“Bind me.”

Noct gazed up at Jay with a calm seriousness that belied the bizarreness of the statement she had just made. There was not a hint of uncertainty in the winged woman’s voice, nor in her red eyes. If there was any part of Noct that was unsure of her intentions, Jadis couldn’t see it.

Jadis just needed to figure out what exactly those intentions were.

“Bind you?” Jay repeated slowly. “You mean, just to be clear, you want to participate in the ritual?”

“Yes,” Noct confirmed in her usual, monosyllabic way.

“But you want me to bind you?”

“Yes.”

Taking a second to think about how to word her next question, Dys leaned slightly forward from where she sat on Jay’s right to address Noct.

“Is that because you’re worried you might try to… bite one of us?”

Noct took a moment longer than before to answer, and Jadis was briefly worried that she might be having second thoughts. However, their conversation that afternoon was the right time for those second thoughts to come forward. The whole reason why Aila had arranged a sit-down meeting between the Valravn and Jadis was so that they could determine if Noct was both willing to participate in the Lascivious Empowerment ritual, and just as importantly, capable of doing so without causing harm to herself or others. Her nature as a Valravn made the possibility of losing control and perhaps damaging others around her a distinct possibility. If she didn’t think she was capable of maintaining her composure, or if she was just too nervous about the idea of losing that control, then it would be best if Noct sat the ritual out. That didn’t mean she and Jadis couldn’t still explore their relationship in the future, of course, but it would rule out participation in the coming ritual. If there was even a hint of doubt, then Jadis would not let Noct join, for the Valravn’s own self-interest, if nothing else.

Not that Noct seemed to have any doubt in her at all thus far.

“Bite… no,” the dark-haired woman replied to Dys’ question. “Harm… maybe.”

At the look on Jadis’ three faces, Noct hastened to add one of the larger words Jadis had heard her use in her presence.

“Unintentionally.”

“I presume that means you do, in fact, have difficulty controlling your transformation, as well as your strength while you are transformed?”

Noct’s attention was pulled away from Jadis by Severina’s bluntly worded inquiry. Rather than being insulted by the Seraphim’s accusation, she seemed slightly relieved. Perhaps because Sev’s presumption was correct.

“Yes,” Noct nodded once. “Control.”

“If lack of control is an issue, then perhaps it would be best if you did not join the ritual,” Severina stated, causing Noct’s normally impassive expression to fall. “This will be an intense event and keeping mental control over yourself during… intimacy is not a simple prospect.”

“Don’t feel like you need to join us for this, either,” Jay reiterated her earlier stance. “You aren’t missing an opportunity or anything. I’m still open to exploring our feelings for each other. We can just wait to do so later.”

Noct looked troubled by the reassurance, her frowning expression lost deep in thought. As Jadis waited for the Valravn to process what had been said and what she was herself thinking, she noticed that Noct’s hands had rolled up the material of her dress, squeezing the cloth between her fingers. The claws Jadis had seen come out on their last encounter were not present, but the woman’s nails must have been sharp regardless as the dress was being slowly shredded by her subconscious worrying of fingers, anyway.

Jadis had never seen Noct in a dress before. The woman had always dressed in her leather armor and straps when out in public. Not that Jadis was complaining. The gothic bondage queen look really worked for the Valravn, and it definitely played into the fantasy of some of the more… risqué vampire novels Jadis had consumed in her passion for dark erotic literature. Still, it was nice to know that the black-winged woman had some clothing other than her armor. The only other time Jadis had seen Noct wearing anything outside of her straps and chains was her oversized nightshirt, which had been incredibly fetching in an entirely different way. The black and red toga-like dress that Noct had chosen to wear for their meeting was definitely a change from how she usually presented herself, but not in a bad way.

The meeting between the four of them was being held in Noct’s room in Charos’ temple. It wasn’t as large a space as what had been given to Jadis and her companions, but it was far from cramped. There wasn’t much in the room beyond the bare basics of comfort, which made sense. The bedroom was just a place for Noct to rest at night, a borrowed space. All of her gear was packed up within a bundle in one corner of the room, neatly set out of the way. There was no point in looking around the room to get a feel for Noct as a person, since this space wasn’t personal to her.

And yet, in a way, Jadis felt she was learning a lot about Noct by the state of the temple room. Everything was clean and tidy. The room was in order, the bed made, and there was no obvious sign of a mess. Except, Jadis could see the corner of a bit of cloth poking out from between the shut doors of the wardrobe that stood along one wall of the room. Considering how mussed and disheveled Noct had been when Jadis had seen her emerge from her room back at Aelius’ home, she got the impression that the Valravn was ordinarily the sort of person to have a messy room. Jadis was willing to wager a hundred gold coins that if she were to walk over and open the wardrobe, a pile of hastily stashed clothing would fall out onto the floor.

