Fortune and Fortitude Pt. 07

While he was still thinking, Ria rolled the dice, resulting in a 3. She chose Annika, who was quick to accept the kisses, though she was better at controlling herself this time.

Quinn rolled an eight. She hesitated for a moment. This had been the highest roll so far.

"Zoe."

Zoe's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she stood, moving towards him automatically.

Jared glanced at the sheet. A lingering kiss? He thought he got the idea. 30 seconds was pretty long for a kiss.

He was nearly her height sitting down as she was standing. He put a hand on her waist and guided her down onto his leg, letting her sit there. Then, he leaned down to give her a kiss.

He hadn't had much time earlier to explore her. Now, he did.

Their lips met softly, and he instantly felt the spark light up once again. This time, he was able to keep it connected, choosing not to deepen the kiss too much, just revel in the light sensations.

She sighed against him, her body relaxing against him. Below them, he was faintly aware of Quinn shifting, trying to get a better view.

For just a moment, it brought back memories of last night - how her naked body felt against his, the sounds she had made...

Against his earlier resolve, he deepened the kiss, pressing tighter against her as he wrapped one hand around her back. She met his push, her hands clenching at her shirt hem.

When he finally pulled away, her eyes were closed. She opened them slowly, looking up at him with a solemn look of questioning, as if to ask why he stopped.

Then she suddenly remembered where she was and cleared her throat, scooting off and returning to her seat as her face flushed bright red.

Jared's gaze followed her, feelings in his gut swirling as he watched the small woman. Okay, maybe he did feel something for her. Something real.

Kiara rolled a two, and everyone groaned. She off-handedly chose Ria, who accepted the forehead kiss with a casual smile.

Zoe rolled a five, which wasn't much higher. She glanced at Ria. "I think Ria should go again."

There was general murmured agreement and some amusement as she sighed. She had just sat down, and now she was standing again to receive a small peck.

She leaned in and pecked his lips, flashing him a smile before going to take her seat again.

Annika stopped her. "You're getting whatever I roll. So you might want to stay up there." She took the dice up and began rolling them in her hands.

Ria chuckled along with the group and took a seat on Jared's knee. She was much heavier than Zoe, in all the right ways.

Annika rolled the dice. There was another groan. A six. Still, that was better than the others.

Jared took her hands and surprised her with a quick kiss, the same euphoria filling him. It was strange how differently each of their kisses felt. He had never heard of such a thing.

It suddenly occurred to him that it probably wasn't a normal human thing. He was eating their shed essence! No wonder it was all unique... Maybe.

After the kiss, Ria turned to look at everyone. "Am I going again, or should I sit down?"

Quinn grabbed the dice from the floor and handed them to her. "Well, you're rolling... So no, you're not going again." She quickly glanced at Jared. "Sadly."

Ria sighed and took her seat again, accepting the dice and rolling them without ceremony.

"A nine!" Annika cheered. "Let's go! Who gets the..." She checked the paper. "French kiss?"

Jared paused. Well, it had to happen eventually, right? He wasn't sure he'd do it right, but how hard could it be?

Ria scanned the room and bit her lip. "Zoe."

Zoe shifted, her face slowly turning red again. "Okay..."

When she came over to him this time, he grabbed her waist and set her on his lap, facing him. Quinn scooted back a bit, letting him close his legs somewhat.

And then he kissed her again. He hesitated for only a moment before opening his mouth.

Their tongues met in the middle, and Zoe gasped sharply. Even Jared was surprised by the sudden intensity.

It took mere moments for them to get into it, adjusting quickly, the mild electricity swiftly turning into something resembling lightning striking, flashing from her body to his.

But all too soon, it was over. Jared pulled back and tried to catch his breath, his arms still wrapped around her. She did the same, her lips glistening with their combined saliva.

Blushing, she turned and wiped her mouth, but she spared another glance up at him, eyes bright with excitement.

Still, they had an audience. She returned to her seat without further comment.

Quinn took her turn and rolled another nine. "Annika," she said without hesitation.

Annika's eyebrows raised, and she grinned as she sauntered over.

She was much less shy than Zoe had been. She pressed firmly into the kiss, confident as she opened her mouth.

