She smiled at me. “Those posters… Famous heroes from your world?”

  “Something like that,” I replied, making a note to show them the movies soon. Maybe that night?

  “What do you say about barbecue?” I asked.

  “I say I’m famished,” Jalee replied, and her sister nodded. We all stood to head out, but as we exited the room, we found Kinara waiting there.

  “Mind if I borrow him for a sec?” Kinara said.

  “We’ll see you outside,” Jalee said, wrapping her arm in her sister’s and walking down the hall.

  I turned to Kinara, waiting to see what she had to say. Her eyes were wide, suddenly glistening, and a tear fell down her cheek. Before I could ask what was up, she placed her hands on my cheeks, lips to my mouth, and kissed me passionately.

  Finally, she pulled back and stared into my eyes.

  “What was that for?” I asked.

  “Because I can.”

  That was good enough for me. She leaned in, holding me, then said, “That’s all. I wanted a moment alone with you, here, without any worries. Now, I want to devour a large piece of meat.”

  “To be clear, you mean the steaks, right?”

  “This time, and maybe only this time, yes.”

  I chuckled, taking her hand, and walking out with her. We found the others at the large white mansion next door, some in the pool with Amabie, some swinging from trees with Koharu, others simply talking, getting to know each other. Some were nude. Actually, most of them were, and Arturo stood there, slack-jawed, taking it all in.

  “Watch it, you’re drooling,” I said as I joined him and Greg for another beer by the grill.

  “I’m intimidated, aroused, confused…” He turned to me, shaking his head. “This is our new life, isn’t it?”

  “Yup.”

  “For that, I’m eternally in your debt.” He turned to accept a steak from Greg, and barely noticed the lady with six arms approaching. She stood next to him, and he slowly turned to look up at her. She was about two feet taller than him, as buff as they’d made her out to be, and I could see why he found her attractive.

  “Who’s this cutie?” she asked in a very demanding voice.

  “This is my boy, Arturo,” I said.

  She didn’t even look at me, eyes focused on him. “Arturo, why do you wear those weird garments? Take them off. Join me in the water.”

  He didn’t need to be told twice, and soon he had stripped, and she was carrying him to the pool, where they both jumped in. I laughed, clinking glasses with Greg, and leaned against the wall that separated the barbecue area from the garden.

  “The fighting’s not done, but this is how we need to spend the time between,” I told him.

  “One-hundred percent,” he agreed.

  “No trouble from STP?” Kinara asked.

  “Not while you were gone, but I’ve been messing with tech, trying to see what I can do,” Greg said. “Advance warning systems, a scanner for their kind of equipment. All that.” He considered then added, “With all these new arrivals, I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens. Who knows? Someone wanders where they shouldn’t, makes a friend who blabs… Somehow, STP will find out.”

  “And if not them, those others I mentioned,” Randi said, slithering up to join us.

  “How’s Lizzy?” I asked, amused at the way Greg made an effort not to look at her breasts.

  “She’ll be fine but is resting just now. The cyborg look kind of works for her.”

  “Cyborg… huh.” It hadn’t hit me that she had a metal arm now, and so I supposed she could be considered a cyborg, in a sense. With Akame attached to her, and I imagined still linked to me, I wasn’t sure how all that was going to turn out but figured that would be a question for another day.

  At the moment, I dug into the steak Greg handed me, totally catching the irony of having just saved Kinara from a table where she was going to be eaten. Since she was chewing on a piece of raw meat, I didn’t linger on the thought too long.

  We all hung out for a while longer, and I met some of the monsters, but mostly they gave me space. There would be plenty of time for all that in the days and years to come. After watching the sunset over the hills in the distance, we headed inside and I put on Terminator, then Terminator 2; the monsters had a blast, cheering—sometimes for the bad guy, sometimes for the good.

  “Remind me to have some talks with them about which side we’re on,” I told Koharu as I rested my head on her breasts, eyes closing. Someone must’ve put on Titanic, because I woke to the scene where the ship transitions to the rusted version on the bottom of the ocean.

