Chapter 421: A Taste of Divinity (and Disaster)

"You’re predictable."

"And you’re stalling." She crawled toward me on her hands and knees, and I was acutely aware of every eye tracking her movement. "I want to taste it."

"Taste what?"

"The Nectar." She stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could smell her perfume. "Everyone’s been going on about it. How good it feels. How addictive." Her emerald eyes locked onto mine. "I want to know what the fuss is about."

Natalia’s hand tightened on my shoulder from where she still sat sideways in my lap. "That wasn’t a dare."

"Fine." Akari’s smile was dangerous. "Satori, I dare you to kiss me until I understand what they’re all addicted to."

The room temperature dropped.

Natalia’s voice was pure ice. "That’s not how dares work."

"Sure it is." Akari’s tone remained light. "I’m daring him to show me. To prove that this Nectar thing is real and not just everyone getting worked up over good chemistry."

Skylar leaned forward. "This is a terrible idea."

"Most fun things are." Akari didn’t break eye contact with me. "So? You backing out?"

"That’s two drinks."

"I don’t mind." She tilted her head. "Unless you’re scared."

Natalia shifted in my lap, and I felt her preparing to intervene. But then Cel spoke up.

"Let him answer."

I looked at each of them in turn. Natalia, who knew exactly what she’d signed up for. Emi, still processing everything. Skylar, watching with those sharp violet eyes. Cel, unreadable as always. And Akari, grinning like she’d just won something.

"Fine."

I stood up, gently moving Natalia aside. She let me go, but her expression promised a conversation later.

Akari stayed on her knees, looking up at me. "This is gonna be good."

I knelt down in front of her and cupped her face with both hands. "Last chance to back out."

"Kiss me already, Stray Dog."

I did.

The moment our mouths connected, the Nectar hit her system like a freight train. Her entire body jerked, her hands flying up to grip my wrists as she gasped against my lips. I kept the kiss controlled, my tongue sliding against hers slowly, deliberately, letting her feel every second of what the divine drug did to her nervous system.

She moaned.

Her back arched, pressing her chest against mine, and her nails dug into my skin hard enough to leave marks.

I counted to fifteen before pulling back.

Akari swayed, her eyes unfocused and glazed. "Oh. Oh wow."

"Yeah."

"That’s..." She touched her lips. "That’s not normal."

"Told you."

She laughed, breathless and a little wild. "No wonder everyone’s obsessed. That’s literally crack cocaine in mouth form."

Emi covered her face. "I can’t believe we just watched that."

"I can," Skylar muttered.

Akari crawled back to her spot, moving like her legs didn’t quite work right. "Okay. New rule. We’re all getting a turn."

Natalia stood up. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Akari’s grin was back. "Scared of a little competition?"

"You’re not competition."

"Prove it."

The frost spread across my floor again.

I stepped between them. "New rule. Nobody kills anybody in my room. Braxton will make me pay for the damage."

Cel stood up from the bed. "Perhaps we should establish boundaries before this gets completely out of hand."

"Too late," Skylar said.

Emi raised her hand. "I have a dare. For all of us."

Everyone turned.

Her face was scarlet, but her eyes were determined. "We all... we all take turns. Kissing Satori. One at a time. So it’s fair."

Natalia’s eye twitched. "That’s the opposite of fair."

"It’s egalitarian," Cel offered.

"It’s a disaster," Skylar added.

Akari clapped her hands. "I love it. Let’s do it."

I looked at the ceiling. Nel was somewhere in the back of my mind, and I could feel her laughing.

The quest timer read seven hours and twelve minutes remaining.

This was going to be a long night.

They looked at each other. Some silent communication passed between them that I wasn’t part of.

Then Natalia smiled, and it was the most dangerous thing I’d seen all week.

"Here’s the order," she declared. "Akari first. Then Cel. Then Emi. Skylar. I’m last."

"Why are you last?" Skylar demanded.

