Two hours, several glasses, and a full stomach later, Kierra grabs me by the hand and leads me to our bedroom. Geneva trails behind us. I don’t like that smile she’s wearing or the curl to her tail. That only happens when she’s especially pleased.

“What are you up to?” I ask my grinning wife as she pulls me into our bathroom. Like the rest of the house, it’s ‘generous’. One side if reserved for bathing, with a large sunken tub made of marble and lined with gleaming brass. Five knobs control temperature, drainage, and ‘current’, waves of water that massage the body while you soak. A wonder, that.

The other side holds another wonder of the Grand Hall, something called a shower walled off by distorted glass. Very few things I’ve seen here can top standing under the enchanted nozzles while a warm spray beats down on me, one step away from scalding.

She guides me over to it, playfully stripping me. “Our little talk earlier got me thinking,” she whispers as she pushes down my pants. “It’s been a while since I’ve…indulged.”

Ah. I see where this is going. “That’s true. We were on the road and then in the hotel before being preoccupied with our lives here.” My poor elf has been holding it in for weeks. “You must be desperate.”

“Yesss.” She removes my last stitch of clothing, unhooking the wide band of cloth over my chest and tossing it over her shoulder. She grabs me by the waist, pulling me against her. “You drive me mad with want. I don’t have to wait any longer, do I?”

Her words are whispered against my lips as we share the same heated breaths. The tension crackling between us is volatile. One more spark will set it alight…

“Yeah, you do.” I pull out of her arms with a burst of strength and enter the shower, getting the temperature just right before I relax under the spray. My bliss is interrupted as she steps up behind me, a predator looming over its prey.

“It’s not good to tease,” she says as she washes my back with a soft washcloth.

My eyes slip shut as I enjoy the attention, heart thumping heavily. It amazes me sometimes how the smallest things make me fall for her more. Doesn’t mean I’m going to let her off. The melding, the training, the teasing. I think it’s time I push back.

“Can’t be helped. What with all the harsh training my instructor puts me through every day, I need all my strength. No nighttime exercise for me.”

When the washing stops, I take the cloth from her shocked fingers and finish up. My refusal has completely thrown her. Not surprising, as I never have before. Ever. Self-proclaimed hedonist and pleasure hound, I have no shame.

“You don’t mean it,” she says cautiously. “You want it just as much as I do.”

The saints, ah no. Shouldn’t call on holy figures for something like this. Cosmo knows she’s right. All she has to do is give me a look and I’m aching with desire. I feel it even when she’s borderline torturing me.

However, I like seeing her in distress at the thought of not getting what she wants. I haven’t seen that look since she first told me about her troll fetish. Oh, yes. I can hold back for this. Sweet, sweet revenge.

“I mean it,” I practically purr, handing her the rag while I finish rinsing off.

“Lou!”

I ignore her as I step out. Geneva is waiting for me with a spread towel. Honestly, I don’t know if I could function without her at this point. These succubi know how to insert themselves into someone’s life.

I let her dry me, taking it from her hands to handle my hair as I move to the bed. The mattress is three times the size of the ‘king’s bed’ of the Golden Feathers, custom ordered by my wife down to the hand-carved wooden frame. Topped with thick blankets and over a dozen pillows, it’s a little slice of heaven.

I climb in with a pleased groan, loving the feel of the silk sheets on my skin. Coming home to this every night makes it all worth it.

Oh, and Kierra too, I guess.

Who is giving me quite the look as she sits on the corner of the bed. It’s a good mix of amusement, exasperation, and frustration. “Your game isn’t very fun.”

“I’m enjoying myself.”

“So, you want me to make do with the pet, is that it?” She looks over to Geneva who gives her a smile, tail whipping back and forth. “You want to watch? We both know you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself for long.”

“The pet is going to keep her hands, tail, and any other body parts to herself.”

Geneva meets my gaze, chuckles, and gives Kierra a helpless shrug. “Sorry, Master. The orders of my summoner are absolute.”

Oh, frustration has finally broken through the other emotions. That is really close to anger. I shiver despite being wrapped in blankets. There’s no chance she’ll hurt me but oooh, this is playing with fire. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but poke the beast. “Feel free to entertain yourself. You’ve got two hands.”

