*Chapter 136*

"You... You gunna go turn it off?" Tessa wondered quietly, she finally exhaled a long, final sigh as her veins continued to wiggle, with just what had happened.

"No," Zed uttered as he curiously peered down at her, though he finally sat up on his knees, while keeping their solid connection, though he grappled for her hands and lower arms. Tessa groaned a tired complain as he began to pull her into a sitting position as well.

"Zed," Tessa complained through a bashfully annoyed giggle, though Zed firmly smooched her cheek once she was within eye level of him.

"Hold onto me," Zed eased to her softly, though just as Tessa went to wrap her legs tight around his hips, she warily let her eyes travel to Zed's neck, where she was about to wrap her arms. She largely looked into his eyes in a worried way.

"Zed, your neck," Tessa's eyes finally glossed over his; he shook his head and let his eyes lull closed.

"It'll be okay," Zed assured as he pushed his body into hers, wrapped his strong arms around her lower back and began to gingerly scoot the two off of the bed with expert concentration. He finally got to his feet, and with strength Tessa was certain she had totally underestimated, until this night, he firmly stood and held her tight in his arms, flush to his body, "Hold onto me, it's okay."

Tessa wrapped her arms around Zed's neck as gently as she could, though she was surprised to feel Zed's powerful body begin to move across the room and to the bathroom. Tessa tucked her face into the side of Zed's jaw and closed her eyes. She felt totally exhausted, though the slightly jostling walk, to the bathroom, had her trying so desperately to avoid being overwhelmed by the sensations shooting up her spine, from their connection. She breathed a soft giggle as Zed stepped into the steamy bathroom and awkwardly shut the door with his foot. Tessa nervously glanced around the bathroom and was delightfully surprised to find that the mirrors were heavily fogged with steam as the shower head shot out hot water into the pearly, stand-in shower. It was crowned with a long, thick, cream shower curtain that kissed the ground. Just as she was about to look over Zed's shoulder, to assess the bathroom farther, she felt him step closer to the spray of the water and felt a hard spill of hot water roll down her back. Zed largely flinched with a loud laugh as Tessa suddenly arched her back and clawed the tops of Zed's shoulders.

"Whoa, ow, ow!" Tessa laughed as she tried her hardest to inch away from the hot spraying water, though as Zed moved farther into the spray, she quickly got used to it, "Do you normally take scalding hot showers?"

"Yeah, it feels good," Zed nodded as he let the water fall all over their bodies, though he kept her small body firmly tucked into his. His powerful arms kept her up, and though she didn't want to put too much weight around his neck, she still held him there, like he kindly told her to.

"Amongst other things?" Tessa dared through a girly smirk as she let her hands slid to Zed's jaw; she knew it was ultimately her turn to drive him mad, "Bet this is the best damn shower you've ever had."

"Most definitely," Zed's dark voice just barely whispered as he lovingly peered into her eyes. He scoffed and shook his head, with disbelief, "I've only really ever thought something like this would never happen, though."

"C'mon, I'm not unreasonable," Tessa whispered as she trailed her finger through Zed's wet, dark blue hair on the back of his scalp.

Just as Zed's mind began to finally lull into the gentle pain, that was the soreness of his neck, he finally dared to take his eyes away from Tessa's, and gratefully gloss down the front of her body. He largely swallowed a nervous gulp and raised his eyebrows amidst his delirious, long ogling glance of the sight before him. He was floored that he was now allowed to this, him and only him. He knew this was Tessa's ultimate form of showing that she had surrendered all of her trust to him; he knew not to let her down. Not again. He felt his heart ache with neediness as she finally straightened her posture, in his strong grip. She was nicely endowed, the way her collar bones peeked from her now drenched, shiny skin, and the way her wet hair slopped down the front of her right shoulder and chest, Zed choked a small breath, as if to express he could hardly believe just where he was standing.

