by Dante Steel
The steam from it died away. The red tinge to the darkness above was gone. If anything, the sky here was gray versus black, a little lighter.
A slight explosion sounded from within the volcano, but nothing happened except some of the sand coughed out of the volcano before falling back inside.
Either the volcano had tried to erupt and hadn’t been able to because of the literal ton of sand on top of it, or the Fire God had died. Or maybe both.
Grinning, Gary took one step away from the volcano and collapsed. The energy from the lost ocean waters? Yeah, that was gone. He was so tired that all he could do was sleep.
Chapter Ten
When Gary woke, he wasn’t sure what to do at first. He was so disoriented that he thought he might be ready to sleep again. Sleep forever. That seemed like a solid plan.
But no. He couldn’t. There might be more terrible creatures out there besides the vampires. I mean, sirens and fire gods? What’s next?
He almost didn’t want to know.
Gary headed in the direction where he thought he might find the wizard since he didn’t know what else to do. How long had he been in the game already? He wanted to sleep, but did that mean it was night, or that he was overworked? The sky always looked the same, but he did think it was maybe a little lighter than before. Was that what passed for day here?
Gradually, his surroundings became familiar to him. He bypassed many of the dead creatures he had killed along the way, so he must be going in the right direction. Eventually, he climbed a tall hill and glanced around to ensure he was still on the right track. Yes, this was near where he had first arrived in this Vampire War.
For some reason, this sparked him, and he rushed to that exact spot, hoping to find some sign that another gamer had traveled through… or another person.
But he saw nothing. No footprints in the sand. Nothing at all. Granted, there was a slight breeze, and his own footprints weren’t the easiest to see, but still. Gary’s shoulders slumped in defeat. It was fun to defeat these quests by himself, but it would be even more fun with someone, and he was so worried about all of them, especially Elena. Smaug was vindictive. He would come after them again if given the chance. He wasn’t the kind to forgive and forget. The guy has to be a Virgo. Gary shuddered. One girl he had known from school before he dropped out had been obsessed with the zodiac and stereotypically judged everyone. She thought she was better than everyone until another girl who had supposedly been her best friend had pointed out the flaws of her own sign—Virgo. That she was the kind to hold grudges for her entire life, for her to not be able to forgive or forget, to not handle being burned well, and so many other things.
Gary didn’t worry about signs, but he had to admit, that Virgo did seem like Smaug. Not like that knowledge would help him against the guy. Not like I plan on going up against him again anyhow.
Just then, the faint sound of crying came to him. It sounded like it was coming from the left, and Gary slowly approached, wary, mindful of his surroundings. He spied a large rock, and just over it was some hair. A person.
An NPC? An enemy? Or someone else?
He walked over, ready to create a wall of sand to act as shield, when he realized who the crier was.
Elena.
Gary dropped to his knees and held out his arms. Elena was crying so hard that she didn’t even see him there. To see the strong woman so broken bothered Gary so much. He stood and walked over to her and carefully draped an arm across her shoulders.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, hoping he wouldn’t startle her.
She didn’t even lift her head. Her knees were bent, her arms wrapped around them. Her head rested against her knees as she cried.
“Elena? Talk to me. Please. I hate to see you like this.”
“I don’t… want to talk,” she managed.
“Then we won’t.”
He just sat there, holding her as she cried for quite some time. He didn’t care that his arm fell asleep or that his back ached. It was nothing compared to the obvious heartache she was experiencing. He hoped he hadn’t been the cause of her devastation and wouldn’t ever forgive himself if he were.
Gradually, her sobs became sniffles, and she wiped away her tears somewhat. He wiped away more and cradled her face, but he didn’t say a word, waiting until she was ready.
“I… I don’t want to talk,” she said.
“Then don’t.”
“But I might… I’ll have to eventually.” She stiffened. “I fucking hate this.”
He hadn’t heard her curse before, and it seemed a little out of place. Then again, he could picture her cussing out chauvinistic pigs so maybe it wasn’t so wrong for her after all.
“I’m in the game, right? Haru didn’t give me much time. He said it was now or never, that everything was perfectly aligned, and I didn’t understand the science behind it. He had called me up over the phone and asked for us to meet. He had explained who he was and that he had a question for me. I thought it was a survey, but he said he had a car waiting for me outside to take me over to him if I was ready.”
“Because that’s not creepy at all,” Gary muttered.
Elena chuckled and then winced, her eyes filling with tears once more. She angrily blinked them away. It took her a moment to be able to speak again.
“I told him that and even hung up on him. He called back immediately, and I cursed him out, and he said it was about you. So I went.”
“Wow.”
“Don’t get a fat head,” she snapped.
“I think my head is just the right size,” he said.
“Of course you do.” She didn’t smile.
He felt terrible. No more jokes, no more teasing. This was something bad, clearly.
