I made a new save point before I said another word so I could reset and relive this moment over and over again. I basically had temporary access to a loop of threesomes that would last as long as I wanted it to.
Being the God of Time was fucking awesome.
“Get your sexy ass over here,” I growled as I reached for my wife, but she batted my hand away with a playful wink.
“Let us first prepare you to sheath your sword inside us,” Eva said, and she swayed her hips as she stepped closer to me. Then she pressed her fingers into my chest to push me toward the blanket. “Lay down and get comfortable, husband, and we’ll give you the best night of your life.”
“That’s a tall order considering how many amazing nights you’ve given me already,” I teased.
“Ah, but those nights were not on a beach,” Caelia pointed out.
“True,” I chuckled, and I allowed myself to be pushed down to the ground.
The two women kneeled on either side of me, and they began to remove my swim shorts, but then I laid at full mast between my two swimsuit-clad babes.
They wasted no time at all in positioning themselves around my erect member, and it surged toward them at the faintest hint of skin against mine. I was throbbing with desire already, but I was a patient man, and I was eager to see what they had in store for me.
“You’re so hard already,” Eva purred as though she could hear my thoughts.
“I don’t think anyone could be around you two and not be.” I smirked.
“We are all for you alone,” Caelia murmured, and she trailed her delicate fingers up my leg from my foot to my groin.
“Fuck, yes,” I groaned as the dark-skinned goddess slipped past my crotch to caress my abdomen.
Evangeline and Caelia caressed and kissed my entire body with soft, sweet touches, but the romanticism of the moment did nothing to abate my raging boner. Every movement sent shivers of pleasure through my body, and holding myself back from grabbing one of them took all my willpower.
This was their time to shine, though, and I wouldn’t take that away from them no matter how urgent my desire became.
I closed my eyes and surrendered to the feelings coursing through my body, but I felt the two women shifting beside me. Then I suddenly felt their warm, moist tongues run simultaneously up either side of my throbbing cock, and I arched my back to prolong the pleasurable sensation.
“Oh, shiiit,” I gasped as two pairs of hands wrapped around my shaft, but I soon lost the ability to form words when they began to take turns licking the head of my dick like a lollipop.
A drizzle of pre-cum oozed from my tip, and I heard Eva murmur in a pleased tone before she slurped it up. Then I locked my gaze onto their mouths, and they enveloped my cock on both sides with an intoxicating rhythm.
Evangeline took the lead next, and the blonde bombshell wrapped her lips around my wide girth. Her cheeks bulged as she struggled to contain my thick cock, and her smoky-gray eyes were full of desire when they met mine. She slid down with impossible slowness while maintaining my gaze, and then she pressed her nose into my abdomen with my full length deep down her throat.
“Fuckkkkk,” I groaned and closed my eyes as the sensations overwhelmed me.
I could have exploded right then and there, but I wanted to feel them shivering through several orgasms before I released the tightly held reins of my self-control.
“Do you like it when your wife sucks your manhood?” Caelia purred in my ears, and her warm breaths caused goosebumps to erupt across my neck and shoulders.
“Yesss,” I moaned, but the dark-skinned goddess cut off my words with a kiss.
Caelia’s soft tongue slipped between my lips to curl and twist around mine, and a deep, throaty groan escaped my mouth. My hands tangled themselves in her mass of thick chocolate-colored curls, and I held her firmly against me while I took control of the kiss.
It was my beautiful fiancée’s turn to moan, and I swallowed the sound like a scrumptious dessert, but then Eva took in my whole shaft again, so I joined Caelia in the sounds of bliss.
“Sit on my face,” I requested when we finally pulled apart to gasp for air. “I want to taste you and feel your pussy on my lips.”
“Are you sure?” Caelia bit that juicy bottom lip of hers while she flashed me a hesitant smile. “I don’t want to hurt you…”
“It would be quite the opposite, actually,” I pointed out. “It would give me a lot of pleasure.”
“Alright,” Caelia giggled nervously as she moved to position herself over my face.
The dark-skinned goddess’ thick, smooth thighs were soft against my neck as she straddled me, but then I grabbed her by the ass and pulled her the rest of the way to my lips. Caelia gasped as my tongue darted straight to her slit and flicked quickly upward, but then I withdrew slightly to plant teasing kisses against her thighs.