The idea of Noct being somewhat messy in her personal time was strangely comforting to Jadis. Why exactly, she wasn’t sure yet. But that was part of why they were having the meeting, wasn’t it? To nail down exactly how they felt about each other.

“May I, ah, ask a question?”

Thea had been largely silent in their discussion up to that point, sitting quietly next to Dys on one of the chairs that Noct had acquired for their comfort. She had argued the most strongly during the previous discussion about Noct’s participation in the ritual, while Severina had been the most cautious against her involvement. That was the primary reason why the two had joined Jadis for the meeting with the Valravn. If they could both agree on Noct’s involvement, then their group would be at a total consensus.

“Yes,” Noct turned her crimson eye onto the human.

“Your speech,” Thea said, her own voice coming out low and slow. “Do you limit what you say, b—because you are worried about your control? Ah, I mean, it seems related, to me. I have a stutter. S—so I learned, ah, to keep my words short. And to stay quiet. So I don’t draw attention… to myself.”

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Smiling warmly up at Dys, Thea took her hand.

“I don’t have to worry about that, now. N—not around Jadis. But I do stay quiet. B—because I have been doing it for, ah, so long. It is just my nature now. Is it the same for you?”

Noct gazed unblinkingly at Thea for a long, span of time before slowly nodding her head.

“Yes,” she said, her own words coming out slowly, like her tongue wasn’t used to moving so much. “Words are… emotional. Emotions make it… harder to control. Silence. Reserve. Distance. Easier to control.”

“If simple conversation risks a loss of control, then I do not see how you would be able to safely control yourself during something as intense as sex,” Severina broke into the conversation, once again with brutal bluntness. “Perhaps with training, you will be able to join, in the future. But for now, it is best for you to avoid this ritual.”

Noct glared daggers at the other woman with wings in the room. Jadis could see her feathers puff up slightly, showing her offense. Severina herself remained calm, her expression placid and her pose unchanged throughout the whole encounter, though Jadis could see the Seraphim’s own feathers puffing up a bit in what was perhaps an unconscious response to Noct’s apparent displeasure.

Jadis remained silent, waiting to see what Noct would do next. Severina was being harsh, but not without reason. If Noct really did have such a lack of control that she would turn dangerously violent during a simple conversation, then she truly did not belong in the bedroom with Jadis’ lovers during what was absolutely going to be an intense ritual. Jadis was willing to make accommodations, but they had to start with a foundation of open communication and trust. Otherwise, there was no point in moving forward.

Noct abruptly stood, her slightly ripped dress falling out of her hands which had balled up into fists at her sides. Giving Severina another glare, she looked away from the blonde woman before taking two confident steps forward, crossing the distance between herself and Jay. To everyone’s surprise, Noct quickly grabbed hold of Jay’s face and, holding her firmly, pressed her lips against her in a hard, rough kiss.

Jay didn’t resist, nor did she lean into the kiss. Instead, she let Noct set the pace, responding only to what the Valravn did. When she felt Noct’s tongue brush against her, seeking entrance, she parted her lips and allowed her in. Noct was… inexperienced, Jadis could readily tell. Her small tongue stumbled around Jay’s mouth, sliding awkwardly from side to side like she wasn’t sure what the point of the exercise was, and had only heard from others that tongue was supposed to be used. Carefully, Jay used her own, much larger tongue to direct Noct, rolling against her in gentle guidance as the kiss lingered. She caught on quickly, tilting her head to the side and responding to Jay’s minimal inputs with gusto, soon turning the kiss from inept to passionate.

Deciding to take a risk and put her faith in Noct, Jay pushed her tongue against the dark-haired woman, slipping inside her mouth to explore. A low, soft growl escaped the Valravn, and Jay felt her hands tense up for just a moment, before she relaxed and opened her mouth wider to let more of Jay inside. As she explored Noct’s willing openness, Jadis realized that Noct’s teeth were much sharper than they appeared. In a way, they reminded her of Sorcha, who had lots of sharp, carnivore-style teeth instead of molars the way a human would. Noct was the same in that regard, except her teeth were much larger, and felt like they were designed to tear into the flesh.

The thought sent a small shiver through Jay, but she kept going, increasing her tempo even. Noct matched her pace, having by that point pressed her body firmly against Jay’s form, her legs between Jay’s knees and her fingers stroking her face as she hungrily dueled her tongue. The growling grunts that came from deep in her chest were lighting a fire in Jadis’ bellies, and it was becoming a true struggle to keep her hands at her sides. She wanted to reach out and grab hold of the Valravn’s pert ass, rip the dress off and find out what her pink nipples tasted like. But she maintained her own control, letting Noct choose what she was going to do.

