Siege: The Rider's Dragon 02, page 8
He knew the truth; his dark-haired lover was enjoying being overpowered.
To tease her further, he slowed his strokes. Her mouth opened to protest, then he impaled her with a raw thrust that shattered the boards beneath her. His arms kept a tight grip on hers, and her legs held his hips, but it was his mind that supported her weight. The lines of her body were exquisite as she balanced on nothing in his grasp. Then, only when she had nothing beneath her, did Nemesis begin to stroke faster.
The heavy thud of his body striking hers grew intense, sharp, and focused. The steady rhythm grew faster as he tested his physical prowess. The gap between the slaps of skin on skin grew shorter, and Harper’s coherence degraded with equal speed.
When he used his telekinetic touch to press into the delicate ring of her ass, she bucked like she’d been scalded. A scream escaped her as a rolling climax overwhelmed her senses. Nemesis saw mana rippling within her, a deep swirl of power that shot down to where their flesh met.
This time, the dragon was prepared for it.
The ball of power slammed into his cock and shot up his spine, then stopped dead when it struck the core hidden inside him. Nemesis grunted—afraid his center would shatter at the impact. Something stretched, and when he thrust his hips forward again, the power shot back into Harper. The woman jolted and he swore he saw light flash behind her eyes.
The strange ball of power seemed to ricochet between them, and each time it hit his core, Nemesis couldn’t help but fear for his life. That fear added a spice to their joining that saw his primal desires rising further. He flipped her and braced Harper against the wall. She dug her fingers into the stone, then rammed her ass back against him.
At some point, his lover had regain her senses. “Just a little more… control it… almost,” she whispered. He wasn’t sure what was going on, yet Harper radiated a diamond-like focus as she tried to guide him. “Now, come in me now!”
The hissed command came at the peak of his pleasure. In response, Nemesis felt his body let go and the energy that had been bouncing between them exploded in a brilliant flare that burned out his mana vision. His muscles seized as raw mana roared through his flesh. Harper screamed, though in that moment he couldn’t tell if it was in pleasure or pain.
His own body refused to obey his commands.
Nemesis was forced to meditate to control the flow inside his body, and it truly felt as though he’d swallowed a core that was too strong for him. Desperately wrapping himself in his visualization, the dragon imagined a barrier in his skin compressing the energy down to his core.
Gradually, glacially, the power collapsed into his center.
That was when he realized Min had arrived.
The blonde stared at them in shock.
“Did you… did you just dual cultivate?” she said, awe in her voice. “I thought spirit beasts couldn’t do it!”
Nemesis was bewildered, not knowing what had happened. He vaguely remembered Harper mentioning dual cultivation after she’d accidentally sent him reeling during sex a few months back. Did we just manage that?
Curious, the dragon summoned the scores as tracked by his crystal scale.
Nemesis: current rank, C7. Potential Rank, S0.
Breakdown of current ratings.
Mental C8
Lethality C7
Defensive C8
Physicality C6
Magic —
Classification: Vizier. Subclassification: Companion.
Nemesis grunted in surprise.
He wasn’t shocked by the rise in his Mental score—he’d eaten a great deal of cultivator brains, after all… but the two-position rise in his Physicality certainly wasn’t what he’d expected—he hadn’t even consumed any of the D-rank rhinoceros yet.
I rose from C8 to C6 in my body’s might… just from having sex with Harper? Nemesis brushed aside the immediate disbelief, not shocked to discover he was able to do something humanoids believed impossible. Instead, he focused on the potential way to blaze through the C-Rank.
His eyes went from Min to Harper.
Harper had regained her composure and showed no discomfort at being nude. She did, however, look down at the table and cluck her tongue. Responding to his gaze, she lifted her eyes to his and flashed a smile. “We did it,” she said.
