Deadline Page 3

  “Give it up to me.”

  “What?”

  “Whatever it is that is hurting you.”

  Bits of the dream tumbled back to the fore and mocked her low self-esteem. In the dream she didn’t feel useless. She felt cherished. Loved. And most importantly, desirable.

  “Look at me, Lyra,” he ordered her in a “no-nonsense allowed” tone. He snapped his fingers again and his clothes disappeared.

  His erection pressed against her belly and did unusual things to her blood pressure.

  She peeked up at him. Moisture gathered in her sex and the throb she’d suffered since waking returned tenfold. “Yes, Niko?”

  “I can’t help you if you don’t trust me.” He cupped her cheek in his huge hand.

  “I trust you.” Exactly why, I haven’t a clue. She rose up on her tiptoes when he lowered his head. This time his kiss was demanding, drawing out the inner vixen she’d hidden from the male population of Strange Hollow. On a gasp, he slid his tongue between her lips. Hers met his and dueled.

  He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. Laying her in the middle of the mattress, he knelt beside her. He stroked her heated skin.

  “Please,” she whispered. Levering herself up on a straight arm, she curled her other around his shoulders. Warmth radiated from his frame. “Please.” A thoroughly masculine smile stroked across his face. “Please?” Her heart lodged in her throat. “What ifs” by the droves shot through her. She blushed. Unable to be so crass as to ask him to fuck the living daylights out of her, she planted her gaze on a scar marring his tanned chest. “Make love to me.” She tangled her fingers in his hair. Pulling him to her, she kissed his cheek. “I want you to make love to me,” she whispered against the shell of his ear.

  He leaned back and stared at her. “You have to be certain. Once we start, there is no turning back,” he said gravely.

  “I’m certain.” She nodded on an audible gulp. Letting the dream unfold, she reclined against the pillows. He followed her down. His lips took hers once more in a passionate kiss that curled her toes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Please. Please. Please.

  Tangling her fingers in his thick hair, she gasped when he raked his teeth down the side of her neck. “My. Oh my.” He palmed her left breast. His thumb and forefinger pinched her already hard nipple. A tiny shot of pain traced down to her channel. She wriggled her hips. Restlessly moving against his strong body, she rubbed her foot up and down his calf. The tingling in her pussy grew until she thought she might shatter if he didn’t finish the act.

  “Are you wet for me?” His fingers stroked over her belly to the thatch of curls at the juncture of her thighs. She jerked when he slid his fingers across her slick folds. “You’re going to like this,” he rasped against her ear.

  “Don’t stop.” Mewls of pleasure broke from her lips. His fingers did amazing things to her body. He swirled his finger over her clit. The sensation drove her need higher. She arched her back when he inserted a finger into her channel, then another. He began to pump her. His thumb flicked against her clit.

  “Give it to me,” he commanded.

  Closing her eyes to the glorious feeling he wrung from her, she squealed when he removed his fingers from her aching pussy. “No.”

  “Look at me, Lyra.” He adjusted his position, easing her thighs apart with one of his own. Nestling his cock at the entrance to her pussy, he blew out a breath. “Look at me,” he demanded.

  Forcing her eyes open, she gazed at the strong planes of his face. In his stern expression she found a semblance of solace she never knew existed. He accepted her. Not because she was an outcast amongst outcasts but because of something else. She wanted to believe he desired her. “Yes.”

  Without warning he plunged into her and stilled.

  She cried out in surprise. It certainly isn’t like in the romance novels where the woman cries, “no more” and “you’re hurting me.” The sharp stab of pain was soon forgotten. In its place was the all too familiar warmth. Gripping his arms, she kept her gaze planted on his face.

  Slowly, methodically, he began to move. Ecstasy built inside her. The tremors of her climax grew. He reached down between their joined bodies and stroked her clit. “Oh my.” Friction combined with the feel of his finger on her sensitive nub. “My god.”

  “Yes,” he rasped. His breaths wafted her hair. He started to thrust harder, faster. Her world tipped upside down. “Let it go. Give it up to me.” She screamed his name. “Niko!” Rhythmic contractions shot from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades. “God, yes.” His hot seed filled her.

