Pocket Dungeon 3, page 17
“That is incredible,” Elaene gasped. “I’ve never heard of such a thing being possible. Through this, it may be achievable to enter into one’s own world again after being stranded somewhere else.”
“Like you were,” I said, and she gave a slight, tentative nod as her cheeks flushed a pale shade of pink.
She dipped her head down and let her hair fall into her face to hide it.
“Yes,” she admitted. “It is foolish, I know, but a part of me does still wish I were able to return.”
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I said. “And it’s not foolish at all. Atlantis was, is, your home. You were stolen from it without your consent, and it’s only reasonable you’d want to go back there.”
As I spoke, I was reminded of the silk handkerchief in my pocket, and the fact it could do exactly that. But before I could offer up that information to Elaene, Monty swore under his breath.
“Shit,” he said. “I’ve got to go or I’m going to be late meeting Juliet. Uh, just keep my bag, and I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up the gold and stones, that way you can do your usual routine with them anyway. Is that okay with you?”
“Oh, yeah, totally,” I said. “Don’t worry about it. Just shoot me a text before you head over so I can make sure we’re here.”
“Sounds great, and it was really nice meeting you, Elaene!” Monty said. “I’ll look into that Warehouse Fourteen stuff tonight. When do you need the info by?”
“The event’s tomorrow,” I said. “Which is why I will also be doing research tonight.”
“Shit,” Monty swore. “Yeah, I’ll do my best to get that cleared up for you. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
And with that Monty disappeared out the front door to the apartment.
A silence fell over the apartment in his newfound absence, like we were all taking in everything we’d just discussed. There had been some pretty massive revelations buried in the conversations, and I took a moment to mull over them.
Everything Elaene had said about the crystals and how dungeons were formed was fascinating, and even though I still didn’t have all the answers when it came to the logistics of how any of this worked, I felt like I was much closer.
Plus, we now had someone else helping us figure out where the hell the actual event was taking place. Monty had far more contacts in this world than I did, and I was definitely glad for his help when it came to figuring this shit out.
“Thank you for explaining all of that,” I said to Elaene as the Atlantean woman drifted back to the couch to sit down once more.
She wasn’t sitting nearly as rigidly as she had before, like when she’d first arrived here, and even the relaxed look on her face was a step in the right direction, as opposed to the clear and obvious tension that had radiated around her like some sort of frantic miasma that first night.
It seemed that not only had time with Iris and Monty at the music shop helped, but just generally being treated like a person, and not an object had done abject wonders for the way she interacted with us all.
“Of course,” Elaene said. “I was not aware the information was not common knowledge here. It is spoken about freely in Atlantis, and so I thought it might be helpful if I added in what I know.”
“It definitely was,” I assured her.
“It has given a much-needed insight into the crystals,” Yasha agreed.
She’d kicked off her shoes and had her feet tucked up next to her as she nestled into the arm of the sofa. Her tail curled around her waist like some sort of fluffy blanket, and she looked so incredibly comfortable I had to fight the urge to waltz over and simply lay my head in her lap.
But now that Monty’s abrupt need to go was out of the way, my mind drifted back to what I’d been about to say.
I needed to tell Elaene about the Well To New Worlds tucked into my pocket.
It was the right thing to do.
“Do you want to go back to Atlantis?” I asked the dark-haired woman.
Chapter 12
She looked up at me, and a furrow formed on her brow.
“Yes, but it is not possible,” she said. “At least not now. You surely haven’t been able to contact your crystal scholar friend in the last few minutes.”
“No, no,” I said quickly. “It’s nothing to do with Trog and his research on meeting up with people in dungeons, that’s entirely separate.”
Elaene’s already curious expression grew more intrigued.
“It’s something Yasha and I came across in the dungeon we just left,” I continued. “One of the chests held a purple item.”
“Purple?” Iris asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “There’s a tier ranking system based on color for the powers and rarity of items. Purple is pretty high up there, and this is the first purple item I’ve actually come across in a dungeon.”
I held up my finger to pause the conversation as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Well To New Worlds. Now that I’d hyped it up so much by explaining it was a purple item, it definitely looked more than a little underwhelming.
“That is the purple item?” Elaene asked. She stared intently at the black silk handkerchief I held up, like maybe I was hiding the real item somewhere behind it.
“It doesn’t look like much,” I said quickly. “But it’s called the Well To New Worlds. When it’s entirely unfolded and laid out on a flat surface, it can open up a portal to wherever someone wants to go.”
Elaene gave a sharp gasp, and her hand flew up to her mouth. Her sultry eyes were wide as she stared at the handkerchief with new appreciation. Her eyes bounced from the scrap of cloth to me in rapid succession, and it was as if she was trying to make sure I was telling her the truth.
“Are you certain?” she finally asked.
“We haven’t tested it,” I said. “But I’ve never been lied to in an item description before. I thought that with this, maybe you’d want to go home.”
“I didn’t think it would ever be an option again,” she said softly. “Not really. Your friend’s research was the closest I’d ever allowed myself to consider it, and even then, it sounded like such a difficult process it would have been nearly impossible. But this?”
