by Viola Grace
“Do you have anything new for the cut scenes coming in updates?”
“Yes, my partner and I filmed a waltz last week that is in the first stages of the overlay. Would anyone like to see it?”
Serene winced, but the waltz scene started, and she stepped on his foot and then again and again and again. Everyone was wincing at each step.
The music soared, and he spun her out, and the music transformed into a tango. The tango was definitely a better choice. The tango was what they had practiced.
A light set of applause broke out, and someone, grinning, took the mic. “How do we know that the dance in the capture suits wasn’t the digital image?”
The Boss looked over to her, and she was frantically shaking her head. “Does anyone have a tango queued up on their phone?”
Hands shot up around the room. He nodded and looked to the moderator. “Do we have time?”
The moderator snorted. “There is always time for a tango if you can really do it.”
The grouping for the next panel gave thumbs up.
Serene covered her eyes, got up, and walked around the table to the stage in front of it.
The music started, and she started to pace toward him, and he matched her. She narrowed her eyes. “You so owe me for this.”
He nodded as they moved in closer. “I know.”
“I will make you pay.” They pivoted and changed directions.
“I also know that.” They came together, and she slid her leg back before snapping tightly against her.
She smiled and muttered, “Jackass.”
He laughed. “I know that, too.”
He was still laughing, and she sighed. “What?”
“Hot mic.”
Her cheeks flared, the room erupted into laughter, and they danced. They twisted, turned, and slid across each other until the music came to a slow, dwindling halt, with her an inch from the floor, doing a sideways plank that was only possible because he was holding her up.
The models were staring, and the Boss hugged her tight. She kissed him quickly and stroked his cheek. She and the Boss took a bow, and then, the sound crew came and removed the mic packs.
He was laughing silently. “You should have seen your face.”
“Yeah. Well, at least I am wearing a good dress for it.”
His arm caressed her hip. “You’re sweaty.”
She snorted. “And Marc isn’t even here to comment on my technique.”
“Marc can keep his comments to himself, or I will feed him his teeth.”
She laughed. “Do we have anything else?”
“No, this was the last one for the day. We are clear to leave.” His tone was anticipatory.
She grinned. “I suppose that we can call it a night.” She yawned. “Wow, that really took it out of me.”
“I think you are entitled to a nap. I might join you.”
They handed in their media passes at the security desk and walked to his car. They were photographed by a few folks who had seen a behind-the-scenes clip that had been loaded onto the company site.
A woman in costume stopped in front of them and looked at the Boss with her blood rushing in her veins. She paused, and her chest was heaving. “Come on, Boss. Stay for a bit. We can have some fun. She can even watch, I don’t mind.”
There was more as she tried to entice the Boss, but Serene reached out using Miyuki’s talent and cooled the woman’s fascination.
Halfway through her offer to blow him in the parking lot, the woman paused, shook her head, and walked off.
He muttered, “Do I want to know what you did?”
“Just cooled her off. She is off to find the next nerdy and muscular millionaire.”
“Uh, there aren’t that many of us.”
Serene met his gaze. “Then, she will have quite the search on her hands. I didn’t hurt her and didn’t even say anything to her. I think I was quite restrained... considering.”
He lifted her hand to his lips. “Thank you for your consideration. Shall we head home?”
“It is a wise idea. I am getting an urge to stake out my territory.”
He opened her door and helped her ease herself in. “Stake. Out.”
She smiled. “I will let you go before dinner. Pinky promise.” She held out her hand, and he locked his finger with hers. He leaned in to kiss her before he lifted his head and closed her door. He moved around the car, and she buckled up.
Once they were on the highway, he wove his fingers, with hers, and the sweet gesture confirmed that she had been with the avatar the whole time. Victor belonged to Serene, body and soul. She had an immediate use for part of that.
They made it to the mountains, and the discreet drive that led to his—now their—home. He had been a man of his word. He had split his assets, and she now had her dream. Not only did she have a tiny rental home to rent out—now that the furniture had been replaced—but she had a two thousand square foot studio on a separate title that she could do as she willed with. She had a future with this man and everyone he had inside him. He was the one who had spotted her through her online presence, and when he followed his hunch, the others had been convinced. Time had proved him right, and now, she was going to congratulate him on his scholarship and wisdom.
When he helped her out of the car, she looked around and smiled. “Now, where should I stake you out?”
He was hopeful, “In the bed, where everything is already set up?”
She grinned. “Yeah, I won’t ruin the granite.”
He exhaled in relief, and they went inside. They calmly walked to the bedroom and removed their clothing. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against his back, slowly trailing her hands over his chest, ribs, and belly.
She glanced at the chains and smiled, turning him and whispering, “Hang onto the headboard. No chains, just you and me.”
He shuddered and looked at her. “This isn’t going to hold.”
She grinned. “I don’t want it to, Victor.”
He shrugged, and he moved to the center of the bed, turning on his back and deliberately reached up to hold onto the carved points of the headboard.
