The door slammed open, and a shrill voice wailed, "Ace!"
Ace grimaced and turned around. "Cassandra, please settle down. Your voice is piercing when you're upset."
The girl who entered had tears streaming from her bubblegum pink eyes, and her mouse ears were drooping so far that they almost disappeared into her short, pale, lime green hair. She paused a moment, sniffled, then said in a softer voice, "But, Ace, Lily was doing THAT again..."
Ace sighed. "She doesn't know when to quit, does she..." He held his arms open, and Cassandra rushed into them, rubbing against his chest. He put one hand on her head and held it still. "Hey, you're gonna make my blood pressure rise if you keep doing that."
She immediately stopped wriggling, murmuring a muffled apology.
Ace patted her back for a while, letting her cry for a bit as he tried to come up with some way to make Lily stop hitting on his girlfriend.
With her face buried in his shirt, Cassandra didn't see the sudden conflicted look that appeared on his face. Ace continued thinking for a minute, then closed his eyes.
"Cass... are you the jealous type?"
Cassandra tilted her head to look up at him, but his face was blank now. "Huh?"
"I think I've come up with a way to make Lily leave you alone for good, but it would require me doing things to her that... Well, normally I wouldn't do them to anyone except my beloved."
Cassandra considered this. "Hmm... I don't think I would like it, but if it would really make Lily stop... Just don't tell me the details."
Ace opened his eyes, looking slightly startled. "You don't mind?"
Cassandra looked up at him with the wide, innocent gaze of an adorable mouse girl, making Ace temporarily forget to breathe.
"I trust you, Ace. I know even if you do those kind of things to her, you don't mean it. If you're doing it for my sake, I don't mind because I know you love me, not her." She lowered her head again and wrapped her arms more tightly around him. "Just... don't take off your eyepatch."
"Only for you," Ace agreed, dropping his nose to her hair and bumping it against her ear.
Cassandra jerked and gave a tiny, startled squeak. Ace smirked. He started planning his assault for tonight... The sooner he could get Lily tamed, the better. He had to work up his nerve, though. This would be challenging, in so many ways.
Lily tiptoed down the hall and paused to peek into a room. "Caaaassieeee..." Where was the pretty little girl hiding? Lily only wanted to play with her. It would liven up a dull evening, even if they didn't get anywhere.
Suddenly, two hands came from behind her and planted themselves squarely on her breasts. Then the hands squeezed - no wait, they were just pulling her backward. She crashed against someone's chest.
The hands were large, and the chest was broad and firm. If Lily had been any other female, her heart would have started pounding right about now. But if Lily's pulse sped up at all, it was only because of surprise. Before she could get a look at the man who so brazenly grabbed her, he was hauling her off down the hall.
Lily would have tried to get away, but the man had a firm grip on her in a rather sensitive area, and struggling would only cause her pain. If she cooperated, though... Now, that wasn't an unpleasant sensation, though she would have preferred it to come from sweet little Cassie...
Her perverted fantasies were interrupted as they reached an out-of-the-way corner of the palace, where the man abruptly spun her around and pushed her against a wall, revealing a familiar face.
"Ace?" She couldn't help thinking that this was definitely out of character for him. Not only the past few minutes, but the sultry look he was aiming at her now.
"Good evening, Lily. I've got a proposition for you."
He couldn't mean what she thought of first, it was impossible. He must mean it in another way.
"Let's have a contest. The loser has to leave Cassandra alone forever."
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "You must be quite confident, to willingly to risk so much. I don't think I want to play if you're that sure of winning."
Ace just kept smiling, his stare imprisoning her almost as much as his arms on either side of her. "I am confident of my abilities in this area, but I actually have no idea how well you'd perform. Mostly I'm just fed up with you tormenting Cass. So... How about we see who's really worthy to be her lover?"
Her eyes widened. It would have taken most people a few moments to get what he meant, but Lily's mind was never far from the gutter. So he did mean it that way after all...
Ace leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I think the odds are about even. You've got an advantage because you're not interested in men, right? But you don't know the best ways to please us, so the advantage is lost."
A smile started to form on Lily's face. "I'm sure I can figure it out. But how far are you willing to go, big boy?"
"Holding back would be forfeiting, wouldn't it?" Without giving her time to answer, Ace set his mouth over hers, his tongue forcing its way inside.
