“No!” Amanda sobbed.

  “Amanda,” Joel grit his teeth. “I need you to trust me, okay?”

  She stared up at him before flinching as Jenny blinked in and slashed at the vines once more. The drave let out a terrible screech that sounded like thousands of crickets chirping at once. And by mistake or design,—Amanda let go.

  Joel stood as soon as he had the chance and grabbed his sword. Swinging the shield ahead of him, Amanda started sliding backward towards the drave. Luneira, seeing the thief coming, abandoned the vines and leaped on Amanda. Her liquid form wasn’t ideal for this fight, but she had one hell of a grip. Throwing her black goo over the thief, she sent a long tentacle across the street, where she snagged a telegraph pole.

  Joel leaped over the struggling mass and threw himself at the plant monster.

  “BASH!”

  His arm flicked out and struck the center of the drave. Overall, it was almost as tall as a man with a mouth that opened vertically rather than horizontally. The strike didn’t seem to particularly harm the creature, but it reared back and turned its attention to Joel instead of Amanda.

  “Bolster!”

  The drave lashed him with vines. They wrapped around his arms and legs, pulling tight. Joel could still move, though. His strength was higher than an individual vine and even with dozens of them coming, he was still able to move. He also had a sword. Swinging it around, the axe-like head buried itself in the side of the plant, where it jerked and let out an enraged scream of pain.

  Joel yanked it free, tearing out chunks of plant and something that resembled flesh. Jenny appeared above the drave, dropping atop with her blades stabbing deep into the creature, before she vanished with a mad chuckle. As the vines shot upward to catch her, Joel swept his sword around, severing dozens of them, making the drave flinch back with a pained squeal.

  “So the vines hurt more than the middle,” Joel muttered to himself. “Like an octopus maybe?”

  He pulled back, dragging the drave forward as it was still holding him. The action still gave him a little more room. He turned on the spot and slammed his massive sword into the ground with a chop, cutting through a dozen more vines, including many who had a hold of Amanda.

  The massive mouth opened, and the drave lunged at him. Joel spun and threw his shield out.

  “Block!”

  The teeth of the drave seemed to scrape against his shield, but ultimately did not find a grip as it slipped free.

  “BASH!”

  The follow-up knocked it back with a cry of pain. Joel hacked at another bundle of vines and heard a surprised yelp from Amanda that Joel hoped meant she was free. He focused on the creature before him. It was shrieking as it flailed damaged vines. Jenny blinked into view, stabbing it viciously in the open wound that Joel had left before vanishing as it sent a vine to grab her.

  “No!” Joel hacked off the solid vine with a swipe of his sword before bringing the massive weapon back down onto the old wound he’d left.

  The drave cried out as Joel chopped a whole chunk out of the plant monster. Almost like cutting a wedge from an enormous tree, or quartering a lettuce. Only much, much larger and fleshier. Yanking his weapon out, Joel swung once more. Dozens of vines, whole and injured, flew up to protect it, but Joel’s massive strength score carved through them and deep into its body once more.

  The drave quivered as he yanked it free once more. The creature started to turn and Joel knew it was done with this fight. A whipped dog in a sense, it was trying to get away. Only without the vines and with its poor ability to move, it barely turned a quarter of the way around before Joel hacked into the massive wound once more.

  This time, when he pulled free, it waved its tentacles around like it was surrendering. But Joel wasn’t willing to let it go. He swung once more, carving deep into the drave, where it finally seemed to convulse. This time, when he pulled the sword free, it flopped limply in place. For good measure, Joel kept going. Three more good strikes and his bolster ability began to fade. With the last of it, Joel took hold of each ragged edge and pulled, tearing the last of the plant monster in half.

  Quest update: Secure and expand your territory, while engaging in diplomacy with your neighbors. Conquer, befriend, or destroy.

  You have discovered several threats to Philadelphia.

  Threats dealt with: 1 of 3

  “Wait, was this thing considered a neighbor?” Joel asked.

  He received no response and rolled his eyes.

  “Let me help you, master,” Jenny murmured.

