The plan formed unbidden in her mind, and she would pursue it after he fell asleep so he wouldn’t know. This way she could solve everyone’s problems with one single stroke. Scarlet didn’t mind taking the bitch’s life for what she had done to Hades alone.
Luckily the hellhounds escorted her directly to Hel only a short time ago so she should be able to get to her easily if the boatman was available. She wondered if he followed a time schedule like the local bus route. The image of the dead sitting at a bus stop on the edge of the River Styxx came to mind, and she snorted in laughter.
“What is it?” he asked infected with her smile.
“I was thinking about the dead waiting for the boatman on the edge of the River Styxx like they would at a bus stop waiting for the bus.” Saying it aloud was even better and soon she was dissolved into laughter, tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. Tyr stared at her, but she couldn’t help it. The imagery was funny. Maybe he didn’t think so because he’d never waited for the bus or worried about the sanitization of the bars to hold onto while riding.
“I guess it must be like that,” he said. “But I don’t understand why it is so hilarious.”
She finally sat up wiping away the tears. “You’ve never ridden a bus before so you have no idea why it’s so hilarious.”
“Well, you will have to take me.”
“On a bus?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you want to ride a bus?”
“Because you seem so affected by it.”
“No, it was terrible. If I could catch a communicable disease, I don’t think I would have ever dared.” She shook her head and took his hand to kiss the back of it. “Just forget it. How about you order us dinner and then we can play a game?”
A light entered his eyes. Scarlet knew how much he loved games. And this one he was bound to enjoy as it had long been one of their mutual favorites.
“Done,” he said before planting a small kiss on her cheek. He left to order dinner, and her smile fell away as she thought about what she needed to do.
Chapter Sixteen
TYR PRACTICALLY BOUNCED AS he watched her finish her dinner. If she wanted to play the game she was thinking of, then the night was young.
“Will you stop looking at me like that?” Scarlet grumbled before putting the last bit of food in her mouth. He whisked the plate away and came back to pull her into his arms. She laughed at his fervor, but he wasn’t going to relent. He reached down and cupped her ass to lift her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist so he could support her other side with his arm.
There were many things Scarlet doubted in the world. The cleanliness of public restrooms, the reliability of politicians, and especially the actual heath characteristics of so called health foods. But that she would come back to Tyr wasn’t one of her doubts. As he tightened his grip on her ass, she dragged her mind from the task ahead and fixed it on the sensation of his lips on hers and the hard muscles of his shoulders bunching under her hands.
“So tell me, love, what game did you want to play tonight?” he whispered in her hair before trailing his lips down her throat ending in a small bite.
Her insides were already liquid, but when his mouth touched the sensitive skin of her neck, she went molten. She barely held the capacity to begin the game let alone do her work later.
“You have to let me down.” He released her with one last kiss. Scarlet went to the mini bar and grabbed some bottles and shot glasses. “Now get naked.”
He laughed but did as he bid and stripped bare. Her mouth watered and her heartbeat sped up looking at him. He had a confidence that said he didn’t have a care in the world. There wasn’t a single day she hadn’t see him naked when they were together in Asgard. He was completely unabashed in his nudity, and she loved that about him. When he’d learned the effect this had on her, he made sure to torture her at every available opportunity.
She stared at him too long and the next thing she knew he had her in the air and then on the bed with him naked between her still clothed legs. In true deity fashion he took what he wanted, when he wanted it, and she needed to stop letting him distract her. “Stop.”
Tyr dropped his head onto her collarbone sending a jolt through her as the nerves collided. He reluctantly rolled off her and onto his back next to her, his erection jutting straight up in the air.
Scarlet sat up, grabbed a bottle, and poured a shot tossing it back before she lost her resolve. Something she happened to have plenty of on a regular basis, but tonight seemed to be lacking. She poured another shot and handed it to him. He sat up to take it while she poured a couple more shots and set them on the bedside table. After she did, Scarlet quickly undressed.
“That is more like it,” he said moving to get up.
“No, stay.”
Grumbling, he sat down as she climbed up beside him and lay down.
“Go get the shots.”
She directed him to hand them to her one at time. First she placed one between her knees, the second at the plushest part of her thighs, and placed the final one right at the base of her sex. He watched with one eyebrow raised but said nothing.
“Now do the shots.” She instructed him.
When he reached out to grab the first one she clucked at him. “No, no hands.”
“I don’t even get a handicap?”
Scarlet laughed against her will. “No, and I’ll kick you for that later.”
He sat down next to her hip and stared at the shots. Tyr maneuvered so he straddled her shins and then scooted so his butt jutted in the air as he put his face by her knees. He made the first shot look easy as he gripped it with his teeth, pulled it out, and then tossed it back in one gulp. Afterwards he tossed the glass onto a nearby chair and stared at the second shot. It was pushed further down so the top of the glass was level with her flesh. He dove in for that one and eventually was able to grip it with his teeth. His beard brushed her thigh, and she tried to keep from laughing at the tickling sensation. The third shot would be the most difficult.
“Don’t spill,” she said with mock innocence.
