[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 550 & 551. (Patreon)

Chapter 550: Fear of desire.

Luke’s office was… emptier than I expected it to be. The crimson carpet on the floor and black wood paneling fit the hotel’s aesthetics, but the only furniture he had was a tall, dark wood, empty bookshelf and an unnecessarily large desk of the same material. Both had complex and beautiful carvings, much like the door. On his desk was a computer along with three folders full of documents.

Luke was sitting behind his desk, on a chair of black leather, but he stood up the moment I entered.

“Oliver, good morning! What can I do for you? Why did you need to meet me? I hope you didn’t leave your girls alone for something so banal as thanking me for my little gift.”

Ugh. He got me. I wouldn’t call it banal, though. It was only proper. Still…

“I thought I’d take the chance to see you since you’re here. I wanted to ask when I’d have to come work again. And yes, I wanted to thank you, too. We had a great time last night, and breakfast was amazing. You really didn’t have to do this for us, and the limo was seriously overkill, too, but… It made my friends happy, so again, thank you.”

“Nonsense, Oliver!” Luke smiled and clapped his hands once. “I’ve told you before. Wealth is not to be hoarded, but to be spent on things I want. And one of the things I want the most is for you to have a good time, to repay you for accepting working with me.” He spread his arms and looked around the room. “You see this? It’s not empty out of any sense of austerity, but because I’ve finally decided to make this hotel my primary working space and I started moving things just yesterday. I’m already in very private, very secretive talks with trusted business partners and have given them a small sample of the latest version of our elixir. They are already willing to pay enough that, to put it into perspective, I’ll be making back your house’s worth three times over in about four months, and that’s with a small pool of three buyers. Oliver, not only is this potion of ours the thing I wanted the most for the last five years, but it’s also looking to be my most lucrative business, and YOU are the key to it. Treating you and your girls to a night at my hotel is the most miniscule of gestures.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. As always, talks of money made me uncomfortable because I had no sense of scale. The comparison to the house did make things a bit clearer, but even so... “Is this really something people would pay so much money for?”

“When one’s needs are fully satisfied, we turn to our wants instead. Once we have our bellies full, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and people to be with, we begin to desire that which is, essentially, unnecessary. Acceptance, success, luxuries, pleasures… You don’t really need six women with you, do you? Yet you want them anyway, to the point you’re willing to fight for them. They have become a priority for you.”

Couldn’t argue with that. I was lucky enough to be in a situation where I could make other people my priority instead of having to focus only on my own wellbeing.

“Still, that’s just textbook psychology at the end of the day,” Luke said with a shrug. “Each person has their own reasons for doing what they do, but many share the desire to spend their wealth on exotic experiences. From simple and damaging drug abuse to expensive cruise tours. Dangle a harmless substance capable of tripling one of the biggest pleasures humankind is a slave to, and you’re bound to find buyers who will pay anything. I was one such person, after all. Of course, the high price also comes from the rarity of the key ingredient and the complexity of the manufacturing process. And… a bit of artificial scarcity, too.”

Most of that went over my head. I mean, I got it, but staying in the kind of mindset that lets you think that way was more exhausting than a night with six women.

I sighed, shook my head and smiled at Luke. “So you got another thing you wanted and ended up making it yet one more source of income to your practically infinite funds. What could you possibly want next?”

“...”

Luke’s smile fell. He turned serious all of a sudden, turning away from me and walking to his desk. He ran his hand over the smooth surface, tracing a long knot on the wood.

“Luke?”

“There is… one more thing I want. Something that has avoided me for years, yet at the same time something I have avoided pursuing.”

I blinked. Something the physical manifestation of greed wanted yet didn’t try to get? “Why?” I asked.

Luke smiled wryly at me. “Because I’m afraid to be a parent. Silly, don’t you think?”

Oh. “Um… Were you listening in on us joking about… pregnancy?” I couldn’t help but ask. It seemed too coincidental. Also, all those were only half-jokes.

Luke laughed, if softly. “Of course not. What? Are your girls pushing for it already?”

“Uh… K-Kind of? But anyway, why would you be afraid? You have everything to take care of a child. Or ten.”

