The duelist 11, p.8
The Duelist 11, page 8
“If you’re right about tweaking the cuff-- and, let’s be honest, you’re always right-- then he absolutely will,” Zoie said to the koala-man.
“Well, I would be happy to take Rylan with me, he’s an excellent assistant, and very enthusiastic,” Jenner admitted. “And I doubt I would be of much use to you there, anyway. My familiarity with the noble houses is passing at best, and Engish aren’t especially welcome on Alem unless they’re Councilmembers.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “We’ll go to Alem, you’ll go to Eng.”
“You surely don’t mean for Jenner and Rylan to go by themselves, do you?” Sha-Kane asked.
“Of course not,” I said as I looked at the osprey-man. “Everyone can go where they think they will be best suited.”
“We should go to Eng,” Nemis then said, and everyone turned to look at the raccoon-man. He was gesturing to himself and Bodin. “Leenian nobles are not well-liked by the Alemic, and pirates even less-so. Not to mention, I don’t think it would be good for poor Vela’s health if she were separated from her husband.”
It went without saying, of course, that Vel-Rala would go to Eng if our Crew decided to split up again. As the true Prophetess, Vel-Rala needed to be kept as far away from the Order of Mercedes as possible, and she might even be able to help Jenner find the buried Archives on Eng.
“That sounds like a good idea,” I said to Nemis, and I noticed how he, Bodin, and Vel-Rala all looked distinctly relieved. “Do you think you could take Teivel’s ship and sail it?”
“Of course we can sail a ship,” Nemis announced confidently, but I saw Bodin cringe slightly, and I remembered what the raccoon-man had said about how Nemis would go crazy for a ship that didn’t need a crew to be sailed. “If that soft little Councilman managed it by himself, I could do it blindfolded with two of my limbs missing.”
“I admire the confidence, but let’s keep all your limbs attached for now,” I said to the Captain, and he grinned at me. “Anyone else?”
“Maybe Sera?” Shay suggested with a shrug. “I’m sure she’d prefer to be away from the people who held her captive.”
“We’ll ask her in the morning, but you’re probably right,” I said to the phoenix-woman, and then I turned to Sha-Kane. “Will you be helping Jenner, too?”
“It would be wiser if I accompanied you, Alex,” the osprey-man answered. “I’m the only one aboard this vessel who has first-hand experience with the Asher Council.”
That was a good point, and I was suddenly very relieved to have Sha-Kane in my corner. If this was a power structure that could intimidate a flamboyant sea captain, a Leenian prince, and a Natavian socialite, I would need all the help I could get to navigate it.
“And you will need that experience,” Nemis said, as if he could read my mind. “I have wrestled many beasts during my time on the Ocean, but the Council is one I have always tried hard to avoid.”
I realized a little while later, as everyone was retiring to bed, that it was probably a lot more difficult for all of them to go up against the Council than it was for me. I was a newcomer to Aventoll, and I hadn’t grown up steeped in the culture, where the Council and the Order were not to be questioned.
It had been difficult for Anwaar and Amaya to come to terms with the fact the Order was corrupt, and they’d had more reason than most to be mistrustful after Amaya was declared the next Prophetess. The two sisters rationalized what could have become a serious crisis of faith by reminding themselves they served Mercedes, not the Order itself, and I hoped the rest of the Crew would find similar ways to steady themselves. Even though everyone knew the Council was corrupt, the extent of the corruption was truly shocking, and it would require time to adjust.
I expected the bedroom to be empty when I arrived, because Shay was speaking with Horus-- presumably about Sha-Kane-- and Zoie was helping Rylan to bed. Instead, however, both Nova and Amaya were sitting on the bed and chatting, like girls at a sleepover.
“What’s gotten you two so excited?” I asked them as I shrugged off my clothes.
Both women looked at one another and giggled.
“Sera,” Amaya said after a moment. “She’s fascinating. I’ve never met a Lakuna who grew up in one of the settlements before. She has so many stories!”
“Auntie Sera knew Mother, and I want to know about her-- both of them,” Nova added with a nod.