He bit her thigh hard enough to make her cry out before pushing his face to her center. Every nerve ending in that area tightened, and she took deep breaths to keep from running her fingers into his hair and having him forget about the shot. Finally he sucked it out from between her legs and tossed it back.
“My turn.” He growled tossing the shot glass away. She swallowed as he pushed her up onto the pillows and used the space at the end of the bed to lay down so his face was directly at her core. He had been in this position before, and every single time he made sure she finished twice before he moved on.
She swallowed and reached out to grip the comforter as he slid his hot tongue between her legs dragging across every sensitive place. He knew her desires well enough to know exactly how to torture and tease her into a puddle of submission.
When he reached up, cupped the side of her hip, and dug his nails into the area above her hip bone, she spread her legs allowing him better access. The tiny edge of pain he provided allowed her something to cling to as he licked her repeatedly drawing out all kinds of sounds she hadn’t even realized she was capable of creating. As she crested her first peak, she ground her hips up into his face. Before she slipped over, he pulled back breaking all physical contact with her. He loved to torture her that way. The one moment she needed everything, he ripped it away and pulling her back away from her climax.
“Please.” She begged.
“My dear, I don’t plan to get you off with my lips tonight. This night, I’ll use my cock to make you come, and then I’ll do it again and again until I’m satisfied that you’re satisfied.”
His confession left her speechless. He climbed up so his face was level with hers and then positioned his hips, clutched himself, and then shoved himself inside her with one hard thrust. As his width stretched her, she cried out. Already so close to orgasm, she could barely hold on.
“Come for me, but know it will not be the last time.” He pulled out and then surged forward again. It broke her. She shattered gripping his shoulders and dragging her nails across his flesh. Her orgasm triggered something in him or maybe it was the marking of his flesh, but he didn’t remain quiet or gentle. He reared away and slammed into her over and over until she clutched him with her legs and hands and arms to keep from being shaken senseless. As soon as she came down from the first orgasm, she rode the wave up onto another. When he pressed his teeth into the top of her shoulder, she tumbled over again with great gasps.
To her surprise he followed slamming into her a few more times before groaning against her neck. She was sticky with sweat and liquor and his saliva, but she’d never felt better as he collapsed his weight onto her and lay his head between her breasts. Scarlet pulled his hair away from his temple and patted it gently enjoying the way the strands slid through her fingers. Scarlet wanted to fall asleep like that, curled up in his arms, but she didn’t dare. If she slept, she couldn’t guarantee she would be able to wake up and leave him.
After a few moments, his soft snore made her smile. She shifted his body off of her and placed a pillow under his head before climbing out of the bed and going to the bathroom. She dressed quickly and efficiently.
Scarlet had never undertaken a mission like this. Yes, she’d fought in battles against other immortals doing stupid things, but this was different. She had to be covert, and above all else no one could discover her intent, at least not until it was over. She grabbed the pen/sword and exited the room quietly. A sense of relief enveloped her when he didn’t rush out of the room to follow her.
As she exited the hotel, Scarlet went to the nearest alleyway and called a door into the Underworld. To her surprise, no hellhounds greeted her. Maybe they wanted to wait and see what the outcome would be.
The trip the Underworld seemed easier than she expected. After she found the correct alleyway the hellhound used earlier and slid through to the other side, it didn’t take any time to find the boatman. She could feel Charon’s cold glare as he ferried her across. She wondered if the living were harder to ferry than the actual dead.
Once she was safely across the river, she followed the path into the palace. Scarlet had no way of telling whether it was night or day. She entered the palace slowly watching for any sign of hellhound or deity. She wasn’t a god, but she wasn’t mortal either. Being the embodiment of War had its advantages. Scarlet was sure if it came to a fight then she would win, but she had no way of knowing what sort of things Hel could access. Monsters, demons, random breakfast foods...no idea what the woman would throw at her.
The plan had seemed like a good one sitting safely back at the bar. Doubts crept into her mind. If Tyr woke up and found her gone, would he assume she ran away again? And what if her friends couldn’t find her? What if she died in the Underworld and not a single person knew it? Scarlet wasn’t entirely sure she could die. She’d taken a spear to the belly once and recovered from that.
The halls of the Underworld were as quiet as the dead. She laughed at her own cleverness in an attempt to push away the doubt. Finally she heard sound coming from a room and peered through the partially open door to find Hel putting lotion on her legs.
Scarlet hadn’t thought this far ahead. What if she got in? What if she got this far? Should she wait until Hel fell asleep and kill her then? Or should she face her in hand-to-hand combat? She cursed herself for allowing Tyr to distract her enough that even her half-baked plan was half-baked.
She watched Hel finish her bedtime routine and climb into a large, ornate bed carved from Onyx. Hel snuggled under the covers, and Scarlet actually felt a little sorry for the woman. Until Tyr came to her mind and she remembered how the woman had sicced one of her henchmen on her husband. The guilt and pity evaporated, and she focused her mind to the task. Once Hel fell asleep, she would take her life and slip back home with no one the wiser.