  “Let’s get you to bed,” Devasla said, and she lifted me, carrying me to my room.

  Some of my other ladies were already sleeping in there, with Basty curled up in the corner like a puppy. Suiko hovered as two balls of light, flittering over to the window to keep watch.

  I was so tired, I tried pulling Devasla down with me, hand moving along her thigh in an attempt at seduction. Then I was out.

  23

  The next day, I awoke wearing only my boxers, to a leg thrown over me on one side, breasts pressed to my cheek on the other. I certainly wasn’t complaining. Turning to see who was who, I noted the closet slightly open and the shape of Kinara within, hanging upside down to sleep. That was a new one, but I shrugged, stretching out the grogginess and moving to see that the breasts belonged to Milrae. I gave them a kiss, running my tongue around one of her nipples, and she opened her eyes with a gentle moan.

  “Good morning,” I whispered.

  “Morning,” she said in reply, but closed her eyes and was back to sleep, judging by her soft snores.

  The leg pulled back, and I turned to see it was Ahlaksiz, who had Koharu on the other side, cupping her breasts in her sleep. Their tails were intertwined, which had a sensualness of its own. They looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake them. I was about to wonder about Jalee when I remembered she liked to sleep under the bed. Her sister had likely found her own room.

  “Feeling lonely?” Suiko asked in my mind to not wake the others, taking shape in front of me.

  I smiled, glad to see her. My dreams had been all over the place, and for a moment I had to wonder if all our crazy adventures might have been a dream as well. But I glanced down, lifted my boxers, then made the scale armor appear over my goods. Yup, that worked—it hadn’t been a dream.

  “What’re you looking at?” Suiko went on, then took my raised boxers, lowering them to have a look as well. “Ah, you won’t be needing that armor right now.”

  “No?” I asked, making it vanish. “Why’s that?”

  “It would make this harder to do.” She lowered herself, body floating as she took my limp cock in her mouth. I was hard in two swishes of her tongue, and even more turned on by the weirdness of being able to see through her semi-transparent head to get a view of all the action. It wasn’t something every man can experience.

  I thrust my hips up, gripping the sheets, and felt a stirring on the bed nearby. Koharu was awake, leaning over to put her head on Ahlaksiz, watching the action.

  Suiko paused, pulling back to say, “Want to join?”

  Koharu licked her lips, but said, “I will next time. For now, mind if I enjoy the show?”

  “Not at all.”

  Suiko returned to the fun, running her tongue along my shaft and sending tingling warmth through my legs before her hands caressed my balls. Next, she took my shaft and stroked me, doing this crazy thing where her hands went through her face so she could stroke me fully while taking my entire cock in her mouth. As one would assume, there was no way I was going to last long that way.

  Funny how you could see this image in a horror movie and be completely terrified—an ancient ghost, pale, translucent skin, and black eyes, dark hair floating out behind her. As it was, I loved it.

  Back arched, I felt climax take hold and shot into her mouth. I had half-expected it to go everywhere, making a mess, but instead, it seemed to simply vanish.

  “Delicious,” she said, pulling back and giving me one last playful lick. I lay there, breathing so heavily that it woke up Milrae. She saw what had just happened, giggled, and kissed me. The others woke up, too, and I finally sat up to take stock.

  “The others?” I asked.

  “Amabie went to the water,” Suiko said. “Fire lady said she needed to replenish, going through to her fiery place.”

  I assumed she meant Devasla but was surprised. I could see Amabie sleeping in the water but hadn’t considered that Devasla would return like that.

  I guessed Lizzy and Bloodsong also had their own rooms. I scooted to the edge of the bed, kissed Suiko, and asked, “What was that for?”

  “For my pleasure.” She floated over to sit on my lap, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I wanted to all night, watching you sleep like that… but knew you needed your rest.”

