“You think?” She laughed. “Of course.”

  “One story’s knight is another story’s evil hell demon, I guess.”

  She nodded. “That’s the point I’m trying to make. Look at your horned friend there, sleeping so peacefully now, trying to make amends for all the wrong she’s done. But as far as she knew at the time, it wasn’t wrong.”

  “Right.”

  “Maybe.”

  I glanced back then noticed the sign for hotels, and checked the car’s dash to see we weren’t far off. “We’ll get a hotel for the night. It’s late. Find her in the morning.”

  Ria had apparently woken during that last part. She yawned, unsuccessfully trying to stretch, and said, “Good idea.”

  “I’ll stay with the car, keep watch,” Death Girl said.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I countered. “Come on in, I mean, after our day, I don’t think we’re going to be, you know...”

  “Fucking?” Ria suggested.

  “Right. Not doing that.”

  She sighed. “Well, it does help fuel your body, keep the powers strong.”

  “At…” I glanced at the dash. “Fuck. Four in the morning.”

  “Prefer to wait for daylight?” she asked.

  “Yes, I prefer to wait, so I can have a chance to get some sleep, shower, and maybe have a bite to eat.” I laughed, glancing back at Death Girl for some support.

  She shrugged. “That’s all you guys.”

  I cleared my throat, feeling awkward suddenly, and drove toward the hotel. Soon we were pulling up in front of a place that reminded me of a cross between a log cabin and a German pub, and I felt right at home. We soon had a room, woke up Meher, and stumbled up to plop down on the beds.

  Death Girl, as she had promised, stuck to the car. I supposed it was in part to stay out of sight, but also because she clearly wasn’t okay with the sexual aspect of this situation. I wondered what Ria had in mind for the morning, but at the moment could only focus on sleep.

  Unfortunately, sleep wasn’t a complete rest. Imagine one day learning that you were going to have super powers and that the world was about to be invaded a day or two later. Now throw on top of that the anticipation of sexual exploits with a team of beautiful women. In between bouts of staring at the ceiling, rolling in my bed, and trying to ignore the fact that Meher was sleeping at my side, the dreams I was able to have involved me running around with Death Girl killing bad guys and absorbing their souls, my dick out and swinging like a three-foot sausage the whole time.

  Yeah, weird.

  “You awake,” Meher whispered at one point when I was drifting off. I turned to see her propped up on her side, watching me.

  “Somewhat,” I groaned, processing the sound of the shower.

  “Bubblegum says the crew will likely be setting up soon,

  “What time is it?”

  Meher indicated the clock on the nightstand. “Almost six.”

  “Meaning we got, like, two hours of sleep,” I moaned, turning to close my eyes again.

  “And meaning it’s invasion day,” she said, scooting toward me and wrapping an arm around me. “Also… if we want a chance at Gloria, we have to intercept her on the way to the set. My guess, there’s only one hotel she’d be at, if they put her up.”

  “Tell me there’s coffee,” I mumbled, turning back to face her.

  “I’ve got you one better,” she replied, and slipped her hand down my pants, where indeed my morning wood was waiting and ready.

  As she stroked it, I leaned back, closed my eyes, and said, “That’s… yes. But still, there will be coffee, right?”

  I opened my eyes as she squeezed it a little too hard, but then her head lowered down below the sheets.

  “This is for me,” she replied, and then, as I felt a tongue on my cock, she added, “We’ll get you coffee after I’ve had my fill.”

  Of all the days I’d noticed Meher as my neighbor, I’d never once imagined this side of her. My mind had taken me to many fun places with her, but this woman who wanted to wake up to a dick in her mouth? It was a pleasant surprise.

  “Good, you’re up,” Ria said, stepping out of the bathroom, completely nude. “Have you seen Meher ar…” Her eyes went to the bobbing sheet.

  “No,” I said, grinning wide. “Haven’t seen her.”

  Ria chuckled, nodded, and said, “You don’t want to clean up first? Bubblegum’s in there.”

  “No need,” I said.

  But then Meher pulled back the sheets, dick still in her mouth. She pulled it out. “Actually, if she wants to help wake you up…”

  I cocked my head, wondering if this was a trick. Judging from the night before with Ria and her, it wasn’t.

