Lying there on Hei Lian’s bed with Ceres curled up beside me, her head on my chest, I watched the silver moon through the compartment’s window and contemplated. I was a very lucky man, in a wide variety of ways. Not the least of which was being blessed with the affections of four of the most wonderful women in the Continent.

I often find myself the target of resentful stares as men are enamoured by one or more of my wives, only to realize that they are spoken for… by the same person. They see four women, each laden with beauty, brains, status and talent, happily coexisting and revolving around a single man and they envy my fortune.

But they don’t see the constant mental effort required to keep things that way. They aren’t privy to the ruminations that fill every one of my free moments, where I go over my interactions with my wives with a fine-toothed comb. Women, the cryptic creatures they are, achieve most of their communication through non-verbal means and we poor men are expected to decipher the meanings hidden in each nudge and every wink. And Vita help you if you fail to notice the subtle gesture of one and catch on to another’s by sheer luck… the persecuted expressions you’ll be subjected to will make you feel like a right monster.

Being shared by four women just meant that I had to work four times as hard to keep our little tangle of relationships from falling into a fast knot. If not for my passive soul sense letting me keep a finger on their emotions, I don’t think I would have managed to handle them as well as I had until now.

But for all that, I wouldn't have it any other way. Those four made it worth the effort. Many, many times over.

Deimos was a bundle of mischievous cheer that could light up even the gloomiest of rooms with one of her smiles. Her libido was just as insatiable as her gluttonous stomach and she was the most impulsive of my wives under the sheets.

Every time with her was a surprise. Sometimes she would just pounce on me like a hungry cheetah, have her way with me, then walk away, her tail held high in self-satisfaction. On these occasions, there would be no warning. One moment we’d be deep in conversation, the next I’d find myself on my back with her straddling me, a predatory glint in her large green eyes, and one of her cute little canines denting the edge of her lower lip.

At other times, I would find myself waking to the sensation of her warm mouth around my member, her raspy tongue drawing every bit of pleasure it possibly could out of the organ. Many a morning had I pulled my blanket away to find her hard at work, her back arched, her butt swaying to the rhythm of her bobbing, her tail lashing in counterpoint. The sudden coolness would alert her to my wakefulness and she would look up at me with her beautiful eyes without stopping or even slowing down. The way the corners of her eyes crinkled would tell me she was smiling, happy to see me. That heart-melting look coupled with her suddenly more enthusiastic tonguing would be more than enough to push me over the edge.

Rearing back on her haunches, she would swallow audibly and lick any remnants from the back of her hands, just like a cat who had gotten her cream, all the while maintaining eye-contact with me. Of my wives, she enjoyed giving a blowjob the most, and the only one who liked to swallow. Unfortunately, these sessions were few and far between. After all, the lazy little thing was overly fond of sleeping late and it took a lot of motivation for her to break that habit and beat me to wakefulness. She had to be really, really pleased with me for her to even try. But that just meant I treasured those rare instances all the more.

And sometimes, she liked it when I surprised her. An unlatched bathroom door, underwear discarded where I was sure to find it, a request to massage her after an intense training session; all of them were standing invitations. It was up to me whether I took her up on them. And it was quite a bit of fun teasing her by playing dumb and latching the door, shaking my head and putting the underwear in the laundry, or keeping the massage strictly professional. After doing that, I could be quite sure I would be assaulted by her very soon.

But at other times, I gave in and took her up on her offers. At those times she would become putty in my hands, purring deep in her chest all the while. She loved it when I ran my teeth along the side of her neck, the vulnerability of the position igniting her feral instincts, making her go utterly still and her heart pound hard in her chest. What I enjoyed most about these sessions of ours was what came after. She would get extremely clingy, rubbing herself all over me as if she wanted to mark me with her scent and refusing to let me out of her sight until she fell asleep. Her peaceful sleeping face lodged in the crook of my neck, her warm breath tickling my chin… in those moments my heart would feel truly full.

Phobos. Phobos was a bundle of contradictions.

She pretended at submission but in all our bedroom games, even when I had her bent over a desk, pinned down by a hand at the back of her neck, another gripping her wrists at the small off her back, driving into her hard and fast… somehow, I never could shake the feeling that she was the one in charge.

