Decimation, p.21
Decimation, page 21
Dahlia took us back to their apartment, where Frey was waiting with long kisses for her and Fen, and a hug for me. “I’m glad you’re safe,” He said.
It was a simple sentiment, but the genuine worry underneath, the relief he felt at seeing all of us, warmed me. “Thank you.” I was home. With my family.
Except—
“Where’s Bragi?” I looked around the room.
Dahlia shrugged. “I thought he was with us.”
There was a knock on the door, and Frey frowned and went to answer.
I could already feel who was there, and it made me smile.
Frey let Bragi in, who handed me a large cup of pebble ice, a bag of sliced apples, and a jar of olives. “I took a detour.”
“How did you know?” I wasn’t impressed because he brought me things I mentioned in passing. It was because he got the right kind of each. The tart, green apples I loved, and the brand of olives I was in the mood for.
His shrug made it look like it was no big deal, but he was smug. “I know you.”
There was an overall mood of exhaustion in the room, and the way everyone was dragging meant it didn’t take empathy to know that. We agreed Dahlia and Fen could tell Frey what happened, and we’d debrief tomorrow.
Because it could wait. Vidar was gone. Fucking gone. So were the other gods and threats that had chased us since we left TOM.
We didn’t have anyone to hide from or hunt. “We’re free.” I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
Dahlia’s grin was bright. Tired, but shiny. “You’re right.”
Holy shit. It felt like there was so much more to say, but what else could encompass that realization so well?
“Go home.” Dahlia pointed me toward the door. “Cuddle. Sleep. I’ll bring you coffee in the morning.”
Bragi glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was morning. Nearly seven.
“In the afternoon,” he said.
“Deal.” Dahlia pushed us into the hallway.
I let us into my place, and without any words, all three of us collapsed on the couch. The bedroom was too far away.
I leaned into Nico, and he wrapped an arm around me. He wasn’t letting me go anytime soon.
Bragi fed me—all of us—apple slices and olives.
This was simple. Basic even. The kind of life I used to think didn’t exist. True, this was only a snapshot, and it would be reckless to think it would be an ongoing reality, but for tonight…
Reality sank in as exhaustion chased away the last of the adrenaline. I wanted to laugh and cry and scream and cheer all at the same time.
“Are you all right?” Bragi studied me.
Because he could feel me again. He was whole again.
“He’s gone.” I couldn’t make myself say Vidar’s name. “I can’ believe he’s fucking gone. If this was a movie, he’d come out of the wall or some shit, and we’d have to kill him again and again.”
Nico kissed the top of my head. “He’s not Michael Meyers. You saw the proof with your own eyes—he’s gone.”
I pulled away from Nico enough to twist and shoot him a look of disbelief. “How the fuck do you know Halloween but not Star Wars?”
He pulled me into him again. “I guess I never had the right person to explain the importance of sand orphans to me before.”
“I guess not.” I accepted another olive from Bragi. “You’re lucky I got to you, you know. Otherwise you could’ve gone another thousand years without knowing who Luke Skywalker is.”
“I am lucky you got to me.” Affection spilled from Nico. “While that may be one reason, it’s nowhere near the top one. You’re staying, Bragi.”
That wasn’t a question. It almost felt like a command.
Bragi gave a single nod. “Yes. With both of you. Always.”
“Does that mean the two of you had a kiss and make up conversation?” The one I wanted so badly to hear, before Vidar took me. The one I’d forgotten about until now.
“We had the conversation,” Bragi said. “As for the rest, we’re closer than we have been in a long time.”
“I was wrong.” Nico spoke softly.
Bragi leaned in and turned one ear toward us. “What? I don’t think I heard that.”
“Don’t be a dick,” I said playfully.
Nico didn’t mind. He was enjoying this. “I was wrong when I said I wasn’t sure I could forgive you. I do, and I want you here.”
Bragi let out a melodramatic sigh. “And all I had to do was be willing to sacrifice myself for the world.”
