“Bullshit,” Edie told him. “You just think you need Levi.”
“No, I really do,” he protested, arms tightening around her waist. “He’s the creative genius. I’m just the grunt.”
“And I still say that’s bullshit,” Edie protested. “You’re smart as hell and you’re just as creative as him. You can do it without him. You’re just stuck in a mental rut and need to work your way out of it.”
“Which is why I need Levi,” he repeated.
She pressed her hands to both sides of his face. “You don’t. You can figure this out on your own. Just spitball a bit with me.”
He shot her an irritated look, but she ignored it and gestured for him to continue.
With a heavy sigh, Magnus began to speak. “Okay. So the point is that you start out at the beginning of your civilization. You’re randomly tossed into a fantasy continent, which is one server, or you can elect to become part of an existing country on the world server. From there, you start out as a small warrior and move up in the ranks. You fight other people for spots, and quests in-game can give you loot or temporary bonuses that work against other players. As you build up, you rise in the ranks of your kingdom and you can displace existing NPCs—”
“Wait, what’s an NPC?”
“Non-player character. Basically the computer.” He looked a bit irritated that she interrupted, and shook his head as if to clear it before continuing. “The NPCs or other players can build armies and take over neighboring kingdoms or band together to take out a rival. The problem is that there’s nothing stopping a player from playing for a day or two and then completely steamrolling the other players because he’s put in a bit more time or got a lucky loot drop. And once one player conquers the territory, there’s not a lot stopping him from completely unbalancing the game. It’s almost like I need something that will strip them of loot or . . .” His eyes widened. “Oh my god. Armor decay. Weapon decay. That could work.”
“Whatever you say, baby.” Sounded like gibberish to her.
“Maybe I need to add another level—instead of man versus man, I could add man versus environment as well.” He reached around her and began typing notes into the computer. “So not only will they have to deal with other players, but the environment will be against them as well. There can be rust for metal items, and wear and tear, and—”
“Weather?” Edie offered helpfully.
“Weather is good,” he agreed, typing furiously. “Anything that slows the game down without making it feel like a cheat. We could do world events and give bonuses to those who participate and also randomly penalize those who are exposed, like hurricanes on a coastal country. Or . . .” He looked at her, and then grabbed her shoulders excitedly. “The black plague!”
“I never heard a man so excited to say those three words.”
Magnus gave her a wild smile, and laughed delightedly. “Holy fuck. Plague! Natural disasters! Perfect!”
“Sounds like it,” she said drily. “Should I leave you to your computing?”
He ignored her, typing away around her for a few minutes longer. She waited patiently, watching as he worked furiously, his eyes narrow with focus. The man was flinging words onto the page with a fury, typing as if she wasn’t even in his lap. She settled in for the long haul when he suddenly thumped one of the keys and then threw himself back in his chair. He tilted his head back and dropped his hands from the keyboard, and the look on his face was almost orgasmic, which amused Edie to no end.
“So, good stuff?” she asked.
“So many fucking ideas. Jesus. It’s perfect. It’s like, I don’t even need Huns as a diversion. We can treat them like another nation instead of as an outside element. I don’t need Levi after all. It’s fucking perfect.” He looked up and his gaze fixed on her. “You’re perfect.”
“I did nothing,” she protested, and wiggled on his lap. “All I did was ask you to throw some words at me. You came up with it all on your own. You just needed someone to bounce ideas off of.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her and his look became distinctly lascivious. His thighs flexed under her and she bounced in his lap. “Speaking of bouncing . . .”
“Mmm.” Her hand went to his shirt and she began to unbutton it slowly. “You feeling frisky now?”
“I feel revived,” he admitted, and he tugged the belt of her robe free. “Relieved and happy and utterly fucking stoked.” He pushed the robe back, revealing her breasts, and cupped them. “And I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I? Sounds like I need to make it up to you.”
“I’m down with that,” she agreed, pushing her breasts against his hands. His touch always made shivers race through her body. “You may proceed.”
“May I?” He pulled her against him and hauled out of the chair, carrying her. She wrapped her legs around him, loving how strong he was. Magnus always made her feel dainty and girly, especially in bed. He threw her down on the bed and his eyes gleamed as he gazed down at her. “I think you should sit on my face.”
Her lips parted in shock. “I what?”
“You heard me,” he said, bending over her and biting at one of her nipples. “I think it’d be sexy as hell. Don’t you?”
She had to admit to herself, the thought of straddling Magnus’s face and letting him lick her until she came was making her extremely aroused. “I just . . . I . . .” Her breath escaped her.