Part 7

()later in this chapter, there will be mature content.

It had been a few days since Cassie had told her parents about Erron. She and Erron were walking in the Kuatan jungle in Outworld. It was hard to find somewhere where they could spend time together without being disturbed. They couldn't stay at Cassie's place because Jacqui lived there, too. Not to mention, her parents could show up at any moment. So, Cassie had often been slipping off to Outworld to spend time with him. This time, they had decided on the jungle as it was such a large area that it was likely no one would know they were there much less bother them. Cassie was in casual clothing, wearing a black tank top, a pair of blue distressed jean shorts, and a pair of black combat boots. She was wearing her hair in it's usual style, and she was wearing her military dog tags around her neck. She blew a bubble with her chewing gum as she looked around, then popped it.

"The last time I was here, I was sneaking into Mileena's camp." she said.

"Yeah. I was surprised the Kahn actually trusted you enough to let you go with D'Vorah." Erron said. Cassie smirked.

"Excuse me, cowboy, but I think you've got that backwards. D'Vorah went with me. I was the one leading the mission." she said. Erron grinned under his mask. Cassie's attitude was one of the things he loved the most about her. They continued walking for a while longer, then stopped to rest. Erron sat on the ground, reclining back against a large rock. Cassie spotted a long vine hanging over the river. Erron watched as she walked over to the vine and grabbed hold of it. She took off her boots, then she looked back at Erron, grinned, swung out on the vine. Once she was out over the water, she let go, letting herself drop into the river. She resurfaced and smiled again at Erron.

"Come on. Get in." she said.

"I am not doing that, Cassie." he said, smiling slightly and shaking his head. Cassie was young, and Erron didn't have the same youthful exuberance as she did. It was easy to forget sometimes as she was mature when she really needed to be. But, her spontaneity was one of the things he admired about her. He was much older and more serious, and Cassie's youthful liveliness was in stark contrast to his calm and serious personality. Cassie got out of the water, her wet clothes clinging to her, and walked over to Erron. She bent over and looked him in the eyes, her face only inches away from his face.

"Maybe I can persuade you." she said, batting her eyelashes at him. Just then, they heard footsteps coming towards them. Erron quickly got to his feet and grabbed his pistols.

"Someone's coming this way." he said.

"Who the hell...?" Cassie said. She and Erron stood, staring in the direction of the footsteps. Suddenly, they could see Reptile and Ermac coming towards them.

"Hmm. We sensed there was someone else here with you." Ermac said as he and Reptile caught sight of Erron and Cassie.

"The Earthrealmer." Reptile growled.

"Yes. It would seem that Erron has been keeping something from us." Ermac said.

"Traitor! Let's kill them both!" Reptile said.

"You won't touch her, you hear?" Erron said, stepping in front of Cassie.

"You're working with the enemy! You should both die!" Reptile said.

"Earthrealm is not the enemy." Erron said, "I'm not betraying the Kahn."

"Enough." Ermac said, "We do not believe Erron Black is fool enough to betray Kotal Kahn. We will let him explain himself." Cassie looked at Ermac, her blue eyes wide. She was surprised that he was being so reasonable. Maybe there was more honor among the Outworlders than she thought. Erron had thought that Ermac would listen to him before condemning him. Strangely, in all his years, Ermac was the closest thing he'd ever had to a friend. He had hoped that Ermac wouldn't be unreasonable, at least, not with him.

"As I said, Earthrealm is not Outworld's enemy. I'm not betraying the Kahn in any , let's not forget that I was born in Earthrealm. Even though I consider myself to be an Outworlder, I'm still human, born in Earthrealm. Also, I'm not working with Earthrealm. This is personal, not business. I'm employed by the Kahn. He doesn't dictate what I do in my personal life." Erron said. Ermac's glowing green eyes stared Erron and Cassie down as if trying to determine whether Erron was telling the truth.

"That is a fair argument, Erron Black. We believe that everything you have said is the truth. We will not kill you or the Earthrealmer." Ermac finally said.

"For now. We'll see what the Kahn has to say about this." Reptile said.

"Enough, Reptile. Let us leave." Ermac said. The two of them departed leaving Erron and Cassie alone again. Erron holstered his pistols and turned to face Cassie.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." she said, "Ermac, he... he let us go." She still had that look of shock on her face.

"Yeah." Erron said, "I thought he might."

"I'm just... surprised, that's all." Cassie said. It was evening now, and there was a slight chill in the air. Usually, in the humid jungle, some cool air would be welcome, but Cassie, in her soaking wet clothes, shivered a little, wrapping her arms around herself. Erron noticed and gently grabbed her arm.