  “Go for it,” Ria said, going to the window and drawing the curtains in spite of still being completely naked. “I think I’ll check on our new friend in the car.”

  “Don’t forget to dress first,” I said.

  “Why?”

  “Laws.” I frowned. “I don’t know, but… probably good to do. In case there’re kids around or something.”

  “Ah.” She nodded, reaching for her dress and starting to climb into it as Meher sat up, pulling her shirt over her head and then continuing to strip. I joined in, and we headed for the shower.

  “Bubblegum,” Meher said, timidly, leading the way.

  The woman was visible through the fogged glass, apparently in the middle of lathering up. She turned to us with a smile. “Ria told me all about how this works.” She slid open the shower door, eyes moving over me.

  It only hit me then, in my groggy state of still waking up, that she’d never seen me naked before. In fact, neither had Meher—not in the full light, and the same was true of both of them, in a sense. While I’d seen plenty of Bubblegum in the strip club, but the lighting and mood was entirely different from a hotel shower.

  “What’re you waiting for?” Bubblegum said. “Get in here.”

  “Oh, yeah.” I gestured for Meher to go first, my cock throbbing at the sight of her large ass as she walked past and stepped over the bathtub. She wasn’t scrawny by any means, and in fact had a bit of chunk to her. I fucking loved it. Bubblegum was sort of the opposite, almost all skin and bones but, in a way, it worked on her. Skinny had never been my thing, but as she slapped Meher’s ass and then giggled when Meher did the same to her tit, I found myself more than eager to be in there with them.

  It was a tight fit, but I climbed in, sliding the door shut behind me. They pulled me in, situating us so that we were in a bit of a train. Meher was kneeling and licking Bubblegum’s ass, while Bubblegum had one foot up on the bath ledge, pressed up against me and whacking me off from behind so that, when I finally came, it shot out onto the floor of the bath and down the drain.

  I turned and Bubblegum repositioned to send a few aftershock spasms through my body with her mouth around my cock. Meher pressed her large, wet breasts against me and licked my neck as I fingered her.

  “Finish her off,” Bubblegum said, pulling back and moving to the door. “I want to see her orgasm face.”

  “Excuse me?” Meher asked, pulling up from my neck, my fingers inside her, moving in and out.

  “With his mouth, I want to watch.”

  I was happy to oblige, though my knees weren’t super happy with the bathtub as Meher leaned back against the tub and I buried my face in her pussy. It wasn’t much longer before she was running her hands up and down her body, caressing her breasts, and moaning. Then she shot out, a nice squirt that wet my chin, and was clenching herself hard enough to turn her brown skin white under her nails.

  One more good lick and she was pushing me back, while Bubblegum laughed.

  “Something funny?” Meher asked.

  “No, I laugh when I’m happy,” Bubblegum said. “And right now, I’m ecstatic. That was hot.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Very,” I chimed in, pulling back and using the shower to rinse my chin and around my mouth, then helping Meher stand. She pulled me in for a kiss. Yeah, my mind went to the fact that her mouth had been pressed up against the other lady’s asshole not long before. But whatever, it was a shower. We were clean enough.

  And God, I loved kissing her.

  “Enough, you two,” Bubblegum said with a chuckle, and when we turned to her, she had a sly look on her face. “You… you two are more than just casual here, aren’t you?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, and Meher simply clung to me, hand moving along my abs, playing with my half-erect cock.

  “I see it—in your eyes. Both of you.” Bubblegum laughed again, going for a towel. “Here I am thinking this is just casual fun with the purpose of amping up our passion meters or whatever the fuck Ria said, but you two are actually romantic in all this.”

  “We can all be romantic,” Meher said.

  “What?”

  I also turned to her, wondering just what she meant.

  Meher moved her hand to my balls, caressing the right one, tenderly. “You know, there’s no reason for this to be so casual. I’ve heard of relationships where there are multiple partners. And you two have a bit of a history—”

  “Working together,” I pointed out quickly, glancing in Bubblegum’s direction to see what she was thinking about all this.

