[Book of Eros] Chapters 113 & 114. (Patreon)

Author's Note: Each chapter here is about 1K words long, which is why I'm uploading two in the same post. Like I said in before, I'll be going back to two longer updates a week instead of 5 short ones. These chapters, however, I had ready before deciding on that, so I'm posting them as they were.

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Chapter 113: Leonardo and Victoria (Part 1)

As Leonardo kept walking, the smell of the sea became more prominent. His heart beat quickly with anticipation and anxiety, and he kept chiding himself for it with every step. He knew he wasn’t the same clueless guy from a few months ago, but this felt… different. Getting together with Reiko had sort of just happened, and his relationships with Angela, Seina and Lucia were born, primarily, out of need and responsibility. With Victoria, however, there was none of that. They owed nothing to each other, and in fact it surprised Leo that she would even suggest something like a date while knowing perfectly well that… he was spending time with other women. Again, Leo believed it was a decision born out of pity for them, who had to deal with the effects of the curse. But as he kept telling himself, this was an opportunity. Even if Victoria was willing to go on a date with him just because she pitied them, Leo would try to change that so that she actively wanted him. And for better or worse, he now had plenty of tools to do just that.

***

Victoria White sat on the top step of the short set of stairs that led down to the beautiful beach. But the sight that to this day still impressed her, with the white sand and clear turquoise water, failed to calm her at that moment.

She groaned and rubbed her head in frustration as her mind kept coming up with terrible scenarios. Had it been a good idea to butt into their affairs? Mrs. Wisler had told her the whole situation, drawing special attention to the detail that sex was the only way for the Tensai Clan to regain their sensations. What the old lady was implying was clear, though she wasn’t being subtle. She didn’t really push Victoria into anything either, but Mrs. Wisler had done enough for her that the personal trainer felt like she should give something back.

Mrs. Wisler had been the one to guide her into finding something she liked just as much a climbing the UFC ranks. If not for her, she’d probably never had thought of becoming a trainer. Mrs. Wisler also helped her with contacts and paperwork to get her gym built and set up incredibly quickly and as painlessly as possible. So yeah, Victoria felt like she should give something back, which was what prompted her to approach Leonardo like she did. However… Now that the day of their date had come, Victoria’s head was filled with the worst possible scenarios, those being where the other girls around Leonardo would cause a storm of dumb drama and get her involved in it.

Victoria only knew Angela and Valerie, and even then only slightly, but she was sure her thoughts had a worryingly decent chance at becoming true. The two girls in her mixed martial arts class clearly looked at the boy with interest, and she knew there were others apart from them. Would they really not mind this? And of course, this was all assuming Leonardo was as mature as he seemed. He didn’t look like the type of guy to go to his friends and brag about how many women he’d slept with, which was the reason Victoria decided to go through with this.

She groaned again. It was all too complicated, and she didn’t like it. All she wanted was to help out the Tensai Clan as a way to pay back Mrs. Wisler for her help. And if she could get some good sex out of it, then… Yeah, even better. Leonardo was handsome, she’d admit that any day, so there were no problems in the appearance department. She just seriously hoped to stay away from any kind of drama.

“Oh, you’re already here? Am I late?”

His voice startled her, but she pulled herself together before she turned back to him. There was no use in questioning past decisions. She was there, and she was going to see the date through. What came after would come regardless of what she wanted.

Then she saw him standing there, dressed in a white t-shirt and green swimming trunks, black backpack over his right shoulder and one hand in his pocket as he looked at his phone to confirm the time with the other. Victoria had to blink several times to make sure what she was seeing wasn’t the sea breeze making her eyes go bad.

He looked… fantastic, somehow. She wouldn’t be able to pinpoint a single thing, but… the way the T-shirt fit him and accentuated his muscles, the way his honey colored skin seemed to glow, the way his eyes seemed sharper and his look pierced through her. It was a combination of subtle things that made him go from very handsome to outright sexy. She found her heart beating faster, but a sudden thought calmed her momentarily. This change, though subtle, was still odd. Odd enough to have some sort of supernatural cause, considering who she was dealing with.

…

But was that a source of concern? Did it matter? Victoria didn’t think so. The guy looked hotter, and why would she complain about that?

“Nah, I’m here early,” she finally answered. “I had some errands to run and finished them earlier than I thought I would. You’re looking good, by the way.”

Leonardo let out a telling sigh of resignation and gave her a small, wry smile. “Thanks. I combed my hair real hard today.”

Victoria burst out laughing, then got an arm around Leonardo’s shoulder, and walking next to him, the two made their way down to the beach.

***

Chapter 114: Leonardo and Victoria (Part 2)

Victoria walked slightly behind Leonardo while they looked for a spot to leave their things. Being Sunday, there were more people around than usual, but not that many. It wasn’t holiday season yet.

“This looks good enough, right?” Leonardo asked, turning to her to confirm.

“Sure,” Victoria nodded absentmindedly.

