Dashing devil omnibus 2.., p.18
Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 18
Boyd remained strong—somehow.
“That really stung you know,” she whined.
“Alright, then,” Boyd shook his head, “I’ll let you choose your punishment. Option A, I can give you nine more tail spanks like the first. Option B, you kneel right there while I fuck Raev above you and then you take my second load in your mouth.”
“Option B,” Raev purred promptly, before leaning around him to add. “You should definitely take option B, babe”
“Well, duh,” Silvie giggled, the pout instantly transitioning to a bright grin before she popped down to her knees, “that’s not even a choice.”
Boyd casually pulled Raev around in front of him, hooking his arms under her legs while getting her into position. He angled Raev so her long fluffy tails draped down over Silvie’s back.
“Hands on my hips or legs,” he leaned around Raev to order Silvie, “and no playing with yourself.”
“No fair,” Silvie pouted.
“If you’re a good girl, you might earn a reward,” Boyd rumbled back as Raev reached between them to line him up so he could push into her. He promptly felt a set of soft lips press a tender kiss to his jewels.
“Fair enough,” she giggled against his tender sack, sending a thrill through him.
In the end, Silvie earned her reward, heaping extra attention on both Raev and him. Rewarding her eagerness, his tail had snuck around behind the woman who nuzzled where his vixen and he became one. Boyd’s spade-tipped tail changed shape, parting Silvie’s netherlips and plunging into her as he came deep within Raev.
His foxy lover sprouted a fourth tail and gained another illusion and denser Fox Fyre. Boyd worked himself back up by fucking the fiery-haired woman into a third orgasm before pulling out and pushing into Silvie’s willing mouth.
Between his tail’s ministrations and the burst of energy she received from his enhancement, she came hard as he pushed into her throat. After coming up for air, Silvie said she felt like she became tougher, though she felt a little faster and stronger, too. Physically, her hair grew a few more inches, now hanging to cover the top half of her splendid ass.
After quickly using the shower for its intended purpose, Boyd left them to their morning routines and went to rouse Tinker. He woke her with some sleepy kisses and got her on the way to the shower while he made a few more final arrangements. Though he didn’t think it would be necessary, he set up a will that would be sent out automatically twelve hours after their scheduled mission start time.
Most of his credits would go to Royce and through him to various charities. A portion, he set aside for the Baker siblings—enough to cover five years of Daisy’s current pay. He was confident he would be home in time to cancel it, should their mission be a success, but it was just one last safeguard.
That done, he joined the team for breakfast, greeting the new and most curious face at the table last. Sinoe sat well away from the group, apparently contemplating her plate and the day to come. She gave off a distinct ‘stay away’ vibe that kept even Raev at bay.
“Good morning, Miss Bailey,” Boyd rumbled with a careful smile. “Thank you for agreeing to come out here, despite how vague the letter was. I hope your room was comfortable and apologize for keeping you there without much of an explanation last night.”
“The room was very nice, thank you.” Kayla smiled back, though Boyd was certain he saw countless questions in her blue eyes. “The letter said that you intended to return a favor and promised a second exclusive in addition to fulfilling the first exclusive that we never got to do… so of course I came.”
Her smile turned into a slight frown. “But the situation is a bit… unusual. I was also told that I’m not allowed to ask questions, not yet at least. Something about a media blackout, likely related to some things that are being said about you that the official releases claim are false or are taken out of context.”
Boyd chuckled at her ability to ask several questions without asking any. Once again, he was happy with his choice. Any reporter could do what he needed them to do today, but a good one would ensure maximal impact.
“Yes,” Boyd admitted, “I’m on a blackout related to what is being said about me in the media… which I have figured out is being said primarily by Archangel—who I don’t doubt is attempting to disparage my character.”
Silvie muttered something under her breath about certain people being too smart for their own good. There must have been a few more choice thoughts that accompanied the grumpy murmurs, because Mindy suddenly pressed a tablecloth to her mouth as milk poured from her nose as she snorted, giggled, and coughed all at the same time.