I could smell her wetness, and the crotch of her bikini was already soaked through with her juices, so I devoured her with an urgency brought on by my own steadily growing desires.
“Basssh!” Caelia growled as her legs began to shake.
I’d barely gotten started, and she was already orgasming on my face like a fountain of sexy.
I lapped up the dripping stickiness like Winnie the Pooh with some honey. Then I stuck out my tongue and wagged my head from side to side until Caelia began to grind her clit against my mouth, and a second climax immediately followed the first.
“It feels so good…” The dark-skinned goddess grabbed fistfuls of my hair and twisted her hips as the spasms slowly dissipated.
“You taste amazing,” I murmured around a mouthful of pussy. “This has to be my new favorite hobby.”
“I never knew… I could feel so much… goodness…” Caelia moaned.
I attacked her pussy with renewed vigor that had her climbing the cliff of pleasure once more, and I was showered in her juices as she rocked her hips back and forth above my mouth.
Meanwhile, it took everything in me to concentrate while Evangeline sucked the life out of my dick. My blonde wife bobbed her lips up and down my shaft with perfect rhythm, and it was difficult to keep my hips on the blanket each time she rose off my cock.
“Fuck, Eva,” I groaned into Caelia’s pussy lips as my wife took my full length into her throat again, and I could feel my balls twitching as my climax neared.
Eva seemed to sense the change in me, and she slowed her pace while her hands massaged every inch of me she could reach without taking my dick out of her mouth. The setting sun cast dazzling purple, pink, and orange hues across the water in my peripheral vision, but I barely registered the disappearing light.
It was impossible to focus on anything except the thin strand of willpower I grasped onto that kept me from exploding my seed deep in Evangeline’s throat.
“Ohh, Bash…” Caelia continued to moan and rock her hips, and I kept her aloft by the ass with both hands to make sure her pussy remained within tongue distance.
Then I felt Eva’s hot, slick pussy envelop the head of my cock, and I lifted Caelia high enough to peer beneath her ass cheeks. My wife straddled my lap, and she smirked knowingly as she slowly lowered her dripping entrance lower and lower onto my tip. We made eye contact, and I licked my lips as I raised my hips to meet Evangeline’s slow downward stroke.
Eva lowered herself the rest of the way until I could feel the head of my dick rubbing against the entrance to her womb, and we groaned in unison as her pussy walls tightened around my shaft.
This was where the God of Sex belonged.
Face buried in pussy with my cock deep inside another beautiful woman.
“You like that?” my wife murmured in a pleased tone.
“Fuck, yes,” I growled.
“I want to see,” Caelia said as she lifted herself up and turned around.
A moment later, her pussy was back in position above my lips, and the sounds of the two women kissing between moans filled my thigh-covered ears.
It was the best damned music I’d ever heard in my life.
“I’m going to come,” I warned as the sensations escalated again, but I instinctively knew there would be no stopping it this time.
“Give me your seed!” Eva commanded as she increased her pace. “I want to feel you filling me up!”
My wife’s words spurred me on even faster, and I released the tenuous hold on my self-control. Shudders ran up my spine as my balls tightened, but then the tension broke, and I sprayed my seed like a hose while Eva’s pussy walls spasmed and clenched around my shaft.
“Fuuuuuck!” Eva moaned as her entire body began to shake, but she never ceased her up and down movements, and I kept cumming and cumming.
My cock twitched and sprayed out even more sperm until I felt it sliding down my shaft onto my balls, but still my wife rode me. She bucked and twisted her hips around my dick until it was throbbing to life once more, and I gasped for breath as I stiffened even more inside her tunnel.
“Fuck, that’s sexy,” I murmured as I lost myself in the sensations of her cum-slick pussy.
“Caelia’s turn,” Eva declared suddenly, and then cold air swept across my sticky cock as she lifted smoothly off my shaft.
The chocolate-haired goddess and the duke’s daughter switched positions, but instead of sitting on my face, Evangeline merely moved back behind Caelia as the shopkeeper straddled my lap. The blonde bombshell pressed her breasts into the dark-skinned beauty’s back, and her pale arms wrapped around to caress my fiancée’s nipples until the nubs were erect.
