Ravyn picked out where we ate and the inn we’d stay in that night, while Cannoli fawned over Buttons—her name for the blazard—and Keke gave her care tips. I had just enough money left from Cailu to pay for our meal and at least the first night’s stay at the Lucky Star Inn, putting my foot down when Ravyn insisted on covering the charge.

“You’ve done enough for all of us,” I said, pushing her [Cat Pack] back into her hands.

“I don’t want to owe that bastard anything,” Ravyn spat.

“You wouldn’t owe it, anyway. I’m the one he handed the money to.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t know him like I do.”

I nodded. “You’re right. But he’ll have to chop me to pieces before I’d let him near any of you.”

“He would. Successfully.”

With impunity, I’m sure. “I know.” I set the purse on the inn’s counter. “Look, the Bells won’t do favors for any of us rotting in my [Cat Pack], right?”

Ravyn huffed.

“One night. That’s all,” I repeated.

“One night! One night! Squawk!”

“Not you, too,” Ravyn moaned and poked Ball’s beak. “Alright. Have it your way.”

“Thanks.”

The girls had one room, and I took another. A warm bath and clean clothes felt heavenly after the previous two days of camping. Not that washing my face in streams didn’t have its own refreshing draw, but being back in a building with four walls and not having to take turns on the night watch was definitely preferred.

Plush blankets and a soft mattress had me drifting off without realizing it. A faint knock at my door brought me back to consciousness.

Morning already? I didn’t even turn out my light, I mused, running a hand through my hair. I kicked off the covers and looked out the window. Nope. Still pitch black. Then who…?

When I cracked the door open, Keke peered up at me with her golden gaze, holding one hand over her forearm and shifting back and forth between the balls of her feet.

“Can I come in?” Keke asked.

My heart sped. “Sure.” I opened the door wider and gestured for her to come inside.

Keke’s footsteps were sure and silent as she padded into my room. Her stare flickered to the lamp beside my bed. “You couldn’t sleep either?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and cleared my throat. “Oh, er, I was completely out, honestly.”

“A-ah! I’m so sorry. You must be incredibly tired. I’ll leave you alone—”

“No. You’re fine, really. You’re worth losing sleep over.” Holy shit, could that have sounded any more awkward? She blushed, and I looked around. No extra chairs or sofas to be had, just the large four-post bed. “I-I mean. Um. Do you want to sit down?” I motioned toward the bed. Yeah, that’s not weird at all, Matt. Good job.

To my surprise, she nodded and took a seat on the edge of the mattress. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Alright.” I sat down next to her. Memories of her lips on mine flooded back to me, and I forced myself to focus. She may want to tell you she’s tired of your ass. Listen to her, man. I took another deep breath. “What’s up?”

Keke stared at her hands, overlapping one finger with the next. “This is a little strange for me. So, please be patient?”

“Yeah, of course.” Please don’t leave us, Keke.

“Well, when I was younger, Mama—that is, my mother—she told me about my father. I don’t remember him, you see.” She looked up at the ceiling, then back at her hands. “He protected Ni Island, traveled, and fought Defiled. Like you. So he was never in one place for too long.”

Where is this going? I nodded, “Okay.”

Keke sighed and readjusted her hands. “Goddess above, I’m just dancing around what I really want to say.”

“Take your time,” I replied. “Unless Cannoli is going to make you tea again suddenly. Then maybe hurry up.”

She chuckled and curled her tail around me, caressing my lower back. “No. No tea.”

I shivered. Do you know what you’re doing to me, Keke?

She puffed out her cheeks, exhaled deeply, then tipped her chin to meet my eyes. “Matt, the men in Nyarlea are tasked with keeping the population of catgirls thriving.”

I’d picked up as much from Cailu and the horde of pregnant catgirls surrounding him. I realized Keke wouldn’t have heard his statement regarding procreation and protection, but it was strange to hear her say it nonetheless. Do I act surprised? How do I respond? “I see.” So eloquent. Such emotion. Get this dude an Oscar.

Keke nibbled her lower lip, then continued. “I guess what I’m trying to say… Well, earlier, I almost called you ‘mine.’ And I’m sorry.”

Wait, what? “Why?”