Leonardo laid down his towel and set his backpack on top of it. Then, with hands on the hem of his t-shirt, he took it off. His muscles were lightly defined with little to no extra fat. His body was like a clear mark of the Gift he’d been given: perfect physical condition. Not like Angela’s monstrous strength and instincts, or Valerie’s insane reactions and body control, but a show of what being above the peak of human condition was. It made her jealous. How much sweat had she lost, how much pain had she endured to reach the level she was at? What had this boy done to have a body that could put world-class athletes to shame if he wanted?

This was no way to start a date. To him it would come out of nowhere and probably put him off, but to her, who once wished she could have what he has, it was something she needed to ask.

“Leonardo, can I ask you something serious?”

He turned to her with blinking, curious and innocent eyes. His look alone made her feel bad for her jealousy, but she would ask him regardless.

“Anything,” he said calmly and firmly.

Victoria wouldn’t hesitate. “If you could throw your Gift away in return for permanently having your sensations back, would you do it?”

“Me? Sure,” he nodded with shocking ease. “If I could give mine up for everyone’s sensations it’d be even better, though.” Victoria was taken aback. His response was immediate, leaving absolutely no room to believe he wasn’t being serious. “Mmm. Thinking about it, I think the others might be happier if they could give up their Gifts, too,” he said with a look of contemplation. “But I’m hoping they can come to terms with them instead of rejecting them. Ah, but I’m just rambling now. Don’t mind me.”

“B-But you’d still give up yours?” she asked again. “Is the curse… really that bad?”

“Yeah, it is.” Leonardo laughed, but part of it seemed a little forced. “But to me, it’s more like there’s nothing I want to do that I couldn’t without my Gift. It’s handy to have, I admit, and lately I’ve been very thankful for it, but if I could give it up for my or everyone’s sensations back, I wouldn’t hesitate. Sadly, that’s not the hand we were dealt, and if we don’t do something, we’ll have our Gifts AND sensations permanently taken way.”

Victoria’s feelings of envy were quickly fading away, and a smile slowly crept to her lips. She couldn’t help the snicker, and feeling stupid, shook her head and poked Leonardo’s chest. “What do you mean there’s nothing you want to do with it? You could be a pro at any sport you wanted.”

“That doesn’t interest me, though,” he laughed with her.

“And what does?” she asked with a grin.

“Not sure yet,” he answered. “But I’ve been excited for today. Maybe that means something?” he asked with an innocent grin of his own.

“That you’re a playboy, that’s what!” Victoria laughed heartily.

Maaaan that felt good. She thought she’d completely gotten rid of her desire for a Gift of her own, but now it really did feel like she’d thrown the last weights away. What Leonardo just said clicked with her. Right now, there was nothing she wanted she couldn’t accomplish without supernatural powers. She felt light, and taking advantage of that feeling, she took of her shorts and t-shirt, stripping down to her black bikini with a deep red outline. Then she noticed Leonardo’s gaze on her, and for a split second, she started feeling self-conscious.

Now, she wasn’t a body builder, so it wasn’t like she was HUGE, but from her neck down to her calves, she had a body trained to fight in a professional ring. She was fit, but maybe not in the way most men would consider attractive. She wasn’t ashamed, but it was a small concern when she remembered she’d been so focused on her gym that she hadn’t had a boyfriend in over a year. But yes, the self-consciousness only lasted for a split-second, because Leonardo was very clearly liking what he was seeing, and boy did it feel nice.

“Alright, Casanova, I’m testing you,” she said, grinning from a sudden, yet welcomed rise in her mood. “We’re racing to the buoys and back. You can swim, right?”

“I can,” he said, already starting with his stretches. Then his eyes turned intense for a single moment as he looked down at the sand, coming back to his innocent look when he turned to her. “Would you like me to apply sunscreen on you?”

“Oh?” The kid had initiative, and that was earning him even more points with her. Like she had told him, she’d decide if they went through with it AFTER this little date at the beach. He seemed to remember, and was working to put in a good display. “If you don’t mind,” she said, taking the bottle from her own bag and passing in to him. Victoria untied her bikini top and laid down on the towel face down before her breast showed.

When she felt Leonardo’s oily fingers on her back, a delightful and shockingly intense electric current ran through her. It was such that Victoria had to bite the inside of her lip to avoid letting out a sudden and indecent moan in public. He ran his hands along her back, both spreading the sunscreen and giving her a light massage that had the opposite effect of letting her relax. His strong yet gentle touch was making her heart race, her tense body slowly growing hotter with every passing moment. Even a single brush of his fingers made her shiver, and she felt a particular heat growing more intense between her legs.

Fuck. FUCK. It was good. Too good. He hadn’t even touched the sides of her boobs or her ass, and yet…!

“T-That’s alright!” she called, turning to him. “I’ll get the rest.”

She fixed her bikini, took the bottle and applied the sunscreen on her front, not daring to look at Leonardo in the face. There was no way he hadn’t noticed her reaction, and it was embarrassing. Still…

Damn kid kept earning more and more points.