Caelia’s face twisted into an expression of pure bliss as she slid her juicy pussy onto my hard, cum-slick cock, and I gripped her wide hips to guide her further down my shaft. Once she was wrapped completely around my girth, I lifted my hips slightly to rub my tip against the textured spot in her tunnel I knew drove her nuts.
The dark-skinned goddess leaned back while Evangeline supported her weight and continued to tweak her nipples, and the sight of the two women above me made me want to come again with a fierce passion.
I’d already siphoned off my most urgent need, so my grip on my self-control was stronger, but if my women kept doing insanely sexy things, then I couldn’t make any promises about how long I would last.
“I love watching you fill my sister-wives with your seed,” Eva said as she gazed at me over Caelia’s shoulders.
“I want to feel it,” Caelia murmured with a nod of agreement. “It looked so fun when Eva took all your seed.”
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself in the meantime,” Eva teased, and the shopkeeper blushed.
“I want to leave you both in a puddle of our combined juices,” I said as I lifted my hips in time to Caelia’s rhythm. “But if you keep milking me like this, I’ll be the one left laying useless to the world.”
“You deserve a night of rest and relaxation,” Eva said with a twinkle in her smoky-gray eyes.
Then the blonde bombshell began to assist in Caelia’s movements, and the two women moved at an increased pace. My balls tightened as I came near to another climax, but this time I didn’t hold back.
Caelia came down to grind against my groin, and the tip of my cock rubbed against her cervix just right, so I released the torrent of sperm building in my balls. Stars exploded in my vision as I emptied my load into the dark-skinned goddess’ eager tunnel, and this orgasm somehow felt more powerful than my first one.
“Oh!” The shopkeeper gasped as her body collapsed on top of me, and I wrapped my arms around her back as I continued to spasm out a pint of my seed into her shivering pussy.
We both slowly came back to reality while Evangeline lovingly stroked us, and my vision focused on the cloud of chocolate curls covering my face.
I already wanted to do that all over again.
And, fortunately for me, I could.
“I love you both way too much to only do that once,” I said with a shit-eating grin, and the two women flashed me quizzical looks.
Chime.
Being the God of Time was fucking awesome.
I took control during the second run through of the threesome, and I fingered Caelia while I sucked on Evangeline’s clit until both women were drenched in their pussy juices and slobber. Then I had the dark-skinned goddess lay on top of the blonde bombshell while I alternated between thrusting into their two pussies.
I slid into Evangeline’s dripping entrance with a hard thrust, and she squeaked with delight as I hit her cervix with the tip of my cock. Her back arched, and I could see Caelia’s beautiful face over her shoulder.
It was perfect.
I sprayed my seed inside their spasming tunnels again, but then my mind began to reel with the possibilities. I wanted to cover their faces in my white tendrils, climax deep inside them from behind, and too many other things for one human to possibly attempt in a single lifetime.
But I wasn’t limited to the normal rules for humans.
Chime.
I explored every fantasy and kink my imagination could come up with. The two women gasped and moaned in synchronicity until their voices blended into a harmony of pleasure, and I wanted nothing more than to record the sounds for endless replays.
Chime.
Caelia and Eva kneeled before me after I’d turned them into knee-shaking puddles while I sprayed my seed all over their beautiful faces. Then they began to lick each other and me clean in a sexy combination of servitude and selfishness.
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
I lost myself in the endless loop of threesomes with my two hotties, and I restarted the adventure each time the sun sank beneath the waves, but I was far from finished with the moment.
Time ceased to have meaning while I gave everything I had in me over and over again, but eventually even I was exhausted from the constant lovemaking, so I reset for a final time to blow their minds once more.
Chime.
When we’d completely satiated ourselves, and I’d given them each a dozen climaxes and filled their pussies twice with my seed, the three of us splashed off in the cool waves while the moon slowly rose in the east. We hadn’t seen a single soul since coming to this section of the island, but I wouldn’t have cared even if someone had stumbled upon our sex picnic.
People deserved happiness, after all, and who wouldn’t be happy to see such epic sexiness?
We made a makeshift camp, lit a couple of torches, and started a fire, but we quickly ate through all the food the women had brought with us. They’d thought of nearly everything, though, and it was like a mini-vacation from constant quests and stress of leadership.
