Speaking with Cerena

You were feeling quite refreshed and energetic after your second bout with Lexi. Enough so that you had made breakfast and coffee to enjoy while looking at news headlines on your phone.

Morgana and Lisbeth weren’t supposed to be back until later, which made it all the more surprising when you heard a knock at the door. You got up and looked through the peephole to see Cerena standing on your stoop.

You opened the door, not really aware of your current state of undress. Cerena stood there in her casual clothes. They included some tight black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a studded leather jacket. It was a different look than what you were used to, but she looked damn good in it.

“I don’t remember ordering a sexy biker.” You joked. Cerena stood with her gorgeous mouth agape as she looked you up and down.

“Something wrong?”

“Y-you. You look…”, Cerena began stuttering, and you realized then that you had answered the door naked. That may not have been so shocking had you not just undergone some serious physique changes.

“Is that you, Jim? You smell the same, but your eyes…”

“Right. It’s a long story. Do you want to come in?” You stepped aside and motioned for her to enter, but the stunned hellhound continued to stand baffled in the doorway.

“Cerena?” She startled back to reality with what sounded like a gulp of saliva. You could taste it as her thoughts shifted from surprise to desire. Cerena shifted anxiously, her tail’s frantic wagging preventing her from masking her thoughts.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look sexy as hell.” She stated anxiously.

You chuckled at her choice of words. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

That got Cerena to smile and relax a bit.

“Seriously though, Jim. You looked good before. Don’t get me wrong, but now you're like…fuck. What the hell happened?”

You weren’t planning on being evasive with Cerena. Over the past few months you had gotten closer. The main issue was how much to divulge. You definitely didn’t want to go around proclaiming yourself a devil. Something told you that would cause more trouble than it was worth. Still, you believed you could trust her.

“Like I said, it’s kind of a long story, but the short version is that your guess about my magic was correct. Apparently, there is some devil in me, and my contract with Lexi made the effects…stronger.”

You studied Cerena carefully, and found no trace of fear or apprehension. Rather, what you sensed the most was lust. You stood there feeling awkward as she ogled you. After a minute, you broke the silence.

“So, did you come here just to flirt?”

Your joke was meant to break the tension, but Cerena seemed more flustered than ever.

“No. I uh. I did some snooping and found out about the stalker.”

“Oh, that was fast. You should come in to talk.”

“No. I don’t want to intrude.” She said with a hesitant step back. What was she afraid of?

You took a step forward so that your naked body was now directly in front of her. Standing over her, you held her chin, so that she could look into your eyes.

“Come in, Cerena.” You said in a firm yet seductive tone.

Her eyes widened and the flames in them radiated with a hint of purple energy. You hadn’t intended to compel with magic, but you thought it was better to entice her to soothe her nerves.

“Yes.”

“Would you like some breakfast? I made eggs and bacon. I also have some cut fruit in the fridge that Lisbeth likes to stock.”

Cerena looked around the apartment. You saw her check it out, not missing when her gaze would inevitably snap back to you.

“No…I already ate. Thanks though.” She spoke absentmindedly.

“Sorry the apartment is a bit messy right now. Lexi and I were celebrating the sponsorship.”

Mentioning that seemed to snap her out of her current investigative haze.

“Oh…right. I remember you took her in too, huh? Where is she?”

“She’s sleeping it off.” You said while gesturing towards the bedroom area. Cerena didn’t hide her interest nor did she subtly glance. You had an amused grin as you saw her once again in shock by what she saw after gazing into the bedroom.

“Is she okay?” Cerena asked.

“Yeah. We got pretty into it. She’s just sleeping. Her eyes were a little bigger than her stomach last night. She’s out, but the kind of passed out you want to be, you know? I’ve only been up for a half hour myself.”

Cerena let out an amused scoff. “Lucky.” She whispered, though you heard it.

“That actually reminds me.” You stepped past Cerena and went to grab some shorts and a shirt from a drawer. The look she gave you after you got dressed seemed a bit disappointed, which amused you to no end. She was so easy to read. One didn’t need to be the Lord of Lust to understand her emotions.

“You want coffee at least?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you take it?”