Chapter Seventeen
TYR WOKE WITH A jolt and glanced around at the silent room. Something was wrong. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it because of the deep throbbing in his brain. The liquor had been stronger than he’d thought. Four shots in less than ten minutes had been a bad idea, even for a god.
“Scarlet,” he called reaching out to the empty bed. Cold. He got up but squinted so any invading light wouldn’t spear through his brain. The bathroom was empty as were all the rooms. He swallowed the ache building in his chest as he remembered a very similar situation.
Instead of succumbing to the rage beginning to boil in his belly, he picked up the phone and called her cell. Straight to voicemail. He dialed Cloris. She answered with a groggy hello.
“Cloris, is Scarlet with you?” He measured each word carefully, trying to remain calm when every nerve in his body screamed against the calm.
“No, she’s not. Why, what’s up?”
He took deep breaths in an attempt to remain calm. “She is not here.” Hopefully those words were enough to get his point across.
“We’ll be right over.”
Tyr sat down on the bed and tried Scarlet’s cell phone again. Then he remembered the pen. He teetered through the room looking for Scarlet’s sword but found nothing. She also hadn’t taken any clothes or belongings.
He sat down on the floor trying to figure out what was happening. If she ran away from him again, why didn’t she take clothing? She took her sword and her phone, but why not her other belongings? He didn’t know how long he sat there until the bell interrupted him. He dove for the door and tore it open. Cloris, Kat, Bianca, and Hades all stood on the other side.
“Honey, put some clothes on,” Cloris said as Bianca spun around to stare at the opposite wall.
They trooped in the open door as he went in search of pants. He dressed sloppy and quick, not even sure if the clothes were clean or dirty. Black t-shirt and blue jeans seem a fine pairing on the last night of your life.
“Have you heard anything else? Tried her cell phone”?” Kat asked glancing around the disassembled room.
“No, and yes, I tried it a few times,” he said. “What’s the plan?”
“She wouldn’t leave you,” Bianca said. The woman saw too much of him, and it made him very uncomfortable. Since he’d first met her it was like she’d stripped his soul to its core and found it wanting. And yet they had a clairvoyant in their midst and weren’t using her. “Seer, can’t you divine where she is or something?”
“No, it doesn’t work like that,” Bianca replied.
“I don’t know what to think. All I know is this is the same feeling I had before. The same empty, itching ache for her I had the last time she left. I see you all here and know she would leave me for you guys, but I cannot picture her leaving all of us.”
“I know you’re scared,” Cloris said running her hand up his bare arm. “We’ll find her. She wouldn’t leave like this, not for any reason.”
Tyr took a deep breath. “The hellhound.”
“What about him?”
“Maybe he took her? Maybe he lured her out somehow? They spoke earlier at the bar for about twenty minutes. She didn’t want me there, and when she got back she didn’t go into much detail about what they’d talked about or what the plan was.”
“We would smell it in the room. Cloris and Hades have a nose for that particular scent,” Kat said.
“I can check something,” Cloris said before disappearing.
Tyr stumbled back from the space where she used to be and looked at the others.
“She usually doesn’t just disappear like that,” Hades said by way of an apology.
A few moments later Cloris returned. “She’s in the Underworld.”
“What?” Tyr said. “That fucking hellhound must have said something to her or told her something. That is the only reason she would go there, alone for that matter.” “Well,” Tyr said as he grabbed his jacket off the nearby couch. “Let’s go.”
“Hold up, cowboy.” Bianca
snatched the back of his coat and held him back.
He could have ripped out of her grip easily, but he turned back and glared at her. “My wife could be hurt, in trouble, even dying, and you want me to wait?”
Bianca shook her head. “First off, drama queen, she isn’t dying because we can’t die until after the end of the world. Secondly, cool it because we’re going to help you.”
Something eased in Tyr as her words sunk in. “What can we do?”
“We can work together,” Hades added.
Tyr wasn’t sold on this plan. “You can’t go down there. You know damn well that crazy bitch wants you most of all.”
Hades shrugged. “My friend needs me. Besides I still have some pull down there. Or, well, I think I do.”
Cloris headed out the door, and they all followed. “I have a quicker way, if you don’t mind,” she said reaching her arm out. They all placed a hand on her arms, hands, and shoulders. Tyr held his breath. One minute he’d been staring at the hotel door and the next he was staring at the black palace of the Underworld.
Hades let out an unintelligible sound but reached out took Cloris’ hand. It was the first time he’d seen them show any sort of sympathy toward one another. It was strange, like seeing your parents kiss...not that his had done in a millennia or so.
“Let’s go,” Cloris said as they paraded up the broad stone steps into the palace. The empty halls surprised them as the palace normally crawled with hellhounds.
“Where is everyone?” Tyr asked. They entered the throne room and found Scarlet unconscious on the floor with a lone hellhound sitting over her. He was in dog form holding her wrist in his mouth.
The sight sent Tyr into a fury. There was no way he would allow her to suffer the same fate he would. He would rather die. “Back away from her, beast, or I’ll rip your head from your body and use your entrails for a scarf.”
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