“Thank you both,” I said after a long moment of comfortable silence. “Today has been perfect.”
“It is the least we could do to show you how much we appreciate you,” Eva insisted as she bumped her shoulder against mine.
“Truly,” Caelia agreed with an energetic nod. “You do so much for everyone. You deserve a little break every now and then.”
And this had been the perfect break.
But the God of Time still had things to accomplish.
We headed back to Nanau in the morning, but I could feel my skin beginning to leather beneath the heat of the sun by the time we made it back to the island city. My eyes trailed up the slope of the mountain to the Grand Occulta Athenaeum, and Zenda sprang into my mind’s eye.
“So, there’s someone I’d like the two of you to meet,” I said as we made our way through the winding streets to the Ocean Song Inn. “My guide and assistant at the library, Zenda.”
“Is this the same woman who’s name you muttered in your sleep last night?” Eva giggled. “I already want to meet her.”
“I did?” I laughed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It sounded like gibberish at the time.” My wife shrugged. “But when you say it with your eyes open, it sounds more intentional.”
“She makes a solid point,” Caelia teased. “Although, I didn’t hear you speak in your sleep, so I must have slept through it.”
“I take it you don’t mind meeting Zenda?” I asked the shopkeeper in a hopeful tone.
“I’d love to,” Caelia replied with a bright smile. “You seem to have wonderful taste in companions so far.”
“You’re a prime example of that,” I countered as I flashed my newest woman a flirtatious wink.
The sun was already high in the sky, so I wasn’t sure how much time I would have to peruse the stacks in the library, but my first priority was to wash off the smell of salt from my skin. Plus, I still had sand in places I didn’t want to think of, so a bath was certainly in order.
The Ocean Song Inn was a welcome sight, and the three of us increased our pace when the sign came into view. A short while later, however, we were bathed and left the establishment once more. Then we went back down the winding streets to the Crowded Duck tavern, but my jaw fell open as soon as I entered the establishment.
Zenda sat at a table with a stack of books sitting beside her small cup of zuzu.
I cast a sideways glance at the two women beside me, and I watched them exchange a knowing look. Evangeline slipped her hand into mine and squeezed it affectionately while Caelia placed a comforting palm on my shoulder.
“Let’s go see what she wants,” my wife suggested with a playful smile.
“How did you know it was her?” I asked as I arched a questioning eyebrow.
“Your reaction alone,” Eva giggled, and she pulled me toward the historian.
Zenda’s gaze snapped up to meet us as we approached, and I was caught in the swirling vortex of her sapphire eyes. We stared at each other for a long, silent moment, but then I regained my composure and cleared my throat as I swept my hand to Evangeline and Caelia.
“I’d like to introduce you to my women, Eva and Caelia,” I said, and then I began to pull out chairs for the goddesses to slide into.
“Zenda?” Eva asked as she extended her hand to the Zaborian. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well,” Zenda said in her beautiful accent as she tilted her head respectfully, and the duke’s daughter squeezed her hand warmly before taking her seat.
“We have only just begun to hear about you,” Caelia informed our visitor. “I’m looking forward to hearing much more.”
“You are too kind,” the blue-skinned beauty murmured, and her cheeks flushed a coral-pink shade, but then her eyelashes fluttered as she regained her serene expression. “Sir Sebastian, I was inspired by your eagerness to learn, so I brought some study materials from the sections you’ve mentioned for you to read outside of the library.”
“Are we allowed to do that?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but I eyed the tall stack of books hungrily at the same time.
“It would normally be frowned upon.” Zenda shook her head, and an apologetic smile stretched across her thin lips. “But you are a special case. My father speaks very highly of you, and he made it clear to all that you were to be given anything you requested, so I felt it would be alright.”
“Do you usually do things your own way?” I teased.
“I can return them immediately if you disapprove.” Zenda’s sapphire eyes filled with worry.
“Not at all,” I chuckled, and I watched relief flash across her features. “I’m glad you took the time to find them and bring them to me. It honestly means a lot.”
Maybe there was a chance Zenda was feeling similar things as I was, and my heart thudded in my chest as I struggled to breathe in her presence.