“No,” Nico said. “It certainly sped up the process, though.”
The love flowed between them as much as it did into me. There was some hesitation on both of their parts, about how they fit together after all this time and all the hurt. They both wanted to be together, though.
And I wanted to stop analyzing every single fucking feeling for the night.
I tried to fight my yawn, but it tore open my jaw regardless.
Bragi gathered the food and stood. “I’ll put this away.”
Nico scooped me into his arms and stood in a single, smooth gesture.
I liked that, and I rested my head against his chest as he carried me into the bedroom.
Bragi undressed me. This wasn’t sexual. It was all sweetness and nurturing. Then he and Nico stripped their clothes off as well.
As we climbed into bed, they wrapped themselves around me. Their strength and grips told me they were never letting me go.
Good.
Growing up, Hel and Vidar and the other gods worked hard to reinforce that the other students were the closest thing we’d ever have to a family. The point of the lesson was always this is who you put your trust in, because you have no choice.
I wasn’t there anymore. It no longer existed.
The place we were in now, this apartment, had never quite felt like mine. It wasn’t my room or my apartment, but rather a place I stayed that was safe and near family.
But laying between the men I loved, in this sanctuary that Frey and Fen built, that Dahlia and Frey kept safe… Anywhere that I could have that and them, was home.
Bragi had set the bracelet from Tatiana on my dresser, along with the ring made of Dahlia’s claw. They rested next to a stuffed teddy bear and a stuffed mouse, both gifts from Dahlia because I saw them and thought of you. A crystal still hung around my neck, a gift from Nico originally, and then from Bragi.
Regardless of what life held for us, the people I loved were here for me. My family. Kirby. My Valkyrie sisters.
A wealth of support like most people would never know.
Bragi kissed my shoulder, and there was an unspoken whisper of comfort and agreement that passed between us.
Nico pressed his forehead to mine. “Get some sleep. You’re safe now.”
“I know. And I love you.” I needed to say it, not out of frustration or indecision, but so he could hear how much I meant it.
“I love you too,” Nico said. “For eternity.”
I leaned into Bragi. “That goes for you, too. I love you,” I said.
I felt his playful smirk, despite not being able to see him. “I know.”
This was the most incredible thing ever, and I was never letting it go.
TWENTY-FIVE
NICO
It was odd to wake up without a cloud hanging over us. To think that Vidar—
I wasn’t going to give him my thoughts any longer. He didn’t deserve that mental energy from me.
Instead, I was focused on how incredible it felt to have Magnus in my arms, and Bragi so close. I liked both of those realities quite a bit.
“You feel too hard,” Magnus mumbled, her voice drowsy.
The comment made me smile.
She squirmed, her entire body rubbing against me, and her ass grinding into my cock.
“Correction.” She didn’t sound nearly so sleepy now. “You feel the perfect amount of hard.”
“Creation, I missed you,” Bragi said.
And I had missed him. “You need to be careful,” I warned Magnus. “If you keep this up, you’ll start something.”
“Hmm…” Her voice was seductive and tempting. “What if I want to start something.”
“Then let me help.” I moved quickly, flipping her on the bed so her back was to me.
She squealed, and I pulled her into me.
This wouldn’t be sex born of frustration or needing to escape. This wasn’t about grieving. Today we celebrated joy and love.
Bragi captured Magnus’s hands, and pressed his body closer to hers, sandwiching her between him and me. None of us wore much, and I felt every bit of heat… every movement she made as she writhed between us and giggled.
Bragi captured her mouth in a noisy kiss, swallowing her laughter, while I slid my palms up her stomach. I glided my lips along her shoulder, to nip and tease.
Magnus relaxed against me with a sigh that bordered on a purr.
It was one of the sexiest sounds I’d ever heard.
I bent one leg at the knee to drape it over her legs, trapping her even more effectively between Bragi and me.
