Chương 69: Chapter 23: Setting the Right Temperature

Muggy, warm air greeted us as Wynnie opened the door to our room. A candle lantern by the bedside flickered a steady amber mood lighting. Somehow, that just made everything feel even hotter. Shivai hesitated, then slipped past us, heading towards her small cot at the far end of the room.

"Wait, not so fast." Wynnie placed a gentle, halting finger on Shivai's shoulder, halting her.

"Let's get this rune posted on the wall."

"Sure. Someplace central, maybe? So it can keep us all cool?" Wynnie shook her head.

"Actually, I was thinking right here." She pointed to a spot right above our bed. Our mattress was set up more to the right side of the room, almost backed into a corner. Shivai's was diagonally opposite, kitty-corner. Whatever cool magic emanated from the charged glyph, it would definitely reach us before it reached Shivai. Shivai's shoulders slumped, and her typically active tail drooped as well.

The roguish, charming expression that usually drew her features into a loose, cocky smirk now appeared slack and wounded.

"You don't want to share?" Wynnie's hand never left the demonkin's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I was definitely planning to share."

"But—""But only if you're sure that's what you want. And only if that's what Drew wants, too." Wynnie looked pointedly at the succubus.

"Do you want him?" The succubus blinked back surprise.

"Wait, what?" Wynnie ignored her, turning her focus to me.

"And Drew, do you want Shivai?" A few beats passed between the demonkin and me, both taking in the weight of the question. As the seconds passed, it sank in. Wynnie wasn't talking about sharing the rune or its cooling magic. She was talking about sharing a bed. Sharing me. Sharing our hearts. And probably, sharing our bodies. Almost certainly that, actually.

"Oh." It was all I could muster at the moment, dumbly. After another pause, I got my wits about me.

"Are you sure, Wynnie?"

"I think so. I mean, yes." She didn't look absolutely certain, but she looked determined. In many ways, I felt the same. Only Shivai had an air of unquestioned conviction, with her half-parted lips and look of utter, complete yearning—like a kid who knows they're about to get a puppy but doesn't quite believe it. I felt something. Deeper than a crush, more undefinable than love. It was a wellspring of promise. That was enough for me.

"I do," I said to Wynnie. Then, specifically to the slender succubus in front of me who hadn't breathed at all while waiting for my answer, I added, "I want you, Shivai."

"Oh, hells," she whimpered.

"I want you. So bad. It's all I can think about lately. Just you. Being around you. Near you. Under you. And… and being part of what you two share." Wynnie nodded slowly, reaching her other hand up to my shoulder.

"Great. So then, before we get all weird with it, will one of you please help me hang this rune above the bed? It's hot enough as it is in here."

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Shivai nearly tore the rune from Wynnie's hands and approached the mattress. She looked over her shoulder.

"Do we have a nail? A thumbtack, maybe? Come on!"

"One sec." Wynnie rummaged around in her bedside table against the wall. A few seconds later, she produced a little thumbtack.

"Just don't pierce the rune itself. That would make the magic leak out." Shivai climbed onto the mattress, crossing toward the wall on her knees. Her light frame dimpled the bedding underneath. She stretched her body up, finding a good spot on the wall. Both arms reached, one with the painting, the other with the thumbtack. Maybe I could've paid closer attention to where she was putting the thing.

The whole scene reminded me a bit of putting a kid's drawing on a refrigerator, except in this case, the drawing was phenomenal. And it was slowly releasing cooling magic into the room, turning it from a sweltering sauna into something actually kind of pleasant. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But I wasn't paying much attention to that. Instead, I was paying attention to Shivai.

She was wearing something like Capri pants, but they might as well have been the suggestion of pants. It was more like she was wearing shadows. Yoga pants did a better job of hiding the figure beneath. Paint might've been a more chaste choice. And right above her perfect ass, the slender, twitching tail swished lazily from side to side. It was so expressive, and somehow, so sensual. And her bare midriff—woof.

I hadn't realized it during service earlier, but she was definitely rocking something like a medieval-era crop top. As she reached up to attach the rune to the wall, a slim, purple expanse of back-dimpled perfection extended up until the barest hint of underboob peeked out from either side. And while I watched Shivai, Wynnie watched me. Her chest rose and fell steadily, deeply, as if priming a pump for action. Shivai turned around, beaming with pride.