I grinned as I sat down on the bed and caught Nova’s chin with my hand.
“I’m really glad you have a way to connect with your culture, Nova,” I told her. “And Sera seems really nice. But you’ll have to be gentle with her, ’cause she’s been through a lot. Just like we had to be gentle with you.”
“I know,” the green-skinned woman said with a smile. “I’ll be careful. But I want to know all her stories. Even the bad ones. So I can read Mother’s diary and figure out what Father wanted to do. So I can keep everyone safe.”
She leaned forward then and pulled Amaya and I into a fierce hug, and I realized in that moment just how much I’d missed both of them. I adored Zoie and Shay, but I adored Amaya and Nova, too, and being without them for so long had been unbalancing and strange-feeling.
If it had been anyone else, I might have worried about how much I seemed to rely on these women, and how much of myself I’d given to them. But I knew, deep down in my heart of hearts, that they would never hurt me. I felt safe with them, and whole, so I wasn’t worried at all.
“I missed you both,” I murmured to them. “So goddamn much.”
“We missed you, too, love,” Amaya said, and she cupped my cheek in her hand and kissed me deeply. “It was strange, sleeping in this bed without you, or Zoie, or Shay. I think it would have been unbearable if I hadn’t had Nova here.”
“You kept each other company?” I asked in a soft voice, and when the two women nodded, I grinned. “I’m glad. I’m really pleased you two are friends now.”
“More than friends,” Nova said, and she curled her fingers at the nape of my neck to guide my mouth to hers. “Family.”
Her kiss was like the first breath of fresh air after minutes underwater, which was maybe a little ironic, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around Nova tightly and leaned forward so she was pinned beneath me on the bed. She was already in the thin little slip she wore to bed, a scrap of pale fabric that became almost transparent whenever it got wet, which it obviously did, because she usually slept in the bathtub.
I tilted my head up to look from Nova to Amaya, who was half-lying beside us and watching intently. I saw again that hint of mischief in the oryx-woman’s face, the same hint I’d seen the morning after Zoie, Horus, and I had returned from the caves of Eng.
“Remember what Zoie and I said before we left?” I asked her. “You don’t have to be the passive observer anymore.”
“Believe me, I remember,” Amaya answered with a grin, and she leaned forward to kiss me. She, too, was in her nightclothes, and my hands slid over her waist, over the thin silk, until she had clambered atop me and was grinding down on my rapidly-hardening cock. Each time she moved, I let out a small huff of breath that was half a moan, and she giggled softly.
After a while, Amaya pulled away from me, and she reached to the side to take Nova’s hands. The oryx-woman raised them to her mouth and kissed Nova’s fingers before she reached down and pulled the Lakuna woman toward her. I saw a flash of a knowing grin on Nova’s face as she leaned in to kiss Amaya, and I just watched, captivated, as the two women kissed passionately and slowly began to peel off one another’s night-dresses.
Logically, I knew they were putting on a little show for my benefit, but I really couldn’t bring myself to care. With each new inch of bare skin revealed, my mouth got drier, and the ache in my pants became more pronounced.
And the fact Amaya was still grinding on top of me wasn’t helping.
“We really missed you, love,” the oryx-woman said with a wry smile. Nova had pulled away from her mouth by this point and was trailing little kisses over Amaya’s collar, and one of her green hands was already squeezing the oryx-woman’s breast. “It was lonely without you.”
“I’ll never leave you again, then,” I said to them both with a wolfish smile. I could have just devoured them both right then and there, so that was what I set out to do. I leaned up and pulled Nova away from Amaya, and then I captured the Lakuna woman’s lips and kissed her hungrily. I bucked up my hips at the same time, and the oryx-woman let out a surprised squeak before she began to grind down on me again.
“Nova,” I murmured against the Lakuna woman’s lips. “Get up here.”
Nova let out a cheeky giggle as she did just that, and she settled her hips over my face. I dove in between her legs hungrily, as if I hadn’t eaten in days, and the Lakuna woman let out a series of loud, high-pitched moans that made it clear I was in just the right spot.