Her tongue pushed into his with great enthusiasm, and he did his best to respond. Like with Zoe, the faint sensation he had had with Annika returned with full force, the heavy and sweet sensation rushing through him as their tongues tangled.

She bit his lip softly, and he started in surprise, almost breaking the kiss. When they finally parted, she gave him a look of amusement and satisfaction, along with another emotion that he couldn't quite identify.

It was Kiara's turn. She rolled the dice casually.

Everyone stared at the numbers on the dice, before everyone turned to look at the paper.

"An intense makeout session," Kiara murmured.

Annika snorted. "How intense can it be? It's not even two minutes long!"

Ria pursed her lips. "Trust me, that's more than enough."

All eyes turned to Kiara, who hesitated. "Um..." She looked at Jared, and her eyes softened. "Quinn," she said simply.

Zoe scowled at her, and Quinn smiled. "Sweet." She turned and stood before straddling his lap. "Someone got the timer ready? I am NOT going to keep track of this."

"I got it," Zoe said quickly, pulling out her phone. But Quinn wasn't about to wait.

She pressed her chest against Jared as her lips mashed into his. For a brief moment, he had to readjust, his mind still in the "Annika" zone.

But once he did, they quickly got back into a now familiar rhythm, pushing and pulling in earnest.

At first, she was on top, but he turned and pushed her down into the couch, the fire in his stomach roaring in delight as her mouth opened.

Having had a bit of experience with this now, he allowed his tongue fervent access into her mouth, and she readily fought back.

He was far more confident kissing her than he had been with the other two. And now there was new territory to be explored.

She hummed happily, her chest vibrating beneath his as they made out. On an impulse, he opted to try what Annika had done.

She gasped in surprise as he gently bit her lower lip, capturing it in his teeth and pulling slightly. She moaned, giving him the same treatment. He felt himself slowly stiffening, her warm body against his preparing him for some action.

"Time's up!" Zoe yelled. And just when it was getting really good...

Zoe swiftly rolled the dice as they sat up, apparently wanting everyone to move on.

The dice clattered against the table. "Another twelve?" Ria raised her eyebrows. "What are the odds?"

"About 1 to 1295," Quinn offered, still breathing heavily from their kiss. "Pretty rare."

Annika folded her arms. "So, Zoe... Who gets it?"

Zoe bit her lip, her eyes darting between the other girls. They were all silent, their eyes wide after the kiss they had all just witnessed.

"Kiara."

Kiara glanced around, suddenly looking unsure. She hadn't really had... well, any real kiss for the entire game. Jared smiled and stood, offering her his hand.

She accepted his help and stood, brushing a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. He pulled her close, close enough to feel her heartbeat as he leaned in. Her eyes closed, and she rose up on her tiptoes to-

"Mr. Bertreck."

Kiara all but leapt backwards, pulling away in surprise and embarrassment. "Miss Senguine," she said with a slight nod, her face flushing scarlet.

Annoyed, Jared turned to face his mother, who was standing at the corner of the room, unnoticed with everyone's attention on the kiss. "Yes?"

"Much as I hate to interrupt your fun," she answered dryly, "I need you to come with me. We have a matter we need to attend to."

"What kind of matter?" Quinn questioned as Jared extracted himself from the group. "Is it important?"

"Mr. Bertreck will tell you as much as he wishes when we return. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Well, game's over anyway," Zoe proclaimed loudly. "And I won?"

"What? Nonsense," Annika replied sharply. "Let me see that."

Jared followed Senguine out of the room as she curtly strode to the door. As he left, Kiara caught his eye and gave him a sad smile.

The moment he turned the corner, Senguine snapped around to face him.

"Don't speak unless spoken to," she said quickly, moving to straighten his clothes. "Keep your wits about you, and DO NOT," she emphasized, swiftly brushing a hand through his hair, "lose your temper. Your best weapon is the fact that they do not know your identity."

"Woah, woah, woah," Jared said, pushing her hand away. "What are you talking about? Who's here?"

She frowned. "It seems your little mishap with Mr. Scap has come to a head."

Jared winced. "He's come back?"

"No. But representatives of his clan have."

She opened the door and gestured for him to exit.

The cold air washed over him as the reality of his situation sank back in. For all of the fun they had been having, it was still in preparation for something.

