Fortune and Fortitude Pt. 07

"So," Annika said with a smile, "Who won?"

Jared shrugged. "I don't think anyone was keeping score."

"Annika, Ria, Jared, and I each won 2 rounds," Zoe listed off, counting her fingers. "Quinn won zero, and Kiara won 3. If we count the tie as a four-way win, of course."

Ria folded her arms. "You kept track?"

Zoe shrugged. "It's not like it was hard. And I like competing."

Jared raised his eyebrows and looked at Quinn. "You didn't win any rounds?"

She held up her hands helplessly. "Nope. Honestly, it kind of felt like I was being targeted."

Kiara eyed Zoe, who didn't react at all.

"But wait," Annika protested, "That last one doesn't count. Nobody won that round."

"Technically," Quinn replied, "Ria and Jared won. When Zoe jumped, she was the first off of her mount."

"That's not the rule!" Zoe hissed. "It's whoever lands in the water first!"

"Maybe it doesn't matter," Jared offered. But no one was listening to him by this point.

Kiara folded her arms. "Zoe's right. It's the first to land in the water."

Annika shook her head. "They both fell off. So no one won that round."

"Let's have a rematch," Ria proposed. "Give it another go. See who really won."

Kiara frowned. "You're just saying that because you're not as tired as Zoe. You know you'll win."

"Fine," Ria jutted out her chin. "Let's have a rematch with everyone."

"No!" Zoe said vehemently. "Quinn and Annika got out, fair and square."

Quinn sighed. "How about we play a different game? Winner takes all?"

Everyone turned to look at her. Ria eyed her suspiciously.

Zoe scowled. "What kind of game?"

"A kissing game," Quinn answered with a smile.

Jared blinked, while Ria suddenly lit up. Kiara and Zoe shared a glance. "A what?"

Quinn shrugged, resting her arms under her chest. "You know. Something to take the edge off. After all," she said with a half-hearted smile, "If everything goes well, we're going to be together for a while. Might as well get comfortable with each other. Especially you."

Jared hesitated, before nodding. "I guess I'm okay with that. What do y'all think?"

Annika grinned. "Sounds good to me."

Ria glanced at Jared, and her face flushed slightly pink. But she didn't seem very nervous. "That sounds pretty fun."

Kiara nodded her assent, her face unreadable. Zoe's scowl didn't fade as she eyed Quinn suspiciously.

After a few moments of all eyes being on her, she sighed. "Fine. But for the record, I think Kiara won the chicken game."

"Competitive much?" Annika muttered under her breath as everyone began leaving the pool.

Jared stayed behind. Quinn noticed and gestured for him to follow. "You coming?"

"I figured I would let you guys change first," he replied uncomfortably.

Quinn gave him a reproachful look. "You're such a gentleman," she said wryly.

He glanced at the girls entering the doorless locker room. "You really think I should join you guys? It's not like it will help get anyone fed," he reminded her.

"That's not the point." She sat back down on the edge of the pool, resting her hands on her knee with her head on top. "We're a team now. Sort of."

"I know." He took a deep breath. "But I want my first time with Annika and Ria to be special, you know? I don't really feel like spoiling anything."

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "First time with both of them? You're going to take them in a threesome, too?" She shook her head and pouted playfully. "Now I just feel left out."

Jared's shaft began to harden, and he chuckled. "You know that's not what I meant. I'm going to do it, sure, but I'm going to do it right."

Quinn's face twisted into a pout. "Fine. Take your time." She shook her head with a smile. "But I hope you realize how many men would kill to be invited into that locker room."

He chuckled and leaned back against the pool wall. "Trust me, I know. Honestly..." He shook his head. "It's pretty tempting. Almost too tempting."

Which was his main reason for not doing it. The only benefit would be lust-based. Not practical, romantic, unifying, or anything else that he wanted. If it was just his vassals, he might go for it.

Quinn rolled her eyes and stood, heading for the lockers. "Well, suit yourself."

He smiled and closed his eyes, resting his head on the pool's edge.

"Hey, Jared." He opened his eyes to look up at Quinn, who was standing next to the door.

She had pulled her swimsuit down, with one arm covering her now exposed breasts.

Once she had his attention, she smirked. Then, she slowly lowered her arm, revealing her chest to him.

His eyes locked onto her small mounds, and he felt himself quickly begin to harden. Even from where he was sitting, he could see as her nipples stiffened in the cool air.

