Cassius blinked once. Then again.
She didnât laugh. Didnât grin like she was bluffing or trying to mess with him.
Nope. That look on her face, cocky, smug, utterly sure of herself, said she meant every word of it. She stood in the middle of the hot spring like some teasing goddess, towel clinging to her hips, steam curling lazily around her shoulders, and not even pretending to be coy about it.
"Nala." He said, voice slow, uncertain. "What in the world are you talking about?"
Cassius took a step closer, water lapping at his ankles.
"I thought that conversation was about us moving past what happened earlier. About you not being afraid of me. I didnât know it was leading to...to that."
"Oh it most definitely was Cassius." She said, folding her arms beneath her chest and making the towel ride just slightly higher, her grin gleaming. "Every word I said a moment ago is true. Itâs just that I thought the topic was over and I thought of doing exactly what I came her for."
"And why exactly did you come her for?"
He arched a brow to which se stepped forward, and her tail flicked subtly beneath the water, displacing a ripple of heat.
"To thank you, obviously."
"For what, exactly?" Cassius asked, bemused.
"For protecting me, dumbass." She said lightly, poking him in the chest. "Fighting for me. Tearing those bastards apart without a second thought. Putting yourself at risk for me. That kind of thing usually doesnât come free, does it?"
Cassius stared. "...You think you owe me for that?"
"No, I donât owe you anything." She shrugged, pretending to think it over. "More like...I was taught that when the man of the house comes back after doing all the hard work, itâs the womanâs job to make sure heâs fed, comfortable, satisfied."
"Grandma told me thatâs how it always worked in the old days. The husband would go out, wrestle wolves or dragons or something, and the wife would have a warm meal waiting, a whole banquet laid out with a smile, so after what you did, I wanted to show my gratitude as well."
He blinked. "So...whereâs my banquet, then?"
"Thatâs the problem. Iâm not much of a cook." She sighed dramatically. "Put me near a stewpot and Iâll probably burn the house down. So, no grand feast waiting for you" Then she smirked. "But I can thank you in other ways."
Cassius exhaled slowly through his nose, his heartbeat starting to press against his ears.
"Other ways." He repeated.
"Mmhm. I think youâll find this one very traditional too." Nala stepped closer.
Before he could speak again, she leaned forward, her lips brushing the shell of his ear.
"And I know you like it..." She whispered. "...after how long Miss Julie was on her knees last night."
Cassius froze. His entire body stiffened, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"...Wait. How the hell do you know about that?"
Nala blinked, realizing a moment too late what sheâd just let slip. Her mouth opened, then shut again, and she gave a nervous little laugh, pressing her hand to her cheek as if to cool the growing blush.
"I didnât meanâI wasnât spying or anything!"
Cassius folded his arms, staring. "Nala."
She winced. "Okay, okay. Just donât misunderstand. I wasnât peeking. Really. Itâs just that..." Her voice softened to a grumble. "...My roomâs right below yours."
Cassius blinked again. "Wait. What?"
"Yeah." She muttered, shoulders hunching slightly as she stared at the water. "My bedâs right under yours. The floorboards are thin. Really thin. Last night I could hear everything. Every. Single. Thing."
Cassiusâs mouth opened slightly, and then shut, while Nala pushed on, face flushed.
"I-It wasnât like I wanted to listen, alright? But you, you, were the one broadcasting it to half the damn mountain! Even when I covered my ears, all I could hear was âmmngh, mmmh, ahh, yes, Julie, fuck, deeperââ" She mimicked him in a deep, comical groan that made him slap a palm to his face.
"...Nala, please."
"Iâm serious!" She barked. "I couldnât sleep! I heard it all! Her slurping, your moaning, the damn squelching, do you know what itâs like to lay in bed listening to someone else get the best head of their life?"
"Itâs traumatizing!" She jabbed a finger toward his chest.
Cassius, unable to stop himself, let out a quiet snort of laughter.
"Oh, donât laugh!" Nala huffed, though her lips were twitching. "You owe me compensation for that mental scarring. Emotional damages.â
"And yet..." Cassius said, quirking a brow. "...youâre the one offering to thank me."
Nalaâs blush deepened. She looked away, lips pressed tight as Cassius stepped forward again, until they were inches apart, the only thing between them the rising steam and a faint line of rippling water.