  Bubblegum nodded. “He’s right. Jacking off my boss? Fun. Making this something more…? I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

  “But you’re not ruling it out, are you?” Meher asked.

  Bubblegum pursed her lips, met my gaze, and neither of us looked away. After a few thudding heartbeats of that, she shook her head. “No, I’m not ruling it out.”

  She walked off, toweling herself dry, and I was left with Meher. I turned to her, hands on her hips.

  “You really… I mean, you want that?”

  “A relationship? Why wouldn’t I?” She grabbed my ass with both hands and growled.

  I chuckled, but shook my head. “I mean, with more than just me. Them, too.”

  “Bubblegum, Ria…” She nodded. “Maybe? It just hit me, you know? We’re going to share each other anyway, at least for the near future, and we’ll be going through a trying time with this invasion. If we live long enough to make it a thing, we might find ourselves in a position where it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “Don’t try to pretend you’re not interested in the idea,” she said, stepping out and finding two towels. She handed one to me. “You’re hungry, you find yourself with the option to have one fried egg, or the whole omelet. You go for the omelet.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Let me rephrase. They’re hot, you’re a dude with, from what I can tell, a healthy sexual appetite. Why are you even questioning this?”

  I laughed. “That’s a good fucking question. Maybe… because I’m worried about ruining things with you?”

  She finished drying, and wrapped the towel around her chest. “Trust me, this is the last way to ruin anything with me. I want it.”

  Considering that, I grinned. “Then so do I.”

  “Pervert,” she said with a wink, then exited.

  After all that, I needed to sit. It so happened that mother nature was calling anyway, so I took care of two birds with one stone, then thought how oddly relevant that saying was in more ways than one now. Only, stick and multiple birds.

  Finally done, I headed into the main room to find my clothes. Ria and Death Girl were there now too, both eyeing me as I entered with the towel around my waist.

  “Ready, then?” Ria asked.

  I nodded, feeling suddenly self-conscious under Death Girl’s skull gaze. It was like the way she’d shared how she really looked with me the night before had been something special, something sensual, and now I’d been sensual with Meher and Bubblegum. Without a doubt I’d done nothing wrong, but I felt guilty, like I was cheating on one side, but wasn’t sure which.

  “Well, we’re clear,” Ria said, eyes moving to my clothes draped over the chair next to my bed. “Let’s get moving.”

  Bubblegum was already half dressed, Meher moving to her clothes and dropping her towel to dress. I walked over to the chair, glanced back, and debated how best to do this.

  “Isn’t that cute,” Bubblegum said, now with her pants on and fastening her bra. “Boss man is shy.”

  “It’s not…” I started, but when all eyes moved to me, my cheeks grew warm and I was undoubtedly blushing. “Shut up.”

  “It’s true, he’s shy,” Death Girl noted. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  To show her she was wrong, but as much to get it over with, I dropped my towel, hanging out for the room to see. “There, okay? Not shy.”

  “Contra,” Ria said, hand in mock shock to her chin. “That’s wildly inappropriate.”

  Death Girl’s glowing skull angled down, clearly staring. The shyness came over me again, even more so when she said, “Huh, look at that. His balls are moving. Like they’re going for cover, sinking back up toward his body. Is that normal?”

  I turned around, snatched my underwear, and started dressing. “That’s what they do, sometimes. But more because it’s cold.”

  “Maybe,” Meher said, sounding skeptical. “Or it’s part of your new superpowers.”

  “No, I’ve seen them move around on their own like that,” Bubblegum assured the others, then paused and laughed. “Oh, you’re just fucking with him.”

  Meher threw a pillow at her and laughed. “Of course. We’re grown women, we know how balls work.”

  I had my pants on, then my shirt, and turned, ready. “Can we focus on what’s really important here? Coffee.”

  “I’m right there with you, boss,” Bubblegum said.

  “And can you stop calling me that?”

  She pouted.

  “I think it turns her on,” Meher whispered as we headed for the door. “Maybe just let it be?”

  Judging by Bubblegum’s sour expression, maybe Meher was right. Death Girl headed back to the car, not wanting the attention if others were in the lobby, but also because she felt keeping a lookout ready was practical.

