those fangs, I’m doubting grass.”
“We could let them search out their own food,” Stieg suggested.
“And what if they don’t come back? Mine hates me.”
“She really does.”
Erin watched the beasts and noticed that they kept pulling toward the river.
She walked over and took Stieg’s mount—she wasn’t going near hers unless she was riding the bitch—and led him to the water. He sniffed and sniffed and then dashed forward.
Erin hadn’t been expecting that so when he jerked forward, she went right into the water, face-first. She dropped the reins and turned over. Stieg’s hands grabbed her waist, lifting her out.
It wasn’t his laughter that bothered her, though. It was the goddamn cat’s! At least, she was guessing that wheezing sound was laughter as the giant beast rolled onto her back.
“Are you okay?” Stieg asked.
“I’m going to kill her.”
“We need her.”
“I’ll walk!”
Burying his head against the back of her neck, Stieg held Erin so she couldn’t get away and do what she was threatening to do.
“I still hear you laughing,” she told him.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Bastard.” But she was laughing, too.
Stieg’s mount seemed oblivious. Too busy hunting enormous river fish, killing the things with his fangs and tossing them onto the shore so he could share them with the other beast.
“I’m tired,” she finally admitted.
“Let’s get some sleep.”
“No. Not yet. First . . . I want a bath.”
He gestured to the river. “Milady, your bath awaits.”
* * *
They removed their clothes and took them into the river with them, soaking them to remove the copious amount of blood from their recent battles. As they cleaned their clothes and themselves in the shockingly but wonderfully warm water, they talked. Just talked. Like regular people. No discussion about gods and Vikings and Ragnarok and ass-kicking nuns. Just a regular conversation between two regular people.
Well . . . sort of regular people.
“You were on an episode of Cops?”
“Yeah,” Stieg grudgingly admitted.
“Why?”
“I was in a car.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And they pulled us over.”
“You gave them attitude?”
“Not until they frisked me. And the more they tried to get me to submit—”
“The more defiant you were.”
“Pretty much. It changed everything, though. One of the Raven elders is a hardcore Cops fan. He saw me on the episode and they made it their business to track my ass down.”
“Did you throw those cops around like stuffed toys?”
“Yes.”
Erin laughed. “I love it! I’ve gotta find that episode when we get home!”
“You can see it online, and Siggy has it on DVD.”
“What’s the video called online?”
“Depends who posted it, but mostly Big white boy on meth beats up cops.”
Erin laughed harder. “That’s the best!” She wrung her clothes out. “Here. Give me your stuff.”
He handed his things over and she got out of the lake, taking the time to carefully place the clothes on branches.
When she returned, he warned, “Those won’t be dry by morning.”
“No problem.” She held up her dripping wet hand and Stieg watched flames wrap around her fingers. “I’ve got a trick for that, but it’s a faster process if the clothes aren’t soaking wet.”
“You really like your flames, huh?”
“They make me feel like a superhero.”
Snuffing out her flames, Erin grabbed his hand and closely examined the metal cuff he still had on his wrists. “We should have had that witch take these off you.”
“These are made by dwarves. I’m not even sure Odin can remove them.”
“Well, we have to cut through Nidavellir anyway. We’ll see if they can help.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me. It was bad enough you were dragged here, but then you were treated like an unruly pet by elves. I feel totally guilty. And I don’t usually feel guilty.”
“Maybe that’s because you’re in love with me and you don’t want to see the man of your dreams suffering.”
“Really?” Erin asked, dropping his hand. “You’re turning my own bullshit against me?”
* * *
They dried off by the pit fire and ate some of the dried meat and bread that Princess Seanait had given them.
What kind of “meat” they were eating, neither asked. It was something they didn’t want to know. But other than the mystery meat, it was an enjoyable evening.
Erin couldn’t remember the last time she’d had an enjoyable evening with any man. She had them with her sister-Crows all the time but those were different. True, they were sometimes naked at the time—some of her sisters were real comfortable being naked whenever and wherever—but they were women.
Other than sex, men didn’t really hold much interest for Erin. She found them kind of annoying and easier to torment than to actually have a conversation with.
