Chapter 22 #2
“That was the best I’ve ever felt in my life,” she said. “Wait. Was that you? Did you give her that feeling?”
“I had a little bit of help.”
“I debated with friends for hours about whether or not it was sexual because it was so much more intense than anything any of us have ever had.”
“It was sexual.”
“Fuuuck,” Esita exhaled, flopping into the back of her chair.
I glanced at the sun. “I do need to get going to my next appointment. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”
“To Grubiit?”
“Yeah. I never took your name off the teleporter network. We can pop over, and you can pop back whenever you want.”
“Really?”
“You don’t have to go.”
Esita started to condense our plates and signalled the waiter that we needed our check. “I would love to go.”
A toddler staggered toward me, sucking on a binky and giggling at the same time.
“He’s grown so much,” I said, patting the child’s head.
“All that boy does is eat and walk,” Lilac said, smiling. “He’s not even a year old, but he’ll run around the house for hours and hours. I’m Lilac, by the way, since Byron won’t remember to introduce us.”
“Esita,” the priestess replied, shaking Lilac’s hand. “Umm…”
Lilac rubbed her Esita’s back. “Don’t worry. The baby isn’t his.”
Esita exhaled. “I didn’t mean to suggest-”
“Honey, I’m not offended. Assuming someone like him wants someone like me? That’s a compliment.”
“How do you two know each other?”
“I used to whore, and Byron was my best customer,” Lilac answered. She cackled at Esita’s pale, shocked expression before turning to me. “Bringing a date to see me is an interesting choice, or are you testing her?”
“Not a date and not a test,” I answered. “Just ran into an old friend when I was running errands.”
“Surprised you have the time for errands. Everything I’ve heard about Sanctuary South makes it seem like those should be beneath you by now.”
“I like to get out, and some things need a personal touch.”
“Always lovely to have you. And no, I haven’t changed my mind.”
“I offered to move her to Sanctuary,” I explained to Esita. “She declined, and for the record, I had no intention of trying to convince you.”
Lilac sighed. “I have a life here. Friends, routine, and a home where I feel safe.”
“I think that’s great.”
“And I know the city is beautiful. It’s also very generous for you to offer, but I promise, I’m happy here.”
“I had a philosophical question for you,” I said, hoping to regain control of the conversation.
She elbowed Esita. “This is also part of his routine. Go on, ask your question, and I’ll give you the wisdom of a comfort girl.”
“Why can’t I stop by just to say ‘hi?’ Why do I need any other purpose?”
Lilac rolled her eyes. “Because you have a cock. A man always wants something.” To Esita, she added, “I hope that’s not news to you.”
“It’s not,” she replied, smiling.
“I wanted to show you that you were still on my mind, even with everything going on.”
Lilac walked over and gave me a hug. “Now I just sound like a bitch. You’re such an asshole.”
I chuckled. “It’s fine.”
Pointing to me, Lilac told Esita, “This one is a rare find. I’ve never met a man more loyal than Byron. If I did right by him, I never had to worry about him keeping his promises. He’s worth sharing since it means getting a piece of him, at least. That’s much better than none of him at all.”
“Esita is Ithaca’s little sister,” I said.
Shaking her head, Lilac replied, “I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?” Esita asked.
“No way an upbringing that produced her also made a girl like you. Your sister might be the scariest person I’ve ever met.”
“And you can tell from a glance that we’re different?”
“Certainly,” Lilac answered as if it were obvious. “She’s got an edge in her eyes. I learned to see it in clients. Doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, but you can tell when they like to fight. If that makes sense.”
“Oh, it does.”
“So you don’t get the wrong idea, you should also know that I’m very grateful to Mistress Ithaca. She has worked very hard to serve Byron. I know she was part of making this possible.”
Esita offered a quizzical look.
Lilac pointed up. “I don’t care if it’s tacky to say, but he bought me this house.”
“I’ll come back and see you another time, Lilac,” I said, attempting to usher Esita out the door.
“He doesn’t want you to learn what a softy he is,” Lilac shouted after us. “He doesn’t like to admit it, but he’s a good man.”
“It was nice meeting you!” Esita yelled back as I dragged her down the street.
“Come on. Let’s get you back to the Capital.”
“Aw. Already? Don’t you want to treat me to a fancy dinner first?”
“I know what those dinners entail, and I know better than to drink that much around a woman I desire.”
“So you do want me.”
“I never said anything to the contrary.”
“Right,” Esita replied, “but you did give me the talk about needing permission.”
“I do not need permission. I am being considerate.”
“You’re right. I could have worded that differently, and I’m being selfish, but now that I know for certain that was you…”
“What was me?” I asked, pausing our walk to face her.
“When the Silk Goddess shared her love, I told you how good that felt.”
“Ah.”
“The way you fit inside me… It was right at the edge of me being too big. I didn’t know if that was you or something different. Now I do. It filled me so perfectly. You can’t blame me for wanting more.”
I put my hands on Esita’s shoulders. “Hang on. You physically felt my dick in you, as if I was there with you?”
“Well, yeah.”
I was not aware that the experience included me. The way I understood it, Purity shared her orgasm with all of our worshippers. That feeling alone. I didn’t know worshipers also felt my cock in them.
Thanks to the Silk Goddess stunt and explosive sales numbers for Penny’s Blessing, the Silk had no shortage of male worshippers.
Therefore… Shit. How many dudes did I unknowingly spirit-fuck in that moment? System-fuck? I couldn’t even decide what to call it, and I definitely didn’t want to do the math.
But my intelligence stat was too high. The moment I thought about not wanting to do the math, I did it immediately.
Given the scope and scale of our reach and marketing, that number was, conservatively, in the realm of 13,000 to 14,000. And Esita was worried about her body count? Mine was outrageous. Hers was a rounding error in comparison.
“I do have to get going,” I said. “Maybe we’ll talk again soon.”
“How do we get permission?”
I shook my head. “That’s up to you.”
“Huh? What should I do?”
“No idea, but I have a city to run. Bye-bye for now.”
“Byron!” Esita yelled through the door of the Capital boardinghouse.
I hated to dump her back in the city like this, but I also didn’t want to continue thinking about mass-fucking half the continent.
“Just like that?! Really?!”
“Yep!” and I hit the teleporter.