"So. All that..." He murmured. "...all those sounds, those moans you heard...they stuck in your head, didnât they?"
"...Maybe." She muttered.
"Got curious, didnât you?" He leaned in just a little, voice low.
"Maybe." Her lips curled.
"And now you want to find out what itâs like."
This time, she didnât answer. She didnât have to.
"Call it whatever you like." Her voice had gone quieter, sultrier, the syllables sliding like silk. "But Iâve finally figured you out, Cassius. You try to look all noble and composed, but inside youâre more perverted then any man can be."
"Is that so?"
"Oh yes." She waded closer, the towel clinging tighter to her. "Most men would run screaming if they saw a tongue like mine."
Her smile turned mischievous as she let the tip of her serpentâs tongue flick briefly past her lips, quick and split.
"But not you. Youâd like it. Youâd want to feel it...especially down there, wouldnât you?"
Cassiusâs pulse jumped despite himself. "You really think youâve got me figured out?"
"I know I do." She leaned in until her breath met his ear, whispering. "Imagine it, both tongues working together. Youâd love it, wouldnât you?"
His body answered before his mouth could, the towel around his waist tightening with the shift. He gave a low, disbelieving laugh.
"Fine. You win. Iâm not even going to pretend otherwise. Youâve got me hard already." His grin widened. "So if youâre serious, then go on. Do it."
Nala blinked at his frankness, then bit her lip and smiled. "YesâYes, finally. I can give you what you want." She glanced around, eyes sparkling. "But not here. Letâs get into the spring first."
She caught his hand, tugging him with surprising strength; the water rose around them as they stepped deeper into the pool.
Steam wreathed their faces, the night air humming with insects and distant river sounds. Cassius leaned back against a smooth boulder, half-submerged, heat loosening every muscle.
Nala stopped before him, the water just beneath her breasts. She looked down at herself, then at him, and laughed softly.
"First, letâs get rid of these."
Her fingers slipped the knot loose, and the towel fell with a hushed splash, drifting ghostlike across the pool. Starlight kissed her bare skinâblue, gleaming, slick with beads of water that clung to her curves like they worshipped her.
Cassius swallowed hard.
Her breasts were plump and perfect, swaying softly as she moved. Droplets rolled down their smooth arcs, catching the moonlight before slipping off her purple nipples, hard and glossy, tight from the night air. She didnât hideâshe let him look. Let him ache.
"Your turn." Nala reached forward, tugging at the towel around his hips.
He let her. The cloth sank away and the air between them changed, thickened.
His cock, freed, lifted from the water, the crown just breaching the surface. Steam gathered on its length like dew, glimmering.
Nalaâs eyes widened; she whispered a small, awed laugh. "I already saw it when the Leviathan attacked, but...Saints above." Her hand slipped underwater, fingers circling him, stroking slowly. "Itâs even bigger than I remembered. You really are a monster, Cassius."
She then grinned, her tail curling idly through the water behind her.
"Are you sure youâre not part lamia? Look at this thing, itâs like a tail growing from the wrong end."
She gave a playful squeeze beneath the water, drawing a sharp breath from him.
"If I were lamia..." He murmured. "...the tail would be behind me, not in front."
"Maybe youâre a rare mutation." She teased, eyes glinting. "A special one. Certainly doesnât look human."
"Youâre not complaining." He laughed low in his throat.
"Not at all." Her tone softened, affectionate and sultry all at once. "Thinking about taking something this big inside me makes my tail stiffen."
Her strokes quickened, rippling the water before she leaned closer until the tip brushed her chin. She inhaled, gaze half-lidded, and murmured to it as though to a pet.
"Hello there, Mr. Snake. Arenât you a big boy? Such a massive, proud little snake..."
"Why in the world are you naming my cock?" Cassius barked a laugh, half incredulous.
"Why not?" She shot back without missing a stroke. "You name the fish you catch sometimes. Why canât I name something this magnificent?" Her grin turned impish. "A monster like this deserves a name."
"Isnât that right, Mr. Snake?" She said, mock-scolding and sweet all at once, giving it another affectionate wiggle. "Donât you just love your new name? Donât you just adore it?"
Then, he couldnât believe his ears, she tilted her head, eyes twinkling, and in a squeaky little falsetto, said:
"I do! I do, Nala! I love the name you gave me so much!"
Cassius blinked.