Almost as abruptly as it had started, Noct ended the kiss by pulling away from Jay. Panting heavily, she stared at her with wide, dilated crimson eyes, before purposefully taking a step back. Turning to look squarely at Severina, Noct took a deep breath.

“I. Have. Control.”

Sev watched the Valravn retake her seat with pursed lips.

“More than I thought,” Severina said in answer. “You showed a great deal of restraint.”

“What, is kissing me really that big of a test?” Syd laughed while leaning against the angelic woman at her side.

“You had your tongue, one of your most vulnerable parts, in her mouth, and she didn’t try to bite you,” Severina stated primly. “If there was any time to try and draw blood from you, that would have been it.”

Jadis could think of more sensitive bits of herself she would want to put in that pretty mouth, but she held back her commentary.

“Then you think she can handle herself during the ritual?” Jay asked, not entirely trusting her own judgement when her libido was so heated.

Sev continued to stare at Noct, silently contemplating the other woman. Noct stared back, her expression stoic and her pose unmoving. She looked like she was waiting for a judge to pass a sentence, and Jadis almost spoke up to reassure Noct that things didn’t need to be taken so seriously. Still, she kept her peace. One of the rules that Jadis had laid down with Aila long ago, when they had first started talking about the idea of having other lovers join them, was that everyone had to be in agreement. If Severina didn’t want Noct to join them in bed, then that was that. Jadis wasn’t going to ever force something onto her lovers that one of them wasn’t comfortable with. Besides, Jadis knew that the real reason for Severina’s reservations wasn’t because she disliked Noct, but instead because she was concerned for the safety of the others. Sev didn’t like to admit it, but she was just as protective of the group as Jadis was. It was part of what Jadis loved about the Seraphim. She cared deeply for others but was just a little awkward about showing her caring nature.

“Presuming, for the moment, that I do agree that Noct should join the ritual,” Severina stated slowly, “how, exactly, would binding you work? I cannot imagine that tying your hands behind your back would be particularly effective. It also doesn’t sound comfortable, which I think would be a hinderance to our purpose.”

Shifting around a bit in her seat, Noct looked almost… excited? Jadis had already sensed that Severina was relenting in her objections, and it seemed that the Valravn could tell as much as well. However, Noct looked eager in a way that Jadis could tell held some other meaning for the woman.

“Demonstration?” Noct offered, holding one hand out towards where her bindings were neatly stored in one corner of the room.

“You may,” Sev nodded, prompting Noct to rise and fetch her things.

Standing before the Seraphim, Noct gave Jadis’ bodies a sly look before revealing a sharp-toothed grin.

“Stay still.”

“Excuse me?” Severina’s expression morphed into surprise. “Wait, I didn’t mean—”

In a matter of seconds, the many straps, belts, and chains that Noct habitually wore had magically found a new home on Severina’s body, binding her into a pose that was both restricting and, Jadis could not help but admit, intensely erotic.

“Gods damn it all,” Severina grunted out a rare curse. “I did not intend for you to use me as an object for your demonstration!”

“Wow…” Syd breathed out, staring at Sev. “That looks… fucking hot. I didn’t know you were so flexible. Honestly, Sev, you look amazingly sexy like that.”

Severina glared at her, but before she could say anything, Noct spoke first.

“Comfortable?” she asked, putting her face near the other winged woman.

“…this is not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be,” she admitted. “However, I could not imagine holding this pose in bonds for any great length of time.”

Noct nodded, her gaze shifting slightly towards Thea, who was staring at Severina with rapt, breathless attention.

“New pose?” she directed the question to the human.

“Yes, please,” Thea bit her lower lip while her eyes never left Severina’s bound form.

“Wait, Thea, you cannot be—”

“Yes,” Noct confirmed, before motioning with her hand towards the Seraphim.

“Now that is impressive, Jay whistled. “Sev, we have got to try that position later.”

“You are insane…”

“More?” Noct asked, her grin having spread across her whole face.

“Sev?” Syd asked with her own grin on her face. “Do you mind? Just a few more. This is really a lot of fun.”

There was a long pause of silence before the blonde replied.

“Only if Thea goes next.”

“Deal,” Jadis agreed in chorus, giving the shy woman no chance to object.

An hour later, having thoroughly explored Noct’s skills, they had reached consensus. Noct would join the ritual that night, so long as she brought with her a thorough supply of binding materials.

…though she was going to need to buy bigger straps to use on Jadis, in their spare time.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep