Between Mortals and Makers

by Tyranni Thomas

  The disdain that dripped through Thorne’s voice had me quivering, and it wasn’t even addressed toward me. His arms folded across his chest, and his gaze narrowed on the man who was staring over Thane’s shoulder toward him.

  “Truth is,” Alexavier spat. “She’s more Viking than you.”

  Einar’s eyes bulged, and his nostrils flared. He stepped forward and hefted his finger in the air like a witching stick toward Alexavier. A crack sounded, and Einar’s nose once again became a geyser.

  “Enough talk. Square the fuck up,” Thane demanded, returning to his guarded, leering position. He was already worked up past the point of traded insults. He wanted blood.

  The man staggered and found his feet. As he did so, Thane backed him in a wide circle that placed Einar between him and Alexavier.

  Alrik stepped forward again, and Thorne tipped his chin in question. It was a single warning. His adrenaline glossed eyes promised there wouldn’t be a second.

  “This was your idea. Remember that.” Thane laughed.

  Alexavier connected a vicious kidney shot. Einar cried out and whirled to confront the unforeseen much stockier attacker. It was exactly what Alexavier had wanted, the next blow caught Einar’s jaw and sent saliva and teeth hurling back toward Thane.

  The impact sent Einar flying after his teeth and straight into Thane’s clutches. They beat that man, all the while listing his short comings for all of those gathered. The other elders were rallied around by the time it was over. Most of which nodded their head in approval of the brutal beating. Some even spat when they heard the tales of his abandoned paternal duties.

  When everyone but Alrik had wandered off to their houses, I went to the window to check on the children. In the explosion of it all, I had forgotten all about them. It had happened so fast… yet there they were. Curled up with the peace of the protected. They hadn’t slept that fitfully since we had arrived here. I laughed, but it was more from the irony that their serenity was due to the fact that their father was too injured to hurt them.

  “Bastard,” I whispered under my breath.

  “The definition of such,” Alexavier agreed from behind me. I tucked my hair behind my ear and turned to face him. He glistened with sweat and his chest heaved in a way that brought back memories of that night with his brother. My hand instinctively fell over his heart, and I smiled before I caught myself. I jerked my hand back just as Einar’s shrill voice startled the breath from me.

  “You sleep outside with the fucking chickens. Do you hear me?”

  “Fuck you. She sleeps with me,” Alexavier scoffed. My mouth dropped, but he didn’t notice, he already had his fingers laced through mine. I followed him, unsure of what exactly had just happened. I saved the man’s children and now… I was homeless. Again.

  Thorne walked side by side with Thane, ahead of us. As we followed them into the forest, something warm trickled over my fingers. His knuckles were busted. I raised our entangled hands and tried to inspect it under the moonlight. He bent his elbow and brought the back of my hand to his lips instead. My belly flipped, and my heart did a somersault. I stared at the back of Thorne’s head and fought the urge to look toward his youngest brother.

  “It’s okay to enjoy it. He’s not a jealous man.” His fingers loosened giving me the impression that I could break the embrace at any time. I gnawed my lip while contemplating his words. All men were jealous. Domhain had proven that much to me, and he didn’t give a fuck about anyone. Guilt swam through me, twisting my thoughts around the possibility that it was a test. I glanced cautiously between them and it nearly cost me my footing.

  Alexavier’s hand quickly steadied my waist, and Thorne’s playful laughter sounded above me. I glanced up to see his extended hand in wait. I tried to fling my hand away from Alexavier’s, but Thorne caught my wrist before I had the opportunity. He looked at me like I was being juvenile, then released his grip, skimming his finger under my chin.

  “Come on, beautiful. These boys need to clean up, and then we sleep under the trees and stars. I don’t have any furs… but surely there’s enough body heat to suffice…” He glanced between his brothers and then back at me. Heat flooded my cheeks. The sensation competed with a clenching that left me gasping from mental images alone.

