“Like my pants are in your way, and you’re considering sliding them off my hips with your teeth.”
The smile I gave him would have sent any other man running, back in the day, but he only purred as he let the threat stoke some inner fire until his eyes shone with desire.
Potential daemon heritage or not, I could tell Asa and I were turning a corner.
Fast.
Sharp.
Hard.
Sweat drenched my spine as I held his gaze, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to run to or away from him.
The sensible thing would be for me to stop feeding him, if I wanted time and room to think this through.
But since when was I a sensible person where Asa was concerned?
A streak of white light zipped up and over my head, landing in the loft. “Thank Baldr, my stuff is safe.”
Clay ducked his head in, letting me know I was on Colby duty. “Who’s Baldr?”
“Not sure,” I muttered, “but I bet he hates orcs.”
Knowing Colby, Baldr was a deity in her game. To be on the safe side, I would Google it later.
The name rang a distant bell, and the last thing I needed was to discover he was a real god, that her prayers were going somewhere. Most of the gods in this world had given up on us and left, but their selective hearing kicked in when someone praised them. Given she was a bright soul given form, I didn’t want her to risk catching celestial interest.
Sheesh.
This auntie gig was exhausting.
“Off to snag those pics.” He saluted me. “You starting cleanup?”
“Yeah.” That was more moth appropriate than ogling Asa. “I’ll start with the worm.”
“I’ll drag the bodies down.” Asa’s lips pulled to one side. “I tried to be careful with the heads.”
For thoroughness’s sake, I would catalog the parts before dusting them in case Clay missed any.
“Stay put,” I called up to Colby. “You don’t want to get worm ash in your eyes.”
“Gross.”
A few seconds later, I heard the familiar sounds of battle and knew she wasn’t budging for a while.
Nothing like a real-life battle to get your heart pumping for virtual slaughter, I guess.
On silent feet, Asa slipped away and began dragging bodies down to me while I vaporized the worm.
One by one, I snapped a picture of each zombie then reduced it to ash until gray dust lapped my ankles.
With Colby nearby, I drew as needed from her to finish the job, but it left me groggy and weak.
“That’s all of them.” Asa slid his arm around my waist, holding me upright. “Go shower and get in bed.”
“This is like sleeping inside a charcoal grill that’s never been cleaned.” I shook my head. “I can’t do it.”
“Your room is untouched.” He nudged me toward the hall. “You can rest there.”