He looked back up into her eyes, which had never left his face. He grinned. She smiled in response, and with a saucy spin, walked topless into the locker room.

He chuckled to himself and laid his head back.

Man, he loved her.

****************

After changing, he went upstairs. They had taken their time while changing, drying their hair and what not, and so the evening had progressed quite a bit. A glance at his phone as he climbed the stairs told him that it was just after seven o' clock.

When he arrived, the girls were already seated in the living room, gathered in a circle around the coffee table. He walked over, albeit with a bit of nervousness.

Despite his resolve, he was still rather new to all of this. It had been, what, three days? Three days since his first real kiss? Given everything that had happened, it felt much longer, but still. It was quite the transition to make.

The mild chatter between them stopped as he approached. Quinn looked up and smiled. "Have a seat. I was just explaining the rules."

Jared sat down, taking the empty spot between Quinn and Ria on the couch. On Ria's left, Annika sat in a chair, and Kiara sat similarly on Quinn's right. Zoe was on a stool across from him.

They were dressed rather simply. Jared, along with Quinn and Kiara, was back in a classic white t-shirt and jeans combo, with the addition of Kiara's jacket. Zoe was wearing an overly large T-Shirt that fell down to nearly her knees. Lastly, Ria was dressed in a stylish pink tank-top and jean shorts. All of them were barefoot.

Quinn rolled the die she was holding onto the table. "The rules are pretty basic. Each of us girls will take turns being the Kiss Master. The Kiss Master rolls the dice to determine what kind of kiss will be happening." She pulled over a slip of paper with some handwritten notes, styled in her handwriting:

1 - Kiss on the hand

2 - Kiss on the forehead (both)

3 - Kiss on the cheek (both cheeks, both)

4 - Kiss around the mouth (both)

5 - Peck on the lips

6 - A simple kiss while holding hands

"Then," she continued as Jared studied the paper, "the Kiss Master will choose another girl to receive the kiss. The round ends when every girl has been kissed once."

Jared nodded, secretly a bit relieved. When Quinn had suggested a kissing game, he had thought she would go for something a bit more... extreme. Most of those kisses seemed pretty safe.

"So how does someone win? Whoever gets the most kisses?"

Zoe piped up. "The girl who gets kisses gets points equal to the number. So a hand kiss is worth 1 point, a forehead kiss 2 points, and so on."

"Ah." Made sense. It was pretty simple and to the point. "So what does the 'both' mean?"

"It's a two-way street," Annika explained. "We do it to you, and you do it to us."

Ah. "So a kiss on the cheek is actually... four kisses?"

"Right."

Fair enough, he supposed. He looked around at the girls. He had technically kissed everyone but Ria, but most of those kisses hadn't really been genuine. Zoe had been in pain and terrified, and his kisses with Annika were more practical than romantic in any sense. Mostly it was just Kiara and Quinn that he felt comfortable with.

He cleared his throat. "So... Whose turn is it first?"

They all glanced at each other, and Quinn bit her lip. "We were thinking that you should pick someone to start off as the Kiss Master. Then we'll just pass it clockwise from there."

Yikes. If the pool game had been any indication, they had a fair bit of competitiveness between them. Or, at least, a strong sense of justice, even in games.

He considered his options, looking at each of them in turn. The first girl would get to pick who was kissed, but she couldn't pick herself.

"Quinn," he decided suddenly. "How about you start?"

Zoe scowled, but everyone else seemed alright with it.

Zoe had turned out much more... feisty than he had remembered. When they were kids, she always seemed borderline shy. It was crazy how time had changed her.

Their eyes met, and she glanced away quickly, seeming abashed. Confused, Jared turned his attention to Quinn, who was rolling the die. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as he thought.

The die clattered across the table, with all of their eyes following it.

"A six," Quinn announced.

Well, fair enough. Starting off with the highest, he supposed.

Quinn caught his eye and cocked her head. "I choose Ria."

The only one he hadn't kissed yet. He turned to her on his left.

She seemed genuinely surprised by Quinn's choice, but she quickly regained composure. She smiled, flipping her hair back and leaning forward slightly.

Jared reached out and took her by the hands before leaning in. He could smell her perfume - a scent he couldn't really name.

Their lips met gently, and Jared's fire ignited with a pleased roar.

It was... exhilarating. Happy. Like standing on a hill, feeling the strong wind blow into your face.

He pressed into it to finish off, giving her hands a squeeze before pulling back.