“Oh!” she cried out as one of her hands tangled in my hair, and I opened my eyes to look up and see that Amaya had leaned forward and was pressing kisses to the top of Nova’s shoulder while her hands kneaded at the Lakuna woman’s breasts. “Alex! Maya!”
“That’s it, love,” Amaya murmured to the Lakuna woman, and she made eye contact with me for one searing moment. She was still grinding down against my crotch, and I reckoned I was about to go crazy from it. “Show him how much you missed him.”
The hand in my hair tightened as Nova’s thighs began to spasm. I had to place my hands on her legs to stop her from crushing my head like a watermelon, and I spread them ever wider. The bottom half of my face was slick with the taste of her, and I could hear the mounting pitch and speed of Nova’s breaths as Amaya egged her on.
Nova came with a sharp cry, and both of her hands gripped my head tight. She shuddered on top of me, every muscle in her body pulled taut, before she finally slumped back against Amaya’s chest and gave a long, satisfied hum.
“Missed you,” she mumbled, and she shifted her hips back so she could lean down to kiss me. “A lot. Especially when you do that.”
“I thought you might,” I said with a grin, and then I looked over at Amaya, who was still mercilessly grinding down on my clothed cock. “And you, you minx. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”
“Maybe,” Amaya said in a tone far too innocent for someone who was that gorgeous naked.
Nova giggled and shifted off me so I could grab the oryx-woman around the waist, flip us over, and pin her beneath me.
“Did you miss me, too, then?” I asked as I began to press kisses over her collarbones, and she nodded quickly.
Nova giggled from where she lay on the bed next to us catching her breath, and she rolled on to her side to stroke my hair as I sealed my mouth over one of Amaya’s nipples and made the oryx-woman whimper.
“Yes,” she moaned. “Missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” I said against her skin as I began to shimmy out of my pants, and even just the act of removing them was a relief, just because of how much I ached for her-- for both of them. “Like crazy.”
I let one of my hands drift down between Amaya’s legs and found her already dripping wet for me. I slowly slipped two fingers inside of her, and the sound she made was exquisite. I knew it wouldn’t take much to stretch her out, but I took my time teasing her anyway as some small, cheeky revenge for how mercilessly she’d teased me.
Nova, once she’d recovered her breath, happily joined in, and she nipped at the oryx-woman’s breasts in between breathy giggles. Before long, I felt Amaya fluttering around my fingers, and she let out a cry as she came on my hand, with her head thrown back against the sheets.
“Mercedes…” she breathed after a long moment, and she grinned up at Nova and me with a dazed expression.
Nova stared at the oryx-woman, and she looked as rapt as she’d been when Sera had been telling her stories.
“You like that, do you?” I murmured in the Lakuna woman’s ear. “You like watching her?”
“Pretty,” Nova answered simply. “Like Zoie and Shay. Beautiful.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, and Amaya let out another soft moan as I curled my fingers inside her.
She was still sensitive from her orgasm, and even wetter than before.
“Your turn, love,” the oryx-woman said, and she angled her hips up toward mine.
I slipped my fingers out of her, but before I could lick them clean, Nova caught my hand and did it for me. Her other hand was between her own legs, and she was squirming against the sheets as she made unflinching eye contact with me.
“Your turn,” the Lakuna woman agreed as she let my fingers go with a ‘pop!’
Who was I to argue with that?
I lined up my hips with Amaya’s and pushed in with one smooth motion. The oryx-woman gave another long moan and reached blindly for Nova’s hand, and the two women held on tight to one another as I moved. Amaya was so warm and wet, and both of them were so gorgeous that I knew it wouldn’t be long, but I was determined to hold off until they both came again.
“Close,” Amaya whined after a few minutes. Her knuckles were white from how hard she was gripping Nova’s hand. “S-So close.”
“Me, too,” Nova agreed, and it was all I could do to nod, because I felt like I was going to pass out from how good it felt.
Maybe they really were trying to drive me crazy.