Like a dam had broken within her, his petite lover suddenly danced in joy, then raced over to Min. Harper wrapped the larger woman in an embrace and spun her round and round. Squeals of joy escaped them both and Nemesis found himself flinching at the high-pitched noise.
“I’m glad we have accomplished the impossible, but would either of you mind informing me of what we did? The last time I heard dual cultivation mentioned, I believe I had been thrown across a room,” he grumbled.
Harper put Min down and danced over to him. She then swept up his hands in hers and pressed against him. Kissing him soundly, the half-elf stared up into his eyes. “It’s a technique cultivators use to draw in mana. The theory is that you pull it into yourself, pass it to your partner, then continue passing it back and forth while you have sex. The entire time you’re using the draw of your pleasure to pull in more and more energy. When you climax, the energy is shared between you both and leaves you both stronger.”
Min stepped up. There was a gleam in her eyes that Nemesis approved of. The woman appeared… greedy. “The thing is,” she began, “spirit beasts don’t have the same kinds of meridians and channels we do. They don’t develop their dantians and energy pools; instead, you have cores. No one has ever admitted to successfully using the techniques with a spirit beast.”
Nemesis noted she’d used the word admitted. He wouldn’t be shocked if someone had done it and kept the technique hidden to avoid sharing their power. That was exactly what he planned to do.
“Well,” he said. He noticed Harper was inspecting him like she was searching for damage. She’d begun running her hands over his torso. “Stop that,” he murmured. He caught her hands, and then continued, “I won’t deny it caused some discomfort. It felt like my core was going to break each time the energy struck. And when the burst of energy finally spread through my body it hurt… but growing often hurts.”
Min leaned into Harper’s back and Nemesis had to clench his jaw to avoid laughing. The busty woman’s chest was pressing around either side of Harper’s head, making Min’s breasts bulge over the other woman’s shoulders.
“But your core is intact?” Min asked.
“I’d be dead if it wasn’t,” he pointed out.
Min flushed and Nemesis planted a small kiss on her chin to reduce her embarrassment. “I understood what you meant,” he corrected himself. “I don’t believe my core is damaged, but if each attempt to cultivate in this manner is as… energetic, it might be cautious to pace ourselves. I’ll need to meditate to ensure there are no hidden cracks or weak points.”
Min nodded.
Harper, meanwhile, was staring into space like she’d lost track of the conversation. He squeezed her hands and she started in surprise. “I hit C-rank,” she whispered. Then the excitement seemed to strike her and she wriggling in place. Nemesis wrapped his arms around her to try and calm her down, especially since whatever she was saying came out so rapidly and at such a high pitch it didn’t register to him.
Min at least seemed to grasp Harper’s joy. She pulled the half-elf away from Nemesis and the two spun among the wreckage of the table for several minutes before they started calming down. When they finally stopped, Min looked at the table and called on her wood mana to begin mending it.
“Congratulations,” Nemesis said. He was fiercely proud of having chosen her. She reflected his excellence perfectly. She brushed her hair back behind her ears and he couldn’t help admiring her features. “Is this a technique you and Min could do with each other?” he asked.
The pair glanced between each other, then back at him. A flurry of emotions spun through each of them, yet he couldn’t grasp any of them. Both of the women settled on amusement, anticipation, and embarrassment for some reason.
“Despite same-sex couples happening all the time, in most instances dual cultivation requires the opposing energies of a male and female. Thought it depends on the aura of the individual. There are some women strong in male energy, and their opposites… however Harper and I are both strongly female in our energies.”
Min’s explanation made sense to Nemesis, so he just shrugged. “Then I suppose I will have to perform this technique with Harper while you watch, and as long as there’s no danger to my core, I’ll help you.”
That was logical to him, but for some reason Min looked like he’d given her something miraculous. It didn’t make sense to him. She hit C-rank after cultivating the wood mana that came off me when I devoured the forest king’s core. It’s just sensible that I cultivate with the strongest practitioners around me. What if using the technique with Min boosts a different score within me?
