RD 2 Ch 44-45

Chapter 44

“So. I’ll uh… just sleep on the couch?” Nyx asked, staring at our room that now included her scant belongings as well.

“Uh. It’s a bit small for your tail.” I scratched my cheek. “How about I sleep on the couch and you join Simone in the bed. Careful, though, she’s a snuggler.”

Simone echoed my words by latching onto Nyx. “She’s gonna be so fun to cuddle. You know, the two of you should go spend some time together.”

“We spent plenty in the instance,” I answered, confused.

“No. Outside the danger, just the two of you enjoying a moment,” Simone insisted. “Otherwise, staying with her is going to be awkward.”

I glanced at Nyx who shrugged but didn’t meet my eyes. “Well, I have wanted to go dip my toes in the ocean without… you know, rushing through life and death.”

“You’re a walk on the beach kind?” Simone asked. “How did I not know this?”

“The sound of water is calming, and being barefoot on the beach is incredibly grounding. When the world is spinning out of your control, it’s nice,” I said.

“So romantic. Oh! If you hurry, I bet the two of you could make it in time for the sunset!” Simone pushed me into the bedroom. “Nyx, just use the room out there. I’ll keep Bran busy for a minute.”

The bedroom was at least changed by whoever had been inside. Simone wasn’t much of a ‘make the bed’ kind of woman. She liked the sheets messy.

“What are you doing?” I sighed.

“A date. You need to make it a nice date for her.” Simone puffed out her cheeks.

“We’re in the middle of a rolling disaster,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s a calm in the storm. Enjoy it. Think of it as sealing the deal between you and a really strong new recruit.” She poked me. “Stop being oblivious.”

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. “That’s not it. I’m not oblivious. She’s… she’s eighteen.”

“So? You are, too.” Simone giggled. “Just give her a talk. Here, go on a nice stroll with her and really get to know her. Don’t dismiss her and release your preconceived notions.”

“She’s not too bad,” I hesitated, keeping my voice low.

“Right, or you wouldn’t have picked her out of the rest of the Heros in the instance to nurture and bring along for your adventure. Even if you don’t say it, you trust her on some level. Now, go out on a date with her.” Simone giggled. “The last few nights there has been a really nice surprise in the ocean. Take her out there and enjoy a walk. Maybe more. You know, if you come home late, that’s okay with me, too.”

I poked her in her bountiful chest. “Won’t happen.”

“Sure, sure. Now, let’s get you something nice on. Gimme your ring.” Simone was giddy to dress me up for a date with Nyx.

Outside the room, there were a few bangs of suitcases being thrown open and a flurry of cloth that made me a little scared to see what was happening out there.

“See? She’s giving it her all. It’s like a duel against a worthy opponent. Give the date your all to honor her.” Simone continued to try and give me dating advice.

I wasn’t a complete idiot. I had lived many years and dated many women. However, it felt a little odd with Simone being so eager for me to go on a date with someone else. Sure relationships could get a little unconventional after the Rapture, but rarely was someone so eager for more.

Then again, Simone just loved sex.

“I’m almost done!” Nyx said from outside.

“Me, too,” Simone answered back.

I rolled my eyes again as she fished out an outfit for me.

“Knock her dead. Or knock her up.” Simone giggled at her own joke.

***

Nyx had hurried out ahead to meet me at the beach. The two of them were really getting into the idea and the woman had wanted to meet me there even if we were in the room together a minute ago.

I pulled at the collar of the shirt, not even sure when I had bought this. I must have seen it and thought it would be good if Gloria wanted to go somewhere ritzy.

However, I categorically refused to wear a tie. In a fight, a tie was a huge liability. Since it was a beach, I left off the shoes.

Nyx was hard to miss with her snakes dancing around her head.

“Hello, lovely,” I called, putting on a smile and feeling my mood lift with it.

She twisted around and flashed me a brilliant smile of her own. Her mint green eyes were highlighted with smokey eyeshadow, making them stand out even amidst the rest of her otherwise exotic form. Her seafoam green hair transitioned to serpents that twisted around, taking turns looking around her and then doting on her occasionally, pulling at the dress she wore.

The dress was a deep midnight blue, and as I’d just seen, it was backless before pooling down past her waist.

“Hi, Bran!” The best part was the way her face lit up when she turned to me, drawing me into her smile. Which was good. It kept my eyes from falling into the generous cleavage she was displaying.