  They laughed and helped me to the bank where I leaned against Thorne’s chest and sighed contently. It was a mess. All of it. But right now, I was distracted and being given what was surely a sign. The Goddess only gives such rewards if one is on the right track… right?

  It was my last thought before clothes were tossed noisily to the ground and the water splashed with objection. I turned to see a pair of broad shoulders and bare asses right before they dove under the surface. I hadn’t realized I was staring until Thorne’s laughter buzzed beneath my ear. I swatted his chest and lifted my ear from it while my face flushed all the brighter.

  “If a peek is too much for you…” he trailed off, leaving the room for any denial.

  I curled my fingers where the swat had landed, bunching up his tunic and pulling him down to my height so I could kiss him on my terms. He smothered a laugh and roughly returned the kiss until it deepened into a quick tantalizing flicker of tongues.

  He lifted me in his arms and carried me toward a side of the bank that was canopied with what looked like a cliffside willow dangling above it. He lowered us until I could feel the give of the sand beneath my skirt. I wiggled out of the fur throw and spread it out beneath us. It was all there was time for. Thorne’s calloused hand was already chasing the hem of my dress up my thigh.

  Thane

  I often felt bad when I unleashed my temper on those of the community. Not tonight. That mother fucker had it coming if ever a soul did. I was only sorry he had passed out. I had paced myself and fought my instinct until I made certain he had suffered.

  I cupped the water and focused on putting it all from my mind.

  Thorne’s comments and the reaction they provoked from Zhenni was enough to have made anyone move quicker. Her breathy gasps were all it took for me to hasten my efforts. I followed the sound of her delicious cries, until I found my brother face down. Her shapely legs were spread wide and her head tossed back in pleasure. When her legs finally softened the executioner’s grip, he began to kiss his way up her belly, baring her flesh ever so slowly as he did so.

  He was oblivious to me, but Zhenni, on the other hand, stared into my eyes like it was I who made her writhe.

  “Don’t be a greedy fucker,” I managed when she tipped her head back again and cursed. Thorne laughed into the valley of her breasts and pulled her up so that I could get behind her. She reached up and grazed her nails down my thigh as I passed, leaving no question toward her consent.

  I dropped behind her and lifted her onto my lap. She straddled me while Thorne squat on his haunches before her. Her chin was claimed in his hand and he was devouring her mouth like the sweetest of delicacies. She rolled her hips, thrusting her ass at me like it was being offered in sacrifice.

  “Fuck,” I whispered. She was a slender woman, but her ass was firm with a prominent heart shape. It bubbled up into an exquisite view when she ground about in search of my cock. Once she found it, she rocked herself over it until it was covered in her juices. All I could think about was stuffing it in her.

  I bit my lip until I tasted iron and casually pushed her forward. Encouraging the arch that always left the tip of my tongue prodding my top lip until I lined things up. I hissed at the warmth that beckoned against my throbbing crown. My fingers curled into her flesh until she cried out and clutched Thorne’s thighs in anticipation.

  I wanted to drive it into her until I was sated, but I recalled the things she had shared during our time in the woods. The vulnerability she hid beneath her compassion and inexperienced curiosities. It was what sent my hand up her back. I traced the elegant curve of her spine until my fingers were laced around her shoulder.

  The pressure built until I was slowly swallowed into the c
losest thing to Valhalla that mortal men were allowed to know. A slick, satiny welcome that warred for possession of my cock. It bewitched me, I couldn’t retrieve it. Drawing breath was an act I no longer possessed the ability to control. She commanded my body and the guttural noises that spilled from between my clenched teeth.

  “Have you enough?” Thorne hoarsely asked her.

  Alexavier

  Thorne’s voice pierced through the web of ecstasy that Thane had wrapped her in. Her lust drunk golden gaze roamed over me, until she blinked her way to comprehension and released her grip on Thorne’s thigh.