Tessa cocked an eyebrow and felt a giggle escape her figure as Zed's nervous eyes finally drew back up to hers. She gave him a kind look of expectation, though he looked as if he was about ready to lose his mind. As softly as she could, she stroked her thumb on the skin just under his ear, so to avoid touching any bruises. She furrowed her eyebrows softly and hoped that Zed would remain still for a few more seconds while she gathered another worry that came to the forefront of her mind. She finally gave him her inquisitive gaze and brushed some of his wet hair out of his forehead.

"How... How do humans get pregnant, in this world?" Tessa quietly wondered, not for the sake of wanting to do so herself, though for her mind's sake. Zed raised his eyebrows in dewy concern and, much to Tessa's surprise, he was stumped.

"I-I think it works the same way, in the arcade," Zed stated quietly, though his eyes glossed Tessa's shoulders, as if he wasn't certain, "I think it takes a few tries, like for gamers... W-We can stop, if you're concerned."

"You give me the one-up of a life time and you won't let me help you receive the same treatment?" Tessa side-eyed Zed, as if to defend him for himself. Zed breathed a bashful laugh and finally attempted to rest his forehead on Tessa's shoulder, to show he ultimately just wanted to be held. Tessa beamed a wide smile and lovingly wrapped her arms around his head. She pushed a few kisses into the side of his wet, messy haired scalp and continued on, in his ear, "We'll both be upset if you don't come out of this, a winner, as well."

"You sure?" Zed innocently whispered on her skin as he let his eyes lull closed; he focused his attention on their solid connection. He could swear he could practically hear her heartbeat.

"Positive," Tessa barely uttered as she scratched the back of Zed's scalp slowly, in a loving way. She wrinkled her nose and smiled sneakily into his ear, in which she hovered over, "Mr. Unbeatable's gunna forfeit this round?"

"...Invincible," Zed corrected darkly, a different notion than what he always used to preach.

Tessa raised her eyebrows at his ironic words and was suddenly floored to feel him take a few steps forward and shove Tessa's back to the hot, wet tiles of the shower. Tessa jolted and uttered a small noise of surprise as her skin largely stuck to the tiles he had planted her to, though in doing so, he pushed his body firmly into hers and kept her solid between him and the wall. His hands found purposeful power, yet again, as he grappled his attention to her hips and held her tightly. Tessa gasped and let her messy hands slide down Zed's wet chest; water dripped from his masculine jaw and the blue scrufflies on his chin. Tessa quickly tightened her legs around Zed's hips and knew this was ultimately her time to give back to him. She was glad he had a good seat to this show.

"Yeah?" Tessa inquired with a teasing smile and a seductive aura that draped over her wet body, "Show me."

Zed froze and, though he knew this whole situation shouldn't be a surprise to him anymore, he still could feel his wiggly thoughts run out of coherent things to grasp to, as if he was merely a child in a candy shop. He long blinked once and, with the dare Tessa set on him, he felt his heart throb with purpose. He wrinkled his nose and gave her a competitive smirk, though with that, he gently shoved into her, once more. He was surprised to see her snarky smile flinch to that of a surprise gape as he reeled her body up the wall, just barely. He grunted a small noise and firmly planted his steady feet to the ground, and with the right balancing act, he shoved his hips into Tessa once more, with a good leap of added force.