“I am pleased to hear that,” the Zaborian replied, and her beautiful gemstone eyes twinkled with delight. “I have enjoyed the time we spent together so far, and I missed your presence this morning.”
“I’ve enjoyed our time together, too.” Anticipation and excitement coursed through me, and my mind reeled with fantasies of me pulling off the turquoise robes she wore to reveal the lithe form underneath.
I couldn’t get ahead of myself, though, or I’d end up scaring her off, so I took a few quick breaths to regain my composure, but then Zuana appeared by my elbow to save me.
“Some juice for the ladies and some zuzu for Mister Bash?” the beautiful tavern keeper asked with a broad smile.
“Yes, please,” I answered as I returned her grin. “And some food if you have it.”
Zenda lifted a long, slender, blue finger to stall the waitress, and the two exchanged a few words in the Zaborian tongue, but then Zuana nodded curtly in agreement with whatever the historian had said.
“I shall return shortly!” the tavern keeper called in her singsong accented voice before she floated back through the crowded tables to the kitchen.
I finally looked around the rest of the common room, and I was pleasantly surprised to see several faces I recognized among the patrons. Former zombified priests and servant class Zaborians ate and drank together peacefully, and an atmosphere of contentment filled the space.
My chest swelled with pride as I thought about how much I’d already affected the Zaborial Isles.
The God of the Purge had almost devastated the islands by cutting down their population drastically, but lucky for the islanders, he wasn’t the only god in their lands.
Even more lucky was the fact that I wasn’t an asshole like the Wannabe-Hitler.
“What are the books about, Miss Zenda?” Evangeline asked with a curious gleam in her smoky-gray eyes.
“Several topics Sir Sebastian was interested in,” Zenda explained, and her tone took on a new level of musicality as her face lit up with her passion for books. “There are some spell books, a collection of histories of the world, as well as plenty of magical creatures. I tried to think of everything, but there is still plenty to read at the Athenaeum when you go through these.”
“It won’t take me long,” I said. “I’ll bring them with me in the morning.”
“You cannot possibly read all of these volumes before then,” Zenda argued with an adamant shake of her head. “Take your time and get the full knowledge from them before you return them to me.”
“Like I said,” I chuckled. “It won’t take me long.”
I could basically freeze time and spend an entire day reading over and over again just to reset before I ever even cracked open the first cover, but Zenda didn’t know that. From her perspective, I was merely making grand, unbelievable claims, but I would show her.
I couldn’t wait to see her face in the morning when I demanded she quiz me on the contents of the books she’d given me.
Being the God of Time was awesome.
“We shall see, but feel free to take as long as you need,” the Zaborian said with a sly smile, and I could tell she thought my claim was ridiculous.
Zuana returned before I could say anything else, and we were all momentarily distracted by the waitress placing our order before us, but my mouth instantly began to water when the aromas struck my nostrils. Vegetables roasted in a rich, savory sauce were piled over boiled grains, and huge chunks of boar meat drenched in flavor poked out of the bowl.
The tavern keeper placed juice in front of Evangeline and Caelia, but she put the small zuzu cups in front of both me and Zenda before she placed a carafe between us.
“Is there anything else you will require for your meal?” Zuana’s blue eyes flicked to each person at the table as we each shook our heads, but then the waitress flashed us another brilliant smile. “Enjoy. I will come see how you fare soon.”
Then the blue-skinned, green-haired beauty danced her way back through the crowd and out of sight, so I turned to the meal before me and dug in greedily. I moaned as the chunks of vegetables and boar meat hit my tongue, and I lingered over the flavors for a moment before I swallowed the first mouthful.
The four of us were halfway through our meal when Sarosh entered the tavern and waved at us over the heads of the other patrons, and I quickly found an empty chair to add to our table. The silver-haired First Priestess of the Bastianville church swept her robes beneath her as she took her seat, and she looked curiously at Zenda before her gray eyes met my gaze.
“I have moved my possessions to the Ocean Song Inn.” Sarosh smiled serenely. “I am grateful they still had empty rooms. I hear many displaced victims are temporarily staying in local inns before moving on to their home islands.”
“Awesome.” I grinned, but then I gestured to the Zaborian historian beside her. “Sarosh, you remember Zenda.”
“It is lovely to see you again, esteemed daughter of Zeydon,” Sarosh said as she bowed her head.
“Zenda, I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but Sarosh is an old friend of mine. You can speak freely before her.” I winked, and Zenda’s sapphire eyes widened briefly before resuming their normal sereneness.
Fuck, she was fun to get reactions out of.
“Now that we’ve all been reintroduced,” Eva said in a playful voice, “I won’t feel rude if I continue to shove my face full of food.”
“You sound more and more like an Earthling every day,” I laughed.
“Earth is where you’re from?” Zenda cocked her head to the side as she studied me through narrowed eyes. “Why have I never heard of it before?”
Had I said too much?
While I trusted the beautiful Zaborian historian, I didn’t want to overwhelm her with the concept of how I came to this magical fantasy world. Previous attempts to explain my powers to my companions had ended badly and were erased from the permanent timeline, so I’d given up the idea of sharing my burden long ago.
I had to be careful with what I said next.
“I’d never heard of this world before I came here,” I said in a vague tone, and I flashed the Zaborian beauty a mysterious smile. “Looks like we could learn a lot from each other.”
“Perhaps,” Zenda allowed, but I saw the spark of curiosity blooming in her deep blue eyes. “A toast, then? To the exchange of knowledge.”
The First Daughter lifted her cup of zuzu above her head, and the rest of us quickly followed suit. We echoed her words, but then we each added a toast of our own.
“To the exchange of knowledge,” Eva said. “And to the continued well-being of the islands.”
“To the exchange of knowledge,” Caelia toasted. “And to the health of the economy.”
“To the exchange of knowledge,” Sarosh agreed, although the priestess didn’t have a cup to lift yet. “And to powerful partnerships.”
“To the exchange of knowledge,” I finished. “And to new adventures.”
Zuana appeared while I spoke and pressed a cup into the priestess’ hands, and I smiled in gratitude at the perceptive tavern keeper. Then we all drank in unison, and we slammed our empty cups down onto the table with a loud clatter. The zuzu burned my throat and warmed my chest, and I refilled the container from the carafe before I took a follow-up swig.
“How do you like the zuzu, Sarosh?” I asked with a smile.
“Oh.” The priestess blushed and fiddled with her cup. “Mine was just juice.”
“Oops, Zuana must have given you what she gave my women,” I chuckled.
“I don’t mind,” Sarosh said. “I do not drink alcohol regardless, so if it had been in the cup, I would have just mimed the toast.”
“Duly noted,” I said.
The zuzu flowed freely, as did the juice for my possibly pregnant women and Sarosh, and the table soon erupted into fits of laughter. We finished our meals slowly, but once the dishes were empty, Zuana brought out a sweet banana pudding for dessert. I made a mental note to tip the thoughtful waitress generously before I returned my focus to enjoying the evening with my new and old companions.
Zenda drank like a fish, and I struggled to keep pace with her. We burned through the first carafe quickly, but we sipped the second one a little slower. The Zaborian’s pale-blue skin was tinged with the coral-pink blush I admired so much, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the alcohol or nerves.
The compulsion to inform her of my attraction overpowered me, but I had the forethought to make a new save point at least.
“You’re beautiful,” I breathed as I held her gaze firmly in mine.
Zenda’s eyes widened, and she didn’t bother to school her expression as she stared at me in tense silence for a long moment.
I was worried I’d already gone too far, and I was about to reset to my save point when she opened her mouth to speak.
“That is highly inappropriate,” Zenda murmured in an almost imperceptible voice, but there was a hint of a pleased tone behind her words, so I exhaled in relief.
“Did I offend you?” I asked as I flashed her an innocent smile.
Zenda hesitated for a brief second, and I held my breath.
“No,” she said at long last. “But that is only because you are under the influence of zuzu, and I must forgive your indiscretion.”
Fuck that.
I didn’t want the beautiful Zaborian to think my affections were only drunken courage, so I reset back to my save point with a wave of my will.
Chime.
The bell rang in my ears as I adjusted myself to the slip through time, and I found myself staring into the bottomless sapphire depths of Zenda’s eyes once more. This time, though, I held my tongue, but I was more determined than ever before to win over the Zaborian historian.
I’d have her singing my praises before the sun set again.
I contented myself with getting the blue-skinned beauty drunk on the fermented beverage of the Zaborial Isles, and I milked as much information out of her as I could while she was under the influence. I learned a lot about her in a short amount of time, and then I reset again to set the clock back on the evening once more.
Of course, no one was any the wiser to my subtle changes, and I savored each new tidbit of information I gleaned with each run through.
Chime.
Zenda appreciated thoughtful gifts.
Chime.
The First Daughter longed to rise beyond her father’s shadow and explore the world with her own eyes.
Chime.
Her mother passed away during childbirth, and her father never remarried, so Zenda was his only child.
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
We partied over and over again, but fortunately for me, my stomach was empty again each time I chimed, so I could drink to my heart’s content without ever getting too drunk. I kept Zenda and Sarosh’s cups full of zuzu and juice until the sun began to peek in through the window the next morning, and then I reset for a final time to go the responsible route.
Chime.
I lost myself in Zenda’s eyes one last time before I shook my head as though rousing myself from a dream. It had been a fun evening, and I was grateful for everything I’d learned about the beautiful historian, but I was ready to kick my game up a notch.
“We should call it a night,” I suggested after I’d come back to reality from the depths of her gaze. “I want to wake up early to read these books so I can bring them back to you after breakfast.”
“I still do not believe you can read them all so quickly,” Zenda said with a wry smirk. “But I respect your wish to attend to your duties. I will leave you for now, but I look forward to hearing all about your readings when we meet next.”
“Quiz me if you like,” I offered with a wink. “I’ll read them cover to cover.”
“As you say,” Zenda said as her face slipped back into the serene mask she usually wore.
I’d grown accustomed to her many expressions during the evening, and I knew the face was a wall protecting her from the intrusions of the outside world. The First Daughter much preferred the realms of text to reality, and I knew her thoughts were often in distant fantasy worlds while her face remained unreadable.
She was beautiful, and she’d wormed her way into my heart already.
I had to have her.
“Goodnight, Zenda,” I said, and I pressed as much of my emotion into those two words as I could.
The daughter of the High Priest said her goodbyes to the rest of the table, and then we all went our separate ways. Caelia, Eva, and Sarosh followed me back to the Ocean Song Inn, and I was pleased to see the First Priestess’ room was directly across the hallway from ours.
I made a new save point before I laid down in bed so I could have a reset ready to go when I finished my reading, and then I opened the first of the books.
The first book I read was an instruction manual on the Zaborian language, and the majority of the text was in the common tongue of Sorreyal. I murmured a quiet thank you to Zenda for being so thoughtful, and then I dug into the text. I read the rest of the night, and I fought off yawns every so often. My eyes began to burn, and I finally tapped out, but after I slept for a few hours, I woke up and reset.
Chime.
Next, I practiced my newly acquired language skills on a book about the Zaborial Isles, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the text I understood. It was basically a children’s book, but I didn’t mind. The pictures helped illuminate the message context, and the combination enhanced my understanding of the tongue.
I was eager to learn to speak it, but I murmured a couple of the words out loud quietly so as not to rouse the two women asleep in the bed beside me.
The story was one Zenda had already told me the day we’d first met, but I’d reset over that timeline so she had no memory of our conversation regarding the First High Priest Zyne. I’d visited his crypt during my quest to kill the God of the Purge, and the mosaics in the burial crypt matched much of the illustrations before me.
I yawned and stared at the rising sun for a moment, but then I reset once more.
Chime.
I repeated the process several times until I’d made my way through the stack of texts, but by the time I was through my reading list, my brain felt overwhelmed with information. I needed a run through where all I did was sleep just to satisfy my constant craving for shut-eye, so I reset one more time before I passed out next to my women.
I woke late in the morning, but I didn’t care. I’d spent several nights’ worth of time absorbing all the information I could, and now I was ready to be tested by the beautiful historian. I couldn’t wait to see her impressed expression when I mastered the reading list she gave me in a single night.
Caelia, Eva, Sarosh, and I ate a heavy breakfast of fried boar meat, eggs, hash browns, biscuits, and a peppery gravy Zuana called kua. It was the perfect meal to energize us for the rest of the day, and I scarfed it down hungrily while the girls ate with dainty bites.