"Done! Now what? When can we, um, do the next thing?" The rune glowed, crackling and pulsing without rhythm. Thin tendrils of frosty air curled off the page's surface, blowing a cloudy blue into the air that dissipated quickly. As the brisk condensate descended over the bed, it cascaded everywhere, falling in slow motion across the sheets and down to the floor below—-a steady stream of vapor constantly generating from within the rune like dry ice in a bowl of punch. Despite the noticeable chill, my blood ran hot.

The steady thump of my heartbeat quickened with anticipation. I wanted to know, too. What came next? Wynnie was steering this ship. Adding another person to our lives had to be her call. My conscience could never live with the question of whether I'd somehow pressured her into anything. Fortunately, Wynnie showed no signs of changing her mind. She tucked a loose strand of brown behind her pointed ear.

"Next: Rules. This is my inn, my relationship, and my man. So I have a few rules in mind." Shivai nodded swiftly. Her typically mischievous gleam was replaced by a look of solemn, earnest enthusiasm. It reminded me of a kid who swore they'd be good if they got taken to Disneyland.

"Rule number one. You may do only what I say." Shivai nodded again.

"Take a seat," Wynnie instructed. Shivai's weight shifted on the bed, and she swung her legs out over the edge. She dangled her toes, not quite touching the floor. Her tail curled primly around her.

"Good. Just testing the system." Wynnie took two steps toward her, softening her posture.

"Rule number two. I know you have a checkered past, and you've been caught stealing a couple of times by Lady Talia. In this bedroom, there's no being selfish. You give as much as you take." Shivai looked back with soulful, magenta eyes. Her lips parted slightly as she nodded again, eager.

"Rule number three. If you try to use your charm magic to get away with breaking any rules, then this all ends here. Immediately. Forever." Wynnie paused between each word, letting the finality of the sentence sink in.

"Got it?"

"I promise I'll be good." Her eyes flicked to me and her breath hitched in her throat briefly.

"Can I maybe use a little charm magic? You know, for…"

"Would you use it to compromise consent?"

"No! No. Never. I swear it." Wynnie looked to me for approval. I shrugged. I still didn't know the extent of how it worked or what it would feel like, but so long as we were all on board, I was open to new experiences. Wynnie offered a sly smile.

"Maybe a little, then. Just as a treat. I've heard rumors of how it might enhance things." Shivai nodded again, eagerly as before.

"Anything you say." I wasn't entirely certain what all was happening. It was clear that Wynnie was laying down the law, which I felt was completely within her right. Yet I also got the sneaking suspicion that Shivai kind of liked being told what to do. Maybe that's why she got caught by Lady Talia so many times. Perhaps she just enjoyed handcuffs. But I still had one question.

"Wynnie, what happens if she breaks the rules?"

"Spankings?" asked Shivai. Her features lit up with raw excitement, and her breathing picked up like a puppy that knew it was time to go outside to play. An almost playfully wicked look darkened Wynnie's brow, and she smirked.

"Spankings if it's a minor infraction. But if it's a major one?" A pregnant pause filled the room, and the two of us leaned in expectantly. Shivai nearly fell off the edge of the bed in anticipation.

"Orgasm denial." Shivai gasped and recoiled.

"No!"

"Oh, yes. You'd better believe I'd let him take you to the brink and then leave you desperate and unfulfilled."

"You wouldn't!" Shivai looked at me with something bordering on desperate terror.

"She wouldn't do that, would she? You wouldn't let her!" I just chuckled and shrugged.

"I don't make the rules. I just help enforce them if needed."

"Okay. Fine. I'll be good." She bit her lip hard enough to draw a bead of blood, and her eyebrows tented with concern. I cocked my head.

"Is that really so bad?" Wynnie shrugged, not looking at me, suddenly not quite as confident as she'd seemed just a moment ago.

"I mean, I've heard some things about succubus anatomy and sexuality. I thought it sounded fitting."

"It would be like torture," Shivai butted in.

"Agonizing, sickening, painful torture. Have you ever had blue balls, Drew?" I shrugged.

"A few times."

"Imagine that pain, but ten times worse—a hundred times worse—-and fiery, hellish burning. And the whole time, it just makes you want more of what you can't have, a desperate craving, until it feels like it might eat you alive. It's the cruelest, most vicious, meanest, hottest, and most unforgivable thing you can do to a succubus." I blinked.

"Did you say hottest?"

"No matter. I accept your conditions. How do we start?" I was wondering the same thing. Something told me that, unlike how Wynnie and I usually did things, this would be different, with Wynnie leading the charge. I was excited to see what she had in mind. As soon as she opened her mouth, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

"First, you watch."