Macha's Journey

She knew Tyr would probably offer to settle the fee, but it did not feel right. She could not accept his help if she did not work for the money in some way.

Many members pa.s.sed her while she made her way up to the top floor. Since she screened most of the people in the guild, they all recognized her and greeted her cheerfully. It was difficult to talk with them as if nothing was bothering her, but she tried to be as polite as possible.

When she finally reached the top floor, she looked down the long hallway and stared at their imposing front doors. A pair of wyverns carved out of ebony wood flew in the air, decorating the doors; they were dancing with one another in a courtship dance. Beside the door, "Tyr Valois and Macha Swat" was written on a golden nameplate. Macha sighed and hung her head as she made her way down to the large double doors.

As soon as Tyr got back to headquarters, he went to the mess hall to pick up two portions for dinner. His stomach begged him for food and he doubted Macha would want to cook this late. Despite his hunger, ever since they got together, he hated eating alone.

Now, the covered trays sat on the table and the warm lights reflected off of the silver domes.

He relaxed on the sofa, flipping through a stack of doc.u.ments. His long legs rested on the coffee table and his black shirt had wrinkles in it from being untucked and unb.u.t.toned.

The front door opened and Macha walked through the doorway. It appeared as if they had already treated her, so he breathed a silent sigh of relief. That last punch looked as if Magni had put a lot of force into it. He worried she would come home looking as if a minotaur hit her.

Tossing the papers to the side, he stood up, wanting to have a bit of fun with her.

"Where"ve you been? I"m hungry. I waited for you," he said innocently. He motioned to the food to show that he still did not eat.

She gave him an uneasy smile.

"I went to check on Gabin, remember? Things didn"t go as smoothly as I hoped."

He took a seat at the table. "Oh? How so?"

She dug in the pantry and produced a large brown box from the back.

"Do you want some chocolate? I feel like some," she asked as she lifted the lid. In her mind, she repeated, "You know you want it," as if it were a mantra as she picked a dark truffle out from the box. It shone between her fingers as its smooth surface reflected the soft lights.

"We haven"t had dinner yet," he replied frankly. In his mind, he thought, "Feeling guilty about something, aren"t you?"

She bit her lower lip.

He raised his shoulders and shrugged. "Besides, you said I should only have one a day, remember?"

His refusal caused her heart to beat faster. She snapped the lid shut and ate half of her truffle. She rounded the kitchen island and made her way to Tyr.

"That"s true, but sometimes it"s okay to do something out of the ordinary right?"

She sat on his lap and lifted the other half of the treat up for him to eat.

Tyr obediently opened his mouth to have the chocolate. He looked at the ceiling with a contemplative expression while he chewed.

"This is true, but one should not go looking for danger. Especially if it would lead to... fighting..." his voice trailed off.

Her eyes narrowed and stared at him.

In an accusatory cry, she asked, "Do you know where I"ve been?"

He raised a dark brown eyebrow and his green eyes twinkled.

"Do you know where I"ve been? I waited quite a long time for you."

She slapped his chest. "Tyr! Why didn"t you just tell me you knew that I went to the Mercenary Guild"s coliseum?"

Now she felt betrayed that he let her go on the way she had.

Having Macha sitting on his lap and wiggling about began to arouse him.

He gathered her up and laid her down onto the sofa.

"I wanted it to be part of your punishment for not telling me as soon as I asked."

The look in his eyes changed suddenly. Now his voice sounded huskier. Since he did not seem to be in a bad mood about her fighting, she gave a seductive smile. Her fingers trailed along his collarbone.

"What will the other part of my punishment be?"

Tyr trailed his hand along her inner thigh before undoing the laces on her breeches.

"Making you wait for dinner."

She grabbed his collar and pulled him closer; their breaths mingled as she ran her tongue over his lower lip. The warmth of his body covered her, and she slipped her tongue inside his mouth.

Reaching under her top, he pulled it over her head, keeping her arms trapped inside the sleeves. He used the orange fabric to pin her down, pressing her hands against the cushions. His other hand pulled the lacey fabric of her bra to the side and his tongue traced the areola surrounding her aroused peaks.

He brought her nipple between his teeth and bit it softly, sucking it as he moved to take his pants off.

****

The first time she came, he let her do so while beneath him. For the second and third time, he made her work for it, since this was part of her punishment.

Macha was straddled on top of him, her breathing coming out heavy. They had both had a light sheen of sweat covering them, and they sat there, embracing one another.

After a while, he tilted her chin up and gave her a tender kiss on her lips.

"Now, why were you at the fights tonight?"

She knew he was not upset, so she just nuzzled further into the crook of his neck.

"Gabin signed a contract so he could get some money. I decided to take his place."

Her long hair was sticking to his chest, tickling him. During their lovemaking, she tore off his shirt and now he wished he still had it on.

Moving her hair to the side, he asked, "Money? Why does he need money?"

This caused her to smile. She pushed away from his chest, "He has a girlfriend and he wanted to buy her something for her birthday." After saying this, she pouted, "But I still have to do six more fights to work off his debt."

Tyr chuckled. "How much did he need? Six more seems like a lot."

"He got forty gold pieces," she answered with a look of disapproval.

"Forty?" he laughed, leaning his head back. "That boy sure knows what women like I guess."

He shook his head and Gabin"s situation. When he was with Fenrir, he was lucky if she wanted anything that was only forty gold. Even dining out would cost him at least fifty gold.

He put a hand on her head and messed her hair up even more. "I"ll just pay the cancelation fee for you. Don"t worry about the six fights you have to do."

Macha moved out from under his hand and gave him a serious gaze. "No. I can do the fights. I don"t mind and I brought it on myself. I don"t want to have you bailing me out of my problems when I didn"t do anything to earn the money."

"How much is the fee for breaking the contract?" he asked flatly.

With an unamused face, she replied, "Eighty thousand."

"Can you pa.s.s me my pants?" he asked. There was something he wanted to show her.

Macha got off of him and picked his pants up off the floor. Handing it to him, she wondered what he needed to get.

Tyr took out a folded slip of paper. He held it up between two fingers and wiggled it in the air.

"I grew bored because you left me at home for so long all by myself. So I went to look for you. When I saw that you were going to fight, I had to support the woman I personally trained."

His voice was so full of confidence. He sounded so c.o.c.ky that she grabbed his wrist so she could read the paper.

Her eyes grew wide, "They owe you two-hundred thousand gold?"

"Mmmhmm," he replied with a look of satisfaction. "I think you earned at least eighty thousand for making me so much money."