A fter grabbing her wrist and maneuvering her body around, I chose my next sequence carefully.
In reality, I’d break my opponent’s arm and incapacitate them with a strong spell.
But without magic, and without true injury, I had to act differently.
I pulled her to the ground, making sure she landed on her back.
Clove gasped and yelped as she fell. Once her back was on the grass, I swung my leg over, straddling her, and settled my weight on her ribs.
I captured both wrists next, trapping them above her head with one hand.
“This is what I’d do,” I informed her. “In this position, it’s very difficult for my opponent to hit me or turn me over. You need to get as high up on the chest as possible, with your knees beneath their arms like I’m doing here.”
She was looking up at me with wild, shimmering eyes. Her mouth was slightly parted, cheeks pink.
She was completely limp beneath me, like there wasn’t another ounce of fight in her. That felt strange, considering…
Awareness snapped into me.
In this position, with my legs trapping her like this, I was completely pressed against the soft underside of her breasts.
She must have seen the realization in my eyes as I began to lean away, because her brow lifted in supplication. “Luc,” she pleaded.
But for what, I wasn’t sure.
Demon kin women were much closer to Barrow’s version of sexuality. Bold. Daring. Upfront.
Clove was made of soft touch and subtlety. She wanted companionship and safety, not ravaging lust.
Except now? Lust was all I could see.
It was written across her vulnerable expression.
The way she tilted her chin up, as if exposing her delicate throat to me.
I could feel the heaving of her chest against my manhood.
How her hips squirmed behind me.
Fascinated with her, I lowered a hand to her cheek, softly stroking down her jaw.
The shaky whimper Clove gave me was a gift I hadn’t known I wanted.
It was a sound I wondered if she’d make spread out on a bed, completely bare. Her eyes fluttered shut.
Yes. This was what she was asking for.
“Please, Luc,” she sighed.
Sharp as a slice of a blade, a new voice greeted us. “Hey, you two — oh. ”
Without budging, I flicked my gaze up to see Jam frozen mid-stride.
Her eyes were wide with surprise for a moment, and then she covered her shocked expression. “Should I come back later?”
Clove was already panicking and trying to tug her hands back down.
I released her and stood smoothly, clasping Clove’s outstretched hand and pulling her to her feet.
“We were training!” she told Jam.
Jam’s brows rose. “Training?”
“Training! Yes! Just training!”
“If you say so…” she said teasingly, suppressing a smirk that made her eyes glitter with mischief.
“Remember that you promised to practice with me, too. On fighting, ” she added hastily, the grin finally making its suggestive appearance.
I replied, “I recall you informing us that we’d be practicing.”
Her ears twitched as she laughed. “Same thing to me, Lucky. I don’t care what you want to call it. You’re fast as hell, and I need to be able to beat the balls off of guys like you.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Right… so…”
Clove, unable to handle her own tension, exploded. “We should go get lunch! Do you want to get lunch?”
Jam and I blinked at Clove, who seemed to have shocked herself as well.
Jam replied, “Are you sure you’re hungry for food, Clove?”
I coughed into my hand to hide my smile.
“Of course,” Clove wheezed. “What else would I want? Let’s go, then. So hungry. Who doesn’t love food? Food is so nice.”
“To The Night Owl, then,” I announced.
We spent an hour discussing the Tower and combat strategies with Jam while sipping ale and eating. This also provided me with a chance to learn more about her abilities and specialties.
Jam was not only a feline demi, but she was also a rogue.
Light and quick on her feet, she was the perfect person to deliver damage as quickly and efficiently as possible.
As long as she could avoid taking any damage, that is.
The more we talked, the more I began to wonder if it would be wise to ask Jam to join our party officially.
As far as I could see, she hadn’t partnered with anyone just yet.
Even in the short time I’d seen her fight during the class battle, it was clear she was incredibly fast and skilled.
If she joined our party, she would be excellent at delivering damage alongside me, and if she took damage herself, Clove’s healing power was the perfect solution.
Even more, I liked her. Clove did, too. A party with excellent rapport and skill was priceless.
Clove tugged on my shirtsleeve, motioning me toward her when Jam went to use the restroom.
“You know, if we need to build a party in this class, we should have her join, Luc. I know we only just met her, but —”
“I agree. She’d be a useful addition.”
Clove lifted a finger, almost as if she’d been expecting me to argue. “Oh! Well, yay!”
Jam sat back down, lifting her empty drink and sighing sadly. “So many hours of the day. So little time to drink. We should probably get back to training and studying.”
Much like before, Clove practically shouted when she asked, “Will you join our party, Jam?”
Jam froze in place. Her left ear twitched once, twice.
She was so startled that I was certain she’d refuse, when she broke out into a smile. “Yes!”
After accepting our invitation, Jam joined Clove and I as we visited Nessie’s office to file the official paperwork for our new party member.
Then, Jam insisted on training together to get a feel for how things would work.
By the tits of the High Succubus, did that cat demi have stamina.
Clove and I had already been fatigued, and whatever strength we’d had left had been eviscerated by Jam’s quick movements and endless attacks.
She hadn’t been able to beat me, but she’d certainly pushed me to the limits of my energy.
We’d all agreed that we’d have to spar more often to better understand one another’s strengths and weaknesses.
And then finally, we all agreed to stop training for the day and resume when next we had a chance.
Sticky with sweat and fatigue, Clove and I retired to our shared room in the early evening.
Clove was yawning and already untying her top in the hallway, groaning about a bath. When we shut our room door, she trudged into the washroom and turned on the faucets while I removed my shirt and examined the damage today.
I need to visit the Debshire shop and get more garments.
Clothes weren’t a priority, which was why I hadn’t taken the time to get more even though we had plenty of funds.
But this shirt was going to look like a rag by the end of the month.
In any case, I tossed it to the side to wash and shucked off my boots.
Clove scuttled back into the room, still mostly clothed. Her eyes locked onto my bare torso before flicking away. “You go first,” she said tightly.
I frowned. “You seem unwell.”
“I’m fine! Totally fine! Just decided that I needed to hydrate first before the bath.” She gestured to the jug of water on the nightstand and then laughed nervously, clearly not ‘fine’.
“You’re not going to tell me what you’re actually thinking, are you?”
Her tense smile wilted. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Exhaling, I said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just go ahead. I’m fine! Promise!”
“As you wish.” I made my way into the washroom. The bath was nearly full, so I undressed and lowered myself into the large tub.
I heard the slight shuffle of feet before Clove stormed into the room and said, “It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about —”
She gasped.
I lifted an eyebrow.
She covered her eyes.
And then peeked through her fingers.