Sex with Phobos was always an orderly affair. She would let me know well in advance the when, where and how. I just had to follow the script. The lack of spontaneity was made up for with the intensity of our sessions. Phobos just had this aura of maturity that daunted me and made me feel rather jittery when she asked me to take the reins like that. But once I really got into the swing of things, realizing that I was dominating such a woman lit a fire in the kinkiest corner of my heart. And the scandalous settings she came up with fanned the flames hotter.

Phobos was nothing if not creative. Every time I thought we had role-played every possible variation of the tyrannical man encroaching upon a reluctant maiden, she would come up with yet another version of the scenario. Sometimes I would be a rogue bandit and she a noble maiden who had fallen into my evil clutches. At another she would be a captured spy and I her interrogator.

She would go the extra mile to make these scenarios as vivid as possible, going so far as to turn her hobby of tailoring clothes towards producing realistic costumes for us to wear. She particularly had a thing for my military regalia. According to her, a man in a uniform was the pinnacle of sexiness. I just found the stiffly starched garments itchy, but I was willing to take her word for it. And it didn’t hurt that the uniform never stayed on me for long.

With all the preparation involved, the number of times I was with her was the least, but each experience was something both of us looked forward to.

Despite being the latest addition to our family, Artemis was the one I had the least trouble understanding. She was as straight as an arrow and just as direct. I could trust her to say what was on her mind without complicating things by playing a game of hints and allegories. She fit the role of the stoic and focused soldier perfectly.

At least, on the outside. On the inside, she was as vulnerable as a quivering quail. Once you managed to peel that thick layer of armour off her, she would reveal herself to you as an utter innocent in the field of emotions. Uncertain about how to take the next step forward and waiting for you to take the lead and show her the way.

As for our couplings… What can I say? She was just so damn sensitive! It was as though every part of her body was an erogenous zone. I was utterly amazed by the fact that I could bring her to climax just by nibbling on the tip of her ear! Not only that, her breasts, the inverted nipples that capped them, and her wings after she had stopped channelling her metallic mana into them; all of them could make her orgasm when paid enough attention. And she was multi-orgasmic. Once brought to a peak, each subsequent rise took less and less effort until she tensed up in one single stretch of convulsive pleasure.

Because of her lack of stamina in such matters, it was always me taking the lead… and I must confess, making her feel so good that she became unable to move afterwards gave me an immense sense of achievement. It was a great ego boost having the Princess of your nation at your mercy, begging for you to stop in gasped words while her body urged you to continue.

And I absolutely loved the way she would reflexively wrap her wings around the both of us after one of these sessions, the soft feathers brushing up against my skin like silk. It made for the warmest and the most comfortable blanket in existence.

A large cloud drifted in front of the moon, casting the compartment in darkness. I tightened my arm around Ceres’ waist, hugging her closer.

I know I am not supposed to have favourites, but if I had to be honest with myself, Ceres would be the top contender for that spot. She hadn’t been with me the longest, but my bond with her ran the deepest. Maybe, it was because our relationship had gone through so many twists and turns before finally falling onto the right tracks. Maybe because of the near-death experiences we had shared. Maybe because I just liked her wonderful tails. It didn’t really matter why, but I felt utterly comfortable with her.

Unlike with the others, when I was with her, I could afford to be selfish.

The cloud passed and the moonlight dyed the compartment silver yet again. Looking down, I found Ceres awake and looking up at me, her limpid brown eyes reflecting my face.

“Hey,” she said with a crooked grin. “You know, she did say we could do whatever we wanted as long as we changed the sheets afterwards…” Her voice grew seductively low. “Want to take her up on her offer?”

Reaching up with my other hand, I tapped her on the nose with my finger.

“I don’t feel like it right now... Let’s just cuddle.”

Ceres sighed and lay her head back down, wrapping an arm around my chest and snuggling closer to me. With my passive soul sense, I didn’t pick up even a hint of disappointment from her. Even though she had been in the mood, she had accepted my decision and gone along with it without protest.

To someone who had been burdened with too many expectations from all sides, this blind acceptance was extremely valuable.

Ceres cried out in surprise as I rolled over suddenly, pinning her slender body beneath me. Looking down at her with a wide grin on my face, I said,

“I just changed my mind.”