“Right?” Luke agreed with a nod. “Thing is, I… didn't have the best examples of parenthood growing up. We were poor, too, which might have made things worse. I fear the kind of parent I would be, either too much like mine or, in the worst ways, the complete opposite. At the same time I feel I’d be the type to go insane with worry over them. Where are they? What are they doing? Are they safe? It all just… scares me.” Luke chuckled humorlessly. “Regardless, it’s not for a lack of trying that I don’t have children. My own girls want them and it has led to more than a few arguments. No, it seems I’m simply… unable to have any. Professional examination already revealed I’m… infertile.” He sighed. “I have let that be my excuse not to pursue other options and treatments when normally nothing would stop me from getting what I want.”

…

If Luke really wanted to be a father, he already would be, infertility or not. That’s the kind of man he is. Modern medicine already has treatments for it, and money, the main issue that stops most people from attempting alternative methods, is not a problem to him. No, he had admitted that wasn’t the issue.

Wanting it yet fearing it. Having to raise a child, worrying over their safety. My own mother was pretty strict because she worried like that, but still gave us our space because she didn’t want to suffocate us. I could also understand it too, to an extent. It was like the fear I had of the responsibility of having a pet, only hundreds of times stronger.

…

There’s… an idea.

“Luke?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a pet?”

“Eh? Um… No, I do not. With how much I travel, having a pet is…”

“Get a pet,” I told him.

“But I just said…”

“I still think you should get a pet,” I repeated.

Luke frowned in thought. He’s a smart guy, so it didn’t take him too long to understand where I was going with that. He swallowed hard, biting his lip. “I’ll… think about it.”

I nodded. I wanted to push further, maybe jokingly threaten him to tell, say, Ms. Jennifer, to get a pet for him. But even if Luke wanted me to treat him as a close friend, it was hard to treat a person older than me so casually. Diana is a special case because 1) she isn’t THAT much older than me and 2) she’s had my penis in her mouth already. That second one worked a bit too well in bridging the bag between us.

We settled on some dates to continue our work on the potions, I thanked him for everything again and went back to the girls. After we were truly done with breakfast, Diana drove us all to our houses, with mine being the last one.

************

Chapter 551: Back home.

I got home at around noon and found no one inside. Mom’s car wasn’t parked outside, so my guess was that she and Isabelle went out. Cake was the only one to greet me, and she really made sure I went back to smelling like her and not other girls.

She ran to me when she heard me opening the front door, sat down while glancing up, swayed her butt in preparation and leaped into my arms without warning.

“Woah there! Sheesh, I wasn’t gone THAT long…” I told her.  She rubbed her head against my cheek, purring loudly as I held her. “And they say cats are independent… Maybe I babied you too much when you were growing up.”

I mean, I did feed her directly with a syringe during her first two or three months. I guess I can’t blame her for being attached. I chuckled and carried her as I went back to my room.

With how eventful last night was, it was extremely comforting being back in my own space. My room was small and a little cramped with my desk, my computer, my bed and my guitar, but it was nice to be there. It felt safe. Can’t be the only one who feels that way about their own room.

I tried to leave Cake on the bed but she didn’t want to get down. She meowed loudly and rubbed her whole body against me, leaving my shirt full of white hair.

“Ugh… I just had this washed, Cake.”

She didn’t care.

I sat down with her on my lap. That she didn’t mind. She curled up into a call and continued purring as I scratched around her neck. Even annoying as this little ball of fur could be, I’m really glad we took her in. Watching her made me wonder if I would’ve grown up sooner if I’d had a pet earlier, if I’d have done things differently.

“You… Who will you rather stay with after I move?” I asked. “Would you stay with mom and Isabelle? They’ll really miss you if you leave, but…”

For better or worse, Cake was really attached to me. Would she be fine if I left her with mom and Isabelle? I’d miss her for sure, but how would she adapt to moving to a new place? And a house that big at that.

“I’m gonna have to take you with me, won’t I? Alice and Noelle will be there, but so will Mila, Grace and Sarah. Diana, too. You’re not as aggressive as you used to be, thankfully, but you’ll just have to get used to them all. Oh, and Diana has Red.”

A cat and a dog. If I believe old cartoons, that can’t go well. If I believe internet videos, they’ll be best friends. I’d rather not leave it up to chance if I can. Better introduce them soon, little by little.

I threw myself back on the bed, eyes looking up at the ceiling. Cake walked on top of me and laid down on my stomach.

“There’s so much to consider when moving, huh?”

It was still months away, but I was basically starting a new life. A new place to live in, not to mention new people. There’s a chance it could go wrong and all these plans and investments could go to waste. We were making important choices all around the idea of staying together. It was hard to believe it was wise, but it was what we wanted.