I held out my arm as I stepped up to her. “Hope you don’t mind the lack of footwear.” I wiggled my toes into the sand.

“Not like I have a foot to stand on in that argument.” She chuckled as the tip of her tail wiggled into view. “This has been… an adjustment.”

“How are you doing with all of it, really?” I asked and started walking her down towards the water.

“Fine?” She paused. “In the instance, I was kind of freaking out. Then…” She blushed. “Then you didn’t mind it and instead commented on my danger cups. After that, I felt like a woman despite looking a little strange.”

I took a moment to obviously look her over again. “You are a woman. I’m glad you’ve realized that. Everyone else in the clan?”

“They look. A few stare. Kinda happy there aren’t many little kids who would certainly stare. Most of them then inspect me and either stop staring or start staring at my stats.” She smiled.

I rubbed her arm that was resting in mine. “Good. I’m sure they are suitably impressed enough with your stats that they won’t cause trouble. Besides, those little guys look out for you.” I held a finger up to one who quickly nudged me before curling around my arm like a lost puppy.

The rest of her hair swarmed in like they were jealous, and quickly, my hand was completely encased in her serpent hair.

“Uh.” I hesitated, not wanting to pull back and rip her hair out.

“I have no idea what’s happening. Sometimes they have a mind of their own.” She apologized, and in what seemed like a force of will, she untangled them from around my arm.

“They are quite honest with how you feel,” I teased her.

Nyx blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. “I like you, Bran. I like you a lot,” she confessed.

Taking the arm I was holding, I brought the back of her hand to my lips and kissed it. “I’m not an idiot, Nyx. You agreed to come on a nighttime walk on the beach with me and dressed up to do so.”

“So… then by asking me, does that mean…?” She trailed off.

“I’m at the very least interested in exploring.”

Her snakes might as well have been throwing a party, while Nyx tried to stay stoic. “I can never play poker, can I?” She frowned at the snakes.

“Probably a bad idea. They might be like learning to control your face. Enough practice and perhaps they wouldn’t give away your hand every time.” I leaned in. “But between me and you, I like the confirmation.”

“You would enjoy it. How am I supposed to be a coy lady, though?” Her accent really pulled through with her comment.

I gave her a look for it. “Maybe we just be honest with each other. For example, why did you join Odyssey?”

She hesitated. “Mostly to stay close to you. Though, I think I’ve convinced myself a dozen different ways that it was the correct idea.”

“Like what?” I wanted to know her goals.

“Well, with my current state, I can’t wander around doing normal things.” She answered. “I was hoping to go to business school after a year off. Now I know why my father pushed for the year off. Anyway, I doubt I’m going to be in a boardroom anytime soon. That, and if demons are coming in the next year and a half, then I don’t think there’s much value in that career anyway.”

I chuckled. “You are telling me what you can’t do. But what do you want to do?”

“Build something. Something that’ll last. Make my mark on the world—as cheesy as that sounds.” We got down to the shoreline, and I turned parallel with the water such that it lapped at my feet occasionally.

Nyx continued to slither along, glancing down at her lower half. “Going to need to wash the sand out of my scales after this.”

“Sorry. We can go somewhere else,” I said.

She shook her head. “No, this is perfect.”

“Back to the topic. I don’t think wanting to make your mark on the world is cheesy at all. We all want to be remembered, particularly by those we care about.” I stared out at the sun that was sinking in the sky but had yet to paint the clouds. “We’ve talked about what I’m doing in Vein City, and I’m guessing Simone has talked to you?”

“Yeah. You’re building a fortress, trying to prepare for the demon apocalypse coming.” Nyx nodded. “Can’t say I’m too valuable there.”

“You are plenty valuable,” I corrected her quickly. “In fact, you are at an interesting point because you are absolutely brimming with talent to the point I’m sure you could be sent in any direction and succeed.”

She dipped her head and bit her lip. “Thank you.”

“But”—I paused for a moment—“do you really want to hitch all that talent to my projects?”

She shrugged. “You were a level one put in an instance that even the clan elders would struggle to complete on their own. Yet you demolished it. If there’s about to be a big, dangerous demon apocalypse, I think your projects are going to be the ones that stand tall by the end of it.”

I hummed in thought with her words. “What if I told you that I had some serious advantages?”

