Chương 131: Ladies of Landradad

Something was amiss, Joe thought as he floated in his pond, his body clean but his mind burning with barely restrained emotion. It had been over a week since he discovered the secret meetings Corel and the others were holding. Yet that alone was not the reason his feelings were so unsettled. It was everything that had happened since. For roughly ten days now, a pattern had emerged, and Joe was starting to suspect Corel was doing it on purpose.

She had been teasing him relentlessly, offering no release for the desire steadily building in his chest. Every day brought the same torment: passionate kisses that stopped just short of satisfaction, light touches that promised more and delivered nothing. He even woke each morning to her naked body wrapped around his, only for her to slip away the moment he stirred, murmuring something about an important 'meeting.' At first, he had dismissed it as a coincidence.

Surely she would make it up to him later, or her Varvara would eclipse, and things would return to normal. But neither had happened. Ten days had passed, and frankly, he felt like he was about to burst. So it was time to take matters into his own hands. It was time to put his foot down. If she was doing this deliberately, then there was only one possible culprit behind it all, and that culprit was the short haired Indian devil. Was this payback for discovering their secret meetings? Probably.

He would deal with the tiny woman soon enough. For now, he needed to find Corel and put an end to this unbearable tension. Joe swam to the edge of the pond and pulled himself out of the water. Only then did he notice Corel's dot lingering just beyond his sight, tucked into the nearby shadows. Before he could summon a towel from his storage, she stepped forward and revealed herself. She wore nothing but a purple towel wrapped snugly around her shapely torso.

Joe's gaze lingered despite himself, tracing the curve of her full hips and the elegant lines of her green legs before drifting upward to her generous bosom. He let out a slow breath, torn between relief and suspicion. Was this finally it, or was she here simply to torment him further? He was about to find out as Corel raised a hand and spoke. __ But before that. We have to go back ten days, to the moment Joe vanished from the village after releasing Shanna.

"I knew it was him," Esha said as she nodded toward Shanna, who had just finished purchasing a new dress with Joe's credits.

"Dammit. If I'd moved a little faster, I could have caught him while he was spying on us."

"He was bound to find out eventually," Corel murmured, feeling a faint twinge of guilt for hiding everything from Joe for so long.

"I'm glad he found out. No more secrets."

"You're too soft on him, Rel. That's why he has such a big head," Esha replied flatly.

"His head isn't big. It's a normal-sized head," Corel countered. Esha let out a long sigh.

"It's a figure of speech," she said.

"Back to the point. We have to punish him for taking so long. Has he even been paying attention? We left clues."

"I actually agree with Esh. We should at least make him regret not catching on sooner," Gao interjected. Corel was starting to see why Joe was sometimes paranoid around these two. She knew their relationship was solid and unbreakable, but they certainly enjoyed teasing and plotting against each other far more than was strictly necessary. She chuckled and decided to go along with it.

"So what do you have in mind?" she asked, though her attention drifted as she spoke. There was a problem she had been struggling with, one that involved her bond with Joe. She had tried everything she could think of, but nothing seemed to get through to the stubborn man. She knew it was partly her fault. He wasn't Volduran, after all, and didn't understand the weight or importance of what she had been trying to guide him toward. If only she hadn't fallen in love with him, she might have handled it better.

Lost in thought, she barely registered Esha saying something strange, and for a moment, she wondered if her translation skill had glitched.

"What was that about blue balls?" Corel asked, blinking.

"Are you even listening, Rel?" Esha said, exasperated.

"I said we should tease him until he's ready to burst. Blue-ball him!"

"Blue ball? I don't understand." Corel said, frowning in confusion. Gao stepped forward and patiently explained what blue-balling was in far more detail than Corel had expected. As the explanation sank in, a spark of understanding lit in Corel's mind. Could this actually work? Could this be the solution to her dilemma? A slow, dangerous smile spread across her face as she agreed with Esha's suggestion, and the three of them began to plan a devious scheme, one designed to drive Joe absolutely wild with desire.

The plan was simple in practice, but difficult in execution. Corel would have to walk a tightrope of perfectly timed teasing, while keeping Joe completely unaware of her intentions. If he picked up on what she was doing too early, the whole thing would fall apart. She had failed many times before while trying to coax him toward what the Voldura called the Night of Truth, and each time he had refused.

What she had been trying to lead him toward, of course, was what humans called a threesome, one shared between herself, Joe and Rai. Among the Voldura, the Night of Truth was seen as the moment when newly bonded lovers revealed their deepest desires and faced a night that determined whether their bond was true fate or merely a mistake. Part of her believed nothing could ever separate them. Their fates were so tightly entwined that nothing short of death could tear them apart now.

Still, she wanted more than certainty. She wanted to have fun. She wanted to experience a night that extended beyond just herself and Joe, one that might include Rai, Alice, or even Gao, Esha, and Tevenny. Her cheeks warmed at the thought, and she paused, steadying her breathing before her imagination ran too far ahead of her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. One at a time," she muttered, before stepping into the room where Joe sat with a glass of strong wine in his hand. The first day of teasing went surprisingly well. She had followed Gao and Esha's guidance carefully, and Joe remained blissfully unaware that anything was amiss. As an added bonus, she indulged in a few long, lingering kisses, something she always enjoyed, and privately resolved to do that more often once this was all over.