“You know me well enough at this point to know I like lots of cream in my coffee.”

You blurted out a laugh at the comment. “Was that for real or are you just making terribly dated sex jokes?”

Cerena looked confused for a moment before laughing in her usual raspy voice and pushing you gently. “That is so wrong. You know I didn’t mean it that way, you fucker.”

You laughed even harder. “Yeah, sorry. That was pretty bad. I think I let the intrusive thoughts win for a minute.”

You reveled in a bit of her horseplay before wrapping your arm around her waist. “I miss you on the weekends, you know. Our morning chats are one of my favorite parts of the day.”

“Really? I thought you were getting sick of me pestering you. I’m not really being subtle, am I?”

That made you laugh again. Cerena was good at making you laugh and had a sense of humor similar to yours.

“Nah. I like it. You’re a good listener, and I’m glad we’ve gotten closer. Promise you won’t stop, okay?” You said with a firm squeeze.

That made her smile and relax in your embrace, while you used the other hand to stir the creamer into her coffee cup. You then guided her over to the table and placed it in front of her. Sitting adjacent to her and enjoying the smile a little while longer, you thought about how nice it was to have her there.

“You always look good in your uniform, but this look suits you as well. I’ve never gotten to see you in casual clothes.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“You know, you’re allowed to come visit even when it's not work or stalker related right?”

Cerena looked surprised. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to interrupt what you have going on here.”

“You mean the nearly endless orgies and profane sex rituals?” You said as you passed her the coffee mug. You tried to keep a straight face, but failed and laughed when you saw her eyes widen.

“I’m joking.” You laughed, though after last night you guessed it wasn’t that far from the truth.

“What exactly is my life turning into?” You thought to yourself.

Cerena stared for a minute into her cup. “It sounds nice, getting to spend more time with you.”

Rather than be thrown off, you overcame your bashfulness. “Good. Then, I expect to see you around more often. We don’t just have to have a flirt and a quickie in my office. I like you. I really like you. More time sounds good. Maybe we could even have a proper date.”

You weren’t sure how exactly you were able to deliver that speech without a shake to your voice. You just felt confident this morning. It helped how bashful it made the typically confident hellhound. You felt both embarrassment and arousal come from her.

“I want that too. I’m not super into the mushy stuff, but a date would be nice. I’d also like it if we could expand my…training.”

You arched an eyebrow. She definitely had a one track mind sometimes.

“I have some ideas for that too.” You said with a devilish grin. “Ideas involving a lot of cream in your coffee.”

“UGH! That’s not what I meant! You’re so awful. Just stop, you bastard.” Despite the rough tone, she was smiling. She really did have a beautiful smile.

The thought made you notice the pout of her full lips, and then her tongue as she spoke. Your mind began to drift to lustful things as you eyed her up and down. Before you were too far gone, you snapped yourself back to reality.

“So, about this stalker…what did you find out?” You asked, changing the subject to help calm down.

“Oh. Right. Listen, I think I know who it is. I just want to make sure that you promise not to freak out or do anything drastic. Can you do that, Jim?

You studied her expression. “It’s someone you want to protect. You don’t sound so gung-ho about it today compared to yesterday, so it must be someone you're close to.”

Cerena shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah.” Her tone was low and guarded.

“It’s Kiri, isn’t it?” You saw the twitch.

“How…How did you know?”

“I’ve had my suspicions. I’ve always had the feeling that something was off with her. Sometimes, I’d just get a feeling like she was seconds from jumping on me. I could sense the lust despite her lack of expression. I didn’t share it before because I knew you two were friends. Oh, and the smell tipped me off too.”

“The smell?” Cerena looked confused.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice it with how good your nose is. The packages and letters have a pheromone about them. I couldn’t place it before, but it's definitely a mating hormone. It’s similar to what I was doing subconsciously before my power was released.”

“You don’t seem worried.”

“Should I be? Am I in danger?” You asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Maybe. She’s a friend, but she is also a mantis woman. I’ve heard stories. I just don’t want to believe she’d be capable of any of that.” Cerena looked down sadly.