The mattress dips as she leans over me. “You want to play games with me, dedia?” she hisses and things inside me twist with pleasure. “We can play. Why don’t you stay here with your two hands and I go find my satisfaction elsewhere? Does that amuse you too?”

I freeze. She doesn’t mean—

“Don’t think I’ll even bother getting dressed,” she continues. Her smile is all teeth as she watches my eyes widen and frown deepen. “I’ll just walk around until I come across the first decent lay that can smell a bitch in heat. With the way the men on this continent hover around me, I don’t think it’ll take too long. If I don’t find anything before I reach the Sanctuary, maybe I go in with the beasts and find a new fetish.”

Saints. No, there isn’t a blessing strong enough to cure this woman of her depravity. Is she joking? She has to be but I can’t tell. Should’ve known she’d beat me at my own game. I am sick to my stomach, pissed off, and turned on all at the same time. The things this woman does to me.

“Or maybe I skip the searching altogether? Maybe I go straight to Aurelius. You think he—”

“NO!” I shout, scowling as I sit up. This just stopped being funny! My heart thunders in my ears, hands shaking with the urge to hit something. The thought of him laying his hands on her…

“Over my dead body,” I whisper, so serious the vow frightens me a little. I mean every word though. If he tries, I already know, things will get messy and I might do something I regret.

Kierra licks her lips. Frickin’ elf is enjoying this. Another one of her manipulations. That pisses me off even more but somehow it feeds into the lust, the slick heat between my thighs becoming harder to ignore. “That’s not funny.”

“Not funny?” She lets out a barking laugh before pushing me down by my shoulders and straddling my waist. “Let me tell you what’s not funny! Holding back until my patience is frayed because I want to be considerate and then being denied. Seeing your adorable attempt at being in charge and being expected to keep my hands to myself.”

Her green eyes are practically smoldering as she takes quick, panting breaths. “I tried abstinence. You don’t want to see that.”

“You? What about me?” I roar, raging emotions taking control of my tongue. “Every damn time we go anywhere, I have to deal with those horny bastards undressing you with their eyes. What do I have to do, put a tattoo over your face that says ‘property of Lou’? And you prancing around them, snickering at my frustration. If you weren’t so damn lovable, you would have driven me crazy by now. You still might!” Everything’s blurring together. Are we arguing or flirting right now?

“And what are you going to do? Hmm? Little girl that can’t even fuck her own wife.”

It’s all a part of her plan. She knows my buttons and she’s pushing them. I know it but I can’t help but flinch as my heartbeat stops for a full second before coming back with such strength I fear it’s going to break through my chest. My body is on fire and she hasn’t even touched me. I can’t hold back anymore. I don’t want to.

Little? I’ll show you little.

With a thought, my body regresses to my elemental form before changing into something new. My lean frame is replaced by heavy bulk and compact muscle. A short snout forms over my wide mouth, ivory tusks on either side contrasting sharply against my wine-red skin.

I sit up, a large hand with thick, sausage fingers easily pushing her down and flipping her onto her stomach. It’s easy as she becomes weak as a kitten when she gets a whiff of this form. She’s already whining in need, hips grinding uselessly as I hold her down. “Looouuu…”

Oh, no. You’re not getting off that easily. Working me into a state, playing me like a bard strumming his instrument. You’ve bitten off a bit more than you bargained for this time, dedia.

My free hand waves Geneva over. Words are beyond me with a throat more suited to growling but she knows what I want. She climbs onto the bed, pressing her lips against my wife’s ear. “You’re going pay for that. She’s going to fuck you until you lose your mind and every scrap of that strength you’re so proud of. She won’t stop until your voice breaks from screaming her name. I hope you’re ready, Master.”

It was meant to make her nervous. I can’t hear anything but anticipation as she keens, pushing against the hand keeping her still in her desperation to feel me. She’s ready alright. I can feel as much when I raise her hips, settling her on her knees while my hand moves to her hair to shove her face into the sheets.

She worked me up on purpose to get what she wants. Good. She’s going to get all of the potent mix of anger and lust heating my blood.

It’s going to be a long night.