Day two was when the others would begin to participate. This stage was what Gao called sensory overload. Everyone would subtly alter the way they moved when Joe was nearby, drawing his attention without making their intent obvious. Whenever Corel passed through his line of sight, she added a little more sway to her hips, let her hair catch the breeze just so, and if their eyes met, she held his gaze a heartbeat longer than usual.

By the end of the second day, Esha approached her with a satisfied smile and offered her congratulations.

"It's working. I caught the Farmer staring at your hips multiple times today. And I am sure I even heard him grunt at one point," Esha said with a chuckle.

"She is exaggerating about the grunt," Gao interjected, before adding more wistfully, "but I also noticed his lingering stare." Corel gave her a questioning look, and Gao only shrugged and laughed.

"He does have nice eyes," Gao said apologetically.

"He does," Corel agreed.

"When do we involve the others?"

"Give it one more day of just you teasing him," Esha mused.

"I think a week of you alone would be enough. But I want to make him suffer." And so the teasing continued. On the third day, Tevenny and Alice joined in. They were careful to remain subtle enough not to alert Joe, while still ensuring he saw exactly what they wanted him to see. For now, that meant fleeting flashes of leg, a glimpse of shoulder, a light brush against his arm, or an accidental closeness of breath.

Corel even noticed the faintest hint of colour rise to Joe's cheeks when Alice leaned over him, exposing just the smallest suggestion of cleavage as she reached past his head. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Joe turned away at once, but the damage was already done. That same day brought Corel her first moment when she almost lost to temptation.

When she gave Joe his now-daily lingering kiss, and he tried to keep her from pulling away, clearly wanting to deepen the contact. She almost gave in, until Esha appeared from nowhere and quickly whisked her off under the pretence of something urgent. From then on, they made sure at least one of them was always close enough to extract Corel when needed, because she knew all too well how easily she could lose herself in the moment. By the fourth day, they began to escalate.

Each day after that, Joe was invited to spar with one of them, and during those spars, he was accidentally forced into brief, unexpected moments of skinship that left him flustered and apologetic. Corel found that part especially amusing, since it was obvious to anyone watching that Joe had done his best to avoid the contact and failed anyway. She also began sleeping completely naked beside him each night, which proved remarkably effective, as he now woke every morning very much aware of her presence.

As the plan advanced, Varaiya was brought in, and together they began preparing for the final stages. With Rai added to the mix, the teasing intensified and became far more blatant. Yet Joe was so thoroughly riled by this point that he seemed oblivious even when the intent was obvious. When Tevenny tripped, landed on his lap, and accidentally licked his cheek, he apologized to her, which only confirmed that he had reached complete saturation.

The final day arrived as the plan moved into its most important stage, and they would finally see whether ten days of teasing had been worth it, because Corel was not sure she could endure another minute without her Varvara eclipsing for an entire month. As Joe bathed in the pond at nightfall, Corel gathered the ladies of Landradad and thanked them for their help while she and Varaiya prepared. Both were wrapped only in purple towels, their legs exposed and their cleavage unhidden.

Corel nodded to her cousin, who looked eager and ready, but just before they set out to join Joe, she hesitated. She noticed the faint disappointment in the eyes of those who had helped her, and she understood it well. They had all worked to stoke Joe's desire, and now they were meant to miss the final payoff, but did they have to? She pursed her lips as an absurd thought took shape. What was one more participant, or even three?

Joe had the stamina to last all night, she knew that from experience, but could he truly satisfy them all, six in total? Felicia was not present, having made it clear she enjoyed the teasing but wanted nothing more, which left her and Rai, Alice and Tevenny, and Gao and Esha.

"I think you should all join us," Corel announced. Esha was the first to laugh.

"You can't be serious, Rel." Corel remained unmoving, her expression firm, and Esha hesitated when she saw the resolve in her eyes.

"You can't be serious," she repeated.

"He is only one man. You can't expect him to be able to handle us all. At the same time." Corel nodded once.

"He can do it." Esha scoffed openly, but Corel did not waver.

"He is my bond. I know him. He can do it." The others stared at her in silence until Gao finally spoke.

"But would he be willing?" she asked.

"I… don't know," Corel admitted.

"I don't think he would," Tevenny added, surprising everyone.

"I know I tease him more than anyone, but I also know he has never wavered a single thread. He is loyal to his bond and would never hurt her." Corel nodded because Tevenny was right. Joe would see it as a betrayal and would never agree, and for a moment she considered abandoning the idea altogether. As she turned toward Rai, however, a new thought sparked, and she faced the group once more.

"How about this?" Corel said.

"If he agrees today, then tomorrow will be Alice's turn. And after that, we rotate, one day at a time." Each of the women considered her words carefully, and one by one, they agreed that this would work and would be far more likely than expecting him to accept all of them at once.