Her eyebrows raised. “B-because none of us can claim you as our own. No matter the circumstances.” Keke’s nervous fingers set to work, smoothing her sleeping gown over her thighs.

“What about when you, er, introduced me to the other girls on Ni Island? You and Cannoli were pretty clear on who I was staying with.”

Keke’s fingers curled and she chewed her lower lip. “We shouldn’t have done that. I don’t mean to be protective, it just… happens, I guess.”

I realized the hem of her dress cut fairly high on her legs and forced my gaze from her tanned skin back to her face. “What if it’s what I want? For us to be exclusive?”

Keke shook her head intensely. “You can’t. You mustn't.”

You mustn’t! She’d said the exact same words when I threw away the iPaw, and she’d been right. She’d tried to warn me to be more careful in our first encounter with the Encroacher, and she’d been right. Every time Keke had cautioned me, she’d been right. Why should I doubt her now, even if the idea was strange? “...Alright. But how do you feel about it?”

“I—” Her hands balled into fists, and her eyes shifted to the floor. “I want you to touch me so badly I could burst.”

It was my turn to blush. This was the stuff straight out of a hentai. Not my plain, average, ordinary life. I’d died hoping to catch the attention of a cute girl; how the hell did I earn it from someone like Keke? “I feel the same way,” I murmured.

“But… But I…” Her gaze from the carpet never wavered. “I’m not ready to leave the group.”

I chanced touching her shoulder. She didn’t pull away. “Why would you have to leave?”

A wry smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “If I got pregnant, I’d hold everyone back. I know it’s only a few months, but—”

“Wait, a few months?”

“—I don’t want to leave your side. Not for a minute,” Keke continued. “I don’t want to leave you, Matt.”

This was a lot to unpack. The remnants of sleep had cleared well enough from my head, but she was piling on an immense amount of information. Kids? Pregnant? Keke gone? I slid my hand from her shoulder to entwine her fingers with mine. “I don’t want you to leave, either, but I know how you feel. I mean, Is there any way for you not to get pregnant?”

Keke laughed. “Well, of course. We don’t have sex.”

Well, now, don’t I feel stupid. “N-No, I mean like… contraceptives?”

She tilted her head to the side, finally looking at me. “What are those?”

“Like, erm, herbs, drugs, condoms; anything that would prevent you from getting pregnant?”

“Why would we want to prevent it? Our population depends on us having children.”

Of course. With so few men, contraceptives could potentially wipe the population out. “Right. You’re right.” I searched Keke’s face. Do I dare ask? “Well, we can still be close to each other without, um. Well, without… you know.” Holy shit, just say it.

“Without what?”

“W-without having sex,” I stammered at last. What are you, twelve?

Keke’s blush expanded to her neck, and her ears flicked forward. “You would be alright with that?” Her tail slid beneath my shirt, grazing my bare skin.

The small hairs on the back of my neck and arms raised. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Keke.”

Keke lowered her eyelids, then her voice. “Then it’s your call what you want to do with me, Matt,” she purred.

I couldn’t take it anymore—I pulled her hand inward and cupped her face in my free palm, capturing her lips with mine. She thrust her tongue between my teeth, tracing erotic patterns against mine. I groped at the edge of her nightgown, tugging it free from beneath her and upward. She broke our kiss to finish the job, yanking it over her head and tossing it to the side before stripping away my top.

I seized the opportunity to absorb and memorize the image of her. Her penchant for swimming painted delicate tan lines over her bare breasts, contrasted by perfect, dark nipples at their peaks. Her eyes searched me just as I did her, drifting inch by inch of my flesh before locking my gaze. The only thing masking the rest of her body from me was a thin pair of black underwear.

“Show me what makes you feel good,” I muttered, slipping two fingers beneath the hem of her panties.

“Alright,” she breathed, releasing my hand to slide her undergarments to the floor.

Beyond her head and tail, there wasn’t a lick of hair on her. Everything about her was so smooth and inviting that I could hardly breathe. My erection throbbed painfully against my pants, but I so desperately wanted to take my time. When would I get another chance like this?

On a whim, I ran my fingers down her spine until I reached the downy-soft edge of her tail. I circled it with my thumb and pointer finger, then ran my hand from base to tip. She shuddered as if a jolt of electricity rocketed through her body.