“So I went over, and he explained you were in the game and got me to believe it. That was when he didn’t give me much time at all to decide if I were to go into the game, too. I guess he might’ve asked someone else if I said no. I don’t know. But I said yes, and he wouldn’t let me call my family or anything. I had a bag put over my head, and I was brought into a room. I was laid down, strapped down to a table. At least I think I was, and then, I was given a shot, and I don’t know what happened next.”
“Other than waking up in the game.”
“Other than waking up in the game,” she agreed, nodding. “I was on that table, getting a shot, and then I was standing in your room, watching you sleep.”
Gary did his best not to think about what had happened next, how she had climbed into bed with him, waking him up even though he thought it a dream, and them making love for the first time of many.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t say goodbye to your family,” he murmured.
She began to cry again, not quite as hard as before. It took her a few times before she could speak. “I saw Olivia after I… I explained to her about being in the game.”
Before or after he had spoken with Olivia? He guessed it didn’t matter when.
“I asked her to get in touch with my family, to cover for me, to tell them that I was staying with her or something like that. I didn’t want them to worry. I… I’ve never done anything so impulsive like this before in my life. Well, as long as you don’t consider the time that I decked a guy for trying to lift my skirt. Turned out, he was a cop’s brother, and he tried to get me put in jail.” She tilted her head to the side. “Come to think of it, I don’t wear a lot of skirts now…”
“I don’t blame you. Men are pigs.”
She didn’t even smile.
“Sorry,” he said. “I keep making jokes.”
“You’re fine. It’s fine… It’s so not fine.”
“Did Olivia talk to your family?”
“She did. I wasn’t about to come here to Vampire War until after Olivia got back to me since I don’t know if she can cross over or not. It’s possible that gamers can’t and only humans can.”
Gary’s chest grew tight. Damn it. He hadn’t thought of that. Only Smaug would be a
ble to get through, then, not Olivia, not Nicoletta if she were to ever put on the headset and gloves and re-enter the game.
“I sure hope the portal is shut then if that’s the case,” Gary said.
“Me too.” Elena didn’t say anything else.
“How did your family take the news?” Gary asked.
“She never… She learned… Gary… My mom died. It was sudden, a heart attack, and, Gary, I can’t. I mean, I just can’t.”
“Shh,” he said, hugging her to him. “You don’t have to say anything.”
For a while, she didn’t. He just held her, being there for her. There was a lot he could say. He could talk about how his parents had died, how he had been an orphan, how he had struggled to get by all of his life. But he didn’t want to make her feel as if her pain wasn’t important. He didn’t just want to give her a story. He didn’t think she wanted to hear anything right now.
And, besides, he already knew how she had felt about her mom, which was why this was hitting her so hard. Not because she and her mom had been super close. The opposite in fact. Elena’s champion had been her father, who had died a long time ago. If Gary remembered correctly, he’d died from a heart attack, too. It was a good thing Elena was fit and in shape. She had some terrible genes when it came to her ticker.
“I just… my mom… I loved her. Despite us not getting along the best, I loved her. I can’t tell you the last time I told her that. I don’t… What kind of a daughter does that make me?”
“You’re human,” he said.
“You don’t understand,” she said.
“I lost my parents when I was young. It was terrible. There’s nothing like outliving your parents.”
“You adored your parents, though.”
Had he told her about them before? He couldn’t remember. Maybe she could tell just based on his tone. Yes, Gary had been close with his parents. Losing them had been devastating.
“It doesn’t matter if you were close with her or not. It’s going to affect you. I’m sorry. I hate that you can’t be with your family right now.”
“They need me, and where am I? It’s not… If I had just said no, if I had stayed out of the game… I would be there. I could help with the funeral. I could say goodbye to my mom. I could move on past all of that. I… my uncle has always been a blabbermouth, and he told Olivia about the will and how much money I was to get, and, Gary, it would’ve been enough. I could’ve started my bakery. I could be setting up my future to start living my dream.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, knowing his words weren’t enough, would never be enough. “Losing a parent is impossible.”
“It really is. It’s not the money. It’s not about the bakery. It’s just… My mom’s dead, Gar. She’s dead, and I wasn’t the daughter I should’ve been. We talked maybe twice a year, and that was because she would call me. I stopped reaching out once I moved out. She tried. What if she had changed? What if she would’ve been the mother I needed but I was too stubborn to give her a chance?”
“You can’t worry about that. Worry about what you do know.”
“I know I was a failure of a daughter.”
“You were not.”
“How can you say that?” she exploded.
“Because I know you, and I know you won’t accept being a failure at anything. Why do you think you regained power in your hand again? You’re so strong, Elena. You’re stronger than you know. Yes, it hurts now, and it will always hurt. My parents, they’re still with me. Your dad is. So is your mom.”
Elena just shook her head and began to cry again. He didn’t have the words for her. He didn’t have a magic word to take away her pain. He couldn’t do anything for her.
That wasn’t exactly true.