  Joel frowned as she got to her knees, but the act was innocent as she used her knife to start cutting away the vines wrapped around his legs. Plenty were still there. They had some kind of coating that wasn’t sticky, but provided enough natural grip that they hadn’t fallen away even after being cut free of the main body. Jenny worked quickly and stood with a smile.

  “Thanks,” he said and smiled in return.

  “I live to serve, master,” Jenny’s smile grew wider and she eyed him hungrily.

  Joel swallowed and stepped back before he said something dumb. When he did, he turned to look back across the street where Amanda was holding her head in her hands as Luneira stood awkwardly beside her on the other side of the road. Knowing there were still threats in those trees, Joel hurried out the broken fence and crossed the street.

  Amanda looked up and took one look at him, before throwing herself into his arms.

  “Thank you!” she sobbed as she rubbed her face into his shirt.

  “Hey now,” Joel caught her and held on. “You’re safe, just like I promised.”

  “It was going to eat me!”

  “Not with me here,” Joel tried to assure her. “I’d never let anything happen to you.”

  Amanda nodded slowly before looking up. Joel stared into her puffy red eyes and was about to ask if she needed a moment when she leaned in. He froze as her lips crashed into his own. It was only for a moment before Amanda pulled away, leaving Joel standing with a dumbstruck expression on his face anyway.

  “Thank you,” Amanda sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Even if I never get more than that kiss, I’ll hold onto the memory of it forever.”

  “What?”

  Amanda shook her head slowly and cleared her throat. “Where to next?”

  Joel blinked and repeated himself. “What?”

  “Master, we have a patrol to finish,” Jenny said nudging him from behind.

  Joel frowned, but Luneira moved up beside Amanda and the two of them started walking. With another nudge from behind from Jenny, Joel started walking too. He quickly caught up, but Amanda wouldn’t look at him. Luneira gave him a smile, though, almost like there was nothing wrong. Joel just hoped that Jess would handle this okay. Sleeping with Luneira was one thing. Jenny pushed some boundaries, though. Amanda throwing herself around though, might be a bit much.

  “Hey.” Joel shifted nervously as Jess looked up from the couch.

  She stared at him for a moment and sighed. “Is this about how Amanda kissed you⁠—”

  “She kissed me!” Joel squawked, then frowned. “Ah… I mean, yeah.”

  Jess smirked and got up. Joel waited for the punch, and instead she took his hand and brought him inside. They didn’t have electricity, but they had a kerosene lamp that was burning beside the chair she had been sitting on.

  “Luneira told me already,” Jess said as she closed the door behind them.

  “Are you mad?” Joel asked.

  “At you, or at Amanda?”

  “Either or?” Joel hedged.

  Jess smirked and leaned in. Joel kissed her, feeling slightly relieved she was still willing to. And when she pulled away, she gave him a smile.

  “How was that?”

  “Ahh… good?”

  “Smooth Joel, smooth,” Jess said and giggled softly. “How’d it compare to Amanda?”

  “OH!” Joel floundered. “Ah, yeah. Great! Perfect even!”

  Jess stared at him for a few moments. Joel felt his heart thudding in his chest before Jess made a rather unladylike snort of amusement. “The look on your fucking face.”

  “C’mon,” Joel said and slumped. “I thought you were going to be mad.”

  “And you came here to tell me, anyway?” Jess asked.

  Joel rolled his eyes. “Of course I did. That’s what you do when you’re in a relationship, right? At the very least, you deserved some honesty.”

  “Honesty, huh?” Jess sighed and strode towards the hall.

  “Where are you going?” Joel asked nervously.

  “To our bed,” Jess said, pushing down her shorts, showing she wasn’t wearing anything beneath them. “You’ll have to be gentle with me since my shoulder. But I’d honestly like it if you pulled my hair a little while you fucked me.”

  Chapter Four

  Joel stared at that perfect ass like a starving man eyeing up a juicy steak. Jess glanced over her shoulder, giving him a grin before vanishing into their bedroom. Which was the point where Joel snapped back to reality and remembered if he wanted what he was staring at, he actually had to go get it. Hiding his embarrassment, Joel hurried down the hall before coming to a stop in the bedroom doorway.