"Because I’m going to be the one you all remember."

Akari laughed and crawled toward me again. "Confident. I like it."

She straddled my lap without asking permission, her weight settling onto my thighs. The lace nightie rode up.

"You good?" I asked.

"Getting there." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Round two. Make it count."

I pulled her down and kissed her properly this time.

The Nectar flooded between us immediately, and Akari’s whole body shuddered. I held her waist, keeping her steady as she melted against me. Her mouth was hot and eager, her tongue chasing mine with desperate hunger.

She ground down against me.

I broke the kiss. "Easy."

"That’s not easy." Her breathing was ragged. "That’s the opposite of easy."

I lifted her off my lap and set her aside gently. She made a sound of protest.

"Next."

Cel stood up from the bed. She moved with that careful grace that made her look like she was gliding.

"My turn?"

"If you want."

She knelt in front of me, her nightdress pooling around her legs. "I’ve been curious."

"About?"

"Whether it’s different with me."

I reached out and tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "Guess we’ll find out."

She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine.

The Nectar hit her differently. Where Akari had been hungry and desperate, Cel was... careful. Like she was analyzing every sensation, cataloging responses, trying to understand the mechanics of what was happening to her body.

I deepened the kiss, and she gasped.

Her hands came up to my chest, not pushing away but holding on. When I pulled back, her eyes were wide and her lips were parted.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

She sat back on her heels. "That’s... significantly more intense than I anticipated."

Emi was next. She didn’t wait for an invitation, just launched herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"My turn my turn my turn."

I caught her mid-flight and laughed. "Calm down."

"I don’t want to be calm." She kissed me hard, all enthusiasm and zero technique. The Nectar made her moan against my mouth, and her whole body went liquid.

When we broke apart, she was crying.

"Emi?"

"It’s not fair." She wiped her eyes. "It’s not fair that it feels this good."

I pulled her close. "I know."

Skylar had been watching the entire thing with hooded eyes. She got up slowly and walked over.

"This is stupid."

"Yep."

"We’re all gonna regret this tomorrow."

"Probably."

She grabbed my shirt and pulled me forward. "Fuck it."

The Nectar made her shake, and she bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

When she let go, she was glaring.

"I hate you."

"I know."

She went back to her corner and put her headphones on, even though they weren’t playing anything.

Natalia cleared her throat. "My turn."

Natalia stood over me, looking down with those purple eyes that saw everything.

"You ready?"

"For you? Never."

She smiled and dropped into my lap, her legs wrapping around my waist. The kiss was possessive and claiming, her tongue invading my mouth like she was staking territory.

The Nectar hummed between us, familiar and electric.

When she finally pulled back, she was breathing hard.

"Mine."

"Yours."

"Good." She stood up and returned to her spot.

I wiped my mouth. The five of them were all watching me with varying degrees of want, confusion, and territorial aggression.

The quest notification pulsed.

Stage One Complete: Transparency Achieved

Bonus Objective Available: Escalation

Akari reached for the bottle again. "So. Now what?"

"Now," Natalia said slowly, "we see what else Satori’s been hiding."

Cel pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. "This quest he mentioned. What are the actual requirements?"

"That everyone stays," I said. "And that we figure out what comes next."

"Together?" Emi asked.

"Apparently."

Akari set the bottle down. "Okay. New dare." She looked around the circle. "For all of us. We each tell Satori one thing we want him to do to us. Right now. Tonight."

Skylar’s head snapped up. "That’s not a dare. That’s a declaration of war."

"Same difference."

Natalia stood up and walked to the light switch. She turned it off, plunging the room into darkness except for the moonlight coming through my window.

"If we’re doing this," she said quietly, "we’re doing it right."

In the dim light, I could see all five of them watching me.

Waiting.

The quest timer read six hours and forty-three minutes.

Aphrodite’s laughter echoed in the back of my mind.

This was going to be impossible.

But I’d already chosen impossible.

Might as well commit.