Gary had to stop her from crying. He pulled her closer to him, and she folded onto his lap, leaning her head against his chest. He looked down to make sure she was settled, and she pulled back slightly to kiss him. It started out soft, almost a whisper of a kiss, but then she was kissing him hard, with passion, and fire, and zeal, and she was struggling to get her clothes off and to undress him and Gary wasn’t sure they should, but it didn’t matter because she was already riding him, and he wasn’t about to deny her whatever she needed. He knew and understood. Losing someone affected you, even if you weren’t close with that person. She wouldn’t be the same after this, not because of them forging a bond by making love again, but because of the loss of her mom. It wasn’t a terrible change. Life was a series of ups and down, and right now, he was trying to help her navigate one of those many downs.
He couldn’t handle it anymore. She was riding him so hard that he was going to come, and before he could warn her, he exploded.
Fuck. He didn’t have a condom, and the amount he had come was impressive. He could tell.
But she wasn’t done, still riding him, forcing him to remain hard with how tight she was, how wet she was, and he just let her continue, and somehow, someway, when her walls collapsed around her as she orgasmed, he came a second time too.
She collapsed against him, holding him, his cock still inside her, and he rubbed her back. Gradually, he glanced up, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Someone was there, watching them. An enemy? Someone else? He thought he saw dark hair, but he couldn’t be sure, and since no one approached, he just focused on the broken woman in his arms, wanting to make her feel as put together as she could be right now.
Chapter Eleven
It didn’t take long at all for Elena to pull back and begin to kiss him in earnest again. Gary was willing to help her as much as she needed, and he grabbed her hips, guiding her, thrusting against her, allowing her to take in as much of him as she needed and wanted.
Just then, Elena stopped. She just paused.
Gary had closed his eyes to take in the sensations of her wet tightness. Now, he opened his eyes to see hands on Elena’s boobs.
His hands were still on her waist.
Whose hands were they?
Olivia’s. She was squeezing Elena’s boobs, teasing the nipples.
“Get the hell off of me,” Elena cried, shoving Olivia away.
Olivia backed away. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I just saw you two, and…”
Elena burst into tears. She buried her face into Gary’s neck, and he looked helplessly up at Olivia. He didn’t know what to do. Olivia just jumping in like that might’ve done so much to damage what he wanted, what Olivia wanted, but right now, it had to be about Elena. Watching was one thing. Had Olivia overheard their conversation at all? Did she know about Elena not being in a good place right now? He hoped and figured Olivia hadn’t overheard because that wasn’t Olivia. She wouldn’t do something like that when she knew someone was hurting.
Olivia nodded. Her gaze dropped to where Elena was still connected to Gary, and she nodded again, giving him permission to continue to make love to another woman. Not that he needed her permission, but then again, hadn’t he said he wasn’t going to make love to one of them until they all were on the same page? Maybe Olivia thought he had kept his word.
God damn it. He was trying to make things better, and he was making things a hundred times worse.
“Is she gone?” Elena murmured, her words muffled against his neck.
By then, Olivia had melted into the darkness. Had she left the game or merely walked away? He couldn’t tell.
“She’s gone,” he whispered. “I—”
“Don’t talk,” she begged, and she pushed her tongue into his mouth, as she began to ride him again.
It took Gary a long time to be able to come. Because he already had so many times? The interruption was most likely the culprit, but Elena kept on riding him, even though she had given him a huge grin when he had orgasmed. Clearly, she had felt it, but that wasn’t enough for her. She was being so damn greedy, but he loved it, and coming again wasn’t as hard as that first time.
Thankfully, she fell asleep then, and he dozed off, too. He was exhausted.
All Gary worried about was Elena. He wanted to help her as much as he could. Anything and everything she wanted, she would get. Which meant that for now, he had to lie there since she was sleeping against him. When she woke, she immediately began to ride him again. If she wanted to use him to make herself feel better, he wasn’t going to stop her. Anything to help.
Eventually, she fell back asleep without saying a word to him outside of screaming his name when she came. As much as they brought a smile to his face, he wanted to frown. He was torn and so very upset.
Elena never should have come here.
Haru never should have asked her to even consider coming.
He hadn’t seen the developer since he had come here. That had to change.
Gary slipped Elena off him. His cock was sore, his balls ached, and not because he wanted to come. He was exhausted, and all he had to do was let her ride him. He hadn’t even been the one to do any of the work. That had all been Elena. Fucking incredible. You never could tell how a girl would be in bed just by looking at her. Elena was a fierce tigress.
But right now, she needed more than just him. She needed her family.
Gary slipped into his clothes and then walked a little bit away from Elena. He wanted to keep an eye on her, but he didn’t want to risk her waking up and finding him gone either.
“Haru?” Gary called softly. “Come on, man. We need to talk. I know you’re watching. Or at least listening. Haru?”
Footsteps sounded, the sand shifting beneath shoes, and Gary turned to see Haru approach. Hmm. Interesting. Gary was almost positive that Haru always walked over to him rather than appearing right in front of him. Couldn’t the developer enter this avatar anywhere he wanted? Then again, Gary wasn’t a gamer. He certainly wasn’t an expert.
“Why the hell aren’t we out of the game yet?” Gary demanded, talking quietly but with plenty of anger.