  Jess was arching her back. Pulling her top over her head in a single movement. Her breasts stood proudly before her. Sitting high and firm on her chest. The muscles of her arms and abdomen glinted in the faint light cast by a stack of candles on a nearby shelf. It also showed off the pink scar on her shoulder where she narrowly avoided death.

  When Jess’s head popped out of the neck of her shirt, she found herself bared nude before Joel, who stared at her with an intense expression.

  “Joel?”

  He leaned in, gently grasping her arm as he looked at the scar.

  “It’s healing. Don’t worry,” Jess said and gently smiled up at him.

  “You’re worth worrying about,” Joel countered as he gently brushed his thumb over the raised scar.

  “Careful,” Jess whispered. She cupped his chin with her hand and turned his face to look into his eyes. “It almost sounds like you might have something to say.”

  “Maybe because I do,” Joel admitted. “Let’s be honest here, despite the fact we’ve only been together a short time. We’ve been into each other for a lot longer, haven’t we?”

  Jess smirked. “Don’t say it. Not yet, okay?”

  “Right,” Joel agreed with a nod. “It’d sound cheap if I said it now, while you’re standing naked in front of me like this.”

  “Something like that,” Jess said.

  Joel took a deep breath. “In that case. Bolster.”

  “What?”

  Joel felt his body pulse with power. He’d gotten used to it, but never in this fashion. Jess stepped back, but not far enough to escape Joel’s hands that wrapped around her ass.

  “Joel?”

  Joel grinned as he picked her up. Jess let out a squeak as she threw her legs around him. Joel gripped her ass and turned, planting his feet firmly on the floor. At the same time, he leaned Jess against the wall for additional support. A woman of her size wasn’t used to being thrown around. Joel’s strength modifier put him well above human standards. Using his bolster ability was just the seasoning to get her attention.

  With that grin still firmly in place, Joel shoved and lifted. Jess yelped as her ass slid up the wall until her head pressed against the ceiling. Joel held her under the thighs, folding her in half under her own weight. She stared down at him with a shocked expression as Joel bent and leaned closer.

  To him, she was as light as a feather. A delicious feather with a glistening pussy hovering directly before his eyes. He didn’t bother waiting for an invitation. Leaning in, he pressed the first kiss to the top of her mons.

  “Joel?”

  “We’ll get to the hair pulling later,” Joel whispered, before kissing the inside of her thigh. “Right now, the only thing I want is for you to cum on my face.”

  “Mmm,” Jess moaned as Joel kissed beside her clit. “Well, you’re heading in the right direction.”

  Joel pursed his lips and gently blew over her clit. It was a tease, and Jess squirmed as he did it.

  “Fucker,” she cursed him.

  “I am going to fuck yer, yes,” Joel agreed. “But first I’m going to taste her.”

  “Well, you hav—Oooh,” Jess moaned.

  Joel ran his tongue through her labia. One long, slow lick. Her pussy was already wet and Joel could taste how fresh she was. Licking her again, Jess squirmed against the wall, but was otherwise helpless as Joel licked her a third time.

  “Dammit, Joel, stop teasing me!” Jess hissed at him.

  “It wouldn’t be much of a tease if you didn’t think I could follow through,” Joel said with a laugh. It vibrated through her and she moaned before he placed a kiss directly over her clit. “We both know how this is going to end.”

  “Where the fuck was this attitude back before the world went to shit?” Jess huffed.

  “I guess it feels wrong to thank the apocalypse for bringing us together,” Joel said and softly kissed her clit again. “But I’m not about to complain about it bringing us together.”

  Jess let out a soft gasp as Joel leaned in and took her clit between his lips. She bucked against the wall, causing nothing but a soft thump as Joel shoved her forcefully back into it. She felt both a sense of dangerous pleasure, and a hint of submissive lust, as Joel did as he pleased. She felt a rush through her core, knowing that she had found a man who wasn’t intimidated by her size. More than that, he had her up against a wall, pinning her in place while he drove her out of her mind with his mouth.