  Her hands came out for me, she latched onto my hips and silently implored me with kisses and grazed teeth across my lower abdomen. I lowered down to a kneel, watching as she arched all the deeper and forcefully threw herself backwards. Thane reached around her, his thick arm snaked between her breasts and his hand spanned about her throat. He held her suspended like that while Thorne stroked the thigh closest to him and I nipped at her lips. Her legs were smooth and soft, I followed the curve of her knee until it gave way to the tenderness of her thigh. The deep lock and swerve of her hip left me breathing in time with them, while my fingers raced toward her pussy. I rubbed Zhenni’s until she was thrashing atop him. Her legs twitched, and her eyes snapped shut. She was determined to withstand all the beautiful things we were doing to her.

  It was always like this, when they weren’t used to so much at once. Thorne stole her mouth from me. I didn’t object, I wanted to watch her be worshipped until she broke. Only she didn’t. She broke free of Thorne’s kiss and pulled me closer. Her nails bit into my thighs and she shoved them apart until I scooted back a little bit. With her head bent, she lowered her face past my stomach.

  I imagined I looked much as she had, with my jaw hanging slack and my breath hitched. It was all I could do not to cry out when she set on me like I was something she had brought home from a raid. Her tongue lashed over the head of my dick, before it slowed into a firm spiral. Her hand wrapped snuggly around the base and began to move over the length. She grazed it softer than a raven’s wings while my thigh tensed under her other hand.

  Thane was behind her, his hands locked on the arch of her back while he took his time leaning into her and patiently thrusting. Thorne ran his hands up and down the underside of her. Taunting her breasts and teasing her clit until she danced atop Thane. Each impact drummed through her, washing her tongue down the length of me until I was introduced to the promise of a throat.

  I tried to encourage her, but my words came out as strangled gibberish. Thane started to fuck her like he meant it, and she lost it. Her moans were muffled around my cock. The sound vibrated against it me until my eyes were clenched and still rolling. I buried my hand in her hair and tried to pull back, but she wrapped her hand around me and greedily swallowed. Her slick cheeks massaged me until I cursed everything, including myself. She looked up at me from beneath her thick lashes, and I realized I was balancing my weight on her shoulders. I was stuck gripping and releasing them momentarily while my voice and wits left me.

  All I could do was twitch atop her tongue and stare into speckled gold windows of her soul.

  Chapter Eight

  Calm Before the Storm

  Thorne

  I slept so long, my muscles were sore. Every time I opened my eyes, the slew of tangled bodies lulled me back into the clutches of my dreams. There was no bitching, no roosters, nothing but rest and the honeysuckle scent that seemed to cling to Zhenni wherever she went.

  Sometime after any decent breakfast hour, I rubbed my eyes and took inventory of our surroundings. Near the edge of the willow tree, a tall breathtaking woman in a sheer gown stood staring lovingly down at Zhenni. Our eyes met, and she disappeared into thin air.

  I rolled away from the sleep pile and twisted my ankle in the process of trying to stand. My attention swung from one end of the forest line to the next. There was no trace of her.

  “Thorne…” Zhenni sleepily mumbled. My brothers stirred beside her. Thane nearly broke his neck when he realized how late it was.

  “The traps,” he exclaimed, throwing his boots on. He leaned down and stole a kiss from Zhenni before tearing off toward the woods. She sat and stared after him before her attention eventually returned to us. A silly smile tucked across her lips when she found me and Alexavier getting dressed.

  “Come on, we can work on getting you a proper roof over your head,” I offered.

  Her brows slid toward one another in confusion, but she slowly rolled to her hip and then her feet.

  “You were afforded a small cabin, remember?” I encouraged.

  “I ‘ve been so busy that I forgot my intention of working on the repairs,” she quietly acknowledged.

  Her wrist shot for the sky and she softly groaned as she stretched. In my morning daze she appeared dangerously close to the rocks. She had forgotten about everything, except the day-to-day survival and the constant chaos around her. It was evident she had needed every second of the indulgent rest we had stolen.

  “Zhenni, be easy,” I instinctively called.

  She turned about and gasped so hard she coughed.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, staring down at the slow winding drop. Water swirled dangerously between the large black rocks.