  Riding the wave of bliss in his arms was more than she could imagine. “Thank you,” she rasped when he rolled over, taking her with him. Still intimately joined, her heart beat as if she’d just run a marathon. Laying her head on his chest, she listened to the rapid tattoo of his heart. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He ran his hands up and down her back.

  Leaning up, she kissed his chin. “That was wonderful.” She waited for him to say something about her chastity. When he didn’t, she wondered if men couldn’t tell.

  He stroked a few wisps of hair from her face. “Be happy while you are living, Lyra.” She thought he wanted to say more. A cold chill raced up her spine. Just a draft.

  Kissing him softly on the lips, she gasped when he eased her off him and tucked her against his side. “I am happy.” She rested her head on his shoulder. She traced another scar with her fingernail. “Really, really happy.”

  * * * *

  “Where the hell have you been?” Morpheus shouted.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Niko answered. Irritated with himself for letting Lyra get under his skin, he’d spent the rest of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon ensconced in the funeral director’s office reviewing the list of clients he needed to attend to. He was trying to avoid the facts that he’d not only bedded a mortal but a virgin, to boot. “You need to double check your sleep sand. Lyra got a dose of the wild stuff last night.”

  “Are you questioning my ability to perform my duty?” Morpheus appeared ready to spout flames.

  “No.” Niko shook his head. He turned the page of his list and familiarized himself with the next group of clients.

  “That’s it? No?” Morpheus slapped the wall. “You don’t throw down an accusation like that, then simply go back to work.”

  Sighing, Niko leaned back in his chair to stare at his assistant. “Lyra had a vivid dream this morning. Because of the fantasy’s sexual nature I believe the sack of dream dust you are using is mildly contaminated.” Shrugging, Niko crossed his arms over his chest when Morpheus gaped at him. “It happens every so often, so don’t get bent out of shape.”

  Morpheus narrowed his eyes on Niko. “You didn’t.” He threw his arms up in exasperation when Niko didn’t reply. “You did. You took the wench to bed.” Turning in a slow circle, he looked at everything except his boss. “You broke the law, Thanatose.” There wasn’t any use in lying. The long-reaching gaze of the Central Computer chronicled every move of every being on Earth, including those visiting from the Third Level. His tryst with Lyra was most certainly gossip fodder in Ascension at the moment.

  “I’m aware I violated section three.” Violated? I threw the damn rule book out the window.

  “Cain will have your head. He’ll call you to The Tomb and personally escort you to the onyx gates of the Abyss.” Morpheus was so mad he was red-faced and shaking.

  “What were you thinking?”

  That’s the problem. I’m not using my common sense where Lyra is concerned. “I was trying to bring relief to her. To right the wrong we caused by dosing her with contaminated sleep sand. That is not against the law.” The excuse was just as lame on Earth as it would be when Cain called him to The Tomb.

  “You were upstairs screwing her when you were supposed to be out hunting down Carney.” Morpheus seemed to get stuck on that point. He mut
tered under his breath about wayward members of the death caste. “We only have two days left, and we’re no closer to finding Carney than we were when we entered this backwater town.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Niko stood. He slammed his hand down on the desktop. “Don’t you think I know when the deadline is?” Furious, he bowed beneath the weight of duty and a deep-seated need for Lyra.

  The two gods stared each other down. Waiting. Measuring the other.

  “Did you happen to ask Lyra if she knew Carney?” Morpheus sneered sarcastically.

  “Oh, that’s right; you didn’t because you were too busy getting your rocks off … with that … that…”

  “Don’t say it,” Niko warned. Several slurs Morpheus could call Lyra echoed in his mind. Whore. Slut. Worst of all— mortal. The iron-willed control he had on his temper slipped when Morpheus snorted with disdain. “Don’t you dare.” He punched his finger in the air. Niko watched Morpheus pull a file out of thin air and flip open the front cover.

  “What the hell are you doing now?” Anger broiled through his veins like lava from Mt.

  Vesuvius.

  “A little checking up on your sex kitten.”