  “Luneira, you’re breathing hard,” Jenny observed.

  Luneira looked away from the window and glanced at the wraith before turning back to the scene before them.

  “You don’t know what they’re doing, do you?” Luneira asked. “I don’t know much about wraiths, but I’ve never observed your mating habits.”

  “What is mating?” Jenny asked.

  “That’s what I thought,” Luneira sighed. “What’s between your legs?”

  Jenny frowned before reaching down. Her outfit was loose enough she could slip her hands beneath it. “Flesh, similar to that of the first girlfriend.” Jenny felt herself. “It’s sensitive. I’m… unsure if what master is doing to the first girlfriend would be a pleasant experience or not.”

  “It would be,” Luneira stated while chewing her lip.

  “How do you know?” Jenny asked.

  Luneira grunted in annoyance, turning to face the wraith. “Because he’s done that to me as well.”

  “But you are unlike me,” the wraith pointed out. “Perhaps we are different.”

  Luneira shook her head. “I don’t think it works like that. Have you never been around a man before?”

  “Men of my kind do not exist,” Jenny said, with a frown. “I have… memories, but…”

  “I have memories like that too,” Luneira said and patted the wraith on the shoulder. “I know of only two things in this life. Morpheus took from me my history. And then gave me a future.”

  “Fuck, I’m cumming!”

  Jenny turned and frowned as she watched. “That looks like it’s painful.”

  Luneira giggled at the absurdity of the wraith’s words. “Far from it.”

  “You’re killing me!”

  “You want me to stop?”

  “Fuck no!” Jess gasped.

  Joel grinned and pushed forward once more. Jess’s juices were sticky along his chin and neck, but he didn’t mind. Joel tugged her hair, pointing her face towards him, so he could kiss her. Not that there was any escape for her. Still pressed against the wall, Joel had lowered Jess far enough to throw her legs over his shoulder. She was still breathing hard from her orgasm as Joel slid his cock into her trembling pussy.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Joel whispered as he slammed his cock into her.

  Jess’s eyes rolled. She caught a glimpse of a pair of voyeurs watching through the partially closed blinds. The idea of being watched made her moan in broken pleasure. Joel wasn’t holding anything back, and it was exactly what she needed. The voyeurs would have to wait their turn.

  Joel loved the way Jess trembled in his arms. Her legs tensed and her pussy squeezed around him. He paused, with his cock buried deep inside her, just to feel the way her muscles moved around him. With a grin, he pulled most of the way out before driving himself back inside, smacking his pubic bone into her sensitive clit. From the way Jess’s eyes fluttered and rolled, he was doing it right.

  He slid two hands down her thighs and gripped her firm ass. With his next thrust, Joel dragged her ass forward and back, grinding her lower half against him.

  “Oh, fuck,” Jess gasped. “Do that again!”

  “Again?” Joel pulled back and thrust back in, grinding her pussy over him as he did so.

  “Keep going, please?”

  Joel grinned, and slowly, but firmly, fucked her against the wall. Each thrust was accompanied by a drag of her hips. Her core was a trembling furnace, and he could feel the small flutters of her muscles as she clung to him for dear life.

  “I’m gonna cum again,” Jess whimpered.

  “That’s okay.” Joel smiled as he dragged her hips around in a shallow circle. “That’s what we both want, isn’t it?”

  Jess’s mouth opened to reply, before she frowned cutely and let out a whimper instead. Joel felt her pussy squeeze down and grinned as he held himself deep. Rather than the deep thrusts, he just kept himself planted within her and ground her pussy in place.

  “Joel,” she grunted. “Cum in me!”

  He didn’t let her words get the better of him. But it did mean he had to change things up. Stepping back, Joel pulled Jess from the wall. She let out a soft yelp of surprise as Joel lifted her off his cock before spinning her around toward the bed. In her orgasmic bliss, she slumped down onto the mattress, balanced on her knees.

  “Need to watch that shoulder of yours,” Joel commented.