  “The locals call it the Kettle of Eternity. The water here, no one knows where that there leads. It is said to be a doorway to the afterlife,” Alexavier rattled.

  “I see,” she whispered without taking her eyes off it. She was struck by the natural formation. It was pretty amazing, but I could tell, to her, it was something more.

  “Come,” I suggested after a few minutes. I hurled her dress at her and started for the path.

  Her cabin was just around the lane from Einar’s. It didn’t have a loft, but still boasted the same two-room set up as most of the others. Alexavier ran home to find a broom and to help Thane smooth things over about the late breakfast.

  “I’ve never lived alone,” Zhenni mused, turning slowly about. “I don’t even know what I will do with my space, or myself, for that matter.”

  It was bare, empty, but she smiled like someone had gifted her the world. It was hers and she could sleep without worry of being thrown out or accosted. I slid my hand behind her head and pulled her toward me. She snuggled into the envelope of my arms, and we rocked against the cool morning air.

  “It will all be well,” I promised. My kiss to her forehead lingered until her fingers were sliding affectionately up my back. Logs clanked violently across the floor where Thane heaved them. Alexavier was right behind him. He kicked the logs toward the corner and swept the floor like he held a grudge against it. Her home was fortunate enough to have a wooden floor. It was slanted and far from pretty, but at least it wasn’t dirt.

  We huddled around the hearth while Thane started the fire. Within minutes, the chill was gone. It wasn’t warm, but it was tolerable enough. A pecking sounded at the door. We all turned to look at it, but no one moved to respond.

  “Zhenni…” Osanna’s tiny voice beckoned from the other side. Zhenni rushed toward the door and jerked it open with a sigh. She scooped the child up and hugged her tightly.

  “Careful,” Osanna giggled, raising her basket in the air. Inside she had stowed away a half dozen eggs and a few rolls.

  “Always a fine day when that one shows up.” I smiled “Where’s your wee brother?”

  She cocked her head toward the door and frowned. “Pappy said he has to work. His hands are raw…”

  Her lip quivered, making the last word was almost incoherent.

  “Hey… hey now,” Alexavier chirped. It was his turn to draw near and stroke the girl’s blond hair. “He is a strong boy. A little work never hurt a young man. He has raw hands… blisters?”

  She nodded and we all visibly relaxed.

  “Is he mucking?” Thane spoke up while gingerly accepting the basket. The girl had outdone herself, I thought, when he pulled out a bottl
e of wine. Nothing fancy; Zaphori’s homemade efforts, no doubt. My brother didn’t give a fuck—he swigged from it like it was the God’s own nectar.

  “No, he already did that, and he raked the front yard. When he complained his hands ached, father made him take over the wood splitting.”

  Einar was being an asshole, I summarized in my head. At least he wasn’t beating the boy. I had seen it before, men like him took their losses out on others more often than not.

  “Sit a spell, eat with us,” Zhenni insisted, plunking the girl down near the hearth.

  Eventually, Thane retrieved a pan and a few items from mother’s supplies, and as the days went by, we gathered what scraps of lumber we could, and I made a kitchen table and two benches.

  Thane had found favor in the form of a buck, and we traded the majority of it for the remaining needs of her home. It began to look like a home rather than four walls that belonged to somebody. As the week went on, she painted a few hides to place on the walls and managed to obtain a bit of wax.

  She was soaking in her tub, surrounded by berry dyed candles and blanketed in the glow of the hearth.

  “You’re going to the assembly tonight?” I sank down behind her and reached over her shoulder. Once I found her sponge, I wrung it out over her belly and spread the water over her torso. She tipped her head back and pressed the sweetest of kisses against my lips. A soft whisper of a kiss that I couldn’t help but demand more of.

  “I am,” she whispered, the feel of her breath over my still tingling lips almost made me forget the original question. I laughed and ran my hand down her shoulder before offering out something for her to dry herself with. She accepted it and stepped out of the tub without any particular rush. The water beaded and slid over her curves. She ignored it and patted her hair instead, keeping her gaze locked on my face as she did so.