“Oh no, I’m trapped.” Magnus’s whimper was laced with laugher. “Whatever will I do?”
“You might have to enjoy yourself.” Bragi managed to make the words sound like both threat and promise.
She let out a light huff. “I mean, that’s not really my thing, but if you’re going to make me have fun…”
“We are.” I was looking forward to turning her on in so many ways. Today. Tomorrow. Again and again.
I glided my hands higher up her torso, to cup her breasts and knead. I trailed my fingers over her nipples with the lightest touch, to tantalize and tempt.
Magnus struggled against me, but her movements felt less like trying to get away, and more like trying to get me hard. Each moan and gasp that escaped her throat added to the sensations.
I increased the pressure I was applying, to roll her nipples between my fingers, and to pinch and tug. That earned me a louder gasp. A sharper groan. A barely-there whisper of more.
I was happy to oblige. I drew out the pleasure with one hand, but moved the other lower, needing to feel both of my loves.
I brushed Bragi’s erection through his trousers, and he jerked against my touch. I cupped my hand to stroke his cock at the same pace I teased Magnus.
The sounds they made filled the room and my thoughts. Nothing mattered but pleasure. Theirs. Mine.
Magnus pressed her ass into my cock. Bragi adjusted his grip on her wrists, so that he could restrain her with one hand.
I expected him to stop me, but he moved his hand between Magnus’s legs. While I couldn’t see what he was doing, the jerk of fabric and her body, the sharp intake of breath she made, told me he’d moved aside her clothing to tease her pussy.
Now she was rocking. Back and forth. Riding Bragi’s fingers while she pressed her breasts into my hands. The sounds she made were those of rising desire.
I could lose myself in those noises. In her heat. In the feeling of her body against mine.
Her groans grew shorter and more punctuated. Stuttered. Delicious.
When she came, she cried out and bucked between me and Bragi.
Fucking. Incredible.
Bragi released her and pulled away to suck his fingers clean of her juices.
I needed to taste her, and him. I sat up and leaned across Magnus, to glide my tongue up Bragi’s fingers. Licking her flavor from him. Kissing him. Melting into him.
It had been so long since I could do this with Bragi. Since I could even think about it. “Fuck, I missed this,” I muttered against his kiss.
“Me too. More than you can imagine.”
“I doubt that.” The touch, the taste, the connection made my heart ache in the best way, and made my cock even harder.
I suspected I could cut glass with the tip.
Magnus rolled onto her back. “I’m just going to lay here and enjoy the show. You two keep going.”
“No you’re not.” Bragi had his attention on her again.
She pouted. “I can’t watch?”
“You can’t just lay there,” Bragi said. “We’re not done with you.”
Magnus let out an exaggerated huff. “I guess if I have to keep getting fucked…”
“You do.” I rolled to straddle her, and placed my hands on either side of her head. The way she stared up at me with wide eyes lit my soul on fire. I knelt between her legs, and nudged her opening with the head of my cock.
I needed to feel her. I plunged inside, and my groan sang with hers.
I hammered into her, hard and fast. She was so tight. So slick. So incredible.
She rolled her head to the side to look at Bragi, and reached for him as well.
“Tell me what you want,” he prompted.
“Your cock. My mouth.” Even now, she didn’t hold back.
Another thing I adored about her.
Bragi knelt next to Magnus’s head, fisting his shaft, and pressing the head to her lips. She flicked out her tongue, licking and sucking him, while I fucked her with abandon.
I loved the sight. All of it.
And when Magnus came again, squeezing me tight, I loved the sensation.
Bragi’s grunts, familiar and enticing after all this time, told me he was close to climax too. He covered Magnus’s face and chest with his orgasm, and she flicked out her tongue, licking him clean.
The entire show, the sounds, the sensations, it all pushed me over the edge. I spilled into her, continuing to hammer until I was spent.
We all collapsed on each other, catching our breath.