But Stieg could hold his own with her. More important, when he didn’t know something, he didn’t pretend he knew something. She hated that as much as a guy who couldn’t shut the fuck up. A specific Erin pet peeve so well known by the other Crows that those with chatty boyfriends went out of their way to ensure they never left the poor guy alone with her unless they wanted him taught a lesson. Something she was more than happy to do for her sisters.
Erin finger-combed the tangles from her hair and, since she was naked anyway, looked over her wounds. She had a few but nothing she was too worried about. The beauty of being a Crow—fast recovery.
Deciding she was basically fine, Erin stretched out on her bedroll and began to fall asleep. Until Stieg stretched out next to her. She slapped her hand against his chest to halt him and said, “I’m not fucking you.”
“I know,” he replied with a yawn. His arm slipped around her waist and he settled in beside her, his face pressed against her shoulder.
“If you know, what are you doing?”
“Trying to sleep, if you’d shut up.”
“We’re both naked.”
“And?”
“Don’t have condoms.”
“And?”
“And why can’t you sleep over there?”
“Because I want to sleep here, beside you.”
“I’m not fucking you.”
“Is there a reason you keep saying that, Erin?”
“Just making sure we’re clear.”
“We’re clear. Can I go to sleep now?”
“Stop pretending you’re above it all,” Erin told him. “And is actual cuddling necessary? Can’t we just lie next to each other?”
“Sleep, woman!”
“No need to yell, Mr. Bitchy.”
* * *
The beasts woke Stieg up when the sun was barely peeking over the mountains. They made sounds that he took to mean they were hungry, so he dragged himself over to them, yawning and scratching his head, and removed their bridles so they could get their breakfasts out of the river. They hadn’t tried to get away last night so he didn’t think they’d bother now, which was good because he was in no mood to run after them.
Erin was still asleep, and he settled in next to her, his hands behind his head.
She turned toward him, her arm over his chest, her jaw pressed against his shoulder.
Stieg breathed in deep. If the elves weren’t such assholes, he actually might enjoy living here, but humans were clearly not welcome in the lands of elves and that was all he needed to know.
Erin softly snored and Stieg smiled a little until he felt her hand slide down his chest, past his abs, and finally wrapped around his cock.
“Uh . . . Erin?”
She made a little sound in the back of her throat and her hand tightened, but she still didn’t wake up.
Now Stieg blew out a breath. “Erin?”
Her grip tightened even more.
“Erin!”
She snapped awake. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Remove your hand or move your hand. Those are your two options at the moment.”
“What?”
He nodded toward his groin and her gaze followed until she laughed.
“Oh!” She pulled her hand away.
Not exactly what he was hoping for, but . . . whatever.
“Sorry,” she said around giggles.
“You did that on purpose,” he accused.
“No, I didn’t. When I’m asleep my hand has a will of its own.”
“Guess I should be glad you didn’t set Jackie on fire.”
“I do not set things on fire unless I—” She blinked and leaned back to see his face better. “Jackie?”
“Jackie the Man.”
“You call your dick Jackie the Man?”
“You’re trying to tell me that you, Erin Amsel, don’t have a name for your pussy?”
It took a moment but, after propping herself up on her elbow, she finally admitted, “Lady HappyKitty. She purrs when she’s petted.”
“You have a tagline?” Stieg asked, laughing. “Seriously?”
“Lady HappyKitty deserves a tagline. She’s given me so much pleasure over the years.”
“No wonder cats hate you.”
Erin went suspiciously quiet and stared down at him, her lips pursed as she looked him over.
“What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
“That’s not your thinking face.”
Erin snorted. “I didn’t know I had a thinking face.”
“You do. But what I’m looking at now is your plotting face.”
“Well, I was just thinking—”
“You said no sex. Or to paraphrase you, you’re not fucking me.”
“Look at you, knowing the word paraphrase.”
“I expect the Silent and the Protectors to think we’re stupid, but you broads should know better. And be careful about throwing stones from that glass house.”
“Look, all I’m saying is that in the light of day, now that I’m not so exhausted and pretty much healed up . . .”