“Do you like that?”

“Y-Yes. It’s really s-sensitive,” she admitted.

I guided her to lay back on the bed while I stroked her tail, then mapped her body with the tips of my fingers. Goosebumps followed my touch, encouraging me to continue. I leaned into her chest and took one hardened bud of her breast in my mouth.

“Ah!” Keke gasped, her fingers tangling into my hair.

Her skin tasted sweet and bloomed against my lips. I nipped, lapped, and sucked, living for every time she arched her back and caught her breath. I traced the curve of her waist and the bones of her hip. She seized my wandering fingers with her free hand and slid them down below her abdomen and between her legs. The heat emanating from her skin nearly sent me into a frenzy.

I pulled my head away and found her gaze. Widening the gap in her thighs with my pinky and thumb, I trailed her folds with the tip of my middle finger. “Is this what you want?”

She trembled. “Yes.”

God, Keke. I want so much more. I slid one finger inside of her and found myself moaning her harmony. She was goddamn soaked. The searing ridges inside of her were intense and inviting. Dammit, why just my fingers? I want to fuck you so bad. But I couldn’t go against her wishes. I refused to go against her wishes.

I slipped a second finger inside of her. “Does that feel good?”

“Deeper. Please,” she murmured. “And another.”

A third finger and I pushed all the way in, curling and massaging them against a hardened point inside her.

“Nngh!” she cried out, and her hips bucked against my hand. “Y-yeah. Like that!” She rewrapped her fingers in my hair, guiding my mouth back to her chest. “Can you do both?”

“I’ll do anything.” Fuck, did I really say that out loud? I masked my dumbass response by continuing to work her nipple with my tongue, meanwhile thrusting my fingers in and out of her at a speed that forced her groans.

“Matt, that feels so good,” she whimpered. Her toes curled against the comforter, and her legs quivered. “That feels really good. Don’t stop. Please.”

“I won’t.”

Keke’s breathing rasped while she ground her hips into my hand and arched her body against my tongue. “Aah— I—!” she panted, her grip on my hair tightening. Her free hand groped the blankets beneath her, and she bucked her hips with growing intensity. “I’m gonna—”

“Come for me, Keke,” I growled.

Her eyes rolled back, and I felt the first wave of convulsions squeeze my hand. My name escaped her breathless lips, and her hips settled into a steady rhythm. The sounds that escaped her were high and desperate. Something between words and screams. Well, that’s confidence-boosting.

I slowed my fingers and abandoned her breast in favor of her mouth, kissing her deeply as I felt her relax. Her hand wandered from my chest to my abdomen. She slipped her fingers beneath my trousers and around my shaft. My whole body went rigid.

“I want to make you feel good, too,” she whispered. “But I’ve never done this before.” She stroked me with a dexterity that said otherwise.

“That makes two of us.”

“Liar,” she murmured.

“No. Honest. I… Fuck.” No. No way. I am not this close already.

“Hmm?” she hummed playfully, picking up the speed of her touch.

“H-hey! Wait,” I gasped. “J-just— Mngh!”

Keke seemed just as surprised as I was when I orgasmed. Great. New world record. My chin dropped to my chest.

“It’s okay! We can just keep going, right?” Keke said.

“It doesn’t work like that,” I replied. And now I need to wash my pants.

“I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t think—” Keke’s face flushed, and she carefully removed her hand from my trousers.

“It’s fine, really.” I didn’t think I’d ever been so disappointed in myself. But that wasn’t her fault. I kissed her again and smiled. “Really.”

“Okay.” She crept away from the bed and headed to the bathroom. Her tail swished behind her with every sway of her hips.

Damn, that’s hot.

“Maybe it’s better that you used your fingers after all,” Keke teased from the door.

“Careful, Ravyn’s rubbing off on you,” I replied.

Keke waved me off with a flick of her wrist. “It just means we need to practice more.”

Now that was something I could get on board with.

New Notifications!

Matt has gained: 1 Level of Charisma!

New Quest!

[A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good]

Congratulations on your intimate moments with a catgirl. Nyarlea depends on you to survive! Successfully mate with 5 catgirls!

Rewards:

500 Bells 1 Base Level Up 1 Class Level Up