She grinned and knelt next to him, pressing soft kisses to his neck and chest. His erection was jerking each time her lips touched him. It took her fifteen minutes of teasing before she crawled on top of him and pressing her lips to his. She whispered, “Victor.”
His eyes glowed, and he smiled. “Thank you, Serene.”
She felt the small shiver of power that went through her as he whispered her name as she slid down to take him inside her. He held onto the headboard with his muscles gaining tension as she rocked and slid over him, her eyes narrowed and focused on the delightful glide inside her.
He lasted longer than she anticipated. When he released his grip on the headboard, his hands transferred, and he rolled her to her back. He pinned her hands over her head, and his hips flexed and shoved him as far in as he could go.
She smiled and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him tight while he rocked into her until they both groaned and shook. Steam came off them both, and he kissed her softly. Her legs relaxed and unclenched from around his butt.
“Sorry, I suppose I will just have to try holding out again.” He shrugged and rolled until she was draped over him.
“What about dinner?”
He grinned. “I have a plan for that. Something that I have always wanted to try.” He whispered a description in her ear.
“Fine. But I am going to need a shower. There is no way I am going to be a living table covered with sweat.” She tried to sit up, but he pulled her back down.
He sighed, “Perhaps another time. Today, I want to just spend all night with you.”
“Why?”
He stroked her hair. “You claimed me in public. That is going to spread.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The whisper of our names will
get attention to people like you. They will pay attention and gravitate to us.”
“Is that your end game? Bringing the gods back?”
He snorted. “No. There have been moments in history where we could have taken control. We simply want to be whole. We were made to match, and we are incomplete without the goddesses. We feel it, they don’t, so it is up to us to make you welcome.”
He slid a hand down her back. “I am very, very glad that he found you for us.”
“I am very happy about that as well. By the way, I am hiring Neil’s match next week.” She smiled smugly.
He paused. “You have found her?”
“Yeah.” She wrinkled her nose. “We happen to need a new office manager now that I am camping in your office. She might be a better game tester, though.”
“We are just waiting for the walls to come in.”
She flexed her fingers in his hands. “Have you ordered them yet?”
His eyes sparkled, “No. I like sharing a desk with you.”
“Then get two chairs. Working from your lap is awkward and distracting.” She grinned.
“I like it. I am very motivated to get my work done.”
She snorted. “Yeah, your motivation is very obvious from my vantage point.”
“Well, you are utterly enchanting, and as long as I don’t act on every thought I have, I am very happy with my progress.”
She giggled and kissed him. “You have done well, now feed me.”
“Yes, dearest one. I have waited too long to have you fade away now.” He sat up and carried her to the shower. They were squeaky clean and shaking when they finally left.
She was sitting next to the fire, and her hair was drying. Miyuki was directly in the computer and levelling up. A second computer was open, and Koji was working on his own game avatar. It was fun to watch them trying to find a middle ground.
Victor was sitting next to her, and he murmured, “It is a good thing that they are getting along, right?”
She nodded. “It is. Rage cannot stand in the face of hope. We are going to end up taking a trip to Japan to go in search of their descendants at some stage, but we will wait until they reach a better place. They are on the way there.”
“Did you ever expect this out of life?” He gestured to himself as well as the building around them.
“I can honestly say, no. Definitely not. In all of my thoughts in my life, hosting defunct deities and angry yokai was never in my life plan. I thought I would get a house, a car that started the first time and maybe start dating. I seem to have done things in the wrong order and ended up with quite a bit more than planned.” She chuckled.
He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it then ate a chunk of her pizza. “Are you happy?”
She nodded. “I never thought about what happy would feel like, but this seems to fit the bill. How about you?”
“I do know what happy feels like, and it is whenever you smile at me. It makes it easier to breathe.” He kissed her softly.
“That is so sweet, but the last piece of pizza is mine.”
“Is it?” He raised his brows in a challenge.
She put power into her hands and pressed his chest, flattening him to the carpet and holding him in place. She straddled him and leaned close to him and whispered, “When the delivery boy stares down the opening of your robe, trying to see your boobs, you get the last of the pizza. This is a tax system.”
She leaned over and said boobs were pressed into his face. He took advantage of the part in her robe, and she finished the pizza before cuddling with him in front of the fire. It was a really nice end to a Friday night.
Eventually, she would let him know that she had found six goddesses, but she didn’t know who they were yet. She knew Neil’s match, and so that is where she would start.
She grinned and cuddled against the Boss. Yeah, this was what happy felt like.
Author’s Note
So, fun premise, started as an idea after too many video-based movies, too much isekai, and way too much fascination with cosplay.
The gods involved here are not named, but they are Nabu and Tashmetu/Nanaya. He is the god of writing, agriculture, education, and critical thinking, and she began as the goddess of supplication but then turned into the goddess of voluptuousness, sex, and warfare. They are Mesopotamian and Akkadian in origin.
The yokai were easy, and fire and ice are a classic clash. They have a lot of rage.
Smashing it all together in what I hope was an entertaining universe was a lot of fun. If you want to see what happens to Neil and what he is... let me know on FB.
Thanks for reading
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
