Blood Ties, Part 8
You keep up your performance of youthful excitement as you and Janessa walk home, alternating between wide-eyed speculation on how this might aid the defenders of righteousness, and showering her with gratitude for all her help. She smiles tolerantly, even as you use your exuberance as a pretext to keep "accidentally" ending up just a little bit closer to her than decorum would strictly allow.
She doesn't seem to mind.
Your wind your dance of "innocent" temptation around her all the way back to her manor, and by the time you arrive you can see the fierce battle raging in her thoughts. You keep the conversation going even as you walk up the stairs toward your room, leaving her no clean opening to break away. Until finally you're at the doorway, opening it wide as you step through and turn back toward her.
Janessa hesitates, while you glance back as though you have not the slightest idea what she desires to do to you. But even now, the straight-laced woman makes a noble attempt at virtue. "Well..." she says, her reluctance to leave almost a physical force. "I'm afraid I have... matters I must be attending to. Good night, Niko."
"Must you leave?" you ask, disappointed. "It's not that late. And I wanted to talk with you some more! Couldn't you stay for even a little while longer?"
Janessa's chuckle is as forced a laugh as you've ever heard. "You... don't really want that," she says, licking her lips. "Wouldn't be proper. It'd... give people the wrong idea. Just think how poor Annabeth would feel if she heard that you were alone with a woman in your room this late."
"What?" you say, as though flustered. Then you look down. "No, no, it's... I'm sure she doesn't even see me like that. I'm not... I wouldn't even know what to do if she did feel that way. It's all just... no one ever really taught me about... that sort of thing."
Janessa's breath catches in her throat. For a few seconds more she struggles with herself. But on top of everything else, the web of desire you've been weaving around her... your admission is too much. She places a hand on your arm. "What if..." she begins, then swallows. There's one last hesitation, before she says the words she cannot take back. "What if you did have someone who could teach you?"
You look back up at her, your eyes widening. Your expression is perfectly crafted, a soulful look that mixes surprise and anxiety with just the right hint of hope. And above all, vulnerability. You don't say anything—you want this to be entirely her initiative—but you lay on just enough temptation to ensure that there's no way she can resist.
She wraps her other arm around you, pulling you closer until your bodies are pressed together. You don't resist, but neither do you pursue, keeping just the right balance between hope and uncertainty, just enough hesitance to make the encounter feel deliciously sinful without shattering the delicate atmosphere you've created. Janessa takes charge, sliding her hand into your short blond hair and pulling you into a kiss, with the commanding drive of a seasoned campaigner.
Faking incompetence in this arena remains—as usual for you—a uniquely difficult challenge. The instincts for superhuman lovemaking are just so integral to your very being that to suppress them is a constant struggle. But you don't want to reveal your hand just yet, and so you continue to play the role of the novice, as Janessa takes the lead.
You moan into her mouth as she kisses you, even as she pushes you back into the bedroom. Her hands are working at your clothes as she moves you toward the bed, and by the time you reach it she's removed your outer coat and shirt. She pulls away for a moment, breathless herself, looking into your eyes. There's a few last remnants of guilt in her gaze... but it's far too late for it to gain any purchase, and the rising passion between the two of you is quickly sweeping it away.
She pushes you down to sit on the side of the bed, then slowly kneels and begins to undo your belt. You follow her down with your eyes, appreciating each sensuous motion, though you keep your outward expression mixed between overwhelmed shock and desire. With firm, authoritative movements, Janessa removes your pants and undergarments, bringing your erect cock into view. It isn't quite as intimidating in your Niko form, but Janessa makes a satisfied noise in the back of her throat all the same.
Placing a hand on your chest, she pushes you back down onto the bed, while with the other hand she begins to gently stroke your length. You give her a breathless moan, your eyes wide as you squirm under her touch. She speeds up in response, pressing you down into the bed more insistently, a hungry spark in her eyes as the lust you so carefully enkindled erupts into a dominant blaze.
Eventually you let yourself cum, semen spraying into the air to coat her hand as you make a show of gasping for breath. Janessa slowly raises that hand to her lips, making direct eye contact as she licks off your seed. Then she straddles you, her body keeping up a subtle rocking motion that rubs her crotch against your cock through her clothes, even as she slowly begins to strip.
By the time she's completely naked you're rock hard again, and her bare cunt is now grinding against your length. Not that that satisfies her for long. She lifts herself up, carefully positioning her soaking snatch over your member... and then impales herself, sliding down your cock with a throaty moan as her back arches.
Her eyes are closed in bliss, her breasts heaving with every breath. You wonder how long it's been since she allowed herself to feel this way with anyone. In the interests of preserving your secret, you can't use your supernatural prowess in any way that's too obvious. Even your aphrodisiac you increase slowly, with subtle restraint.