“Maya, Alex,” Nova then said. With her free hand, she gripped my shoulder, but my gaze was fixated between her legs, where her hand was working furiously at herself with a kind of wanton desperation that made another bolt of pleasure shoot through me. “I-- I--”
“Go on, Nova,” I said hoarsely. “Come on. Wanna see you. You’re so pretty when you cum.”
“You are,” Amaya moaned and arched up into me. “So pretty. Mercedes, I’m gonna--”
“You, too,” I mumbled, and I couldn’t take it any longer, so I buried my face into the oryx-woman’s shoulder. Then I raised my head after a moment and slanted a dazed grin at them both. “Fuck, you two are gonna be the death of me.”
I didn’t get an answer because that was the exact moment they both fell over the edge. I heard the symphony of their moans and felt Amaya clench hard around me, and I was a goner. I honestly didn’t remember what happened for the next few seconds after that, because I was just lost in a haze of sheer pleasure. The next thing I was aware of was Amaya’s and Nova’s free hands stroking down my back, and all three of us were panting hard.
“Holy shit,” I managed at last, and I slowly eased myself out of Amaya, which made the oryx-woman shudder. “That was…”
“Divine?” she suggested with a grin, and I chuckled.
“Yeah,” I said, and I kissed her forehead, then Nova’s. “That was pretty damn divine. I’m beat.”
“Me, too,” Nova yawned sleepily. “Want my tub.”
That made me chuckle, and I found the strength to scoop Nova up into my arms, got to my feet, and carried her into the bathroom. The tub was already full with tepid water, and the Lakuna woman sank into it with a contented sigh. I straightened, but she kept hold of my hand for a moment longer.
“Love you,” she said softly.
“Love you, too,” I promised, and I squeezed her fingers once more before I let go and returned to the bed.
Amaya was already curled up on her side, and I laid down behind her and buried my nose in her soft blonde curls.
“Seriously,” I muttered into her hair. “You’re gonna drive me crazy.”
“No crazier than you drive me,” she replied with a soft laugh, and the pair of us drifted off to sleep.
The next thing I was aware of was the sunlight streaming in through the drapes, and I awoke to see that at some point, Shay and Zoie had joined Amaya and I in the bed. Zoie was lying next to Amaya, and Shay had positioned herself behind me, presumably so she could sleep without shoving her wings in anyone’s face.
I was the first person to wake, and none of the women stirred as I extracted myself from their arms, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Unsurprisingly, Jenner and Sha-Kane were already awake in the kitchen, and they were discussing the day’s plans over mugs of kolee.
“Good morning, Alex,” the osprey-man said as he passed me a mug. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like the dead,” I replied with a grin. “I was pretty tired out.”
Especially after Nova and Amaya had their fun with me. Not that I was complaining.
“I think we all were.” Jenner nodded. “Which is why I’m glad we all got some rest. Are you sure you’re still okay for us to split up?”
“Absolutely,” I said firmly, and I knocked my mug against the koala-man’s. “You guys will do much more good on Eng than on Alem, and I think it’s a good idea for Rylan and Vel-Rala to keep a good distance from Kavo and the Order.”
“Just promise you’ll send us regular updates of your progress,” Sha-Kane said to Jenner. “I admit, I’m a little disappointed to have our ‘Crew’ split up, if only because it means I have to miss out either on political intrigue, or potentially uncovering centuries-old records. I would have liked to experience both first-hand.”
“I’ll be sure to send meticulously-detailed notes,” Jenner assured him with a laugh. “Rylan is an excellent note-taker. He could be an Archivist in the Royal Library if he so chose.”
I couldn’t really imagine free-spirited, curious Rylan deciding on a career that would have him copying dusty old notes, but I was at least sure he loved adventuring around with Jenner, and I was glad he would be far away from Kavo.
“Of course,” the koala-man went on, “you two have to promise to send me details in return.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I said. “Sha-Kane is right. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of political intrigue to tell you about.”
I just hoped we all managed to survive it.
Chapter 6
A little while later, the rest of the Manta began to stir, and there was a steady trickle of sleep-mussed people shambling around in search of kolee. Zoie and Shay were the first to join us, probably because they’d slept better than Amaya, Nova, and me, and I was relieved to see how the phoenix-woman smiled sunnily at her father before she kissed me on the cheek.