  “I missed something?” Jalee asked, emerging from under the bed.

  “We’ll make up for it tonight,” Ahlaksiz said, stretching in a way that was entirely too much like how a cat. “But we have a big day today.”

  “How so?” I asked, standing and going to open the closet door. Kinara opened her eyes and grinned, then flipped over as she came out, tackling me back to the bed.

  “Cut it out,” Ahlaksiz said.

  We noted the somberness in her voice, so did as she said, turning to her.

  She sighed, then scooted over and off the bed, finding a robe to drape over herself. When she had, she pulled open the curtains to let the sunlight in.

  “We’re going to have a sort of funeral service today,” Jalee said, finishing the thought for her. “For those who died.”

  “Good thinking,” I said. Helping Kinara up and retrieving my boxers, I said, “In that case, we’re going to need comfort food. Ever had cinnamon rolls?”

  Most of the room hadn’t—all but Ahlaksiz. As we headed down, she said, “Good thinking, but… barbecues, then breakfast full of sugar and carbs? Don’t go thinking that just because you have a bunch of lovers now you can go getting flabby on us.”

  “Trust me,” I countered. “The way you all keep me fighting and fucking all the time, I think that would be impossible.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “What, you’d love me less if I was fat?” I tried sticking out my gut, but even in that short amount of time, I’d lost whatever chubs I’d had.

  She grinned, slapped my ass, and said, “Never.”

  As I turned and walked off to the kitchen to get the cinnamon rolls ready, it hit me that she hadn’t denied it was love. I turned back and saw her staring at me with a look in her eyes that made me wonder if she was thinking the same thing. I nodded, then turned back to the kitchen. We hadn’t known each other that long. None of us had. Could it be love?

  With a breath to try and get rid of those heavy thoughts, I was relieved to see the cinnamon rolls I’d found last night hadn’t been eaten yet. Two containers of cookie dough had been half-chewed through, however, wrapper and all. I’d have to talk to someone about that, and about getting more Doritos and whiskey, as we didn’t seem to have any of either.

  As I waited for the buns to bake, I looked out the window and watched Arturo outside, working to fix part of the house that had been damaged. He was pulling his own weight at least. The six-armed woman rounded the corner and pinched his ass, causing him to jump, and I laughed.

  “What is it?” a voice asked, and I turned to see Bloodsong in the entryway, a towel around her body, another on her head.

  “Oh, just my buddy out there. Looks like he’s found someone to have fun with.”

  “Ah, but he still has a ways to go before catching up with your numbers, huh?” She winked.

  “I…”

  “Just teasing you.” She entered the kitchen, walking past me to grab a glass of orange juice. Her towel started to come undone, but she fixed it, eyeing me as she noticed my gaze fall. “Haven’t seen enough?”

  I blushed, looking away.

  “I spoke with my mom, you know.” She took a sip of juice, then handed the glass to me. I took a drink and handed it back.

  “Thanks. About what?”

  “You.”

  I stood there awkwardly in my boxers. “It’s weird, for a mother and daughter to both have feelings for the same guy. Even weirder if they share a bed.”

  “Um…” Her lips turned into a smile. “Don’t look so… confused. It doesn’t fit the new you. What I’m trying to say is, I like you. I also find it funny that so many of us do, so I have to wonder if you’ve cast some sort of spell on us. Right now, I’ll just say I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Me neither,” I replied.

  “Good. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. One of these nights, let’s put on Titanic again and see what happens.”

  “That was you?”

  She nodded. “I’m a sucker for the scene where he draws her naked. Turns me on every time.”

  I nodded. “We’ll watch it.”

  “Or not watch it.” She winked, then headed off.

  “Wait, did you want one?” I nodded at the oven.

  “Me?” She let the towel fall to show her body from behind, including that little tail and peach of an ass. “I gotta watch my figure.”