Still, even if only by mortal standards, you intend to give Janessa a time she won't ever forget. You can't take the lead without giving yourself away, but you play to the fantasy in other ways, gasping at her touch, as she impales herself on you again and again. You move in just the right way to make it good for her, while still keeping up the image of the innocent virgin that she's inducting into manhood.
She's breathing hard now, her eyes alight with the wild passion you've so meticulously driven her into. Drunk on your pheromones... but even more so on the taste of the forbidden fruit you've given her. Her ponytail whips around her head, gradually becoming more disheveled as she fucks you with everything she has.
She grips you by the wrists, pinning your hands to the bed, utterly lost in the moment, the bed beneath you creaking from her desperate motions. You can see in her expression both the soldier and the woman. The strict, disciplined commander who takes complete control of the situation... and also the lonely human, who is finally allowing herself to again feel something that she has denied herself for far too long.
Both halves are equally her, and both combine to make up the Janessa you see before you, lost to her pleasure. She rides you, her weight heavy atop you as she holds you to the bed. A vision of severe beauty, finally cut loose from the strictures that have bound her. Her will shines brightly, an unyielding quality of her soul, prompting this fucking cunt to think SHE'S the one in charge!
You suck in a strained breath, as once again, the same sick loathing that you've experienced so many times before swells toward the surface of your soul. The spite and resentment feel identical to the rage that gripped you back when you let the drow priestess dominate you, as part of your plan to rescue Belan. Only even stronger now. Back then, you were barely able to contain the madness without the priestess noticing.
You don't know if you'll be able to do it this time.
Grinding your teeth together, you try your best to resist anyway. Your fingers shred into the sheets that you'd been gripping, clenching tight into a fist until your fingernails bite hard enough into your flesh to draw blood. Even without looking, you can feel a blazing heat from your palm, and you know from experience that the fourth rune in your brand must be flickering with hellish light. Janessa hasn't noticed it yet, caught up in the ecstasy of her fast-approaching climax. But you know that won't last.
Your breath is coming in pants, as you try to think through the choking haze of fury to figure out what to do. You need to carve out her tongue get out of this situation before you bash her skull open against the wall ruin everything that you've make her pay for treating YOU like this! been working so hard to... to... fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
In desperation, you begin to buck upward with your hips as best you can manage in your current state. Janessa's eyes widen slightly at your sudden initiative, but she handles it expertly, retaining her position. Even so, your increased participation still serves to drive you both toward release at a faster pace.
You can tell from her moans and cries how much she's enjoying it, the intensity of your coupling building to a fever pitch. Throwing yourself into the act, you do everything you can to drive her over the edge without breaking character, using every scrap of willpower you have to keep playing submissive Niko to the hilt, pushing that fetish to the limit for her... until finally you release inside her, your body spasming with a boyish cry.
And, timed perfectly, that's enough to send her over as well. Her body clenches around you, her orgasm wracking her. She lets out a low, throaty moan, closing her eyes and savoring the moment as you send spurt after spurt after spurt into her womb. For her, it probably seems to last forever. But all too soon—from your perspective—she regains enough awareness to look down at you with a clear-headed gaze.
And immediately she realizes that something is very wrong.
Even now, looking up at her, you have to fight back the sickening whirlpool of rage that threatens to swallow up everything else. Rage at the indignity of submitting to this worthless bitch. It batters on the fortress of your sanity with a force that seems impossible to withstand.
You withstand it nonetheless... but looking with unclouded eyes, she can see the effort it's taking you. The unnatural pallor of your skin, the twisted anguish in your expression as you look up at her. An acrid scent enters your nostrils... and you realize that the shredded scraps of sheets still gripped in your right fist are burning, sending smoke rising toward the ceiling.
"Niko?" Janessa asks in a quiet, concerned voice. "Niko... what's wrong?"
You close your eyes, your breath shuddering in and out as you fight to keep yourself from ripping this woman apart. Every second is torture, but you refuse to give in. This fucking thing is not you. This fucking thing is not you. It is your decisions that you live by. No fucking mark controls who you are.
You push back the impossible force with sheer willpower, refusing to give it even a single inch more, holding onto your sanity... until at last, after several more seconds that seem to last an eternity, the attack subsides yet again. Your mind is once more your own.
Opening your eyes again, you look up into Janessa's worried, questioning eyes. She's still straddling you, though you've allowed your cock to go soft inside her. Slowly, gently, she reaches for your still-smoking hand, pulling it up and opening it finger by finger. You make no move to resist. Even if you could hide the precise details, it would only look more suspicious, not less. She saw the smoke; she knows that something is up.
