Will pushed her hair out of her face, but her eyes didn’t open. “You okay, baby?”
She yanked the covers over her head. “Go away!”
Poor thing. He did ride her pretty hard most of the day. She went to get more water from the kitchen; he fucked her up against the fridge. She went to the bathroom; he nailed her on the sink. She walked down the hallway; he fucked her on the hallway floor. And none of that included what he did to her in his bed…again and again and again. He should feel bad…but he didn’t. Not when he felt so damn good. And he wasn’t remotely done with her. Not yet.
Not ever.
“Aren’t you hungry, baby?”
“This is another one of those trick questions, isn’t it?”
He grinned as he fought with her to pull the covers back. He always knew he’d enjoy tusslin’ with Neecy Lawrence. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He snatched the covers out of her hands. “Besides, what else could I mean when I say ‘So, do you like protein in your diet?’ ”
“I thought you were talking about that diet where you only eat meat.”
Laughing, he slipped his arms under her neck and legs, easily lifting her off the bed. “In a way…I was.”
He carried her into his living room where he already had the food laid out on the floor. He even had a reason to use his fireplace. The whole crackling fire thing…that was romantic, right?
He placed her on top of the flannel blanket he’d already put down.
“Chinese food.” She smiled. “Very creative.”
“Can you think of anything better for sustaining bouts of serious sex than take-‐ out Chinese?”
Stretching out, stomach down, she took the chopsticks he offered her. “Good point.”
He stretched out next to her. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything.”
“I’m not finicky about food.” She snagged a piece of barbeque pork and popped it into her mouth. “Especially when I’m actually allowed to eat.”
“Don’t give me that look. I gave you time for lunch.”
“Letting me eat soup while you lick me out, is not really conducive to getting in a full meal.”
“But it was chicken noodle. It had everything necessary to get back to sex.”
She shook her head and sipped the red wine he put out.
“I hope the wine’s okay. I’ve got soda and water if you want that instead.”
“Nope. This is fine.”
They ate in silence for a good ten minutes, and Yager really liked that she didn’t feel the need to talk while she was eating. When he ate, he just wanted to eat.
Basic conversation came before and after. Never during.
He also liked that she didn’t seem to mind sitting around his living room naked.
Yeah. He could easily see spending the rest of his life naked with Neecy.
When they’d polished off most of the food, he decided it was time to get a little information out of her. She seemed so relaxed and there was so much about her he wanted to know. For once, she didn’t seem closed off to him, and she was actually letting him be nice to her. “Can I ask you a question?”
Neecy took a bamboo shoot out of his nearly empty bowl. “How did I die, right?”
Yager shook his head. He didn’t need to ask about her death. He already knew.
It was the first question every Raven asked when they brought in a new Crow to the Gathering…“So, bro, how’d this one buy it?
“Actually, I was going to ask about your tattoos.”
“Oh.” She glanced down at the tattoos covering both of her biceps and one on her forearm. They were amazing workmanship and something about them seemed to fit Neecy perfectly. “I got these from an Okinawa Crow. She’s also a tattoo artist and came to the states to visit for a couple of weeks. Didi knew I wanted to cover up my old tats, so she asked the woman to swing by and meet with me. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be able to afford her. I mean, she’s world-‐famous.
But she did these for free.”
“Why?” Yager didn’t know much about tattoos. He went through his life avoiding needles as much as possible. His doctor cringed every time he realized he had to give him a shot for something. Still, Yager knew tattoos could be expensive based on what Mike told him. The better the artist, the more expensive the tat.
Neecy gave a small smile. “She talked to me for hours the first night she was here. When she was about to go back to her hotel, she said she’d do my cover-‐ ups. She’d be back in a couple of days.”
“Just like that?”
“I think she felt sorry for me. And she knew I wanted to get rid of the gang tats.”
“Felt sorry for you or admired you? There is a difference.” He ran his finger down one of her tats, tracing the soaring black crow within the intricate design.
“This isn’t the tat of someone I should feel sorry for. This tat is about power and strength.”
She finished off her wine and shrugged self-‐consciously. “Yeah. I guess. Maybe.”
Quickly, Neecy moved on from the topic of herself. Seemed she didn’t feel too comfortable with that.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
She blinked at that, and barreled ahead. “When did Odin come for you?”
“When I was thirteen.”
“Wow. You were young.”
“It’s the standard age for the Ravens.”
“Crows don’t have a standard age.” He knew that. Crows came whenever their deaths came. “So, how did that work?”
“What do you mean?”
“How did Odin come for you? I mean, Skuld waits until you’re on that last breath before she makes an appearance. Then she offers you fruit—although none of us figured out why yet. Anyway, I wondered how Odin handled it.”
Will took his fist and lightly tapped Neecy on her forehead. “Knock. Knock. Mrs.
Yager, we’re Raven elders and we’re here for your son.”
Neecy frowned. “Just like that?”
“Yup. Just like that, and no Odin. I met him by accident three years later. I ran over his foot with one of the Elder’s Ferraris. That’s when I learned drinking and driving…very bad.”
Neecy’s head was down, but her entire body shook from laughter.
“Oh, sure. Laugh. But let me tell ya…for a god, he was awfully asshole-‐y about the whole thing.”
Clearing her throat, Neecy continued with her questions. “And your parents didn’t freak out about any of this?”
“Not at all. I come from a very long line of Vikings. And a few from our line had been called by Odin before.”
“So they just…handed you over? To some strangers?”
“Yup. They were honored.”
“And you?”
“Me?” He shrugged. “I’m good at what I do.”
Neecy nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Me, too.”
They both stared into the fire crackling in his fireplace. Both of them started down these paths so early in life, but he couldn’t say that if anything had been different, their lives would have necessarily been better. He found himself damn grateful to Skuld. If she hadn’t taken Neecy, she wouldn’t be here now. Right where she belonged, as far as Yager was concerned.
Her soft lips brushed against his throat and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her mouth on his body. As the day wore on, Neecy became more and more affectionate and he loved every minute of it.
She kissed her way up his neck. Her arm stretched across his shoulders as she breathed into his ear, “Fuck me, Will. You feel so good inside me.”
He melted at her words, leaning down to kiss her. The woman had no idea what she did to him. How much she made him want to chain her to the bed, so that she could never leave him.
She had no idea when he unfurled his wings, but nothing felt as cool as having those wings sweep across her naked back. She pulled out of their kiss, gasping in surprise.