Punk sounded genuinely confused when she asked. “I thought I was going to be the one giving you a sponge bath?”

  Scoffing at her excmation, Rykard put the sponge aside - but only so he could grab some more of the expensive soap he had gotten from the butler. It was liquid and created just the right amount of bubbles when it hit the water. Any obstacle between his eyes and the bodies of his women was usually unwanted, but he could make an exception in the context of aftercare.

  “Then you know nothing of proper bondage and submission dynamics,” he told her. Rykard was seated on a stool by the rge bathtub. It was shaped like half a cmshell, each of the ten ridges covered in waterproof cushions that allowed for collective lounging in the hot water. Miyo, Tess and Subana were soaked regurly, exchanging little comments between each other while letting their minds dissolve in the rexation.

  Altana was one step further than that. Through massage, sweet whispers, and dedicated application of the sponge, he had turned the ouroboros queen into a proverbially liquid state of pure rexation. It had been the same process that he was finishing on Punk at the moment. The Hellcat was just a more active personality type, so she did not become as docile from the treatment.

  “A proper dom cares for his submissives,” Rykard expined to the tiefling and grabbed a comb from a nearby table. Punk tensed a little when he started to treat her hair, then rapidly rexed when he did so with both care and skill. “Surprised? Did you not watch as I did it for Altana?”

  “Imma be real, I was still out,” Punk answered. He had carried her out of the bed and into the bath, so that was the expected answer. “Anyway, I thought ‘caring’ covered ‘fucking women senseless’ and not much else?”

  “People really do not treat BDSM with the proper reverence…” Rykard shook his head as he worked around her cat ears. “Every privilege I have in commanding you comes with the duty to care for you. After I use your body as much as it pleases me, I am obligated to assure that body remains in prime condition. Obviously, that includes your mind.” He put a finger under her chin to make her turn her head. “A Master and Sve retionship should never be loveless.”

  After a moment of disbelieving blinks, a crooked smirk grew on the Hellcat’s face. “...Fuck, you really do deserve this harem, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Rykard stated, kissed her lips, then returned to his task of assuring that all of the tossing and writhing had not matted any part of her wild mane.

  “Doesn’t it ever get tiring caring about so many women though? It must be a lot of work.”

  “Honestly, it is therapeutic to me.” Rykard put the comb aside and grabbed the sponge again. After soaking it with soapy water, he gently scrubbed the neck of the demonette. “Maintaining what is mine brings me joy. Watching you go from ecstatic, mind broken messes to pristine, rexed women is its own kind of py that I revel in. I once knew a man that took it a step further. He enjoyed even dressing his women, choosing their attire down to the trinkets. I prefer well-maintained nudity.”

  “Mhhhmmmm?” Punk hummed, eyes closed. The treatment was starting to put her out after all. “So all of this is your kink?”

  “In part. I do it because I enjoy it, because you deserve it and because it is the proper treatment of both women that are cherished and sex sves. Do you find anything wrong with it?” The question was presented in a jovial tone.

  “‘Course not,” Punk answered with a grin.

  He massaged her shoulders for a little bit, then left her when she was entranced. He would let them all soak for a few minutes, then go get them before rexation was repced by boredom. In that timeframe, he got himself clean and went back to the bedroom. A few cast spells ter, the bed was clean and presentable again.

  “Alright, back to bed,” he ordered and cpped his hands twice. The women moved out of the hot water with a little bit of groaning and grumbling, but did follow his demand. He handed them towels and magical crystals that radiated hair-drying heat. Otherwise, he let them take care of themselves for this bit. A first step back into the normalcy of being where they were their own people.

  Dry and clean, they got back to the bed. Altana and Punk got the privileged positions by his side, using his shoulders as their pillows. Miyo and Tess each grabbed one of the books around, reading them in bed, while Subana elected to serve as Rykard’s pillow in turn. The enormous bosom of the goddess made for a nice headrest, while she pyed with his bck hair.