I gave her a slight smile. “But with this, you can actually go home to Atlantis. If you want.”
“Is it something you want?” Iris asked. “Your mission isn’t done yet…”
“I… I know,” Elaene said. Her hands lowered from her mouth to rest gently on her chest, right above her heart. “I am simply so taken aback. It is hard to process this all. I don’t know what I want. I miss my home dearly, but I thought I had given up on ever seeing it again long ago. And then suddenly the three of you come into my life, and not only are you willing to help me get revenge on the man who hurt me and save the other women trapped as I was, but now you’re offering me a way home.”
“I can imagine this is definitely a lot to take in,” I admitted and pocketed the Well To New Worlds once again, like maybe getting it out of view was all Elaene needed to help clear her thoughts. “But the decision is ultimately up to you. I want you to have whatever it is you want, and if that’s leaving, we’ll all support your decision. But you’re also more than welcome to stay.”
“I find it quite nice to have another non-human around,” Yasha admitted. “But take your time deciding. There is no hurry.”
Elaene turned her head to look at the fox-woman situated comfortably on the couch.
“And you don’t wish to return to your home?” the Atlantean asked.
“This is my home,” Yasha said, and her words sent a rush of warmth through my chest. “Here with Iris and Wes. My own world was nothing special to me, and I was treated poorly there. But Wes saved me. He showed me compassion and kindness and love unlike anything I had ever been given, and now my place is here. He presented me with this offer as well, but it is nothing more than a silly suggestion to me.”
Elaene leaned back against the cushions as her gaze roamed around the room to land on each of us in turn. She finally let out a low, heaving sigh and dropped her hands down into her lap.
“I will stay,” she said. “And I will aid in your quest to put a stop to Archibald Black.”
“And then?” I raised an eyebrow.
“And then I don’t know,” she admitted, and a small smile curved at the edges of her lips. “But I do know one thing. Never before has a man ever treated me as such an equal, not home in Atlantis, and certainly not here on Earth. Wes, you are the first man who has looked at me and seen me as a person, who has treated me with respect and kindness, just as Yasha said you did to her. I love my home, and this is a question that will continue to weigh heavily on my heart as we finish our mission together, but I do know one thing for certain. You are a good, kind man.”
I felt a flush rise up in my cheeks as I rubbed the back of my neck. All three women’s eyes were on me, and there was so much love and adoration in their gazes that it felt sort of hard to breathe.
“I’m just doing what anyone else would do,” I said.
“You aren’t,” Iris reminded me. “And we have plenty of proof of that.”
In the end, it was Elaene who moved first, which was probably the most shocking part about it all. The Atlantean woman was somehow still as graceful as a ballet dancer, even on her bandaged and injured feet as she stood up and drifted over to where I stood halfway between the kitchen and the living room.
“Thank you,” she said as the distance between us shrank. Her voice was like music to my ears, and I was so focused on the sweet sound, I wasn’t prepared at all as she leaned in and pressed her lips softly to mine.
The kiss was gentle and light, and it was closer to a mere brush of our lips than anything else, but still, the simple touch sent sparks flying through my body, and I wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab hold of the Atlantean woman’s slender waist and pull her close, but I wasn’t about to make any sudden moves, especially like that, considering everything she’d been through.
When Elaene stepped back, her green-gray eyes were dark. She was still so close to me that our noses were just barely brushing, and her gaze flicked down to my lips once again. But suddenly, her head turned, and she looked at both Yasha and Iris, like there was an invisible puzzle she was desperately trying to piece together between the three of us.
“I am sorry,” she said quickly and took a much larger step back. “I did not intend to cross any boundaries, it is simply a way of showing thanks in Atlantis.”
“You do not have any need to apologize,” Yasha said as she unfurled herself from her position on the couch and rose to her feet as well. She moved with all her lithe, foxlike grace to stand just slightly behind Elaene. Yasha rested one of her skilled hands on the small of Elaene’s back as if to soothe her.
“I don’t?” Elaene asked.
“We share Wes,” Yasha continued. “And both love him equally. It would be quite unfair of us to keep his cock to ourselves alone, considering how impressive it is.”
“Aha!” I forced a loud laugh, but Yasha was clearly unbothered as she gently rubbed Elaene’s back in small, delicate strokes. “That is not at all what we’re discussing right now…”
“If you wish to show him your thanks,” Yasha continued. “We will help you, yes, Iris?”
“Hold on,” I gulped as I anxiously looked at the Atlantean woman. “What are you talking about?”
Elaene looked at me with large eyes, as if she was a little uncertain about what she was about to say.
“I…” She trailed off for a moment. “I have not had a choice in being touched in so long. I feel safe with you. With Iris and Yasha. I am grateful for all you have done for me, and the comfort you have given me.”
“I get that,” I said slowly. “But I really don’t want you to do anything because you think you need to, to show you’re grateful. I’m not like that. It’s not how things work with us.”
“I know,” Elaene said. “I can tell. You are respectful and kind.”
“He is,” Yasha said.
“It’s one of his best qualities,” Iris agreed. I had no idea when the blonde had moved over to join us either, but she was standing so close to me I could smell her earthy perfume as it wafted over me.