  “Morpheus, you are pushing your luck.”

  “Thanatose, you’ve already stepped over the line.” Morpheus skimmed the personal file for Lyra. “Let’s see if we can get your ass out of the sling you’ve put it in. Best case scenario, you’ll only have to spend a decade in Hell for fucking—” Niko’s growl stopped Morpheus from finishing his sentence. He scowled when Morpheus frowned. Curious, Niko resisted the urge to grab the file from his assistant’s hand. “Are you going to tell me or do you want me to play twenty questions with you?”

  “She’s a mortal.”

  “We already knew that.” Niko forced himself to sit. “So are all the other residents of Strange Hollow.” Whether the good townsfolk wanted to believe it or not, they all had limited life spans.

  “No. I mean she’s a true mortal. She doesn’t possess a single strand of paranormal DNA.”

  Niko almost told his friend that the file was flawed. Since when does the Central Computer make a mistake? The answer was it never did. “What’s a mortal doing here then?” Why isn’t she out in the real world living a real life?

  “It appears from the chronicle that when Laura Higgins was three years old she lost her parents in a car accident. Stunned, she wandered away from the scene and was found by Mayor Fergus in the woods to the north of here. Mayor Fergus put two and two together and came up with twenty-two instead of four.”

  “How so?”

  “Mayor Fergus decided Laura was a nymph.”

  “Probably because of her age. Though by ancient standards she’d have been a very young nymph.” And a delectable treat for a Minotaur to gnaw on after he’d fattened her up. “Any information on which of the death caste touched her?”

  “Cernunos.” Morpheus closed the folder and brought it to Niko. “He released her parents’ souls.”

  A member of the death caste who was above reproach. Massaging his forehead with the tips of his fingers, Niko sighed. The realization of who had been called to relieve the Higgins’ suffering brought Niko to a disgusting conclusion. “Lyra was supposed to die in the accident too,” he whispered.

  She doesn’t remember begging God to release her from her life. The puzzle that was in his interview with Mayor Fergus suddenly came together. A clog of emotion gathered in Niko’s throat.

  He recalled Lyra’s expressive face when she climaxed. Her perfect features blissful, peaceful—lovely. As if he needed to punish himself more, he remembered the way she’d clung to his shoulders and how she’d kissed him afterward. Not since before Ragnarok had he had such a woman in his arms. She wasn’t like the spoiled and prissy goddesses in the Third Level who hopped from bed to bed because they were bored with the limited number of partners in Ascension.

  Lyra was real. So real, a big part of him wanted her to live forever. “She’s well past her expiration date.”

  “I’m afraid so.” Morpheus set the folder on the corner of the desk. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Thanatose. I know this can’t be easy for you.”

  “Thank you, Morpheus.” Absently, Niko picked up the file and opened the cover. He stared sightlessly at the printed pages. Refocusing his mind, he read down until he came to the area where Lyra’s fate should have been entered. To be determined. “We’ll begin our hunt for Leslie Carney in earnest tonight after I release Lyra—” He couldn’t go on.

  For the first time since the Common Era had begun, tears stung his eyes and heaviness shrouded his heart. Gritting his teeth together, he closed his eyes. Say it. You don’t have a choice now. “After I release Lyra from her pain.” He nearly choked on the words.

  “Take some time. We’ve got two days before the deadline.” Morpheus headed for the door. “Between you and me we could show her the world. Get her out of Strange Hollow for a little while.”

  Opening his eyes, Niko nodded. Forty-eight hours to bring joy and happiness to a woman who’s only ever known a life that is a lie. “Let’s keep this under our hats. I don’t want Lyra becoming afraid of me.”

  “No problem.” Morpheus placed his hand on the doorknob. “What about Carney?”

  “I haven’t forgotten the mission.” And Niko had a fairly good idea of where Leslie Carney was hiding. More to the point, he knew who was protecting their reluctant client.

  Jacinda Fergus.

  He wasn’t sure why, but his gut instinct, the same inherent self-preservation impulse which had saved him during the bloody battles of Ragnarok, said so. He closed the folder and piled his list on top of it before tossing them in the air. They disappeared, magically transported back to the Third Realm.