“Which, to my understanding, will be addressed in part by my team later today,” he gestured to Mindy and Silvie, who was apologizing profusely and patting the taller woman on the back.
“As far as the second exclusive, how would you feel about documenting and providing live commentary of The Devoted slaying the Last Dragon shortly after Archangel’s failed attempt?”
Delight sparked to life inside Kayla’s question-filled eyes, that big and easy smile of hers stretching her lips, “I assume you have it on good authority that it isn’t weakening like Archangel insists, and that he will fail?”
“I do,” Boyd confirmed. “Because it was me and my Black Flame that hurt her the first time. The same Black Flame that let me kill Omega Ray.”
“Oh,” Kayla’s grin grew even wider, “then I would be very interested… very interested, indeed.”
“Good,” Boyd nodded with a smile, “we’ll be running drills after breakfast. Tinker will show you how to use the equipment she’s set up for the broadcast, and you can take some time to figure it out. My understanding is that live commentary is a little easier if you know what’s going to happen and when.”
When Kayla looked to a still sleepy Tinker, who sat in her chair with both hands wrapped around a mug of coffee half the size of her head, she frowned.
Boyd could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. “Did I mention the hundreds of video drones you’ll have access to? I imagine you’ll be able to get some good angles, all from the safety of the same ship you flew in on.”
“I am so glad I had that water bottle,” Kayla beamed and clapped her hands together, “and to think I almost drank it before making that last report on Silver’s predicament.”
Boyd chuckled and turned back to the group, “Alright everyone, don’t overeat, and let’s get to those drills. We’ve got time for three more runs.” He paused as his team groaned, then smiled and said, “but we can take a break if we do it right the first two times.”
Chapter 19
Boyd sat in his absurdly comfortable command chair on the Osprey, circling the engagement zone, cloaked by the ship’s advanced stealth features. The optical camouflage was nearly perfect, but they were keeping their distance to account for that ‘nearly.’ Raev even overlaid their ship’s form with an illusion of blue sky.
Their excuse for being here was flimsy at best, and Boyd didn’t want to risk blatantly having to disregard orders if he could avoid it. It was best they not reveal their presence or intent until it was too late for anyone to order his ‘irreplaceable’ ass to leave. They could hardly order him away if he was in the middle of combat and kicking dragon ass.
Silvie and Mindy were in the back doing a pre-engagement interview with Kayla that Boyd had begged out of. He’d get plenty of press after slaying the great beast. Sinoe was all the way at the aft, as far away as she could physically get from Boyd’s command chair. Laura was on one of the couches behind him, while Raev and Tinker were at their respective stations.
Boyd had the display which was attached to the wonderful chair that Tinker had designed for him up before him showing a tactical map of the planned engagement zone. Everything looked like it was within their planning parameters—the Last Dragon was approaching from the correct direction, and the area they aimed to drop it into was cleared of collateral and easily identifiable.
The mission was a go.
“The Last Dragon has entered Eden’s Protectors planned engagement zone,” Tinker reported from her chair. Her anxiety was evident in both her voice and across their now fully cemented Bond. “Hope and Archangel are moving into position,” she reported, glancing up at Boyd.
He minimized the tactical display to the lower left corner of his screen and pulled up a feed of Hope flying to confront the ancient and powerful dragon captured by the local News5 network—apparently on her own. She looked glorious in her gold-accented snug white suit that covered her from throat to ankle and wrist. Her white feathered wingspan was just a few feet less than Boyd’s, spanning roughly twenty-six feet as they beat the air and propelled her forward into the sky. Her golden hair caught the early morning sun, glistening as it streamed behind her.
A figure wearing white spandex and large pieces of gold armor—including a ridiculously large codpiece—appeared in a flash of golden light slightly ahead of Hopewing. Six glowing golden wings extended from his back. Unlike Hope’s or Boyd’s flying appendages, Archangel’s wings were an expression of his Power. They were energy constructs that looked like a bird’s wings, if the bird had swords instead of feathers. He could use them to achieve B-Ranked flight, though he stuck primarily to repetitive uses of his short-range teleportation to travel.