“Well, I would be happy to take Rylan with me, he’s an excellent assistant, and very enthusiastic,” Jenner admitted. “And I doubt I would be of much use to you there, anyway. My familiarity with the noble houses is passing at best, and Engish aren’t especially welcome on Alem unless they’re Councilmembers.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “We’ll go to Alem, you’ll go to Eng.”
“You surely don’t mean for Jenner and Rylan to go by themselves, do you?” Sha-Kane asked.
“Of course not,” I said as I looked at the osprey-man. “Everyone can go where they think they will be best suited.”
“We should go to Eng,” Nemis then said, and everyone turned to look at the raccoon-man. He was gesturing to himself and Bodin. “Leenian nobles are not well-liked by the Alemic, and pirates even less-so. Not to mention, I don’t think it would be good for poor Vela’s health if she were separated from her husband.”
It went without saying, of course, that Vel-Rala would go to Eng if our Crew decided to split up again. As the true Prophetess, Vel-Rala needed to be kept as far away from the Order of Mercedes as possible, and she might even be able to help Jenner find the buried Archives on Eng.
“That sounds like a good idea,” I said to Nemis, and I noticed how he, Bodin, and Vel-Rala all looked distinctly relieved. “Do you think you could take Teivel’s ship and sail it?”
“Of course we can sail a ship,” Nemis announced confidently, but I saw Bodin cringe slightly, and I remembered what the raccoon-man had said about how Nemis would go crazy for a ship that didn’t need a crew to be sailed. “If that soft little Councilman managed it by himself, I could do it blindfolded with two of my limbs missing.”
“I admire the confidence, but let’s keep all your limbs attached for now,” I said to the Captain, and he grinned at me. “Anyone else?”
“Maybe Sera?” Shay suggested with a shrug. “I’m sure she’d prefer to be away from the people who held her captive.”
“We’ll ask her in the morning, but you’re probably right,” I said to the phoenix-woman, and then I turned to Sha-Kane. “Will you be helping Jenner, too?”
“It would be wiser if I accompanied you, Alex,” the osprey-man answered. “I’m the only one aboard this vessel who has first-hand experience with the Asher Council.”
That was a good point, and I was suddenly very relieved to have Sha-Kane in my corner. If this was a power structure that could intimidate a flamboyant sea captain, a Leenian prince, and a Natavian socialite, I would need all the help I could get to navigate it.
“And you will need that experience,” Nemis said, as if he could read my mind. “I have wrestled many beasts during my time on the Ocean, but the Council is one I have always tried hard to avoid.”
I realized a little while later, as everyone was retiring to bed, that it was probably a lot more difficult for all of them to go up against the Council than it was for me. I was a newcomer to Aventoll, and I hadn’t grown up steeped in the culture, where the Council and the Order were not to be questioned.
It had been difficult for Anwaar and Amaya to come to terms with the fact the Order was corrupt, and they’d had more reason than most to be mistrustful after Amaya was declared the next Prophetess. The two sisters rationalized what could have become a serious crisis of faith by reminding themselves they served Mercedes, not the Order itself, and I hoped the rest of the Crew would find similar ways to steady themselves. Even though everyone knew the Council was corrupt, the extent of the corruption was truly shocking, and it would require time to adjust.
I expected the bedroom to be empty when I arrived, because Shay was speaking with Horus-- presumably about Sha-Kane-- and Zoie was helping Rylan to bed. Instead, however, both Nova and Amaya were sitting on the bed and chatting, like girls at a sleepover.
“What’s gotten you two so excited?” I asked them as I shrugged off my clothes.
Both women looked at one another and giggled.
“Sera,” Amaya said after a moment. “She’s fascinating. I’ve never met a Lakuna who grew up in one of the settlements before. She has so many stories!”
“Auntie Sera knew Mother, and I want to know about her-- both of them,” Nova added with a nod.
I grinned as I sat down on the bed and caught Nova’s chin with my hand.
