The Dragons' Bathhouse: A Reverse Harem Enemies-to-Lovers Soulmate Romance

20

They turned back to eat their food, seemingly uncaring of her presence. She blinked, feeling a little torn at their words and dismissal, glancing down at the plate of dessert in her hands. Perhaps they were actually being nice. She peeked up at them. Eden hadn't seen them act like that before. Maybe they were telling the truth.

She took the fork with the already pierced strawberry, sniffing at it gingerly. The fruit was beautiful, with a glossy red exterior that reminded Eden of a ruby. It caught the light of the fire, flickering with a myriad of rouge hues. It did smell okay, and it looked like dessert. Her stomach churned, reminding her yet again of how hungry she was with her new diet of vegetables and nothing else. She gulped. Should she risk it?

Eden glanced up at them. They were chatting to one another, totally ignoring her as they basked in their bubble of friendship. It was weird because whenever they did a prank. They usually gave her their full undivided attention so that they could see the show.

She licked her lips. A nibble should be okay, right? They did apologise so sincerely, after all. She slowly raised the fork to her lips, bracing herself, but nothing happened and she let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she was being a little too paranoid. She took a small bite.

Juice spilt over her tongue, flooding her mouth in a rush of sweetness. It tasted nothing like the strawberries in the Human Realm and she couldn't hold back the gasp from her lips. This strawberry melted on her tongue in a dance of caramel and honey. It flowed down her throat easily with the slightest tang of acidity. It was nothing like any fruit she had ever eaten, and it was good.

Too good.

She swallowed, checking herself for any changes. Her hair was okay, her skin was the same light lavender shade. She didn't seem to have any new limbs. There were no bugs crawling down her skin, nor were there crickets jumping out of her pockets. She cleaned her teeth with her tongue, frowning as she glanced up at them. Maybe she was really just too paranoid. It seemed that they weren't lying about the dessert.

That was nice of them. Her heart warmed as she glanced up at the twins. Her chest tightening at the thought. Maybe they weren't so bad after all... She pierced another strawberry, raising it to her lips. But just before she ate the thing, she caught Kaizel's eye, noting the way he seemed to have angled his body. He was staring at her, a dark glint in those rings of fire. She knew those eyes. Those eyes that promised danger. Eyes that yearned to see her suffering, her embarrassment, her destruction.

She dropped the fork onto the plate, and then each one of the strawberries exploded. Holy fuck! She yelped, watching as the remaining strawberries transformed into spiders. Huge, massive spiders the size of her hands. Spiders that had thick abdomens and eight legs the width of the pens that she used. Their black beady eyes glinted in the light of the fire as they reared their fuzzy legs up in the air.

Eden screamed.

The huge spiders leapt forth at the sound, crawling up her body and into her clothes. They were everywhere, within her robes and over her naked skin. They were scuttling about in her hair and when they moved they burned. Their bodies were like little balls of fire that tickled her skin with their tiny hairs.

Holy fucking shit! She stomped, jumping about as she tried to brush them off with desperate tears brimming in her eyes. Panic was steadily flooding her system, making her muscles clamp as she frantically tried to shake them off. She hated insects, hated how they scuttled over her skin with their little legs, moving over her body.

They were everywhere.

She was drowning in her fear, unable to breathe as her heart pounded and leapt into her throat. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she felt the insects crawl over her sensitive areas and she slapped at them, trying to get them out of her clothes. Anything but her privates! The twin gods were laughing to themselves, guffawing at the sight of her demise, and she had never hated them more.

Fuck them. She should not have trusted them. Why was she so fucking stupid? Why did she have such a big fucking crush on a bunch of assholes? It was not like they actually liked her. Her eyes prickled with her tears. They said so themselves. She was just another toy.

God, she hated herself so much.

She stumbled, tripping over her feet, and then she was careening forward. The world was a mess of blurred colours as her body slammed into a hard chest. Instinctively, fingers held her arms, steadying her on the floor. His bare hands were pressed over her clothes, and then they brushed down to her exposed skin, gripping her forearm, skin to skin. It was the first time their bare, exposed skin had connected. And for a brief moment, she forgot about the spiders. She forgot about the situation. She forgot everything.

All she could think of was him.

Keegan was cold, deliciously cool, like an icy drink on a hot day. But despite the coolness of his skin, his touch sent a tingle of something warm through her trembling body. It started with a simple zap, like the touch of static, unlocking something hot in her chest that crashed forth. A golden firey warmth that tumbled out of her solar plexus and radiated through her skin in waves, resonating with his touch.

It lit a fire in her nerves, one that sent a shiver of pleasure through her spine. She was so sensitive that when her nipples brushed against the fabric of her clothes, a spurt of desire spilt forth from within her. It pulsated between her thighs, her clit jumping in time to the steady beat of her heart.

Her eyes locked with his icy blue ones, watching as they dilated softly. The dark black circles were blowing wider and consuming the blues and the silvers. He was looking at her with an expression of shock. His lips dropping open in an odd sort of sudden recognition. It was as if he were truly looking at her for the first time, as if he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And as she continued to stare at him, the world beyond them blurred into a muted hum and they just connected.

He was all that she could see and all that she could feel. His wintery scent in her nose, his blue eyes, his moist, pale pink lips. His dewy skin. His beautiful chiselled face. His white-blonde hair. He was everything, and she was nothing without him. They were one and the same in the warmth of that gold fire.

And her chest burned, the fire scorching her insides. It begged her to go to him, begged her to feed the ache. It wanted him, eager for his touch and his taste. And it threatened her, whispering in her ear that if she didn't have him, she would hurt.

The feelings disappeared in a violent flash of hot pain on her inner thigh. A pair of fiery fangs dug deep into her skin, burning her and the poison bubbled forth, washing away the pleasure and the desire. And then all she could see was white-hot, burning heat.

Pain.