He wore a large intricately patterned golden breastplate, wide and swooping pauldrons, bracers, that large codpiece, and golden boots. Each looked like an artistic piece instead of armor, appearing to be made of woven, fully textured golden feathers that caught the light. They threw it back in specks and sparkles, along with his shoulder-length blonde hair.
Boyd could tell that his and Hopewing’s suits were made to resemble one another’s outfits. Hope’s suit looked understated and simple, emphasizing her natural beauty, while Archangel’s was ostentatious and overblown.
Besides, all that texture was a terrible design feature for armor.
Mindy’s voice suddenly appeared in Boyd’s head, “Hmmmm… such a large codpiece. Do you think he’s compensating for something?”
As Hope passed him by, Archangel gave her a winning smile and waved her forward in the classic ‘ladies first’ gesture that might even have been considered gallant—that is, if he wasn’t waving her towards certain death. Once she was past him, and he was done giving the camera drone a wave and a big, charming smile, he vanished in a flash of golden light before appearing ahead of Hope once more.
This time he used his wings, which didn’t flap, to glide forward at his max speed, though this was obviously much slower than Hope’s wing-based propulsion. Hope passed him twice more, with him teleporting ahead of her each time she did. Eventually, Hope stopped and spread her wings to hover.
She didn’t have to beat the air to hover, she just spread her feathers and physics themselves bent to support the angelic woman. Boyd stared at her perfect form for a moment before he flipped back to the tactical map and confirmed her position to be almost exactly where he’d predicted Eden’s Protectors would make their attempt against the Last Dragon.
“We’re a go for plan A,” Boyd rumbled into his comms, making sure to keep the edge that threatened to enter his voice out of it.
He was certain of his plan; he knew it would work. They had multiple contingencies if things did not go as intended. Every stage of the plan had multiple safeties and backups in place—and that was just in plan A. There were risks, of course, but they’d prepared as best they could to mitigate them.
“Move to ready positions,” Boyd ordered.
“Yes, Captain,” Mindy’s voice replied. “Good luck, my little shit,” she sent telepathically.
Silvie was likely answering one of Kayla’s questions. He checked in on each of his Bonds and found a lot of nervous anticipation. Nobody was afraid, though—thanks largely to the steady trickle of his surety and love he constantly sent down their bonds to each of them. That combined with the many dozens of times they had covered and recovered his various plans had instilled enough confidence to keep fear at bay.
Archangel flashed up beside Hopewing, his six golden blade-wings spread out to hover much the same way Hope did. He smiled and gave Hope a thumbs up, who maintained a professional smile that Boyd recognized from their training. Calm and serene, it was the equivalent of Mindy’s cold mask.
“Ooooh… she must really detest him. I think that has to be the tiniest, most insincere excuse of a smile I have ever seen plastered on Hopewing’s face,” Mindy snickered in Boyd’s mind. “That’s even more of a mask than I always wore.”
The man waved the drone forward. It looked like he was going to make an ‘inspiring’ speech. The drone that was capturing the video moved towards the pair, so Boyd switched the tactical display down into the corner, pulled the video up, and activated the audio.
“Citizens of New Eden, fear not!” Archangel pronounced as the drone zeroed in on him, making sure everyone could see his deep blue eyes and perfectly aligned teeth as he smiled. “For I am Archangel, your guardian and protector! Today, I stand before this ancient terror, this mighty beast…” He paused for dramatic effect, and it was all Boyd could do not to roll his eyes. “The Last Dragon!”
News5 helpfully added footage of the approaching dragon in a box that hovered over Archangel’s shoulder.
“Dear me,” Mindy chortled, “please tell me someone wrote out these dreadful staged lines for that buffoon. He can’t possibly be that egotistical, can he? All he needs is a pretend sword to wave around…”
Archangel held out a fist on the opposite side and another golden flash resolved into a golden energy sword with a burning core.