“I’m really glad you have a way to connect with your culture, Nova,” I told her. “And Sera seems really nice. But you’ll have to be gentle with her, ’cause she’s been through a lot. Just like we had to be gentle with you.”
“I know,” the green-skinned woman said with a smile. “I’ll be careful. But I want to know all her stories. Even the bad ones. So I can read Mother’s diary and figure out what Father wanted to do. So I can keep everyone safe.”
She leaned forward then and pulled Amaya and I into a fierce hug, and I realized in that moment just how much I’d missed both of them. I adored Zoie and Shay, but I adored Amaya and Nova, too, and being without them for so long had been unbalancing and strange-feeling.
If it had been anyone else, I might have worried about how much I seemed to rely on these women, and how much of myself I’d given to them. But I knew, deep down in my heart of hearts, that they would never hurt me. I felt safe with them, and whole, so I wasn’t worried at all.
“I missed you both,” I murmured to them. “So goddamn much.”
“We missed you, too, love,” Amaya said, and she cupped my cheek in her hand and kissed me deeply. “It was strange, sleeping in this bed without you, or Zoie, or Shay. I think it would have been unbearable if I hadn’t had Nova here.”
“You kept each other company?” I asked in a soft voice, and when the two women nodded, I grinned. “I’m glad. I’m really pleased you two are friends now.”
“More than friends,” Nova said, and she curled her fingers at the nape of my neck to guide my mouth to hers. “Family.”
Her kiss was like the first breath of fresh air after minutes underwater, which was maybe a little ironic, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around Nova tightly and leaned forward so she was pinned beneath me on the bed. She was already in the thin little slip she wore to bed, a scrap of pale fabric that became almost transparent whenever it got wet, which it obviously did, because she usually slept in the bathtub.
I tilted my head up to look from Nova to Amaya, who was half-lying beside us and watching intently. I saw again that hint of mischief in the oryx-woman’s face, the same hint I’d seen the morning after Zoie, Horus, and I had returned from the caves of Eng.
“Remember what Zoie and I said before we left?” I asked her. “You don’t have to be the passive observer anymore.”
“Believe me, I remember,” Amaya answered with a grin, and she leaned forward to kiss me. She, too, was in her nightclothes, and my hands slid over her waist, over the thin silk, until she had clambered atop me and was grinding down on my rapidly-hardening cock. Each time she moved, I let out a small huff of breath that was half a moan, and she giggled softly.
After a while, Amaya pulled away from me, and she reached to the side to take Nova’s hands. The oryx-woman raised them to her mouth and kissed Nova’s fingers before she reached down and pulled the Lakuna woman toward her. I saw a flash of a knowing grin on Nova’s face as she leaned in to kiss Amaya, and I just watched, captivated, as the two women kissed passionately and slowly began to peel off one another’s night-dresses.
Logically, I knew they were putting on a little show for my benefit, but I really couldn’t bring myself to care. With each new inch of bare skin revealed, my mouth got drier, and the ache in my pants became more pronounced.
And the fact Amaya was still grinding on top of me wasn’t helping.
“We really missed you, love,” the oryx-woman said with a wry smile. Nova had pulled away from her mouth by this point and was trailing little kisses over Amaya’s collar, and one of her green hands was already squeezing the oryx-woman’s breast. “It was lonely without you.”
“I’ll never leave you again, then,” I said to them both with a wolfish smile. I could have just devoured them both right then and there, so that was what I set out to do. I leaned up and pulled Nova away from Amaya, and then I captured the Lakuna woman’s lips and kissed her hungrily. I bucked up my hips at the same time, and the oryx-woman let out a surprised squeak before she began to grind down on me again.
“Nova,” I murmured against the Lakuna woman’s lips. “Get up here.”
Nova let out a cheeky giggle as she did just that, and she settled her hips over my face. I dove in between her legs hungrily, as if I hadn’t eaten in days, and the Lakuna woman let out a series of loud, high-pitched moans that made it clear I was in just the right spot.