I was reluctant to get up, but I eventually extracted myself from the pile, to get washcloths. Our clothes came off, and we cleaned up, before falling back into bed with each other, in a contented pile of bliss.
“We should get up.” Magnus didn’t sound like she meant it or wanted anything to do with the idea.
Bragi pinned her to the mattress with one arm over her stomach. “A woman in your condition needs lots of rest.”
“Her condition?” I asked. “Savior of the world?”
Magnus laughed and shook her head. “No. Definitely no. And a woman in my condition—uncaffeinated and hungry—needs food and coffee. And then after that, probably more sex and sleep.”
It was incredible to have them both here, like this. So many walls had fallen away. What lay between Bragi and me wouldn’t vanish because of a single conversation—that didn’t erase a century of hurt—but the pure selflessness of what he did yesterday against Vidar, that went a long time toward proving who he was.
The act made me want to keep growing and being better too.
Magnus’s phone chimed, and she made a weak effort to climb from under Bragi’s arm, instead falling into the bed again with a laughing oof.
“What if it’s important?” she asked.
“Then they can wait.” I wasn’t ready for more important.
She pouted, and I leaned in to nip at her bottom lip. “What if it’s about coffee?” she asked.
I assumed that was a joke. “Why would someone text you about coffee?”
Bragi grabbed her phone and handed it to her. “Haven’t you been paying attention?”
“Knock knock,” Magnus read from the screen. She untangled herself from us with zero effort. “Love you both, but not like I love coffee.” She hopped to her feet and got halfway to the door, her bare ass providing a stunning view, before pausing.
“Shirt.” I grabbed mine and tossed it to her.
She slipped it on, and did up a few buttons. “Love you more.” She blew me a kiss, and walked out of the room.
I put on some trousers. The only thing Bragi had here were the slacks he’d worn to the club, so I tossed him a pair of gray sweats.
He didn’t look impressed, but he pulled them on.
We headed into the living room to find Magnus closing her apartment door, and bringing a drink carrier with three coffees, and a paper bag, into her kitchen.
“Magic food. I’m impressed,” Bragi said.
Magnus wrinkled her nose and set everything on the bar top. “Psychic sister. Told you that text was important.” She handed us each a drink, and opened the bag to reveal an assortment of pastries.
I moved around her to get plates and utensils. “You do realize that pastries aren’t actual breakfast.” I was going to have to get groceries. Do some refining in the kitchen space. Get set up to cook.
“I do realize you should take that back.” Magnus grabbed a plate from me, set a cherry Danish on it, and cut the sweet into three pieces, before taking one for herself.
I looked at Bragi with an unspoken plea to back me up.
He shrugged and took a drink of his coffee. “Nope. If you want to play house, you deal with the consequences.”
I didn’t mind. In fact, I enjoyed being a part of this. Watching Magnus move around easily with a smile on her face and my shirt hanging halfway down her thighs. Seeing Bragi slotted into this picture as if he’d always been missing, and now he was here.
Tasting fresh, black coffee that Dahlia dropped off because she probably knew we wouldn’t be prepared to face the world yet.
This was incredible.
“I hate to bring up reality…” Bragi trailed off when Magnus looked at him with raised brows. “But if I’m staying here—”
“Which you are. You promised,” Magnus said.
He nodded. “I did and I am. I need my suitcase. Some clothes.”
“You look good in that.” Magnus dragged her gaze over him.
“I do. I’m not wearing it for eternity, though.”
The longer I stayed here, the more I realized where I’d lived before had barely been more than a way point. A place to shelter and not much more. Still, most of my things were there. “I wouldn’t mind stopping by my house either.”
Magnus stuffed the rest of her pastry portion in her mouth and washed it down with coffee. “Field trip.”
“Indeed.” That sounded lovely to me.
We finished eating, and took our time together in the shower. At least some of that was figuring how to fit three people into the small space. The answer? Creatively.
We went to Bragi’s hotel first, so he could dress and check out.