"Come on. Let's get you inside." he said, leading her away.

"What? Where?" she asked.

"We can go to my room in the Kahn's palace. You'll be safe there." Erron said.

"From what?" Cassie asked.

"Some Outworlders don't care much for Earthrealmers." Erron answered.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Cassie said sarcastically, "I can take care of myself, you know." Erron stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"Look... just shut up and let me protect you. I'd feel better if you just humor me, alright?" he said. Cassie just looked at him for a moment. It was then that she finally realized that Erron really was worried about her safety, even if he didn't want to show it. She couldn't help but smile. For some reason, his awkward display of concern made her really happy. For Erron, this was very awkward. This was the first time he had ever been concerned for anybody. He had gone so long not forming emotional attachments do that he could just do his job and move on to the next. He had always been womanizing, never actually forming any emotional attachment to any. But, Cassie was different. She was unlike any woman he had ever met, and, for once in his life, he was actually afraid of losing her. He was unsure how to express what he felt, or even if he should, whether it would make him seem weak. This was all new to him.

"Alright, Erron. Let's go." she said. He was somewhat surprised that she had ceased arguing with him. That had to mean he was doing something right, right?

"That's better." he said. They continued walking, and he led her into the palace and to his room. His room was very plain, simple with just a bed, a small bedside table, and a desk and chair. Usually, he didn't stay in one place for very long, so he never really accumulated many possessions.

"I'll just... make myself at home, then." Cassie said, sitting down on the bed. She removed her hair tie, letting her blonde hair flow freely around her face, hoping that, in doing so, maybe her hair would dry more quickly. Erron sat down beside her on the bed, removing his mask.

"Thanks, Erron." she said softly, her lips curving into a small smile.

"For what?" he asked, somewhat confused as to what exactly she was thanking him for.

"You defended me even though it could get you into a lot of trouble with Kotal Kahn. I've never met a man who would do something like that for me." she said, blinking her blue eyes as she looked at him. Erron was speechless. He was truly unsure of what to say. His heart sped up in his chest. Of course he defended her. And, he would do it again without a second thought, even if it meant losing everything. This was the first time he had ever felt this way. All of his life, he had lived selfishly, caring about only himself. But, now, things were different. Cassie was different.

"Cassie..." he said. She leaned in and kissed him. She placed a hand on his muscular shoulder, and he placed his hand on the back of her neck, and ran the other hand under her shirt and slowly up her back. They broke the kiss, and Cassie wasted no time in pulling off Erron's vest. She took a moment to look at the shirtless Erron sitting in front of her. His build was almost flawless. He smirked and grabbed Cassie's shirt and pulled it off, tossing it aside. He stared at Cassie, who was now sitting on the bed, the top half of her body covered only by her black, lacy bra. She smirked at him.

"Like what you see?" she said. He smiled and kissed her again, reaching behind her and undoing her bra and tossing it aside with her shirt. He pushed her down onto the bed and she started to undo his pants, pulling them off and discarding them. He did the same with her shorts. They were now both only in their underwear. They broke the kiss and stared at each other. Cassie smirked up at him.

"Are you just going to stare, or are you going to do something?" she teased. He snickered and moved his lips to her ear. He began kissing her ear, working his way down to her neck. She moaned slightly, and she could feel him smirk against her skin. He continued down her collarbone to her breasts, sucking on one breast, then the other. She moaned, louder this time. He moved his lips away from her breasts and looked down at her, smirking mischievously. He then grabbed hold of her black lace bikini underwear and pulled them off, and she did the same to his boxers. He reached down between her legs and began striking her clitoris. She began to moan, and he then inserted his finger and began pumping it inside her, slowly at first, speeding up as he went. Her moans got louder, and eventually he removed his finger. She was breathing hard now, but she wasn't about to let him get the better of her. She wrapped her legs around him and flipped him so that she was on top. He grinned up at her, somewhat surprised. She smirked playfully and ran her finger lightly up the inside of his thigh, all the way up his penis to the tip, making him shudder. She began to massage his penis, and he arched forward. Erron, not about to let a woman get the better of him, flipped her over so that he was on top. He lowered himself, inserting himself into her. She winced slightly at the pain, though it didn't last long. He paused a moment to be sure that she wasn't in pain anymore, then he began thrusting. She soon fell into rhythm with him, and, they eventually lay beside each other on the bed. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, and Erron ran a hand through Cassie's hair. They smiled at each other, and even though no words were spoken, they both knew what the other was thinking. They soon fell asleep in each other's arms.