“Oh!” she cried out as one of her hands tangled in my hair, and I opened my eyes to look up and see that Amaya had leaned forward and was pressing kisses to the top of Nova’s shoulder while her hands kneaded at the Lakuna woman’s breasts. “Alex! Maya!”
“That’s it, love,” Amaya murmured to the Lakuna woman, and she made eye contact with me for one searing moment. She was still grinding down against my crotch, and I reckoned I was about to go crazy from it. “Show him how much you missed him.”
The hand in my hair tightened as Nova’s thighs began to spasm. I had to place my hands on her legs to stop her from crushing my head like a watermelon, and I spread them ever wider. The bottom half of my face was slick with the taste of her, and I could hear the mounting pitch and speed of Nova’s breaths as Amaya egged her on.
Nova came with a sharp cry, and both of her hands gripped my head tight. She shuddered on top of me, every muscle in her body pulled taut, before she finally slumped back against Amaya’s chest and gave a long, satisfied hum.
“Missed you,” she mumbled, and she shifted her hips back so she could lean down to kiss me. “A lot. Especially when you do that.”
“I thought you might,” I said with a grin, and then I looked over at Amaya, who was still mercilessly grinding down on my clothed cock. “And you, you minx. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”
“Maybe,” Amaya said in a tone far too innocent for someone who was that gorgeous naked.
Nova giggled and shifted off me so I could grab the oryx-woman around the waist, flip us over, and pin her beneath me.
“Did you miss me, too, then?” I asked as I began to press kisses over her collarbones, and she nodded quickly.
Nova giggled from where she lay on the bed next to us catching her breath, and she rolled on to her side to stroke my hair as I sealed my mouth over one of Amaya’s nipples and made the oryx-woman whimper.
“Yes,” she moaned. “Missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” I said against her skin as I began to shimmy out of my pants, and even just the act of removing them was a relief, just because of how much I ached for her-- for both of them. “Like crazy.”
I let one of my hands drift down between Amaya’s legs and found her already dripping wet for me. I slowly slipped two fingers inside of her, and the sound she made was exquisite. I knew it wouldn’t take much to stretch her out, but I took my time teasing her anyway as some small, cheeky revenge for how mercilessly she’d teased me.
Nova, once she’d recovered her breath, happily joined in, and she nipped at the oryx-woman’s breasts in between breathy giggles. Before long, I felt Amaya fluttering around my fingers, and she let out a cry as she came on my hand, with her head thrown back against the sheets.
“Mercedes…” she breathed after a long moment, and she grinned up at Nova and me with a dazed expression.
Nova stared at the oryx-woman, and she looked as rapt as she’d been when Sera had been telling her stories.
“You like that, do you?” I murmured in the Lakuna woman’s ear. “You like watching her?”
“Pretty,” Nova answered simply. “Like Zoie and Shay. Beautiful.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, and Amaya let out another soft moan as I curled my fingers inside her.
She was still sensitive from her orgasm, and even wetter than before.
“Your turn, love,” the oryx-woman said, and she angled her hips up toward mine.
I slipped my fingers out of her, but before I could lick them clean, Nova caught my hand and did it for me. Her other hand was between her own legs, and she was squirming against the sheets as she made unflinching eye contact with me.
“Your turn,” the Lakuna woman agreed as she let my fingers go with a ‘pop!’
Who was I to argue with that?
I lined up my hips with Amaya’s and pushed in with one smooth motion. The oryx-woman gave another long moan and reached blindly for Nova’s hand, and the two women held on tight to one another as I moved. Amaya was so warm and wet, and both of them were so gorgeous that I knew it wouldn’t be long, but I was determined to hold off until they both came again.
“Close,” Amaya whined after a few minutes. Her knuckles were white from how hard she was gripping Nova’s hand. “S-So close.”
“Me, too,” Nova agreed, and it was all I could do to nod, because I felt like I was going to pass out from how good it felt.
Maybe they really were trying to drive me crazy.
“Maya, Alex,” Nova then said. With her free hand, she gripped my shoulder, but my gaze was fixated between her legs, where her hand was working furiously at herself with a kind of wanton desperation that made another bolt of pleasure shoot through me. “I-- I--”
“Go on, Nova,” I said hoarsely. “Come on. Wanna see you. You’re so pretty when you cum.”