I was starting to feel a bit of fear. Fear of leaving this old comfortable life behind, fear that living together with the girls might actually be a mistake. So many little quirks and annoying habits that could make us a pain to be with day to day. I think that if I was doing something that annoyed any of them I’d try to fix it if I could, but what I feared even more was them getting on each other’s nerves. Like, we all knew Mila wasn’t the most organized person, and maybe the noise of Alice working on her car would bother the others. Hell, maybe my own music could be a bother, and that was something I wasn’t willing to give up on.

“I really hope this isn’t a mistake…”

Choices were already made, however, and plans were already on their way. Luke had said the architect would have plans ready for us to review soon, even.

But even before we had our house there was summer vacation. Ah, and graduation too, I suppose.

So many things passed through my mind at such a rapid pace that I almost didn’t notice myself falling asleep. All the excitement and fun of last night finally caught up to me, and before I knew it I was meeting Frey once more.

***

I was once again in the dream space, in the perfect replica of my bedroom, and yet I didn’t immediately see Frey when I opened my eyes. I looked left and right, but no sight of her until I felt her embrace me from behind.

Frey wrapped her shadowy arms around my neck and I even felt breasts on my back. She rested her chin on my shoulder and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Man, that was a good night… I admit those were some rough couple weeks, but this almost made it worth it. Almost. Let’s try not to do that again,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Frey stayed there for a while, hugging me without saying a word. It felt strange, but… it was comforting. After a while, she kissed the top of my head and let go of me, flying over me before floating in front of me like usual.

“I have news,” she said. “But before that, sorry to meddle with your fun last night.”

“So it WAS you, huh?”

“Obviously. It was a perfect opportunity to test some things, but it seems the girls aren’t big fans of me doing it out of nowhere.”

“Oh good, so I don’t have to tell you everything.”

“I’ll try to give you a heads up, but with us only talking when you’re asleep, communication is delayed, you know?”

“Can0t we figure out another way?”

“We could, but I’ve told you before, I don’t want to get in the way of your everyday life. What we’re doing now is a bit inconvenient but it’s good enough. Besides, I spend most of my time here running experiments and simulations on runes and magic. I don’t want to get interrupted, either.”

I suppose that things were working well so far. If Frey was comfortable with the arrangements, then better not fix what isn’t broken. I don’t know how much I’d like to, say, have to talk to a voice in my head all the time.

“So? What news do you have?” I asked her.

She smiled. “I confirmed it last night. You’ve really awakened to your own power, meaning now we have two sources of energy. And just like I can manifest my power through you, I can tap into your energy and use it myself. Basically, we have two fuel canisters to fill instead of just one, and that gives us more gas to work with.”

The implications weren’t lost on me. More power meant stronger magic, and one of Frey’s ideas to fix the Normality runes was to pump more power into them. So since I understood that, I had another question.

“Okay, but… Why did you have to test things by making me orgasm earlier?”

Frey frowned. “Not earlier! On command! Don’t tell me you don’t see the value in having a skill like that?”

“Huh? Obviously lasting longer is better, right?” Then I frowned, myself, only I questioned my own answer. “Right?”

“Maybe when you have one or two shots in you at most,” Frey said, shrugging. “But when you have unlimited stamina? The girls have practically been playing Russian roulette with your orgasms. Why not give everyone what they want? Or at least have the ability to. Playing sex Russian roulette sounds like fun, too.”

…Alright, I saw her point.

“So what’s the plan now?”

“So you have your own source of power now, but… I don’t mean to brag, but if my energy capacity is like a 20 liter gas cylinder, yours is like one of those small cans in camping kits. We need to stretch your new muscles, so to speak. Or work them, rather. From now on I’ll be mainly using your own energy to fuel our magic and only use mine when needed. It’s kind of like muscle training. The more you use it, the more it grows.”

I nodded. “So I can expect to feel more tired for a while?”

“Hah. You’re really getting it now. Still, you good with that?”

“I’m no stranger to working out by now. I can take it.”

“That’s my boy. We’re still not quite where we want to be yet, but we’ll get there.”

“Yep. Slow and steady. I’m in no hurry.”

Frey smiled. “Okay, now rest for real. Sex last night gave us back all the energy we needed and you were riding the high, but it’s still no substitute for actual sleep. I’ll make sure you have a dreamless sleep.”

“Thanks.”

We didn’t say goodbye. Even if we didn’t actually see each other every day, Frey was always with me.