“If it's anything like what mantis do here in this world, I can imagine. Insect girls are different, right?” You said while walking over and sitting back in your chair. Cerena followed.

“Yeah. I’m worried she might do something drastic with all the stuff she’s been doing stalking you.”

“Aw. It’s so cute that you’re worried about me.” You teased.

“Shut the fuck up. I’m serious.” She huffed.

Her outburst made you laugh. Teasing her was too much fun.

“I think I’ll take care of it, Cerena. Don’t worry. I appreciate you warning me. You always seem to have my back.”

“You…” Cerena paused, wanting to say something and then thinking better of it.

“I’m not going to do anything bad to her. I’m going to confront her about it, sure, but nothing to put her status in jeopardy or make the situation worse. I’ve learned a lot about how instincts work with you all and how there are cultural differences even for individual species. I don’t think Kiri is a bad person. I think she’s got a lot going on feelings wise, and she’s not able to deal with them in a healthy way.”

You sensed relief wash over Cerena, then a look of frustration.

“Something wrong?”, You queried.

“Sometimes I don’t get how you can be sweet and considerate and then be a total monster in bed. Are you a good guy or an asshole?”

Now it was your turn to look serious. “Yeah…about that.”

“I wanted to tell you now before you and I get more deeply involved. I like you, and I trust you, Cerena. I don't mean to assume, but I think we might be headed somewhere with this relationship. That’s why I feel like I should be as upfront as possible.”

Cerena didn’t speak, but simply listened intently. For all her swearing and gruff behavior, Cerena was quite attentive when you needed her to be.

“You told me yesterday that you suspected I might have devil in me if my magic was able to affect you. Well, you were right.”

You paused briefly to gauge her reaction, but it did not change. It seemed like she expected this.

“After I spoke with Lexi about it, she confirmed what you said, but there was more to it too. Lexi…we both believe that I might be a sort of reincarnation of one of the princes of hell…Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust specifically. I’m still not fully convinced of it all, but there’s a lot of evidence that it may be the case. Lexi and I formed a contract, and she was engraved with his mark. It also resulted in what I look like now.”

Cerena had a look on her face that was hard to read. Was she angry? Shocked maybe? Either way, she did not speak so you continued.

“You shared with me the history of your kind. You all were enslaved by the magic of the devils. I wouldn’t be surprised if you held resentment toward them…us. I probably would too. I want you to know that if this changes how you feel about me, I understand.”

You looked down for a brief moment, saddened at the prospect. Still, you continued.

“I know we play the whole master/servant game, but I don’t actually want to control or own you. I have no intention of using my magic to **** you to be with me. It’s the same with my other partners too. What we do is consensual…well, Morgana is a different matter entirely. Using magic on each other is consensual too. If you don’t want to be a part of all this, you don’t have to be.”

Cerena sat for several moments silently thinking about everything you said. She was hard to read after putting on her serious face. Finally, she spoke.

“You think you can get rid of me that easily?”

You were confused. “What? No…I-”

She laughed.

“Jim, I pushed myself onto you. I made you fuck me in that elevator. I gave you no options because I wanted you. You felt guilty about it thinking you had charmed me, even abstaining from sex with me because of it. You avoided my very obvious come ons in order to try and respect my will. Now, you find out you're the literal embodiment of sex, and the first thing you do is be honest with me and respect my heritage. God damn it, you are frustratingly cute.”

You were surprised by the exclamation, but Cerena continued.

“It’s true that many hellhounds are suspicious and even hostile towards devils. Our checkered history doesn’t mean they are all bad though.”

You felt a wave of relief. The thought of losing Cerena bothered you more than you had expected. To hear she was okay with the revelation made you smile reflexively.

“That being said…” She interrupted your train of thought.

“You keep saying you’re going to respect my wishes. What if my wishes are that you stop being so damn thoughtful and get a little more selfish with me? Do you think I’d get on my knees and submit to just anyone? I want to belong to you. I crave it. From the moment I smelled you in the portal room all those months ago, I’ve wanted nothing more than to fuck your brains out. Being a devil isn’t going to change my mind.”

Before you could answer, Cerena had already climbed onto your lap.