They walked towards the gate as Jared reviewed his fragmented memories of the Event just a few nights prior. The frustration and fear that came on him as the boars raced right past him. It had been close - too close. Maybe he wouldn't have died, but Kiara or Zoe or anyone else might have. And Senguine had even mentioned that trapping him was a possibility. And for creatures referred to as demons...

He didn't want to know what that meant.

But still, he was a Ferronaught, apparently a rather powerful type. And while Miss Senguine seemed stressed, she didn't seem terribly alarmed.

As they approached the edge of Fairway, Jared could make out the silhouettes of several cloaked figures near the entryway. Fortunately, these appeared much more human than anything else.

Senguine paused just before the entryway, and Jared followed suit. A bearded man stepped forward, standing nearly a full head taller than Jared.

"Senguine," the man grunted.

Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms. "

"We're here on behalf of my protégé. We had a contract."

Senguine shook her head. "It was made negligible by his own decisions. I went to intervene, as I'm sure he mentioned," she added wryly, "but he threatened to tell on me. So I let him pick his own fight." She glanced sideways to Jared. "However ill-fated."

The man frowned and folded his arms. "You claim that he attacked your protégé first? That is not what Calvin implied."

Senguine shrugged. "I didn't observe beyond his dismissal. So I can't personally attest to it." She gestured to Jared. "Perhaps you should ask him."

The large man's cold eyes turned to him. Jared set his jaw and met his gaze firmly.

"Is this true?"

"He was attempting to make a deal with one of my fellow proteges. A deal that she made with me made their deal impossible, but he continued pressuring her." He had to choose his words carefully. "Per my agreement with her, I defended her against him, and he stabbed me."

After a moment of silence, he continued. "He stabbed me and threatened me, so I put him in his place. That's all that happened."

A long silence. Jared glanced at Senguine, but her face displayed no emotion. He hoped he hadn't said too much. But he couldn't think of anything he said that could backfire.

A few whispers sounded from the group of cloaked figures in the back. They all appeared fully human, and were of various ages, genders, and races. There was an elderly woman near the front, her lips moving softly as she spoke to a young Polynesian man.

Finally, they seemed to come to a consensus. The man in front gave a single nod. "Then we will take our leave."

"And what of our arrangement?" Senguine quipped.

The man's lips twitched. "We shall see."

Without saying a word to his comrades, the man turned on his heel and strode away. The others followed him shortly behind. After a few moments, they rounded the corner and faded from sight.

Senguine sighed. "Well, that's that, I suppose. It could have gone much worse."

Jared raised his eyebrow. "You have an arrangement with them?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "A simple agreement. I provide them with access and insight to humans, and they provide me with ample resources. They are, unfortunately, one of my main suppliers. I may need to prepare for that supply to be cut off."

Jared winced. "I didn't mean to do you any harm."

"Would you take it back?"

A short pause. "No."

"Then there's nothing to apologize for." Senguine started walking back towards the house.

Jared followed her. "So there's no reason to be worried? They didn't really seem convinced that I was telling the truth..."

She snorted. "They don't care about the truth. They care about your and Mr. Scap's reasons for saying what you did."

He thought on that for a moment. "So..."

Senguine sighed and pulled to a stop just outside of the door before turning to face him. "Mr. Scap's reasons for lying are fairly obvious - he wants to claim that he was surprised and violated. Otherwise, he seems weak and/or cowardly. Both of which are true."

"Your reasons and mine are what they came to investigate. I assume they believe me to be simply indifferent, but you..." She rolled her eyes. "You told the truth. Your reason?"

Jared sighed and pinched his nose. "Because it was the truth."

"Which is inconceivable to them. So they'll probably assign a different meaning." She waved her hand. "They likely assume that you were making some sort of power play, intimidating Mr. Scap off of your turf and demonstrating an irritating apathy towards their potential retaliation."

Jared frowned. "So... Will they attack?"

She rolled her eyes. "Here? It would be a foolish move."

"What about if I'm not here? If I'm outside somewhere, like with the dousa?"

She gave a wry smile. "The dousa are a far more potent foe. Provided your vassals are safe, they would struggle to overcome you.

She opened the door, revealing Ria and Annika standing awkwardly just inside.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Annika asked with a half-smile. She phrased it like a joke, but her eyes darted towards the gate.

