I thought about the question for a moment. The room certainly was a world away from anything I’d ever seen before. The heavy drapes over the window, the candle lamp, the log fire, the bearskin rugs on the floor, all of it seemed more appropriate to some baron’s castle room from medieval times than to a modern, tech-savvy guy like me.
On the other hand, looking around the room I couldn’t think of anything I’d actually change about it. Kyrine had made this room as opulent and luxurious as she could manage. I thought of the rooms of the agents which she had also created within the mansion. They were nothing like this; though not uncomfortable, they could hardly be called luxurious.
If I’d paid for a $2,000 a night stay in a hunting lodge in Oregon, I figured it would be something like this.
I breathed deep, inhaling the sweet smell of apples and spices which permeated the cozy space, then turned to look Kyrine in the eye.
“Yeah,” I said sincerely, smiling. “I love it.”
“Oh, good!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands under her chin.
We walked into the room and moved instinctively toward the bed.
“Are you tired?” Kyrine asked me.
I thought about it. I was tired, but in a weird way.
“It feels strange,” I told her. “I feel tired, yes, but not in the simple way I used to—before I came here, I mean. I feel… I don’t know how to describe it… I feel as if I’ve got to process a lot of information or something. Does that make sense?”
Kyrine nodded. “As the Keeper, you will not tire as other men do. Your capacity for physical labor is greater than any mortal man, and your body will seldom tire from simple effort. But your mind and your magic can become overloaded. When you sleep, you gain the benefit of the knowledge and practice that you’ve given to your magical abilities. You won’t need to sleep to regain physical strength, but you need to sleep to make the most of the magical cultivation you’re doing.”
I nodded. This was so. Since our bonding, I had felt quicker, fitter, stronger, and more alert in every way. “And you?” I asked. “Do you need to sleep?”
She chuckled and glanced away. “I do not need it, but I certainly enjoy it. As I enjoy many other sensual pleasures which are not strictly necessary for my survival.”
I grinned. “Come on then,” I said. “Let’s get some shut-eye.”
I hauled my jacket and sneakers off, putting my shoes off the rug and hanging my jacket up on a hook by the door. The rest of my clothes fell to the floor as Kyrine pulled the covers back on the bed. With a shimmering of silvery light around her body, her red dress vanished, leaving her naked. We climbed into the bed together, and I wrapped Kyrine in my arms, feeling the warm weight of her head on my chest as she snuggled into me.
The top of her head smelled clean and fresh as I kissed her hair, and she gave a little wriggle of pleasure then lay still. A sudden weight of sleepiness came over me, and I closed my eyes.
* * *
“Morning,” said Kyrine drowsily as I awoke.
I blinked, looking up at the beautiful dungeon avatar. She was sitting up in the bed next to me, her hair messy from a night’s sleep, and her heavy, round breasts on full show. She had the covers wrapped around her waist, and in her hands, she held the brown Cobra core.
“Where did you get that?” I asked, looking at the core.
“From your jacket pocket,” she said, a little sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind?”
I thought about it for a moment, then decided that I didn’t mind. The core was for her anyway, and Kyrine and I shared a deep, deep bond now. I had nothing to hide from her, and I told her so as I sat up against the soft pillows.
A playful light came into her eyes, and she placed the core to one side as her hand darted under the covers to find my morning wood.
“And where,” she asked coyly, “did you get this?”
I laughed, and then gasped as her hand closed around my shaft and began to move slowly up and down.
“Oh, wow,” I sighed, leaning back against the plump cushions. “I could get used to this.”
The fire had been built up again, and the drapes had been pulled back from the window. Outside, the morning sun shone down on a landscape I didn’t recognize. Woodlands and fields dotted with farmsteads were coated in a thick blanket of snow under a clear blue winter sky. I resolved to ask Kyrine about this unfamiliar view… later.
The beautiful dungeon avatar gave a groan of pleasure as she pushed the heavy covers aside and dropped her head down to fill her mouth with my shaft. With her left hand, she continued to work me up and down, but with her right hand she reached between her own legs and began to pleasure herself. She moaned with pleasure, her eyes looking up to meet mine as she brought us both toward a climax.
Just as we were both about to finish, she stopped. She changed position, straddling me with her strong, fit legs and sliding confidently down to ride me. I held her hips as she leaned back, throwing her head back and giving voice to her pleasure.
Then, just as she was about to finish, she gasped, “The core, Jeremy, hand me the creature core.”
I reached over with my left hand and grabbed for the core, feeling unable to take my eyes off Kyrine’s rising and falling breasts. My fingers touched the slick, cold surface of the core, and I grabbed it, holding it