“Anything fun planned today?” I asked around a mouthful of potatoes.
“Sarosh is going to show us around the shops,” Caelia informed me.
“Make sure you take lots of money,” I suggested. “Get multiples of anything you think you can sell in your store back in Bastianville.”
“Thank you, Bash,” the shopkeeper said with lifted eyebrows. “But don’t worry about us. Focus on your lessons.”
I snorted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m eager to see how the people you saved are faring,” Eva said with a thoughtful frown. “It can be overwhelming to experience trauma like that, and I want to make sure they’re acclimating to their old lives again.”
“Spoken like a true leader,” I complimented.
“Are you coming home with a new sister-wife for us?” Eva asked suddenly, and her smoky-gray eyes twinkled as I cast her a surprised glance.
“I’m going to try!” I laughed. “Is it okay with you two if Zenda joins our little family?”
“Absolutely!” Eva and Caelia said in unison, and the two women erupted into a fit of laughter.
“She’s lovely,” Caelia said.
“So smart!” Eva added.
“And so different from anyone else we’ve ever met,” Caelia continued.
“Mahini and Elissa will love her!” Eva gushed.
“How does her father feel about your quest to win her heart?” Sarosh asked.
“I’ll find out soon enough.” I shrugged. “She’s an adult. She can make her own choices.”
“Fair enough,” Sarosh allowed, and an amused smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
I left for the Grand Occulta Athenaeum after breakfast with my arms full of the books Zenda had loaned me, and my steps were eager as I mounted the steep stone staircase. I entertained fantasies of stolen glances and soft kisses, and by the time I reached the front doors of the library, my blood was coursing hotly through my veins.
The air in the atrium was cool, and it did a lot to calm my rapidly beating heart, but I took a moment to collect myself before I continued toward the stairs.
“Good morning, Zenda,” I greeted with a flirtatious smile as I placed the stack of books on her desk. “As promised, I have read these volumes already.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Zenda’s lips twisted into the faintest hint of a smile, but her sapphire eyes twinkled with amusement. “What have you learned about?”
I recited the titles of the books, their content, and the general idea behind each one like a student being reviewed by their teacher, but the metaphor was apt. Zenda knew a lot more than I did, and she was acting as my guide through the foreign lands I’d found myself in.
Zenda’s eyes grew wider and wider with each passing moment until her bottom lip fell toward the floor, and she gaped openly at me while I continued to explain everything I’d learned since I’d last seen her the night before.
“You… You couldn’t… It’s impossible!” Zenda shook her head to dispel her racing thoughts. “I’ve never experienced anything like this! You had mere hours… And you know all of it as though you’ve been studying for moon cycles!”
“I’m a god, remember?” I teased with a mischievous smile.
“You’re incredible!” the historian breathed with awe in her eyes.
That was more like it.
“I’m glad you think so,” I chuckled. “I think highly of you as well.”
My words, however docile, elicited a strong reaction from the beautiful Zaborian, and her neck flushed darkly as she averted her eyes.
“I-I-I,” Zenda stammered as she wrung her hands nervously.
Gone was the serene all-knowing unreadable beauty, and in her place was a sensitive and vulnerable innocent maiden.
My body responded on its own, and I had to take several deep breaths to calm the raging desire inside me, but then I took her hands in mine and squeezed them warmly.
“Zenda,” I murmured, and the blue-eyed beauty lifted her gaze to mine. “You’re a beautiful soul, and I’m going to make you mine.”
Zenda stared into my eyes for a long time, and intense emotions swirled within the depths of the windows to her soul. What I saw there in that moment of raw vulnerability cemented her place in my heart, but what she did next startled the fuck out of me.
The beautiful Zaborian pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, and she pressed a soft kiss against my cheek. Up close she smelled of the ocean breeze, refreshing and minty, and I inhaled greedily. Her ears were more pointed than I’d been able to tell from further away, but then she pulled away from me once more.
The outline of her lips still warmed my cheek, and I placed a hand over it as though making sure it was real. Then I leaned down, cupped her cheeks in my hands, and claimed her mouth with mine.
Zenda’s lips parted slightly as the kiss deepened, and time froze.
The God of Time always got what he wanted.