  “Aftercare and cuddles are integral,” Rykard continued his expnation to the new submissives. “It is what differentiates the cultured Dominant from one that genuinely just does or wants to own sex sves. The man from the beast, in other words.”

  “The perfect Master, truly,” Subana swooned.

  “You really know how to sweep a woman off her feet, then transition that lust into love,” Punk said, still grinning. “I was in a total orgasmic haze half an hour ago and now I feel like I am becoming one with the mattress.”

  “I felt like becoming one with the mattress during the orgasmic haze,” Altana mumbled, eyes closed.

  “That felt more like I was going to drop through the mattress,” Punk gave her opinion.

  “Whatever it was… it was awesome.” Altana rolled on her side, facing Rykard, and nuzzled against his chest.

  “That it was.” Punk mirrored the motion.

  Rykard gave them a moment to dwell on his chest. Before they could drift off into sleep, which they would in this state if he did not keep them engaged, he decided to advance the important conversation. “What happens with both of you once we leave the room? Altana, any changes to your pns after this?”

  The redhead opened her eyes to look at him. She pondered the question quietly. “No,” she answered with a single word. It was such a simple response that he could not help but ugh.

  “Ohhh, that’s nice,” Punk purred, an ear on his chest. “Even your voice rumbles are manly.”

  Of course they were, he was the harem king after all. “Altana, what do you think about making a keside oasis in a maintained bit of desert?”

  “I fail to see the reason for it,” the ouroboros queen answered.

  “A musing, not much more, a pce to take a vacation with a different scenery.”

  “And belly dancer outfits,” Miyo added.

  “That was implied, my love… are you doing well over there?”

  The vixen was struggling to find a comfortable reading position. “Our daughter is inconveniencing me,” she said, gesturing at the baby bump that prevented her from ying on her stomach. “Toss me two pillows.”

  Rykard delivered one, Punk the other. Miyo pced them so little to no pressure would be put on her midriff, then got back to reading.

  “I will give it thought,” Altana answered. “I do not much care for reminders of the ndscape I needed to devour… but a pocket of sand would be of little consequence…”

  “As opposed to pocket sand, which is the most dangerous weapon in existence,” Punk joked.

  Chuckles all around, then the topic drifted naturally towards the Hellcat. “What is your next step, then?” he asked. “Your situation is more complicated than Altana’s. You have ties back at your father’s rave party, I think I can assume that.”

  “Yeah, I’d rather you not kill my dad,” Punk lead with that and groaned. “Dang it, now ya made me think about how complicated all of this could be. I was just going with the flow.” She scratched the top of her head. “I don’t really know how these things go… do you have to kill him?”

  “No and I won’t unless he does something truly horrid,” Rykard answered. “It occurs to me that I know fairly little about him and his nation… care to fill me in?”

  “Less of a nation and more of an anarchic assembly of parties,” Punk answered, then hesitated for a moment. “It’s not a bad pce… overall.”

  “Let me guess: your father doesn’t care whatsoever what happens in individual pockets of his realm so all sort of heinous stuff goes on in the shadowy corners,” Rykard summarized the situation.

  “Yeaaaaaaaaaaah… It is kinda obvious just looking at us, ain’t it?”

  “It is what I expected,” Rykard answered simply. “I believe there is room for such pces… to a degree. If people want to kill themselves by partying to death, that is not my issue, but I would have some ws put down in such a space. Perhaps your father and I can come to an agreement without bloodshed.” He scratched his new kitten under the chin. “Before that, what do I do with you? Do you want to stay with me?”

  “Oh fuck yes,” Punk agreed readily. “Don’t get me wrong, staying with dad is fine, but staying with Master is orgasmic, so it's an easy choice.”

  “Will they look at you as a traitor?”

  “Some will,” Punk said with a shrug.

  Rykard did not find that shrug-worthy. If her father’s domain was as wless as she said, someone would try to do her harm for fornicating with the enemy. Outside of his realm, protecting her would be difficult. That left him with the choices to trust her father, keep this whole thing secret, or taking her back home with him.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Rykard decided spontaneously. “Just Punk and I,” he added, when the rest of the room started to get into motion. “I want to have a quick chat with her father.”