  She laughed, pulling the towel back around her as she headed off to get dressed. Would I be able to survive in a house like this? Part of me worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the sexual appetites of these women, but since I’d managed so far, I focused on the scent of cinnamon rolls and figured it would all work out.

  Soon the scent filled the house, and the others congregated around the table in anticipation. Bloodsong had made a smoothie and headed out to walk the grounds, and Amabie and Devasla were still not back, but the others dug in and loved them—all but Kinara, who joined Basty to eat raw breakfast sausages.

  Koharu loved the rolls the most if her orgasmic moans were any gauge. The others finished and she went for another, causing Milrae to laugh.

  “Keep eating like that, and you’re going to have more of a paunch than me,” she said, standing and running a hand along her little belly. It wasn’t much, barely sticking out at all, but caused the others to laugh.

  Our breakfast was the perfect start to the day, considering we were all heading outside for the burial and sendoff of those we had lost. While waiting for everyone, I took a moment to let the cool breeze calm me, then applied my latest Ichor to upgrades. My druid powers had proven quite useful, so I focused there, finding I could enhance the connection to the point that I wouldn’t even have to touch the trees or whatever part of nature I needed controlling. That would be badass, once I grew accustomed to it. Eyeing the tree and area where I’d once buried the octopus lady, I concentrated on flowers growing. There were already little ones there, and I was able to make them move around, but nothing else. I supposed that made sense. It wasn’t like I could make random plants and whatnot appear out of thin air, only control them as a level two druid.

  Finally, everyone was gathered. The others insisted I say a few words.

  “As the leader of the estate,” Ahlaksiz added.

  I glanced at Randi, wondering if she was going to contradict that. She frowned, leaning over, and saying, “What, you think I want that job again? Fuck no. As far as I’m concerned, this is your game now, I’m just a chest piece to move around at your will.”

  “I think you mean chess,” I corrected her.

  “Do I?” She winked.

  Leave it to her to flirt at a funeral. I moved on, stepping up to the large tree where I’d used my druid power to bury a foe once before. Like then, I placed a hand on the tree, and used the roots to move the ground around until the bodies were consumed. I didn’t close it up yet, however, instead turning to face the gathered crowd.

  “I don’t know most of you, yet. Not as well as I hope to in the days ahead. I’d like to think we can become friends, and even if not, that we can work together toward a common goal.” I paused, looking over the faces, smiling at them in turn. “We’re a family here, and I don’t know what to say at these things, but I’ll say this—these monsters who died for us did so because they believed, just like you all do. They believed in the possibility of a better life, a better world—or worlds. And that we could be the ones to usher in a new era. That we could stand against evil and say, ‘Fuck off, shit-fuckers!’ If not for them, many of us might not be standing here today, so let’s take a moment of silence. Bow your heads, remember them, and think about those still standing, here and back where you come from. It’s for them, for each other, and for ourselves that we fight. And mark my words—we will not stop fighting until we’ve won.”

  A cheer sounded, which was weird to have at a funeral, but… fuck it. We were living a different sort of life, one that certainly didn’t follow the typical rules.

  “For them, we live another day,” I said, making the roots move again, this time to cover the bodies and properly bury them. “Let’s celebrate the lives they lived.”

  More cheers sounded, and I was glad to see them all mingling with smiles instead of sorrow.

  “Nice one,” Greg said.

  “Though maybe the shit-fuckers part was a bit much,” Yuki added.

  I grinned and was about to mingle some more when one of the monsters walked up to me. She was a large one, reminding me of Devasla but less hard and rocky, softer and curvier. Her monster attributes were the horn in the middle of her forehead like a unicorn, and the way her lower body hovered off the ground.

  “You actually faced the queen?” she asked.

  I nodded, prepared in case she attempted an assassination on me. “She attacked us, and we survived. That’s about as close to ‘faced’ as I feel comfortable saying.”

  “It’s just, I had to say thank you. For getting us out of there, and for having the balls to stand up to her. Even if your balls are physically tiny, they are huge by your actions.”