He scoffed a silent noise, as if to suggest to his own self that he was done for, the way her wet body recoiled against a hard surface, the way she almost didn't know what to do with herself. Her warm body latched onto his every last fiber, as if it were the last thing keeping her alive. Zed grimaced and with one last curl of his toes, to keep his steady footing, and the tension of his strong legs, he finally found a good rhythm and stuck to it. He knew he couldn't go completely wild, for fear of slipping, though he knew no matter what, he was one happy camper. The feeling of her hot, wet skin on his made his head grow heavy with desire, though he almost began to worry about the impending, final act he still wanted to follow through with. He suddenly remembered just how detrimental this all would be, in the arcade, though the fact that it didn't even cross his mind, until now, made him wonder if he could perhaps worry about it, with her, later. He knew this was their reward for cheating the rules and winning the heart of the princess; he still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Tessa groaned his name with a hard grimace, though her sweet voice easily dripped to that of a knowing, raspy giggle as Zed gave her a look of love struck anguish, as if he was certain this whole act was going to kill him; he gave her a kind chuckle, in return, as if to politely convey to her that he was more than happy to go down with the ship. She beamed him a kind, deliriously floored smile, her teeth pushed past her wet lips as she seductively tilted her head to the side and back, enough to let him hear the thud of her skull to the tiles she was shoved to. Zed raised his eyebrows in growing surprise and, as if he was suddenly back at square one, he eagerly watched her to see just what she would do from here, like he was solely here for her enjoyment without even realizing it. He humbly gazed at her through dizzy, delightful eyes and let his hands firmly, though messily, slide down her sides to squeeze the undersides of her thighs. He gripped his fingers deeply into her skin and, with his continued rhythm, he continued to plague her body with his, an overflow of information he was certain had both of them in a whirlwind of lost thought.

Tessa continued to feel his strong center shove up and into her, though this time around, it was backed with a solid surface; she knew this gave Zed more power, though with the floored look on his face, she knew she had no problem with it. She so badly wanted to grapple her arms around his neck, though she resisted; she had to keep diligently reminding herself about Zed's gnarly bruises, on his neck. She, instead, opted to resting her arms on the tops of his strong shoulders, her trembling fingers itched to touch every single aspect of him, as if she now had relearn him in this touchy situation. Amidst not knowing just what feature, on his face, to touch first, she let her fingers trail to his ears. She idly let her tender fingers grip his ear lobes for a moment before trailing to the sharp, dark blue hairs that lined his jaw. Her eyes scanned his handsome features, up close and personal, she was floored that he was all hers, and she was nearly sat in devastation, with the fact that she almost let him get away. She furrowed her eyebrows and through a look of gratefulness, towards everything he was giving her, in this moment, she graciously received his soul, of which was very clear he was so willingly offering, at no cost to her.

Tessa finally let her eyesight sink into his, though she was somewhat floored to feel a completely different presence eke from him. She furrowed her eyebrows in delightful confusion and, as if she could begin to feel the skin slide off of her body, she felt as if she suddenly couldn't read Zed's confusing demeanor anymore. She long blinked a few times and tilted her head back to normality, and with a look of confusion, she set her straight gaze into his soul, as if to silently ask if he was alright. He grimaced and continued to move, just like how he always had, though once he noticed Tessa catch onto his raw, unfolding heart, he shook his head, as if to assure her that he was alright, though after a long moment of Tessa's nervous hands cupped to his jaws, and her dominantly caring demeanor making sure he kept her eye contact, he shook his head once more, to reveal just how he really felt. Tessa raised her eyebrows in hard concern and suddenly felt her heart jump with the fact that Zed's eyes began to well with tears.

Tessa began to look worried, though she barely flinched as Zed finally scoffed a small laugh and shook his head yet again, as he grew more flustered, as if to assure to her that she didn't need to worry. He gazed into her gorgeous eyes and squinted in growing, overflowing, love struck anguish, as if he was finally feeling the weight of their situation, in it's entirety. He inwardly cursed at himself as a few tears slid down his cheeks, though it only made Tessa's eyes fill with more worry. She lovingly cupped his cheeks and swiped away his tears, and as she opened her mouth to question just what was going on in his mind, he squinted and uttered his undying love for her, as if it had been a well kept secret this whole time. He quietly pleaded it to her, a second time, as if to solidify it, in her brain, that it was true, no matter what had happened to their fragile relationship. Tessa finally let a wide, adoring smile sprawl her cheeks, though she gasped a sharp inhale as Zed set his force into her a little bit harder than prior. She grimaced and, once and for all, let her arms find their way around Zed's neck. She was surprised to find him push closer to her warm touch, as if he was willing to endure all the pain, in the entire world, for her; he'd go to the ends of this Earth for her hugs.