“We all already know about your father’s training,” Nyx said. “That doesn’t make you less capable.” She raised a manicured eyebrow in the silent question if there was more.

“Much more than that. I lied. Well, I lied a few times during the instance because the truth is harder to believe, and I needed something convenient.”

“You’ve kept up the lie after the instance,” Nyx was quick to point out. “I don’t much care to be lied to.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I was doing this wrong, and I didn’t even need Simone here to tell me that. “It’s complicated and involves things most wouldn’t believe.” I thought about how to ease into the truth and then scrapped that idea and decided that it would just be better to peel the bandage off quickly. “My soul is over five hundred years old. My body is eighteen. The system or the world helped me send my soul back in time. I lived through the demon apocalypse and then multiple wars with humans and demons. Long story short, the demons came back and almost killed everyone. Well, they did. I was there at humanity’s last stand when the last fortress fell and demons invaded it. All was lost, and in a final desperate attempt, I managed to go back in time.”

It all came out in a rush, and I stared at her expectantly.

More than I thought, I was nervous about how Nyx would take my truth. I had opened up to her, and in the very few instances I was vulnerable.

Vulnerability always made me nervous. It put not only me at risk but those that I loved. I could recover. I always did. But those around me weren’t replaceable.

Chapter 45

Nyx opened her mouth to respond before her eyes caught on something, and she spun towards the water. “Wow!”

I chuckled and followed her gaze.

The water had grown dark with the sun lowering in the sky, and now there were speckles of light like someone had spilled twinkling stars into the ocean.

“Why don’t we stop at those rocks to watch it?” I asked.

Nyx shook her head. “Right, you just confessed quite a bit… I…” She chewed on her lip. “So, you’re an old man?”

“I never really aged past looking maybe thirty? When vitality gets high enough, aging pretty much stops. Some even see their age reverse. Simone’s almost twice your age,” I clarified.

“Really?” Nyx blinked but followed me over to the outcropping of rocks. “Never would have guessed. Also, it somehow isn’t really surprising to learn you’re older than you look. As for living another life… do you miss it?”

I hummed at that question. “No. I don’t miss that life. There are some people I miss. At the same time, I have gotten quite accustomed to missing people. Rather than mourning them, I have put my mind to making sure they have better lives this time around.”

“They are still alive,” Nyx pointed out.

“Yes, but rather than the people I once knew, they are like their close sister.”

“Other women,” Nyx realized. “How… how many?”

“A few. Not hundreds or anything.” I chuckled. “Though there would be if Simone got her way. You have to be careful. She’s quick to love.”

“Funny. She said you were a little slow on picking up hints.” Nyx giggled. “Right. So you had a past life. From that, you have a little baggage but an absolute wealth of experience. Wait. You know what stocks are going to pop off!”

I shook my head. “Two years to play that game isn’t really worth it to me. All that money will be worthless. Why is everyone so insistent on that concept?”

“Lotteries?” She hesitated.

“All that gold we have from that instance would put some lotteries to shame.” I pointed out. “No. I’d much rather gain the strength to push back the tide of demons in the future than get a big pile of money today.”

Nyx pouted. “Not like I need money anyway. Just, everyone dreams of being filthy rich.”

“Because being rich solves a vast majority of the problems and anxieties we feel.” I shrugged at her glare. “What? Just logically thinking through it.”

“I’d rather think about diving into a pool full of cash.” Nyx laughed at the image. “So. If you’re from the future, what happens to me?” She was so full of joy at the question.

“Well. Everyone died, Nyx. I’m not joking. Every single person on Earth save for the last handful of survivors died. I did interact with the clan much later in that life. You… were already gone.” I tried to break it softly and clearly failed.

She let out an explosive breath. “Well. That’s… unfortunate to hear.”

“There were stories about you. Well, mostly your hair.” I shrugged.

She laughed and shrugged it off. “This time will be different. Then I absolutely have to come back to Vein City with you. That way I don’t make the same mistakes as my past life. I would rather like to be alive.”

“What I knew of that future is rapidly becoming less certain. Things are changing.”

“Damn right they are. You are a singularly effective man, Bran. Alright. Any more bombs to drop?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Plenty, but none that I need to drop.”

“Great. Let's get back to the date since I passed your test.” She wiggled herself closer on the rock until our hips were pressed together.