"My master over here." She continued in the same tiny, trembling voice, while gently bobbing his cock with exaggerated sympathy. " Heâs had me for so long and never given me a proper name. Never cared. Just kept me locked up inside his pants, all cramped and dark and lonely!"
She turned her big, bright eyes up at him, only half suppressing a mischievous smile.
"But you, Nala...youâre so kind. You set me free. You gave me a name. Mr. Snake is so grateful!"
She wiggled his cock again, made it nod, and said in that chipmunk-soft puppet tone.
"Yes! So grateful! Thank you, Miss Nala! Thank you!"
"Are you seriously trying to say my dick likes you better than me?" Cassius ran a hand down his face, caught between dumbfounded and dying of laughter.
"Oh, Iâm not trying." She nodded solemnly, as if delivering a verdict from the gods. "He told me himself Cassius. He said he vastly prefers me. After all...I named him."
"Oh, come onâ"
"No, no! Donât argue with him." She said, stifling laughter, adopting a mock-serious look. "Heâs had a hard life. Very hard." She waggled her brows. "And now itâs time someone finally treated him right."
She leaned in, her voice dipping low as she pressed her body against his chest, breasts flush against him, her tail curling behind her in the water like a dark ribbon.
"Now, itâs about time I stopped playing around." She whispered. "Let me give you the reward you actually deserve."
He barely had time to move, didnât even try to stop her.
His arms spread along the rocks behind him as she kissed him, full and deep, a breathless collision of warmth and hunger. Her lips crushed against his, tongues tangling, not one, but two.
"Mmm!âĄ~ Mmm!âĄ~ Kiss!âĄ~ Mmm!âĄ~ Slurp!âĄ~"
Both of Nalaâs tongues worked in tandem, curling and slipping around his like velvet rope, teasing and controlling him completely. Cassius didnât stand a chance. For the first time in years, his tongue had no freedom. It was hers, caught between two evil, serpentine lashes that didnât relent until he groaned into her mouth.
She finally pulled back with a wet pop, the silver thread of saliva stretching between them before breaking. Her eyes were half-lidded, her breath soft, but she wasnât finished. Not even close.
Her lips moved next to his neck, pressing slow, hot kisses along the vein that pulsed beneath.
"Kiss!âĄ~ Kiss!âĄ~ Mwah!âĄ~ Kiss!âĄ~ Nibble!âĄ~"
She then worked her way down, tracing each line of his body with reverence, his collarbone, his sternum, the rise of his ribs. Her tongue flicked lightly across one nipple before she sucked it into her mouth with slow intent, and Cassiusâs muscles twitched in response, a sharp inhale betraying him.
She didnât pause, just smiled faintly at the reaction and kept going, planting gentle, maddening kisses down the sculpted ladder of his abs.
Each one was a note in a song only she knew the melody to. It was worshipful, tender, full of playful pauses and teasing that left goosebumps rising on his skin.
Just as her head dipped toward the water, Cassiusâs voice cut through the steam, a touch of concern surfacing in his dazed tone.
"Nala...are you sure youâll be okay?" His brow furrowed faintly. "I mean, underwater? That thingâs not...small. You might choke, orâ"
She looked up at him and grinned like heâd just asked whether fish knew how to swim.
"Iâm a sea serpent, Cassius." She said dryly. "I live underwater. I can hold my breath longer than you can finish a war."
He stared at her for a beat, then gave a helpless laugh. "Fair enough."
She winked. "Just lean back. I want this to be...memorable."
Then she vanished beneath the surface, water closing over her hair like a curtain. For a moment, all was silent save the bubbling spring and distant insects.
Then Cassiusâs breath caught sharp in his throat, and his head tipped back against the stone.
The sensation was immediate. Overwhelming.
The warmth of the spring surrounded him, but this?
This was something else entirely.
"Lick!âĄ~ Mmph!âĄ~ Ahh!âĄ~ Suck!âĄ~"
Heat and pressure and softness all at once. Her mouth moved on him with the same confidence sheâd used when talking to "Mr. Snake", no hesitation, no fumbling, just slow, perfect rhythm.
And gods, her tongues.
Two slick, sloppy thingsâhot, wet, alive with purpose, curling around his cock like theyâd claimed it.
One dragged slow strokes along the underside, tracing the sensitive ridge from base to tip, again and again, until his thighs trembled with the effort not to thrust.
