Quinlan’s head turned toward Black Fang on mand as if he were possessed. He simply didn’t have the option to resist.
But at the same time, having already expected her man’s reaction before Black Fang’s clothes hit the floor and the neuron activation occurred in Quinlan’s head, Vex’s hand shot out like lightning and grabbed his chin before he could turn.
At the same time, Ayame’s elbow buried itself cleanly into his side.
The bined assault stopped him dead in his tracks - or rather, in mid-turn.
A pained, low whimper escaped him. "Ow... Why..." he muttered, sounding like a man whose very soul had been denied its purpose.
Both women gave him matching looks of unimpressed disapproval.
When he tried again, tilting his head just a fraction as though his neck had a mind of its own, the two blocked him in perfect synchronization. One hand, one elbow, one mission: stopping their man from being a full-on lecherous pervert.
It was one thing if he acted like a big pervert with them, but a woman who wasn’t part of the harem?
That was simply unacceptable.
He sighed.
They glared.
Balance restored.
But despite their efforts to appear posed, their own gazes betrayed them next.
Because it wasn’t just him who looked.
Both Ayame and Vex found their eyes inevitably drawn toward Black Fang.
Not out of lust or being closeted lesbians, at least, but out of sheer surprise.
Even Vex, who had known her for over two centuries, stared in disbelief.
Black Fang wasn’t the type to bare herself like this. She was a woman of grace, posure, and quiet dominance.
The kind who could walk into a room and make people lower their voices without uttering a word.
She wasn’t a nudist, nor the kind to flaunt her body for attention.
If anything, she was notorious for her opposite tendencies.
Vex had personally seen her kill men, dozens, hundreds even, for looking at her lewdly, even when she’d been covered neck to ankle.
And yet, here she was.
Undressing before a man.
Before this man.
Vex’s mind blanked for a moment.
Ayame’s eyes were wide.
The two women exchanged a single, knowing glance, and then realization dawned simultaneously.
Their heads turned toward each other at the exact same time.
Black Fang had faced death with Quinlan before, stood shoulder to shoulder with him, bled beside him, and survived by his side. Or, well, on top of him. But that mattered little.
What mattered was that without Quinlan, she wouldn’t be among the living today. Not only that, but if Quinlan’s words are to be believed, the two of them conducted the fight of a lifetime in the skies against the Scarlet Lilies.
Trust born from such an epic and dangerous battle ran deeper than most lovers ever knew.
And that understanding shifted how she looked at him entirely.
It wasn’t that Black Fang was happy to be nude in his presence but that she trusted him not to look.
Which might’ve been a mistake on the ancient and wise woman’s end.
Both women turned their eyes back toward Quinlan, whose expression made it very clear he was still fighting the urge to peek.
Their stares sharpened instantly, turning cold.
Ayame declared through the mental link. Her telepathic tone was sharp as a knife.
Quinlan flinched.
Vex giggled.
The beautiful samurai proudly raised her chin and stared right at Quinlan with an air of supremacy.
That made Quinlan’s eyes widen immediately. His head snapped in her direction as if she’d just said the most horrible thing in the world. he said.
Ayame grinned strongly upon hearing his panicked tone.
Vex demanded with narrowed eyes.
He was in trouble.
"You’re talking like that again," came Black Fang’s voice.
The tone was calm, but it cut through their mental chatter instantly.
Quinlan’s head turned on reflex, and froze.
There she stood.
Barefoot, long hair cascading down her back, skin faintly glistening in the lantern light. A towel was wrapped around her body, clinging to her form with deceptive modesty.
Her tattoos, those intricate dark purple markings that ran through her shoulder and even decorated her thighs, were enough to make his brain short-circuit.
He stared.
Her beauty had always carried danger, but like this... it was weaponized.
Seeing his gaze so strongly locked on her body, Black Fang raised an eyebrow.
Then came the inevitable.
Ayame’s elbow rammed into his ribs for the third time that night.
"Kh!" He choked out a quiet grunt just before clutching his side, massaging it.
When his brain finally rebooted, he blinked rapidly and coughed once, pretending to adjust his throat.
"R-Right. Uh... you said something?"
Black Fang tilted her head at his strange antics. "You were talking in your heads again," she repeated her observation plainly.
Silence followed.
Awkward, heavy silence.
The air grew still except for the distant hiss of the kiln beneath the sauna. Even the souls nearby seemed to sense the tension, working more quietly than before.
Quinlan cleared his throat again, desperate to move on. His gaze shifted toward the wooden building.
"Well," he said with forced ease, "seeing that you’re ready, shall we get started? Vex and I are also ready."
Black Fang studied him for a moment. Her gaze lingered, not long enough to be confrontational, but enough to show she wasn’t fooled. It was clear that her question was pushed aside on purpose.
"I see."
She turned gracefully, walking toward the sauna door without another word. The sound of her bare feet against the wood floor echoed before she disappeared inside.
Ayame and Vex exchanged a glance behind her back—one of them exasperated, the other amused.
Quinlan just sighed, rubbing the spot where Ayame’s elbow had landed.
He was going to need ice after this sauna.
"My bedroom skills must be horrible if you give up on them for life so wantonly," Ayame scoffed with crossed arms beneath her chest.
Eyes that were narrowed into fiery slits bore into Quinlan’s soul.
He shuddered at the mere suggestion of not getting to feel the awesome head game of his sexy samurai ever again. "No, you’re wrong. She spoke to us, which obviously meant she was done with her preparations. I didn’t look until she was done," Quinlan explained with a tone that was more hurried than he would’ve liked.
"Nice save, Master!" Blossom giggled before giving Quinlan a final kiss on the cheeks and getting off his arms. Then, the gorgeous dogkin began undressing herself.
"It was not a nice save!" Ayame scoffed.
But based on her expression, Quinlan knew he didn’t get banned for life. His defense case had enough ground to stand on before the jury.
Just barely.
With his oriental beauty pacified - somewhat - it was time to enter the sauna where a truly important discussion would take place!
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