"I still think he could satisfy you all at once," Corel laughed as she and Rai set forth to complete the plan. __ Joe stared at Corel's hand as she raised a finger and pointed at him.

"My bond. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like I'm about to explode," Joe admitted.

"Good," Corel replied. In that moment, Joe knew for certain that she had planned this from the beginning, but he no longer cared. All he wanted was for the tension to finally break and his pent-up stress to be released. He stepped forward, but Corel raised her hand again and took a step back.

"I have one condition, before we begin," she said in a lilting tone that sent a shudder up Joe's spine. He nodded rapidly, struck by how irresistible she looked.

"Anything." She stepped aside, and Joe only now noticed that Varaiya had been standing behind her the entire time. Varaiya wore nothing but a purple towel, her shapely legs fully visible, and her hair was tied back in the same way as Corel's. Joe groaned softly but did not voice any objection. He wondered if this was a Voldura custom or if there was some deeper meaning he did not yet understand, because Corel had never pushed him toward something so deliberately without a reason he could grasp.

He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, knowing there was no turning back now. When he opened them again and nodded, the look of relief that washed over Corel told him there was indeed a hidden meaning to this, one that mattered more than he understood. He smiled at her, genuinely, and decided it was not so bad. Varaiya was almost as attractive as Corel, and rather than overthink it, he chose to embrace the strange situation for what it was.

Corel leapt into his arms and kissed him, while Varaiya hooked her arm around his, and he began escorting them toward the house with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm just glad that it was Varaiya you invited tonight," Joe laughed as they disappeared inside.

"Heck, I'm so desperate I probably would have been fine with Esha joining us." Six hours later, an exhausted Joe lay on his bed with Corel resting her head on his chest, and a peacefully slumbering Variaya curled at his side. When he shifted, Corel lifted her head and kissed him gently.

"Tell me," she asked softly, "does this change anything between us?" Joe raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not. Why would it?" he replied.

"You are my bond."

"I love you," she whispered as she kissed him again.

"And I love you," Joe said, the words coming easily as they both admitted their feelings aloud for the first time. Corel smiled at him, and for a moment it almost looked as though her horns wiggled with happiness.

"So," Joe asked after a pause, "this was a one-time thing, right?" Corel did not answer. The next night, Joe received his answer when Corel and Alice appeared before him, both wrapped in towels. He stared for a long moment, then pulled out a bottle of wine and downed it before scooping them both up, resigning himself to the start of a second night of indulgence. Naturally, the third night involved Tevenny.

On the fourth night, Joe stood frozen in shock as he stared at Corel, Gao, and a towel-wrapped Esha, who was very deliberately avoiding his gaze. He looked at Esha intently until she snapped her eyes up and glared back at him.

"Say one single word, Farmer, and I'll cut your elephant's trunk off," she growled. Joe blinked, stunned. Did she just refer to his thing like that? Before he could respond, Gao stepped forward and positioned herself between them, clearly intent on calming the situation before it escalated any further.

"Esha is only here at my insistence," Gao purred as she locked eyes with Joe. Corel was suddenly at her side, encouraging her as they both ran their fingers along his bare chest. Joe groaned and nodded.

"Just tell her to never refer to it as an elephant's trunk again, please," he implored.

"Why is it so big? Will that even fit…." Joe stopped listening and scooped all three of them up before he had a chance to change his mind. And so, in time, everything returned to normal in Landradad, or at least to a new version of normal. The nights settled into a familiar rhythm once more, and Joe chose to pretend those four days had never happened. He did not even ask Corel if that was the end of it, partly because he suspected she would refuse to answer, and partly because he was not sure he wanted to know.

Later, he would discover that she invited one of the other ladies to their bed every month or so, but he found he was content as long as she was happy. A wise man once said, 'Happy wife, happy life.' Joe briefly considered altering the saying to fit a bond instead, but when he could not think of a word that rhymed, he decided to leave it as it was. With that settled, Joe returned his focus to training and to breaking through the bottleneck that still barred his progress.

He noticed a second crack had formed during his battle with the Space Brothers, one that moved with the same strange fluidity as the first. He had overcome their advantage through brute force and persistence, aided by the fact that they had held back for much of the fight, and he genuinely believed he might be close to a breakthrough. His thoughts were interrupted by a message from Sarah, requesting his presence to address a delicate matter. Joe arrived in Heliopolis with tentative steps.

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if Sarah was about to tell him that she and Kai were expecting, and whether he was about to become an uncle. He was not sure how he felt about that, and the thought sparked another question he had never seriously considered until now. Could Corel, humans and Voldura have children together? More specifically, could he, a High Human, have children at all? Lost in thought, he soon reached the mayor's official offices, where Sarah awaited him.

He pushed the speculation aside as soon as he took in the setting, which was far too formal for news of that sort. Guided into Sarah's office by one of her staff, he found her studying one of Hakeem's maps, a smaller version of the one kept in his house. It did not take him long to notice that her attention was fixed on the southwestern peninsula of the continent, where the undead tornado still loomed.