“You are,” Amaya moaned and arched up into me. “So pretty. Mercedes, I’m gonna--”
“You, too,” I mumbled, and I couldn’t take it any longer, so I buried my face into the oryx-woman’s shoulder. Then I raised my head after a moment and slanted a dazed grin at them both. “Fuck, you two are gonna be the death of me.”
I didn’t get an answer because that was the exact moment they both fell over the edge. I heard the symphony of their moans and felt Amaya clench hard around me, and I was a goner. I honestly didn’t remember what happened for the next few seconds after that, because I was just lost in a haze of sheer pleasure. The next thing I was aware of was Amaya’s and Nova’s free hands stroking down my back, and all three of us were panting hard.
“Holy shit,” I managed at last, and I slowly eased myself out of Amaya, which made the oryx-woman shudder. “That was…”
“Divine?” she suggested with a grin, and I chuckled.
“Yeah,” I said, and I kissed her forehead, then Nova’s. “That was pretty damn divine. I’m beat.”
“Me, too,” Nova yawned sleepily. “Want my tub.”
That made me chuckle, and I found the strength to scoop Nova up into my arms, got to my feet, and carried her into the bathroom. The tub was already full with tepid water, and the Lakuna woman sank into it with a contented sigh. I straightened, but she kept hold of my hand for a moment longer.
“Love you,” she said softly.
“Love you, too,” I promised, and I squeezed her fingers once more before I let go and returned to the bed.
Amaya was already curled up on her side, and I laid down behind her and buried my nose in her soft blonde curls.
“Seriously,” I muttered into her hair. “You’re gonna drive me crazy.”
“No crazier than you drive me,” she replied with a soft laugh, and the pair of us drifted off to sleep.
The next thing I was aware of was the sunlight streaming in through the drapes, and I awoke to see that at some point, Shay and Zoie had joined Amaya and I in the bed. Zoie was lying next to Amaya, and Shay had positioned herself behind me, presumably so she could sleep without shoving her wings in anyone’s face.
I was the first person to wake, and none of the women stirred as I extracted myself from their arms, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Unsurprisingly, Jenner and Sha-Kane were already awake in the kitchen, and they were discussing the day’s plans over mugs of kolee.
“Good morning, Alex,” the osprey-man said as he passed me a mug. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like the dead,” I replied with a grin. “I was pretty tired out.”
Especially after Nova and Amaya had their fun with me. Not that I was complaining.
“I think we all were.” Jenner nodded. “Which is why I’m glad we all got some rest. Are you sure you’re still okay for us to split up?”
“Absolutely,” I said firmly, and I knocked my mug against the koala-man’s. “You guys will do much more good on Eng than on Alem, and I think it’s a good idea for Rylan and Vel-Rala to keep a good distance from Kavo and the Order.”
“Just promise you’ll send us regular updates of your progress,” Sha-Kane said to Jenner. “I admit, I’m a little disappointed to have our ‘Crew’ split up, if only because it means I have to miss out either on political intrigue, or potentially uncovering centuries-old records. I would have liked to experience both first-hand.”
“I’ll be sure to send meticulously-detailed notes,” Jenner assured him with a laugh. “Rylan is an excellent note-taker. He could be an Archivist in the Royal Library if he so chose.”
I couldn’t really imagine free-spirited, curious Rylan deciding on a career that would have him copying dusty old notes, but I was at least sure he loved adventuring around with Jenner, and I was glad he would be far away from Kavo.
“Of course,” the koala-man went on, “you two have to promise to send me details in return.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I said. “Sha-Kane is right. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of political intrigue to tell you about.”
I just hoped we all managed to survive it.
Chapter 6
A little while later, the rest of the Manta began to stir, and there was a steady trickle of sleep-mussed people shambling around in search of kolee. Zoie and Shay were the first to join us, probably because they’d slept better than Amaya, Nova, and me, and I was relieved to see how the phoenix-woman smiled sunnily at her father before she kissed me on the cheek.