Her eyelids fluttered at the brevity of the kiss, and she leaned back with a small blush. Jared suddenly became aware of everyone watching them.

Quinn had a pleased smile on her face. Zoe didn't seem to really care about the situation, looking between them and the die. Annika looked on, leaning in almost hungrily. In contrast, Kiara turned away, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Quinn passed the die off to her. "Your turn, Kiss Master. Choose well."

Kiara sighed and rolled the dice without ceremony. "Four. Which means..." She consulted the sheet.

"Kiss around, but not on, the lips," Quinn clarified. "Both of them take a turn."

Kiara glanced around. "I pick Zoe."

Zoe sat up straight. "Okay..." She eyed the table between them. "Should we move around, or..."

Jared stood and leaned over the table. Zoe shrugged and did the same. "That works, I guess."

He shifted as she started lightly kissing his chin, slowly making her way around his mouth. It was a strange kiss, as far as things go, and about as awkward as you might expect. He faintly wondered where Quinn had gotten the idea.

Zoe finished her traces and felt her lips with a finger. "I think you've got the beginnings of a mustache."

Jared didn't respond, instead leaning down to kiss her chin. She stiffened, her jaw locking beneath his touch.

He moved around, his lips brushing against her nose as he moved over her mouth, before finishing his circuit. "You know," he said, pulling back, "I might say the same for you."

Her eyes widened, and he grinned. "I'm kidding. You're smooth as a bird." He lifted her chin with his fingers to look him in the eye,

Her eyes flashed, and she smiled suddenly, her face growing red. Satisfied, Jared sat back on the couch, leaving her to sit.

She folded her hands in her lap as Kiara cleared her throat and passed the die to her.

Zoe rolled it, looking around at the others as she did so.

It fell to the table with a clatter. "Three." She shrugged. "Let's go with Annika, then."

Annika wasted no time, quickly leaning over Ria and grabbing Jared's shirt before hesitating.

"Cheek kiss," Quinn reminded her.

Annika turned to kiss his cheek firmly, staying there for several seconds before switching to his other side.

When she pulled away, Jared caught her wrists for his turn. He kissed the corners of her mouth, pushing the limits of the rules.

He heard Zoe open her mouth to protest, but Quinn quickly shushed her. Annika was shaking slightly, her hunger horribly evident.

He moved up to whisper in her ear without releasing her wrists. "Soon. I promise."

She shivered and nodded. "Tuesday?"

Jared smiled. "If not before then."

She pulled back, trying to retain some aura of dignity while Ria smiled in amusement. He felt bad for Annika, he really did.

Why was he delaying? He could probably just surprise her tonight. He put that thought on the backburner as Annika rolled.

"Another three." She glanced over at where Quinn was keeping score. "I think I'll pick Kiara."

Quinn sat back into the couch and gestured for Kiara. Kiara rose and squeezed between him and Quinn, her arm resting on the couch behind him.

Instead of waiting for her to take her turn, Jared took her chin with his thumb and pressed a soft kiss against her cheek, then another on her other side.

She smiled, a hint of sadness in her eyes as she did the same.

Quinn scooted away to give them a bit more room, but Kiara didn't take advantage of it as she kissed his cheeks. With a silent nod, she retreated to her seat.

Jared felt a small lump form in his throat. She was jealous, he was sure. Not angry jealous, like what he might expect from a situation like this. Just... sad. It seemed like she was doing her best to deal with it, but it still bothered her. Which, in turn, bothered him.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but she just looked down at her hands in her lap. Next to him, Ria took the die and gave it a roll.

"Six!" Ria grinned. "I think Zoe deserves a real kiss this time."

Jared stood again but frowned at the table between them. "This thing is kind of annoying to deal with." Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Let's move onto the floor," Quinn suggested. "Make things a bit simpler for us."

They moved to the other side of the living room, where there was no table obstructing their access to each other. At Quinn's gesture, Jared took a seat on the couch, while everyone else sat in a circle on the floor.

Zoe crossed over to him and held out her hands stiffly. He took them and leaned forward but stopped before kissing her.

"Why are you so stiff?" he asked quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Zoe pursed her lips. "I'm not used to things like this," she stated matter-of-factly.

Jared leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. "Well, you should get used to them." And then he kissed her.

She was caught off guard slightly and stiffened for a moment before relaxing slightly, returning the simple kiss.