Tessa beamed a wide smile, finally latched her arms tight around Zed's neck and nuzzled her face into the side of his head. She lulled her head into his and scrunched her eyes shut tight as he began to move into her with more purpose and force, as if confessing his love to her, yet again, was the key to him finally giving himself allowance. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes tight, as well, though he firmly kissed her neck and, with the endless stamina he was surprised he was blessed with, he continued to shove her up and into the solid, wet wall. His trembling hands grappled her thighs, though he began to feel the muscles in his calves burn, as well as the fire in his heart. He wondered just how lucky he had gotten, how the tables had turned to something he knew would happen eventually, though the fact that the universe blessed him with such a raw act, better than anything he could have ever dreamed, he allowed himself to finally get lost and feel Tessa for everything that she was, both body and soul. He finally let his teeth show through his one, final kiss to her neck, a proper cue he was hoping Tessa caught on to.

He kept his eyes shut tight and pushed the entirety of his body to Tessa's. Her arms tightly glued around his neck, in which made his muscles cry in growing pain, though he almost relished in it. He knew he'd never push her away, even if the pain was growing to be a few notches down from unbearable, his heart continued to cry with glee. With a near gripe of a groan, her name eased from the bottom of his tired throat. He beamed a nervous, delighted smile on her skin and, before he could convince himself to slow down and maybe rethink just what Tessa was allowing him to follow through with, he could feel something inside his center begin to bubble and go crazy. He finally gripped his strong, shaking hands into the skin between where Tessa's pelvis and thigh met. He squeezed with nervous force and finally began to move into her a little bit harder. He grit his teeth and dared not to let his concentration slip, in this raw moment. His ears pricked to every single noise of pleasure that fell from Tessa's mouth, and with one last encouraging plea, his name suddenly rung loud and clear in his ears, his final warning.

As if he could feel the Earth beveling underneath his firmly planted stance, he raised his eyebrows in hard surprise and gave Tessa's body one last, hard final shove before he felt his spinal cord practically turn to jelly. As he released everything he quite possibly could, to Tessa, he was certain he was being rocked from the edge of the planet. He largely scrunched his face and threw his head back, all while keeping his expert balancing act against Tessa. His whole body was riddled with hard shivers as her trembling hands draped down his neck, collar and chest, a silent act of final encouragement for him. He grimaced a loud complain to the ceiling and could swear the stars aligned, just for this moment. After a few trembles of added, squirming shoves into Tessa, he finally felt his body give up attempting to rid him of every last strand of his genetic makeup. He scoffed a hard growl of an exhale and slumped his shoulders. He largely let his head slump into Tessa's upper collar, though his hands and legs began to shake with the aftershock of everything that he had ever dreamed of, though it was beyond anything his mere imagination could've ever made up.

Tessa's chest largely heaved, though she made sure to hold his head steady against her heart. She giggled knowingly through their raspy panting, though she suddenly jolted as she could feel Zed lose his footing, even before he, himself could feel it. She widened her eyes and slapped her arms around Zed's neck, though once he finally came back to the planet, he barked a soft, startled noise of a laugh as he lost his footing for good. His exhausted muscles tensed into action, once more, as he largely grappled for Tessa's body and lugged her into him. Tessa squealed a high pitch noise of concern as he suddenly slipped backwards and, with a hard thud, his rear hit the flat, shower floor. He coughed a startled laugh as he landed back and caught himself on his elbows. Tessa plopped on top of him, his plan of action was aimed as such, though her knees largely thud the hard tile underneath as well. He grimaced a hard complain and, as she gently straddled his lap, she gave him a floored look and was surprised their connection still lasted, through that nonsense.

"Are you okay?" Tessa urgently asked through a hard laugh as he hung his head backwards, sagged his chest, and kept himself propped up on his elbows. The hot water splayed all over Tessa's back and rear, as well as Zed's bent knees.

"God, I don't even know anymore," Zed's raspy voice loudly croaked as his adam's apple largely bulged from his bent back neck. Tessa laughed, leaned forward and placed a kind kiss on it, which caused him to barely flinch in a reflex.