“To be touched when I choose it,” Elaene continued, leaning into Yasha’s gently stroking. “It is healing parts of me that have been damaged.”
“And we want to help you heal,” Yasha told her softly. “However you need it.”
“Touch me, please,” Elaene said. “I want to feel wrapped in all your presence.”
“We can help with that,” Iris assured her. “Wes?”
“Y-yeah,” I stammered out. I was taken aback, sure, but Elaene was staring at me with clear understanding of what she wanted in her eyes. She wanted to control who got to touch her, and she was grateful for the way we’d made her feel, and this was what she wanted.
Iris pressed a kiss to my neck, and I found myself struggling not to melt under her touch.
Elaene looked back and forth between Yasha, Iris, and me once more, but the two women seemed to have calmed any worries she might have had, and so the Atlantean turned her face back toward me.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” I said again, though my voice probably sounded more than a little strangled considering Iris had worked one of her hands up under my shirt and was stroking my abdomen. “Really, I know you’re thankful.”
“But I do want to do this,” Elaene said. “Very much. It is as much for you as it is for me. For all of us.”
And with that, she closed the distance between us once again.
This time, though, when her lips pressed to mine, there was none of the soft hesitancy that had been there before. She kissed me with slowly building heat and fire as she pressed herself flush to my chest.
On instinct, I reached out and curled my arm around to the small of her back to pull her against me even closer, and she melted into my chest with a soft sigh against my lips.
She tasted like saltwater and honey as her tongue slipped into my mouth, and her arms slipped up around my neck. Yasha hadn’t moved from behind Elaene, and she continued to urge the other woman on by pressing her lips to the Atlantean woman’s neck and shoulder.
This felt like it was straight out of a fucking fever dream.
I managed to get a hold of myself long enough to stumble over to the couch with Elaene wrapped around me, and both Iris and Yasha followed. I collapsed back against the cushions with Elaene straddling my lap.
“Fuck,” I gasped as she quickly moved off of me, and for a second I felt a rush of disappointment that whatever this was had clearly ended, but instead, my eyes grew to the size of saucers.
Elaene began to strip off her borrowed clothing in quick, confident movements. She wanted to do this, and she wasn’t insecure about what she wanted now that she knew it wouldn’t upset the other two women in my life.
Holy fucking shit.
I thought I’d seen all of Elaene’s body before through her barely-there garments we’d pulled her out of the tank in, but it was nothing compared to seeing her truly naked.
Her skin shimmered with a pearlescent gleam, and if I looked long enough, I could make out the faint pattern of scales on her skin from her waist all the way down to her bandaged feet.
Her breasts were full and round, and each one looked like it would fit perfectly in my hand. Her nipples were a mouthwateringly sexy pale green, just like the slight tinge to her ears. It was a color that shouldn’t have been nearly as hot as it was, and yet.
All of her long, dark, wavy hair fell around her shoulders and down her back, and she really did look like a nymph or a siren out of an old painting.
My dick was painfully hard in my jeans, and I quickly unzipped them to relieve some of the building pressure.
“I don’t think you need to worry about her wanting this, Wes,” Iris joked as she gently reached out to stroke along the curve of Elaene’s thigh. “She’s already dripping wet.”
Elaene leaned into Iris’ touch, and I had a hard time believing I hadn’t died and gone to heaven as the Atlantean woman tilted her head toward the blonde and caught her lips in a kiss as well.
Iris cupped Elaene’s jaw as she continued to run her fingers in soft, delicate lines across her glittering skin, and the two women practically melted into one another with a passionate kiss.
Meanwhile, Yasha settled down onto the couch next to me, and without any warning, she managed to pull my shirt off and throw it over the back of the sectional.
I let out a startled laugh at the sudden change, and then realized Yasha had already stripped out of her own clothes as well. Her perfect, naked body was definitely one of the wonders of the world, and her tail twitched in pleasure, like she could read my mind and knew exactly what I was thinking about her.
She ran her sharp nails across my abdomen, and a shiver rolled through my entire body. Hell, I practically arched up off of the couch into the simplest touch.
“Can I touch her?” Iris’ breathless voice broke me from my thoughts of Yasha, and I looked away from the fox-woman to see the Atlantean and the blonde, pressed even closer together than before. Iris’ nimble fingers hovered between Elaene’s thighs, and when she looked at me, her dark blue eyes were nearly black.
“Yeah,” I croaked out. “I want to watch you touch her.”
Iris grinned, and without any further questions, she pressed her lips to Elaene’s shoulder as she stroked her dripping wet slit.
A shudder rolled through Elaene’s body, and she arched into Iris’ touch. She looked like she was barely even going to be able to stay on her feet from the single stroke alone.
Iris seemed to realize this as well, because she helped guide Elaene down to straddle my lap and crawled next to us both on the couch.
The Atlantean spread her legs wide as Iris pressed her fingers into her slick, gleaming pussy. A low sound of pleasure rolled from the back of her throat, and when she arched her back, I reached out to grab hold of her waist to steady her so she didn’t fall backward.