There was a spark - unlike Quinn's heat or Kiara's cool, there was a small surge, like a spark from a plug. Exciting, and pleasant.

The kiss ended quickly, and Zoe quickly pulled back and sat down, face flushing again. She sure was easily flustered.

Quinn was up next, and she rolled a one. She casually chose Kiara to receive the kiss on the hand.

Jared kissed her hand tenderly and gave it a squeeze, eliciting a real (albeit small) smile from her before she sat down again.

Kiara rolled a five and chose Quinn. Quinn wasted no time at all, walking over to him and planting a quick kiss on his lips. He wanted to grab her arm and pull her back for a real kiss, but that would (of course) be against the rules.

And he'd rather not make this more complicated than it had to be.

"Alright, round over!" Zoe said cheerfully. "And I win!"

Jared raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, that went pretty fast. Are we-" He stopped as Quinn grabbed the paper and unfolded it. "Wait, what?"

She raised her eyebrows innocently as she pulled out a second die. "You really thought that was the whole game? We're going to move on to round two."

Nobody else seemed surprised. She'd probably told them. Jared quickly snatched the paper from her and read over the new numbers.

2 - Kiss on the forehead (both)

3 - Kiss on the cheek (both cheeks, both)

4 - Kiss around the mouth (both)

5 - Peck on the lips

6 - A simple kiss while holding hands

7 - A kiss while embracing one another (5 sec)

8 - A long, lingering kiss (30 sec)

9 - A french kiss (10 sec)

10 - A groping kiss (10 sec)

11 - A firey tongue Kiss (10 sec)

12 - Intense Make-out Session (60 sec)

Well, it certainly made a lot more sense. He tilted his head. "So what's the difference between a 'firey tongue kiss' and a French kiss?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's like asking what the difference is between chocolate ice cream and double brownie fudge." She grinned. "I guess you'll find out."

He let out a breath. "How did you even learn this stuff? I thought you'd never had a boyfriend."

She waved her hand. "Well, sure. But that doesn't mean I didn't watch stuff online. Plus," she reminded him, holding a hand to her chest, "I'm a succubus."

Ria flinched at the word, but Quinn didn't seem to notice. "You don't really look like one," Ria muttered under her breath.

Jared pretended not to hear her. "Are points carrying over from Round 1?"

"Yup." Quinn took her seat on the floor between his legs. "So I'm behind. Just so everyone's clear."

"You're in the middle of the pack," Annika protested. "You're beating both me and Kiara."

Quinn shrugged. "But Zoe has double my points. Everyone is behind compared to her."

While everyone was talking, Zoe rolled the dice, resulting in a six. "Annika," she said with a wink. "Time to catch up."

Annika stood, slower than last time, but still plainly eager. Jared grabbed her hands and pulled her into a kiss.

Her kiss was heavy, yet sweet, closest to Kiara's than anyone else's, but still very unique. It reminded him of his mother's homemade blackberry syrup - thick, delightful, and enticing.

Once again, they pushed the limits of "a simple kiss," before she pulled away, taking her seat once again.

Zoe had to bump her leg to notice that it was her turn. She quickly rolled the dice, rolling a seven.

"Quinn." That's all she had to say.

Quinn simply stood up and turned around, wrapping her hands around Jared's neck. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist.

She was grinning. Jared tilted his head. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

She giggled. "More than you are, I think," she whispered.

When he looked confused, she sighed with a smile and leaned in. "Do you remember what I said about being a cuckquean?"

He thought for a moment. "Yeah. But I still don't know what that means."

"It means," she said, resting her head against his, "That I like to see my man making other women happy. And you, sir," she said, tracing a finger up his neck, "Are doing a very good job, by the looks of things."

She kissed him, and he squeezed her tightly. Her comfortable heat welled up in his stomach once again, now familiar and so, so pleasant.

She pulled away. "So when are you going to seduce Annika?" she murmured quietly, rubbing her hand on his cheek.

"Hey! Move it on, already!" Zoe called from behind her.

Quinn didn't even look back, waiting for an answer.

He shrugged, also ignoring her. "I was kind of thinking tonight," he replied quietly.

Quinn tsked her tongue. "Kind of a shame. I was hoping to have plans with you tonight. After all of this, of course." She moved away slightly. "I'm getting very excited, to say the least."

She sat down and turned away from him, leaving him to process that information. She... enjoyed watching him kiss other women? And he had thought Zoe's behavior was confusing!