The other flattened against the length of him, stroking upward in firm, steady laps that smeared spit and heat from root to crown.
They moved in counterpointâone teasing, one worshippingâtightening, coiling, milking him with obscene precision. Every twitch earned a squeeze, every throb answered by the subtle flex of her lips, the glide of a tongue, the hum of pleasure deep in her throat.
"Mmm!âĄ~ Ahhh!âĄ~ Slurp!âĄ~ Nnn!âĄ~"
She wasnât just sucking him off.
She was orchestrating it. Every movement timed, deliberate, practiced.
She knew exactly how to make him fall apart.
His fingers curled against the edge of the rock. "Nala." He groaned, the word broken and low.
He couldnât see her face, just the ripples in the water where her head moved.
But he could feel every motion.
He could feel yhe way her throat worked, the way she angled her head just enough to drag heat along every inch of him.
The way one tongue slipped to the side to flick the most sensitive tip while the other made slow, full passes like it was trying to memorize his shape.
"You..." He gasped, words tumbling free. "Youâre...godsâyouâre not even a lamia, youâre a succubus, what the hell..."
The sensations built too fastâhot, overwhelming, impossible to pace. She didnât rush, but she didnât let up either. Her mouths gave no mercy, tongues wrapping, licking, dragging pleasure from him in waves that crashed too close together. Every time he tried to breathe, she stole it away again.
He bucked under the water, hips twitching upward before he could stop himself, and her hand clamped down on his thighâfirm, possessive, grounding him with a strength that made his gut tighten.
"Ahh!âĄ~ Suck!âĄ~ Mmph!âĄ~ Lick!âĄ~"
The other hand never stopped. Fingers wrapped snug around his cock just below where her lips worked him, stroking in rhythm with the bob of her head, her wrist twisting just enough on every downstroke to make his vision blur.
Grip, suck, stroke, moanâeach motion perfect, relentless. She used everything she had, all of it, coordinated like a machine built to wring him out until he shattered.
Cassiusâs mind scrambled for purchase, some control, some handhold in the heat and steam and pleasure, but found none.
"You really, hahh, you really were listening last night, werenât you..." He muttered, voice husky.
If she heard him, she didnât show it. But a moment later, her tongues doubled down, faster, tighter, slicker.
"Mmph!âĄ~ Mmm!âĄ~ Slurp!âĄ~ Ahhh!âĄ~"
It was like she was answering him with her body. Like she wanted to one-up Julie. Like she meant to leave him ruined.
He couldnât stop himself anymore. One hand sank into the water, into her hair, guiding her, urging her.
"Nala..." He groaned, barely coherent. "...donât stop, keep going, just like that, gods, yesâ"
And just like he asked, her pace didnât slow. If anything, it became more focused, more devoted. Like she wanted to take everything. Like she knew.
Cassius shuddered, drowning in sensation, eyes rolling back slightly as the tension finally, inevitably broke.
He arched, mouth clenched, every muscle drawn tight as a bowstring.
And thenârelease.
A surge, a pulse, like lightning snapping through his core. The pleasure cracked through him in waves, unstoppable, ferocious.
"Ahhh, Nalaâ!" He choked out, voice rough and cracking, hips jerking helplessly as the orgasm tore through him.
His hands buried in her soaked hair, clutching, anchoring, as he spilled himself into the wet, sucking heat of her mouth below the surface.
"Schlurp!âĄ~ Splish!âĄ~ Splat!âĄ~ Squish!âĄ~"
She didnât flinch. Didnât pull away.
She took itâevery pulse, every throbâher tongues still working him through it, milking each spasm with obscene precision as his release shot down her throat in thick, hot bursts.
When he finally opened his eyes again, breath coming in slow, stunned bursts, Nala was surfacing. She blinked water from her lashes, wiped a bit of steam from her cheek, and gave him the most satisfied, smile heâd ever seen.
He laughed, short and breathless. "Okay." He rasped. "You win...Mr. Snake belongs to you now."
She grinned, wiping a drop from her lip with her thumb.
"He always did."
And then she winked.
"But donât think Iâm done yet."
Cassius stared at her, eyes wide again.
"...Youâre insatiable."
She only tilted her head innocently.
"Says the man who kept half the inn awake last night."
...And with that, she dipped beneath the water again to fulfil her duties as a wife who wanted to show her gratitude to her husband.