I put my arm over her shoulder as her snakes gave it little kisses and gazed out at the water.

The sun had perfect timing and started to dye the clouds a soft purple and pink as it reflected off the water.

The sea fireflies—or whatever they were—continued to twinkle as I pulled Nyx tighter against me, wanting to feel her body with mine.

Nyx might be inexperienced in the ways of the world, but she seemed determined enough to follow me that I don’t think she’d be easily shaken from that path. If anything, I got the sense she’d lean into the path we needed to forge.

Her affection for me aside, her eyes didn’t waver when she spoke of making her mark on the world, and the idea of her death in the other timeline was nothing more than something for her to overcome.

She was tougher than she appeared, or perhaps the instance had made her tougher.

One of her serpents lay down on my shoulder and tickled at my neck with not-so-subtle kisses.

I reached up and stroked the top of its head while I stared out at the sunset.

I let myself relax just a bit. This was a time to relax and soak up affection from the woman next to me. “It really is beautiful.”

“Yeah.” She let out a breathless sigh and leaned back.

I knew signals well enough to bend over and kiss her. Nyx was hesitant at first before her lips started to suck on me greedily.

She really got into the kiss a moment later, reaching up and holding onto my head like she was afraid I’d pull away, and her tongue danced against mine as if asking permission.

I sucked on it, drawing it into my mouth before passing it back, slightly wary. It wasn’t forked, but it was longer than I had expected.

Nyx finally pulled back, panting like she’d forgotten to breathe. Actually, she might have. “Took my breath away,” she said and turned back to the sunset. “Oh. It’s over.”

“That’s fine. There are better things to do, aren’t there?” I pulled her into my lap.

The beautiful woman in my lap bit her lip and ran her hands over my chest. “You should enjoy what you’ve only been able to see before.” Her fingers traced down my arm and pulled my hands to her chest before sliding them under that thin dress to where she had nothing on underneath.

“Incredibly dangerous. Nothing? How the heck are they so perky and soft.” I played my fingers over them.

Her skin was like warm silk, yet it had that incredible pliability that only a woman’s body seemed to contain.

“Bran.” She braced herself against me and pressed her chest against my fingers. “Go slow?”

“We’ll go as slow as you like,” I promised, brushing her nipples and feeling just how hard they had become. “Though, I have a question.”

“Yes. It works down there. Uh… pretty sure it’s obvious if you lift the dress.” Nyx kissed me like she’d been starving for it.

This woman was a handful, in more than one way.

I left her chest alone and pulled them out of her dress to cup her hips.

Nyx whined. “Don’t stop.”

“It’s good to explore other things. Nyx, it’s too dark for me to see anything. Help me?” I reached the hem of her dress, and she guided my hand down to where her pelvis turned from skin to scales.

“There.” She pushed my finger past two scales, and I immediately sank into a slick channel. “Fuck me.” She bucked and pressed her head to mine. “More. Please.”

I swished two fingers just inside her labia, feeling the familiar clit. I smiled, feeling better. I had been a little worried about some sort of change I’d need to learn my way into.

Probing deeper, I didn’t feel a hymen and got both fingers all the way in before a gentle come hither motion had her grinding on my hand.

“Don’t tease me. That feels so good.” She moaned and recaptured my lips, kissing for all she was worth.

“I’m enjoying you twisting yourself all up.”

There was a flash of ferocity in her eyes, and her snakes dove down and worked together to pull my pants down.

It was a little thrilling to feel their fangs brushing my thigh as they worked.

“Don’t worry. It’s all for this mouth,” Nyx promised and slithered out of my lap to kneel next to me before swallowing it in one go. “Huge,” she said around it. “Didn’t think it would go all the way.”

“Surprised you can talk around it.” I ran my hands through her hair, and the snakes converged on my hand like puppies competing for affection. When I grabbed the roots, they wound around my arm, begging me to not let go.

Cheeky little things.

“I like that.” Nyx ran her tongue up and down the shaft, coming out enough to suck on the head only to dive back in. Her technique was rough, but she made up for it with sheer enthusiasm.

She sucked me off like a woman possessed.

“You’re good.” I grunted, guiding her into the perfect rhythm.

She learned quickly what I liked, teasing the tip with quick licks before swallowing it into her slick throat and broad strokes that had me holding tight to her hair.