  Standing, he gathered his cloak and gloves. “I’m going to visit the honorable mayor of Strange Hollow.”

  “Okay.” Morpheus wore a confused frown.

  “I’ll explain later.” Thanatose wrapped his cloak around his shoulders. “Stay with Lyra until I get back.”

  Chapter Three

  Come out of the sun and play in the shadows, said the spider to the fly.

  Lyra giggled when Niko’s car stalled—again.

  Over an hour ago, they’d left the town proper for what Niko called a “field trip.” Since their departure, his car had stalled four times. Each sputtering, gear-grinding, smoke-wafting-from-under-the-hood halt in forward progression sounded like the car’s death knell. “We need to do something about your old bucket of bolts, Niko. It’s on its last leg.”

  “Believe me, he’s got a lot of miles left in him.” Niko steered the car off the road.

  “We’ve been through hell and back. Haven’t we, old friend?” She almost sympathized with him. Over the years she’d become attached to personal possessions, mostly shoes and purses, but Niko was taking his love affair with his car to an extreme. “If you say so.” Mirth bubbled up in her when he yanked on the emergency brake. The handle came off. He grumbled a curse.

  “Morpheus, cool it with the ‘pity me’ antics. We have work to do.” Niko tossed the lever aside. Grabbing his cloak and gloves from the back seat, he exited the vehicle. He strode around to her door and opened it for her. Holding out his hand, he cocked an eyebrow. “Want to go for a ride?”

  “Isn’t that what we just did?” She couldn’t and truthfully didn’t want to figure out Niko’s mood. Ever since he’d returned from a meeting with Jacinda he’d scowled and glared at everybody except her. He hadn’t had a kind word to spare, either.

  “Trust me.”

  She placed her fingers on his palm. “I trusted you this morning,” she muttered. Her cheeks heated with her blush. Just like I put my faith in you when you asked me to go on this little sojourn. “Why wouldn’t I now?”

  “Morpheus, if you would,” Niko called after he’d moved her away from his car.

  “We’re tight on time tonight.”

  Wide-eyed, Lyra watched mis
t rise from the ground to envelop the station wagon.

  “Holy cow.” She blinked several times when a gorgeous winged pale-gray horse stood where the car had been less than a moment ago.

  “Actually, holy Pegasus,” Morpheus responded. “It’s good to stretch my wings.” He shook his head. His mane slashed through the air. “Ah, to be me.” The horse danced to the left. “In all my gloriousness.”

  “You can see why Morpheus is humiliated when he is ordered to morph into the Gremlin wagon,” Niko whispered.

  His warm breath tickled her ear. Delicious chills raced the length of her spine when Niko settled his hands on her hips. “Want to go for a ride?” He reiterated his question.

  Excited by the prospect, Lyra nodded. “Are you friendly?” Cautiously walking to the Pegasus, she held out her hand.

  “Very,” Morpheus said on a nicker. He stomped his hoof on the ground. “I’m house-trained too.” He nodded. His mane glinted in the moonlight. “Come on, Thanatose. I want to run.”

  A warm chuckle came from behind her. Turning around, Lyra watched Niko throw his cloak across his shoulders. She tilted her head to the side. That’s not very impressive.

  “Yeah, come on. We don’t have all the time in the world.”

  “Some of us have less than others,” Morpheus murmured.

  A scowl marred Niko’s brow. He slid on his gloves. Lyra gasped when bones flew from nowhere to form a skeleton shadowing the man. He lifted the hood of his cloak and the skeleton stepped forward. She gazed at the empty eye sockets staring at her. Raising her finger as if to say, okay, how did you pull off that stunt? she decided against it when she recalled Niko was a god. “That’s cool.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Morpheus forewarned. “He is Death. Death is an ending and a beginning.”

  “Huh?” Her shoulders drooped. The excitement she’d felt only a moment ago dashed. This is too much to take in. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s my totem,” Niko explained. Walking to Morpheus, he grabbed a handful of his mane and leapt onto his mount’s back. His cloak swirled in the air. He glared at her. “My mantra.”