“Called it…” Mindy sent in a sing-song mental tone.
Archangel continued with confidence, oblivious to Mind Witch’s peanut gallery commentary in Boyd’s head. “I carry the hopes of this city with me, and the strength of justice in my arm. The Last Dragon may be Powerful, but I was sent to defend New Eden!”
He held his sword aloft. “And I do so with unwavering conviction. This city, our home, shall not fall to darkness—not while I draw breath.”
He turned to face the side, ostensibly towards the approaching dragon, still brandishing his sword. “Last Dragon, your reign of terror ends here! The light of justice shall pierce your darkness, and our righteousness shall cast you aside!”
He shifted his stance, letting the wind catch his feathered hair as he adopted an artful ready stance. “New Eden will prevail. This I promise—for I am Archangel, New Eden’s shield and its sword!”
Mindy made a gagging sound telepathically. From the giggle Boyd heard from Tinker and the snort that came from Raev’s chair, he knew Mindy was probably cracking wise to all of them. Boyd knew she was doing it to get everyone to relax—Mind Witch, better than anyone, knew what the team needed to stay loose.
Boyd could almost hear the gathered masses of New Eden, those too foolish to flee because of the false confidence this overblown buffoon had given them, chanting Archangel’s name. He’d learned long ago not to underestimate stupidity.
“How could a hero such as that inspire anyone?” Mindy quipped. “Can’t he hear himself? I bet he practices those kinds of lines in front of the mirror.”
Boyd was careful not to think anything about that comment. If Mindy knew how many hours he’d spent practicing his safe-for-civilians voice in front of the mirror, she’d never let it go.
“Citizens, stand strong and have faith! Today, we rise above fear, for the spirit of New Eden is indomitable!” Boyd snorted as Archangel disappeared with a flash of golden light to reveal Hope where she hovered behind him—a rare, disapproving frown curling her full, perfect lips.
News5’s feed quickly split into three frames. One frame showed the two-hundred-foot-long Last Dragon, the sun glistening off its silver-blue scales. The last segment of the dragon’s right wing was only partially extended, the bone that supported it still visibly broken with two additional holes torn into it. The injured wing beat the air three times for every two on the other side.
Boyd was now confident that the beast had no notable healing factor. Its injuries appeared to be just as bad as when he’d inflicted them going on five days ago. If anything, that made him more cautious—it was hurt just enough to make the beast more dangerous than ever before.
Boyd snorted to himself; Archangel thought it was a sign of weakness.
Which was why the second of the three frames switched between drone footage that showed him appearing and disappearing in flashes of golden light while moving towards the Last Dragon. It was also why the third frame showed a gathering of people on the streets of New Eden, cheering and waving signs with Archangel’s name or likeness and messages of hope and support.
They should be screaming and running in terror, as Boyd was sure they soon would.
“What a bunch of morons,” Boyd heard Raev mutter from her station. Flying a holding pattern didn’t really take much of her attention, so one of her displays had the same footage pulled up.
“It isn’t their fault,” Boyd rumbled, “not really. It’s Archangel’s fault for telling them he was sure he could defeat the Last Dragon and encouraging them to remain in their homes instead of evacuating. He successfully sold them the illusion of competence. He is both charismatic and dangerously overconfident—a terrible combination.”
“You’re one to talk,” Laura half sighed, half griped from behind him softly enough that he couldn’t be certain if he was meant to hear it or not.
She had never really come around to support his plan, despite insisting that he bring her with them on the mission. He decided to hold off on replying—at least until there wouldn’t be time for a distracting argument.
Boyd pulled up the tactical map on his FDU and pressed the button to return the chair’s screen to its lowered position. He stood and moved to his ready position just in front of his chair. When it came time to deploy, things would happen fast. Their window would be tight, but everyone was prepared. He watched Archangel make his final approach on the screen Raev still had the news footage playing on.