Instead of pulling away, Lily leaned forward, and her tongue battled his for dominance. Ace's arms wrapped around her. Lily slid her hands up his chest and tangled them in his hair, pulling fiercely, but Ace didn't react to the pain or give any sign that he even had nerves in his scalp. Then his hands moved to her hips, holding her in place while he pressed himself hard against her, nearly crushing her into the wall.
Lily winced, and Ace pulled back slightly with a cheerful word of advice. "You've got to be much gentler before I admit defeat." He could tell that she was being overly rough, even if it didn't make him flinch.
"I see your point," she said wryly. "I wonder, though, if you really want to do this out in the open."
"Of course not." Without another word, Ace lifted her by the waist and relocated to a nearby room. It was an empty guest room. From the proximity to the wall where they'd just been standing, she would guess he had planned to bring her here.
Ace dropped her onto the bed and immediately climbed on top of her. Lily opened her mouth to point out that he'd left the door unlocked, but he sealed her lips with another searing kiss. She noticed him flicking his hand toward the door, and a quiet click told her that he didn't forget after all. Why waste time when a little magic would do the trick?
"You agree to my terms?"
"I agree. You better not go back on the deal either."
"On my honor."
Lily snickered. "And don't fall in love with me."
"As if."
Lily got right to work removing his clothes, but was distracted when Ace's hands found their way to her breasts again.
"Oops..." Ace's innocent tone was at odds with the devilish grin he wore. "That was rather easy... Maybe you ought to consider a change in wardrobe so they don't fall out accidentally in public."
Ignoring the draft on her bare skin, Lily redoubled her efforts at undressing him.
Ace leaned over Lily, breathing heavily. He was sweaty and trembling, and the only thing keeping him from collapsing at that moment was the knowledge that Lily was in the same state, only she was so exhausted that she could barely twitch.
He knew this because he'd just given her one last caress, trailing his fingers with a feather-light touch from her hair along her throat, between her breasts and past her navel, down to her thighs... The only reaction he got was a mewling noise. She continued to lie there under him, motionless as the rumpled sheets around her.
"That ought to satisfy you for a while," he told her smugly. "Don't forget that you have to leave Cassandra alone from now on."
Ignoring the answering groan of resentment, he crawled off the bed and retrieved his clothing. After shakily putting it on, he made his way over to the door. "I'll leave this locked so nobody can walk in on you," he informed her, then left.
He was grateful for the late hour as he stumbled back to his room. People would ask too many questions if he was seen like this. He flopped limply onto his bed as soon as he reached it. He needed a shower, but that could wait until morning.
His last conscious thoughts of the night were congratulating himself for his prediction that the contest would come down to a matter of stamina - something Ace had in spades.
"Good morning, Cass..."
Cassandra jumped as a deep voice whispered in her ear. Pulse racing, she looked up to find Ace leaning on the back of her chair, wearing a rather satisfied grin.
"Enjoying your breakfast?"
"It's delicious, as usual. What are you so happy about?"
Ace's smile only grew. "I'm afraid I can't tell you the details... except that I kept my eyepatch on like you asked."
Cassandra blinked at him for a moment, then her eyes widened and a blush tinted her entire face. "You... don't waste time, do you?"
Ace shrugged, leaning closer so he could nuzzle her neck. "If you're not happy, neither am I, and if I'm not happy, I do something about it."
He had barely caught her sweet scent when Cassandra bounced up from the chair and grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the dining room.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he allowed himself to be towed along the hallway. But he didn't get an answer.
Finally Cassandra stopped in front of his room. "Open the door, Ace!" she insisted cutely.
Ace chuckled and obeyed. He had a feeling she wanted to reclaim her territory. But he was surprised when she pulled him toward the bathroom. "Wait, what are we doing?"
"You need a bath."
"I just took a shower this morning..."
"That doesn't matter. Get in the tub!"
Feeling slightly bemused, Ace followed her instructions to the letter, leaving his clothes on. Cassandra didn't seem to mind. She closed the door and then climbed into the bathtub with him.
As his mouse girl attacked him with kisses, Ace had a sneaking suspicion that his bath wasn't going to have much water involved for a while.
"Letting me lead today, Ace?"
"Hey, even I can't recover instantly. Why don't you just enjoy being the dominant for once?"
"Fine, but only 'cause you're tired today. I like it when you make me squeak."
Ace chuckled. "Whatever you want, my lady."