  “Then we will wait,” Miyo said.

  “Sleep,” Altana stated what she would be doing. Tess yawned in agreement.

  Leaving the drowsy harem behind, Rykard managed to animate Punk into putting on her clothes. The Hellcat herself was also yawning. “I was about to pass out there,” she compined.

  “You will get to pass out once I have a few answers,” Rykard answered. “Namely on what your father thinks about me whisking you away.”

  “It’ll be somethin’ along the line of: fucking finally, she’s moving out!” Punk predicted. “Maybe with more slurred words if he’s high or more slurs if he’s drunk.”

  “I rarely get to talk to the parents of my women, it is proper I ask this time around,” Rykard stated. “I need you to let me in though.”

  Since the Contestant’s individual quarters were sealed by divine magic, not even Rykard could find the apartment of the Rave Lord uninvited. With Punk at the helm, that became less of an issue. She could get him to the door, but even she had to knock. “Hey, dad! I brought Rykard, can we come in?”

  “Sure thing!” her father’s voice came from the other side of the door. Godly seals loosened. Punk pushed down the handle.

  Lord’s apartment was littered with empty bottles. That the Butler had not cleaned them up pointed at them and the accompanying chaos being something the tiefling saw as his natural environment. Wearing only an open bathrobe, the demonic descendant sat in an armchair. At the moment, he was reading. Two women in the bed, still pying with each other, and a half-empty bottle of beer on the table next to him pointed at him having only stopped recently fooling around.

  Punk had no reaction to seeing her father naked, nor to the woman that were both filled with his cum. Rykard could only assume that this was normal to her, which it would probably be to his own descendants as well down the line. He would strictly avoid having sex with his children in the room… until they turned 18. At that point, avoiding it or not was their issue.

  “Lemme guess: ya banged?” Lord asked.

  There was no point even denying it, especially with what Rykard wanted to ask next. “I have taken a liking to your daughter, I think I will take her.”

  “HAH!” Lord ughed out loud. “Found yourself more than a one noon stand?”

  “Looks that way,” the Hellcat answered nonchantly. “He kinda swooped me up and now I just wanna do this!” She grabbed Rykard’s arm, nuzzling up against him like an affectionate kitten. “He wants to know if you’ll compin if he takes me away.”

  “About fucking time you move out,” Lord answered, his tone taking any seriousness out of those words. “What do you need me for anyway? If it doesn’t work out, you know how to run back.”

  “I thought I would be courteous,” Rykard said with a smile. He wouldn’t dishonour the man by asking if he wasn’t worried whatsoever. Putting aside his happy-go-lucky attitude, the tiefling must have been smart enough to know that if the mage king wanted anyone around dead, he would have done so already. Kidnapping his daughter in this way was overcomplicating something that he could do at any point.

  “Consider me courted,” Lord joked and shrugged. “She’s a big girl, she can pick her own men.”

  “Fantastic, then Imma go with Rykard after this,” Punk announced her decision. “Any compints? No? Alrighty!” She put her chin on her man’s shoulder. “Take good care of me, Master,” she purred.

  “You already know I will,” Rykard said with a smile.

  “Alright, since I now have an empty room!” Lord smmed the book shut and turned to the two women in his bed. “Let’s see if I can put a new kid in it! Either of you sluts got a breeding kink?”

  Rykard elected not to stay in the room to watch another man have his way with promiscuous women. He had no interest in anything in that arrangement, so him and Punk went back to their apartment. Tess and Altana were out, Miyo was still reading, Subana scanned the bookshelf. “Punk is coming with us!” he announced with a smack to the perfect ass of the Hellcat.

  Miyo sighed and chuckled in the same exhale. “I suppose it was inevitable. Restraint is not in your vocabury.”

  “Restraint is for people with limitations,” Rykard stated smugly.

  “Imma fit right in here,” Punk ughed. “It’s all banter and pyful insults.”

  That it was.