“We still don’t have condoms, and with our luck we won’t die here, we’ll just end up going back home with you knocked up with some fucking elf baby.”
“I love how guys think condoms are only to protect against pregnancy, but I can’t have that conversation with you right now.”
“Because safe sex lectures are so hot.”
“I’m just suggesting that before we get up and face the day, we have other things we can do.”
Stieg grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
Erin rolled her eyes. “First off, that’s an exit, not an entry, so you can get that idea right out of your head. And, again, don’t make me pull out the safe sex lecture.”
“I like how you use it as a threat.”
“The beauty of me,” she offered with a toss of her head, “is that I can make anything pleasurable or absolute torture. The question is . . . how much do you irritate me?”
“If you asked me that a week ago, I would have said a lot. But I sense I’ve charmed you in our time together.”
“Not really, but it’s cute you think so.” Keeping her eyes on his face, she lowered her hand again and wrapped her fingers around his cock.
“I think you’re just using me to satisfy your sexual needs, Amsel.”
“I am.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”
* * *
He had Erin on her back before she could blink.
She didn’t know what was going on with her. She was so determined last night not to be bothered, but she woke up this morning needing him. That had never happened before. If it was just sexual, she could take care of herself, but it wasn’t just sexual. Not anymore.
Of course, she wasn’t about to admit that . . . ever.
Instead she pulled him close and kissed him, her hands moving over his shoulders, down his back. Instinctively, she began to open her legs to him, to lock her ankles behind his back, but he pulled away with a grunt.
“You’re a woman of mixed emotions. You’re driving me nuts.”
“It’s a gift. You know . . . to me.”
That’s when he spun her around and she saw his dick hard and waiting. She would have been put off by the move if he hadn’t already buried his mouth against her pussy, his tongue circling around her clit before lapping at it, then circling. Fingers slid inside her and Erin moaned. Then he abruptly stopped.
“What are you doing down there?” he demanded.
“Nothing but enjoying myself.”
“Yeah. I know. Get to work, woman.”
“Am I really the only one who notices our size difference? Some positions may be beyond our capabilities.”
He gripped her by the hips and lifted her up, eyeing the space from where she was and where his dick was, and yes, there was a good amount of distance between the two. “Dammit.”
Erin laughed. “Hold on.” She wiggled away from his hands and sat on his chest, facing away from him. She wrapped her fingers around his dick once again and held it. Then, she took her time sucking the entire thing into her mouth.
Stieg placed his hands against her back, sliding his fingers up and down her spine; the cold metal of the cuffs on his wrists lightly brushing her skin.
Enjoying the feeling, she happily sucked his dick a few times before pausing to run her tongue from base to tip and back again. She sucked on the head only, her hand stroking the shaft. Then went back to sucking the entire thing.
Stieg’s fingers began to grip her waist, his hips rising off the ground. She could hear his moans and it made her want to get him off. It felt like nothing else in the world mattered but doing that.
She deep-throated all of him—not easy, the guy was obnoxiously big—and swallowed a few times to contract her throat muscles. His moans turned to hard panting and his grip on her tightened. She sucked him harder, her hand around the base until every muscle in his body tightened and he came hard in her mouth, nearly choking her.
Erin wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned, but Stieg suddenly yanked her back until her pussy was on his mouth and he was sucking the life from her.
* * *
God, she was already wet. Getting him off had made her hot and wet. Nothing else could turn him on more. He didn’t even bother to turn her around. He just used his tongue to toy with her clit and slipped two fingers inside her pussy, stroking back and forth while his tongue teased and played.
Erin squirmed on top of him, her hands braced against his abs, her hips rocking back and forth against his mouth. He moved his fingers around inside her until her hips almost jerked right off him. Using just one finger, he stroked that spot while sucking on her clit.
Her entire body began to vibrate, the toes resting by his shoulders curling, her muscles tightening. Then she exploded, her groans echoing through the trees, her entire body shaking until she crashed on top of him.
She rolled away, the two of them staring up at the sky.
“And a good morning to you, too!” she announced to the world, making Stieg laugh again.