Nemesis blinked at that thought. He imagined himself surrounded by powerful females, cultivating his way to S-rank with all of them. The world faded away as he imagined the glories and powers he might claim for himself.
Harper’s poke to the center of his stomach brought him back to awareness. She jabbed him again as he narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re drooling, Nemmy,” she accused playfully. “Did you even consider if I was willing to share this technique with Min?”
Nemesis let out a short laugh. “You love her,” he pointed out. Harper’s eyes widened as he continued, “The bond between you has grown since our first shared evening. You two help each other with your tasks, and if we weren’t so shorthanded I think you’d have asked to have her as a permanent patrol partner.”
Min’s jaw hung slack as she looked between the pair of them. “Really?” the woman asked in surprise.
Nemesis didn’t grasp why either of them felt shocked. “What?” he asked, puzzled. “You radiate your emotions constantly. I might not understand the details of your bizarre humanoid culture, but whenever you are around each other, you’re happier. Not as happy as you are when you’re with me, of course, but that’s natural.”
For some odd reason, that statement brought them both down to earth. He couldn’t understand why it suddenly felt like they were holding back laughter. Harper shook her head at him, and Min covered her mouth briefly. Nemesis was left convinced he’d missed another peculiarity of human behavior.
Instead of trying to puzzle it out, though, he wrapped his fist in the tunic Min was wearing. She gasped as he jerked her up against her body. Nemesis raked his eyes over the woman: taller than him, yet inclined to submit. He didn’t try to hide the predatory smile that spread across his lips.
“Now. Since you’re still dressed, you can go fetch one of the rhinoceros cores, as well as an appropriate wood core for yourself. We’ll retreat to the bedroom, where Harper and I will demonstrate the technique in a high-mana environment.”
Min didn’t have time to protest. Nemesis spun her and delivered a sharp slap to her backside. She let out a yelp, then immediately bolted from his cave. He parted the waterfall for her and she vanished down the path.
When he glanced at Harper, he found her staring at him. “What?” he asked.
She looped her arms around his neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “You are exasperating,” she breathed as she rubbed her nose against his. “You can be so dense and uncaring about people’s feelings… then in the same conversation demonstrate an insight into people that leaves me shocked. What am I going to do with you?”
Nemesis was fairly certain she didn’t actually want an answer to that question. Despite what she said, Harper was resonating pride in him… as well as an unmistakable physical desire. Still, he felt compelled to respond anyway.
“Dual cultivate until we’re the most powerful pair in the Scaleguard,” he said with complete seriousness.
She rolled her eyes, then squealed as he scooped her up and carried her into the chamber he’d set aside for her. When he planted her on the bed, she stared up at him with anticipation. Nemesis, however, grasped the need for some introspection.
“Can you prepare the mana formations?’ he asked. “I’m going to meditate and ensure there was no damage to my core.”
The dragon waited just long enough to see her nod before he folded his legs beneath him and closed his eyes. Resting his hands on his knees and ensuring his back was straight, he began to lower himself into one of the deepest states of meditation he’d been taught.
Sinking within himself, he centered on his core and let it draw him in. The glittering power was captivating, though he knew he wasn’t quite seeing what it actually looked like. Glaive had insisted it was a ‘metaphysical representation of his instinctive understanding…’ or something. Nemesis had stopped paying attention by that point.
What mattered to him was that he could tell how healthy his core was while examining it this way. He floated his consciousness around the crystalline sphere and inspected it carefully. The gemstone was black, with streaks of indigo and jade green running through it. Nemesis pinged the hard surface and listened to the note it produced; the sound was pure and clear.
He saw no signs of cracks, fissures, or empty spaces. Despite the sensation of danger he’d felt during their cultivation, Nemesis couldn’t find any sign that his core had been harmed. He attempted a half-dozen other methods to test it—all said he was fine.