"Hard worker," Tessa gave him a teasing smile as she ogled his figure.

She draped her fingers down his wet chest, the dark blue hairs that sculpted his broad chest were messy and thick. She bit her lip in girly glee and began to feel the weight of the situation hit her skin. She realized nearly every single muscle, that was overused in this adventure, began to involuntarily tremble, to such a small degree, though she was surprised with how little control she had over her wiggly veins; much different than every single circuit she used to be able to name, under her skin.

"Y-You did all the work, my love," Zed groaned as he finally lifted his heavy head back up, to look her in the eyes, though he lazily tilted his head and gave her a look of floored, delighted exhaustion. He shook his head and let his eyes sleepily lull closed, "That was all you, babe."

"Us," Tessa whispered as she finally leaned her shiny, wet body over his, though she hugged his sides with her warm thighs as she remained straddled on him.

Zed raised his eyebrows as her face grew closer to his, though he let a bashful smile sprawl his face as he anticipated her kiss, warm and full of never ending love. She planted her wet, warm mouth to his and made sure he knew just how appreciated he was. Her soft hand rubbed the center of his chest as she smooched him a few times; long, lingering, warm kisses to finalize their chaotic display of love only they would witness of each other. She finally lifted her head away, though just enough to get a good look into his eyes.

"Now we just have to match that nonsense perfectly and we're golden," Zed uttered quietly over the trickling of the hot shower water, that splattered to Tessa's back. He suddenly jolted, however, once Tessa just barely lifted her hips, to simply begin to stand, though once she reacted to his small outburst, she nervously sat back down in his lap, which only further antagonized him. He grunted a hard noise and let one of his hands grip the top of her thigh and squeeze, as if to beg her to quit the exciting torture. Through a hard grimace, he finally chuckled and gave her a pleading look, though she was positive his face was forever the color red, "Gah-not right this second, though...!"

"Y'wanted to go into the wee hours of the morning," Tessa teased, she knew the two needed a break, though she couldn't help but prod at his weaknesses.

"Let me count how many injuries I have now, before we continue on," Zed laughed, which cued Tessa into happy laughter as well, "My tailbone is shattered, my elbows are likely gone... We can forget about my neck, and, well..."

"Besides something else that won't quit, I'm pretty sure the only thing left is your dignity," Tessa stated in a snarky, matter-of-fact tone as she softly sat up into the spray of the water; she shut her eyes and began to comb her fingers through her soaked hair.

"Ohhh but it doesn't mean I'm not in any condition to sit back and appreciate the show," Zed uttered as he got comfortable and adoringly peered up at Tessa's gorgeous, bare figure.

"Guess you deserve the best, for, y'know... Ruining my homeland," Tessa said in a snotty tone, though Zed knew she was merely beginning to playfully tip toe into a sensitive topic, for the sake of making discussing it easier.

She knew, after these events, they were in this mess together; she hoped her kind side-eye and apologetic smile conveyed that. Zed largely rolled his eyes and finally sat up, with Tessa still straddled over his lap. The spray of the water finally began to hit Zed's upper back as he lovingly gripped Tessa's upper arms and moved her out of the water. He firmly dug his warm, loving stare into her eyes and shook his head, just barely. He finally scoffed an annoyed, silent laugh and squinted, as if to peer deeper into her soul.

"No more stabs," Zed said above a whisper as his thumbs began to tenderly stroke the skin on her upper arms. She raised her eyebrows in collecting, dewy surprise and fell vulnerable to his sweet demeanor, "From here on out, we're a team... We get through this mess, together. We get through this fight... Together. Deal?"

Tessa finally let a knowing, bashful, yet almost annoyed smile sprawl her cheeks, though she looked down at Zed's chest and rested her fingertips over his heart. After a few moments, she finally gave him her soul filled stare, a notion only secured for him. She nodded just barely and let her eyes lull to a softer gaze of love and warm understanding.

"Deal."