My reservations about Nyx were quickly being burnt and tossed aside by my growing libido. I used her hair and started to rock into her lips, faster and faster as I got to the peak. “I’m cuming.”

Nyx formed a seal around the base and shoved me deep into her throat as I twitched and spurted down her throat.

I loved cumming in something tight and warm. There was a visceral satisfaction.

She sucked a few more times, ensuring she got every drop before sliding me out of her mouth slowly and licking her lips like it was a tasty snack. “That wasn’t as bad as I expected. Thought for sure it wouldn’t fit.” She slithered around, drawing herself back up onto my lap as her tail twisted around my legs.

Letting go of her hair, I raised an eyebrow, feeling relaxed from the orgasm but having a bit of post-nut clarity. “Isn’t this a little fast?”

She hummed. “It’s not like we’re getting married, Bran. Besides, this isn’t a first date. Or if it is, it comes with a big history. We spent two weeks together fighting for our lives. There’s nothing sudden about what we are about to do, then you’re going to treat me well for a while, and we’ll see what comes next.”

Her tail had my legs bound, and her hips pressed down onto me.

I had no arguments. “I will treat you well for a very long time.” The lapping of the waves almost hid the sigh she let out as she sank down on me.

“Yes, you will.”

Her slick paradise engulfed me easily and, to my surprise, squeezed around my length until she was as tight as a condom. “Oh. That was easier than I suspected.”

“You might have a few different muscles down there,” I pointed out.

She smiled and put her hands on my shoulder as she moved testingly in several directions.

With her tail coiled up as a base behind her, she had quite the range of motion; meanwhile, her pussy sucked and pulled at me almost like a mouth. She was perfectly tight around my whole length.

“Well then.” She smirked. “Let me show you how much I want to follow you back to Vein City. Apologies, I’m new to this. Just didn’t know if you could manage being on top with the different configuration.”

I grunted in agreement. Her testing had worked. I was back to diamond hardness, and she was quickly wearing through my restraint.

If she wanted to be on top, I was happy to oblige, but the way she moved was driving me nuts.

Nyx leaned down and kissed me, our lips tangling up and giving me something to do as I ran my hand through her hair, and her snakes peppered me with small kisses.

Meanwhile, the kisses didn’t stop her hips from moving as she pumped me in and out of her with incredible dexterity.

“Nyx.” I moaned her name.

“Say it again.” She begged her eyes half-lidded with pleasure.

“Keep going and you’re going to drive me nuts. I’m not normally one to be on the bottom,” I growled at her.

She laughed and pumped herself over me eagerly.

I let myself get lost in the pleasure of both pairs of lips pulling her head down and kissing her while thrusting up into her.

A fire lit inside of me, and I knew I was going to take this woman roughly in a moment. She was inexperienced, but her advantages were clear.

Rolling, I pinned her hands down and started to thrust into her.

In the dark, her pale chest bounced free of her dress, and Nyx writhed against the rock, gasping in pleasure as I drove inside of her.

“Don’t stop.” She mewled. “More.”

“Oh. There’s plenty. We could go all night,” I promised.

Her snakes smothered me with that statement before they all went limp against me, and I felt Nyx shudder. The movement started at her waist and rippled up her body before going back down through her tail that squeezed me tight as if to hold onto me as she rode an explosive orgasm.

Her mouth was wide in a breathless sigh with her eyes pinched closed.

When she blinked her eyes open the look in them was one of adoration and hunger. Lots of hunger.

Her tail coiled tightly around me and pushed for me to go harder.

Seeing her like that had brought me to the peak. There was nothing more satisfying than bringing a lover pleasure. It made me feel on top of the world.

I thrust deep into her feeling my balls boil. “I’m cuming.”

She wrapped me up in a hug as her coils pinned me into her as I painted her insides. “Yes. More.”

“How about we head back to the room and do it on something a little more comfortable?” I teased her with a few kisses.

“One more and then we can go back. What about Simone?” she asked.

“Either you can ask her to join or ask her to sleep on the couch. She won’t mind,” I said.

“She can come sleep with us, but I think I want you to myself for the fun bits.” Nyx even on the bottom was able to start fucking me. “Oh. Yes.” Her eyes rolled up. “More. Take me, be a little rougher I think.”

“We’ll figure everything out slowly,” I promised.