He rose carefully through his body and expanded his examination to take in his entire elven form. There were no signs of strain, nor any cracks in his bones or tears in his musculature. Despite the pain he’d felt, Nemesis was forced to conclude it had left him unharmed. Finally, he emerged from his meditation.
He was greeted by the sight of Harper bent over the metal plate engraved with the inscriptions that would allow the cores to empty their mana into the environment. In addition Min, naked as the day she was born, was fixing metal plaques to the cavern walls. Nemesis tracked her body with his eyes and momentarily lost track of time.
She turned and her bare breasts swung back and forth; mesmerized, he didn’t even realize she’d caught him watching until she bent down to let her breasts rub into his face. She trailed a finger along his ear and whispered, “Are you just going to watch, or are you going to help?”
It took him no time at all to come to his answer. “I’m very happy simply watching. However, if you’re looking for suggestions… you and Harper could wrestle? I have a bottle of oil for my scales here somewhere…”
Shocked, Min swatted him on the head. Harper made a choking noise and glanced up from the formation plate. His sharp eyes didn’t miss the way they glanced contemplatively at each other. The dragon smugly rose from his cross-legged position and stretched his body out.
“How’s your core?” Harper asked. The levity of his joke faded as she watched him, though he quickly raised a hand to stave off her anxiousness.
“Healthy. Despite the sensations… I’m fine. My core appears perfect by every method of measurement I know. A spirit beast would be blessed to devour me should I fall before reaching divinity.”
The women stared at him for a second, then Min let out a giggle. She leaned against him and ran her tongue along the edge of his ear. The move caused him to shudder. Elven bodies are so strange. Why is my ear, of all places, so sensitive? I don’t even have them in my true form!
The horn ridges that whorled around the openings for his ears were far superior. Nothing could simply bite those off.
He pushed the errant thoughts away, and then set out to help the pair in setting up their cores. Harper insisted they place several inscribed flags around the room to balance the earth and wood mana flows. He didn’t quite understand her explanation about arrangement, but he didn’t have to. All he had to do was embed the metal stakes in the stone floor, which he did easily.
Once the various flags were placed, they were able to position the two formation plates on the floor and insert the cores. The gemstones began decaying the moment they were in position, and Nemesis watched as mana flowed into the air. He noted the plaques Min had set on the walls contained all the energy in the room with them.
When he looked back, he saw the blonde was kneeling at his feet. She nuzzled his face against his shaft as she stared up at him.
“Nemmy,” she said in a gentle tone. “Since you and Harper are making this noble sacrifice for me, allow me to prepare you.”
He groaned as she ducked her head and then lifted her face with his cock draped across it. Her tongue caressed down its ridged length until she was blowing her warm breath across the head of his cock. His fingers balled in her long hair, and he had to resist the urge to try and claim her throat. Instead, he allowed the woman to lovingly run her tongue around his shaft.
She took her time worshiping his length. He grew achingly hard as she worked, and right when he was dying to feel her lips wrap around him, she leaned back.
“Okay, time to fuck Harper!” she proclaimed.
Nemesis nearly pounced, the drive to unleash his instincts almost insurmountable. His fraying self-control wasn’t helped by the fact that Harper had chosen to plant herself face down on her bed.
His beautiful partner knelt on the mattress with her breasts pressed to the cushion. Her hands were reaching back so she could spread her cheeks for him, waggling her backside enticingly as she watched him.
Nemesis couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through him when he took two steps across the room to grasp her slender hips. His fingers dug into her muscle and she let out a soft moan, anticipation coloring the sound. The dragon used his mind to line himself up, then drove himself against her with a rough impact that saw her slide forward on the mattress.
He wasn’t content to have her escape—even if it was just sliding a hint away from him. His hands wrapped around her wrists and he yanked her back against him. His grip was so fierce in pulling back on her arms that her upper body left the mattress for a moment. He began thrusting with a feral intensity, driving into her again and again.