Upon seeing the brand for herself, she gives you a questioning look. You're in no frame of mind to come up with a convincing lie right now... but you're also in no state to sell the truth in a way she'll understand either. Your mind races, trying to pull your thoughts back into some semblance of order. Niko, you remind yourself. You're Niko, innocent Niko. How would Niko respond? What would Niko say?
"I... don't know what it is," you say, unsteadily. "My... my father told me never to tell anyone about it. It's... some kind of curse. Maybe put on me by a... a rival noble family, or... someone else. I don't know. I just... don't know. It affects me, sometimes. Whispers terrible... terrible thoughts into my head. But... it was never that bad before."
Janessa stares at the brand again, no sign of recognition on her face. Then she closes her eyes and sighs. "It must have been because of what we did. I'm... sorry, Niko. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pushed this on you like that. I... I don't know what came over me."
You shake your head. "No!" you protest earnestly. "No, there's no way you could have known! Even I didn't know it would do that. And... and I really enjoyed what we did! It wasn't your fault what happened—not at all!"
Janessa smiles back, grateful for your words... but behind the smile, you can still a sliver of guilt lurking in her eyes. "Well..." she says. "Maybe you can find help for it while you're here? Do you remember that mage we talked with at the soiree today? Ceriss Zylnerios? She's one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world. If there's anyone in Vekmar who might be able to help you, she'd be the one."
You can see the worry in Janessa's expression as she looks down at you. "I could ask her to study your mark," she continues. "If you wanted, of course. I know your father told you to keep it a secret, but you can trust Ceriss. For all that her... loose attitude can get on my nerves... I've never known her to be unreliable when it counted. Not once."
You force a weak smile. "Thank you," you say, your beleaguered mind adjusting to this new wrinkle. This is not at all the timing you'd planned on using. Still... it could make a useful pretext to call on Ceriss at some point, if and when you need an excuse to approach her directly. "I'll... need some time to think about it."
Janessa nods understandingly. Then she pulls herself off of you, moving as though to get off the bed. But you catch her wrist. "Wait..." you say, playing up your wide-eyed uncertainty. "Could you... stay with me? Please? I... I don't want to be alone right now."
She hesitates, clearly wondering whether it's a good idea now that her mind is—relatively—unclouded. But in the end, she can't resist your yearning look. "...alright," she says. "But... we shouldn't do that again. Definitely not until you have Ceriss look at that mark. And... and I really shouldn't have pushed you like that to begin with..."
Despite her words, however, she allows you to gently tug her back into the bed with you. She wraps you in her arms, your naked bodies intertwining as you pull the sheets over the two of you. She's more tired than even she realizes, and soon you feel her breathing steady, her sleeping form warm against yours.
That... certainly could have gone better. Then again, it also could have gone far worse. You still manged to give your... episode... a convincing explanation, without sacrificing your overall "innocent" persona like a more aggressive approach might have. Still, Janessa knows there is something unnatural connected with you now, even if she doesn't associate it with you directly as a person.
Either way, you'll need to decide on your next move for tomorrow.
One option would be to simply take Janessa up on her offer right away. Go see Ceriss on the matter of the brand. It wouldn't even really be a pretext; it's clear that whatever it is, it's only getting more dangerous to you and everyone around you with each rune that activates. You've held off on doing it so far... but it may finally be time to have someone with magical abilities take a look at it.
It would be a risk. You don't even know what the mark is yourself, and you have even less idea what Ceriss might be able to learn from observing it. There's no way to tell exactly how such an encounter would play out... but it would be your most direct hope of finding some way to mitigate this particular danger as soon as possible.
On the other hand, you could continue to work the Annabeth angle, following up on the invitation you gained at the party to subvert her fully. That has its own dangers as well, of course. Tonight was a grim reminder of that. Especially if you end up in the sort of situation that would trigger the kind of violent response... at least until you can find some way to bring this cursed mark under better control.
Still, you doubt that the meek girl you met at the party has a dominant bone in her body, so based on what you've observed of the mark, you doubt a tryst with her would be as likely to trigger it, especially not with the same degree of fury. You think you could probably manage to pull it off.
Probably.
Finally, there's still the lead concerning the mysterious business that Ceriss interrupted the soiree to pursue. Whatever it was, your target seemed to take it very seriously. You're not sure what, but it's pretty clear that something else is going on here. Something that might have its own potential to be either a lever to use toward your goals... or a problem that might blindside you.
You still have the address that you overheard the guard telling Ceriss. If you went there and asked around, you could probably find out more details on what your quarry has gotten herself involved in. Maybe even follow some of the resulting threads farther to see what you can learn, and how that might factor into your own efforts. It might give you extra insight or leverage when you do engage with Ceriss directly, so you aren't going in quite so blind.
All the options have their own advantages, and all of them most likely involve giving up possibilities that the others could have offered. The question is... which of them do you feel should be prioritized?