  As we reached the shitty excuse for breakfast in the lobby—the old couple there staring at us like we were aliens, because Ria hadn’t bothered with illusions—I turned to Bubblegum and said, “Get me a coffee with two creams, and a muffin if they have one.”

  She looked affronted at first, then a smile crept onto her face. “Get it yourself, boss.”

  I nodded, smiling back, and went to get the coffees. “Seriously, what do you want in yours?”

  “Black.”

  “Anyone else?” I asked as I poured ours, then got the creamers for mine.

  “We’ll need to be alert today,” Meher said, glancing around. “No tea?”

  I couldn’t find any, so she took a coffee as well, and then we were off. Ria insisted her kind didn’t need stimulants, and Death Girl was Death Girl, so… yeah. Not necessary.

  14

  Apparently, we arrived at the beach too early, as the crew was just starting to set up the obstacle courses. When Ria used her illusion to look like one of them and ask about the competitors, she found out it would be another hour.

  So we moved away from the main area, found some sand dunes that weren’t populated, and prepared to train. Death Girl watched while Ria stood in front of the rest of us, asking how our powers felt.

  “Is it supposed to have a feeling?” I asked, suddenly worried.

  “Doesn’t have to,” she replied. “But… does it?”

  “Actually,” Bubblegum said, “there’s this tingling sensation around my nipples, is that—”

  “No.” Ria glared. “As much as I appreciate the witty remarks and childish humor alike, right now, let’s focus.”

  “My… cheeks felt cold?” Meher said. “Last night, when I was trying to sleep.”

  “And that’s irregular?” Ria asked.

  Meher nodded. “For me, it is.”

  “Good. Your powers might be starting to expand. To grow.”

  “They can do that?” I asked.

  “Yours… aren’t likely to, in the same way,” she explained. “But yes. When you’re ready for more power, maybe your next one will be an evolving power.”

  “How do you know when we’re ready?” I asked.

  She just gave me a wink and said, “When you’ve proven yourself competent. Would you do us the honors?” Ria asked, moving aside for Death Girl to step up and face me.

  Judging from the last time we’d squared off, I was in for an ass whupping. She’d been impossible to hit.

  “What am I supposed to do here, exactly?” I asked, eyes never leaving the black metal of Death Girl’s body or the spikes that were certain to tear my flesh.

  “Don’t die,” Ria replied. “Anything less than that, I should be able to heal you from.”

  “Don’t d…” I couldn’t even say the word, and Death Girl didn’t give me much of a choice. She was already plowing through the sand, using it to her advantage as it rose around her in a cloud that left me pulling back, covering my eyes. Then the first strike hit, and I was thrown through the air to land against a dune, wind knocked out of me.

  “Fuck…” Meher said.

  Death Girl paused, hovering over me, then turned back to Ria. “He’s not ready.”

  “Not like that, no.” Ria stepped up next to her, flapping her one good wing to dispel the sand in the air. “Contra, you have to do better than that.”

  My breath was coming back. I pushed myself up, coughing and rubbing my chest. “I’m not… sure what… to do.”

  “This time, instead of fighting the attack, go with it.”

  “Use her strength against her?” I asked. “Aikido style?”

  “Not at all. Embrace the attack, know that it’s going to hurt like hell… and love it.”

  “BDSM style,” Bubblegum called out with a laugh.

  Meher giggled, but at my glance pretended to look very sad and worried. She shrugged. “What? You’re going to be fine, come on.”

  “Okay, let’s do it again,” I said.

  This time, Death Girl went easy on me, and everyone knew it. She came forward with a jab and then a kick to the leg that I blocked kickboxing-style—though blocking a kick from her was like receiving a metal baseball bat to the leg. Limping back, I tried focusing on what Ria had said about embracing the attack and the pain, but all I could do was try not to get hit. The second time she knocked me back, a burning sensation hit my left side, and I remembered the fire of the guy who’d attacked Ria and me at my house. At the time, I’d let instinct take over. I’d known I was going to get hit, but had been more worried about protecting her than myself.