Chapter Three #3
Before Caspen could answer, a man approached the fountain.
He was fully erect and—Tem realized with a jolt—touching himself.
She watched in shock as he leaned over the edge, still stroking his cock.
He finished a moment later with an anguished groan, releasing his cum into the base of the fountain.
It joined the rest of the liquid in a great swirling pool.
“Oh,” she said simply.
Caspen laughed. “It is an elixir made from our essence.”
Tem’s eyes fell to the tower of goblets stacked next to the fountain.
The man who had just ejaculated in the fountain reached for one before holding it under the highest tier.
He filled it to the brim before downing the entire thing in one gulp.
Tem was too shocked to react—too shocked to even blink.
The man filled the goblet again before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
“The fountain itself serves a purpose,” Caspen continued as if nothing remotely out of the ordinary had just happened. “It transforms our essence into an intoxicating substance.”
“Intoxicating?”
“Yes.”
Tem frowned, trying to understand. “So…you drink it to get drunk?”
By now they had reached the fountain, and Caspen lifted a goblet from the tower beside it. “Yes, Tem. We drink it to get drunk.”
“But…” She tried to find the words to express her astonishment, but there were none. She settled on “I swallow yours all the time and I’ve never gotten drunk.”
A possessive smile split Caspen’s face. “That is different. What you swallow is my essence in its rawest, purest form. This”—he dipped the goblet into the flowing stream, filling it—“has been transformed by the fountain.”
Tem realized that for all the times she’d drank wine with Caspen, she’d never seen him get drunk—the alcohol didn’t affect him the way it affected humans.
It made sense, Tem supposed, that basilisks needed such a substance to get drunk.
They drew their power from sex, after all.
A direct infusion of cum in its purest form was probably the only thing strong enough to do the trick.
Caspen raised the goblet to his lips and drank.
Tem watched as his pupils widened and smoke curled over his shoulders.
She thought about the bloodletting—how through alchemy, basilisk blood became something else entirely.
Was this magical fountain really so different from the magic Caspen had used to create the claw?
Merely a process, nothing more. A transformation.
“I want to try it,” Tem said.
Caspen’s eyes slid to hers. He hesitated.
“It is strong. You do not have the tolerance for it yet. Even I must pace myself.”
But Tem would not be so easily dissuaded. Clearly this was an essential part of basilisk culture, and she was trying to assimilate. She was never going to fit in unless she did the things all other basilisks did.
“I want to try it,” she repeated.
To her surprise, Caspen smiled. “So stubborn.”
In response, Tem held out her hand. Caspen handed her the goblet, and she raised it to her lips. The elixir had no smell whatsoever. A single mouthful lingered in the bottom of the goblet, and without a moment’s hesitation, Tem tilted it back and poured it down her throat.
“Tem?” Caspen said. “How do you feel?”
Tem could barely hear him; it was as if he were talking to her through a wall.
For all the times she’d gotten drunk at the Horseman with Gabriel, this was ten times stronger.
Her head spun, her vision blurred. She was already warm, but the elixir made her hot—her cheeks flushed immediately as her center ached.
Without touching herself, she knew she was wet.
“Caspen,” Tem gasped, her hand darting out to touch him. He stepped closer.
“What is it?”
“Now.”
A heartbeat passed. Then he was inside her.
The moment Caspen slid his cock between her legs, Tem felt peace.
It was truly that simple between them—it always had been.
Nothing was better than this; nothing brought her more clarity.
Caspen sat on the edge of the fountain, holding her on top of him.
Basilisks were watching, but Tem ignored them.
The only thing that mattered was enjoying this moment with Caspen.
She gave him her full attention, expecting the same in return.
Tem moved her hips, grinding on his cock at exactly the pace she needed.
Her wetness was spreading; it was all over their legs.
Caspen slid his fingers up her thighs, pressing them against her clitoris. Tem moaned as he did it.
The elixir was unlike any alcohol she’d ever drank; there was no comparison whatsoever. She was stimulated and sensual and free, as if all her inhibitions had been removed at the exact same time.
Caspen. Look at me.
She wanted him to pay attention—to crave her so deeply, he could think of nothing else. He looked at her, his eyes endless black pools.
Tem.
He was completely entranced; she was all he could smell, all he could feel.
Tem reached behind him, extending her fingers so they dipped into the waterfall of elixir.
The liquid was warm; she knew instinctively that it was the exact same temperature as her body.
When she pulled her fingers away, they were dripping.
Her other hand wrapped around Caspen’s neck, pulling his face up to hers.
Tem brushed her fingertips over his mouth, spreading the elixir onto his lips.
Caspen’s eyes were wide, focused on nothing else but her.
He ran his tongue over her fingers, tasting the essence of his people.
Tem kissed him so she could taste it too.
Their tongues slid against one another, matching the pace she set with her hips. Tem drove herself down on his cock as quickly as she could, desperate to get what she knew she could take from him.
Deadly little viper.
Tem was very close now.
She rode him faster, to the point of panic. Caspen’s hands were all over her—gripping her skin and tangling in her hair. All she wanted was more: more touch, more words, more Caspen. There could never be enough of him—not in this lifetime or the next.
You have me, Tem. You—
Tem squeezed his neck. Without another word, he came.
She came too, throwing her head back in ecstasy, soaking up everything Caspen’s body had to offer her.
By the time he lifted her off his cock, Tem was breathless.
Wetness ran down her legs, and she didn’t bother cleaning it up.
It was all the same here, and she knew before the evening was over, she’d probably have sex again.
There was no point in removing the evidence of her last congress when the next one was right around the corner.
They stood together, still dripping with each other’s sweat.
“Impressive,” a voice said. “But rather swift. Are you losing your stamina, Caspenon?”
Tem turned to see a man approaching them. He was nearly as tall as Caspen and just as imposing. Beside her, Caspen shifted so he was between them.
“Tem,” he said. “My brother. Apollo.”