Senguine shrugged and walked past them. "I don't think you have anything to worry about." She peered into the living room. "It appears your harem has dissembled." She glanced at her watch as she made for the stairs. "You have a few hours to stay, should you desire."

She disappeared up the stairs, leaving Jared alone with Annika and Ria.

A somewhat awkward silence drifted over them.

Ria cleared her throat. "We should probably get going. Apart from feeding nights, I like to get a good sleep."

"Not me," Annika tagged with a shrug. "She's just my ride."

It had never before occurred to Jared how the various protégés got around. At first, he had thought they'd lived here, and after that, he had assumed that they would use magical means. But now, it made sense that they probably just... had cars.

They stepped past him out the door, but he caught Annika's arm. "Annika..."

She glanced down to where his hand gripped her wrist. "Yes?"

"See you tomorrow."

She looked up at him in surprise, and after a moment, she grinned. "Sounds good to me."

He released her, but as she turned away, he could still see a small smile.

They crossed over, outside the gate, before disappearing around the corner - the opposite side from the Plevgivs. Once they crossed out of sight, he returned his attention to the matter at hand.

Senguine was right. It was only 9 o' clock, and he wasn't required to leave until midnight. Three hours...

He grinned to himself and swiftly rushed up the stairs, heading to Quinn's room. He hardly had time to knock before she opened the door.

"Hey," she said with a smile of her own. "So... how'd it go?"

"Pretty alright, I guess."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell me what happened?"

"You didn't ask that."

She rolled her eyes and beckoned him in, before sitting on the bed. He sat down next to her. "It was Calvin Scap's clan. I think they were offended about what I did for Annika last night."

Quinn winced. "Then I'm glad it went well. Did they threaten you?"

He hesitated. "Not really, but there was definitely some... attempted intimidation." If it were more obvious, he'd be less nervous. They seemed more interested in studying him than making him feel scared. "Overall, Senguine seemed more worried that I compromised her deal with them than that we were in any real trouble."

Quinn frowned. "Well, she IS a demon. Theoretically, she'd be more worried about her prospects than yours."

"Maybe," Jared consented. "But she does seem to have some kind of vested interest. You remember that night after the dousa? She seemed pretty upset to me."

"Fair enough." Quinn bit her lip, her eyes racing as she pondered over the new information. "Dangerous or not, I think you've made yourself an enemy," she said slowly. "The question is... is that good or bad?"

"You think it could be a good thing?" Jared questioned. "Isn't the whole point to have as few enemies as possible?"

Quinn shook her head. "Not in a world of demons. Enemies are a chance to demonstrate your power." She fell quiet for a moment. "I've been talking to Mom and the protégés, trying to get a better grasp on our political situation. With the Summit and all."

"You seriously are calling her Mom now?"

Quinn waved her hand dismissively. "Call it a power play. For most demons, they don't really use those terms, and just call family by their names. It reminds her and the protégés that we're aiming for a more... human approach to demon."

"Huh." Jared shook his head. "I guess that's kind of smart..."

"Anyway..." Quinn pursed her lips. "I'm guessing you didn't do anything with Annika."

Jared shrugged. "I figured tomorrow would be a good time."

She grinned and leaned forward to take his hand. "Do you have a plan?"

Jared blinked. "Well... uh... not really?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I thought you were all about the romantic bit."

He sighed. "I was more focused on getting her fed. I guess the 'how' didn't really occur to me."

Quinn's smile faded. "Right. I... forgot about that part."

Jared pinched the bridge of his nose. "You just wanted me to sleep with her."

She raised her hands defensively. "To each their own."

A brief silence followed. "So..."

Jared gave a half smile. "We have a couple of hours left. Are you down for a little..."

Quinn tapped her lips with her fingers. "Honestly? I didn't think you would come. And I would jump at the offer, but... I kind of ^{[note 1]}stink. Let me shower first."

"I don't mind," Jared insisted. "I don't even notice."

"I know." Quinn rose to her feet. "But it'll make ME feel better, okay?"

Jared pouted and checked his phone. "You have fifteen minutes."

"Half an hour! No less," Quinn called as she closed the door behind her.

Jared sighed and laid back on the bed. It's not like he was starving. He could wait while she "freshened up."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. For the most part, Fairway had a very light, sweet smell. He suspected it was the orchard outside, but he never could quite pin what it was.