Someone Familiar Steps in

Rhea waded into the alcove.

Cassia's breath caught in her throat.

The Academy philosophy magistra was thirty-two years old, beautiful in a slightly messy, absent-minded way that Cassia had always found charming. Her warm brown eyes blinked through the steam, her brunette hair falling in curls that clung to her neck and shoulders. But it was the rest of her that Cassia could not look away from.

Rhea was naked. Completely, gloriously naked.

Her slim figure was accentuated rather than hidden by the steam, her ample breasts rising and falling with each breath, the silhouette of her hips curving into thighs that framed her similarly sized Unus cock. It hung soft but substantial beneath the rippling water. Cassia's eyes stared despite herself.

Stop it. She's your aunt. Well, not your actual aunt, but-

"I just came for a quick soak," Rhea said, seemingly oblivious to Cassia's state. She moved towards the opposite side of the alcove, sighing with contentment as she made herself comfortable. "I've been grading papers for six hours straight, and my back is killing me. What brings you down here at this hour?"

Cassia's mouth opened, but no words came out. Her cock involuntarily flexed between her thighs, still painfully erect, and she could feel her pussy growing more **** by the second at the mere sight of Rhea's naked body. The futa's breasts floated invitingly before her, and every time she moved, the rippling water drew Cassia's gaze lower.

"Cassia?" Rhea's brow furrowed. "Are you all right? You've gone rather pink. Well, pinker. The steam does that, I suppose, but you look… are you feeling unwell?"

Say something. Say anything!

"I'm fine," Cassia managed, her voice coming out strangled. "Just- the heat. It's very warm."

Rhea tilted her head, studying her with those warm brown eyes, and Cassia had the terrible feeling that the intelligent futa could see right through her. Could see the flush that wasn't just from the steam, the tremble in her thighs, the way she kept her hands pressed flat against the stone so that they couldn't wander.

"Hmm." Rhea's gaze sharpened like a she was trying to solve a puzzle. "Cassia, I've known you since you were twelve years old. I've seen that exact expression on your face before when you were trying to hide something from your mothers. Usually, a broken vase or a bad grade from one of your tutors. Whatever it is. You can trust me."

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Cassia."

The single word, spoken gently, undid her entirely. Cassia felt her resistance crumble, felt the shame rise in her cheeks, felt the ****, humiliating need to explain herself when every instinct told her to sink beneath the water and never resurface.

"I'm feeling rather… pent up," she admitted, the words tumbling out in a rush. "And I came here to- to blow off a little steam. If you'll pardon the expression."

Rhea's eyebrows rose. "Pent up."

"Yes."

"In what sense?"

Cassia wanted to die. She wanted the geothermal spring to open up and swallow her whole. She wanted to be anywhere, anywhere else, than here, naked and aroused, explaining her sexual frustration to her mothers’ best friend.

"In the sense that I-" She stopped, swallowed, **** herself to continue. "I needed to- to take care of something. Privately. That's why I came to the bathhouse. I thought if I could find a quiet spot, I could-"

"Ah." Rhea's eyes widened in understanding. "I see."

Rhea's gaze had drifted downward, following the line of Cassia's body to where the water lapped at her hips.

It was impossible to miss now that Rhea was looking for it, Cassia's cock rose from her body like a spear from beneath the water, her crown threatening to break the surface.

The silence stretched between them, heavy as the steam.

"Oh," Rhea said softly. Then, a moment later, "Oh…"

Cassia closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. This is- I'm so sorry. I should go. I'll just-"

"Don't be ridiculous." Rhea's voice had shifted, losing its absent-minded quality entirely. When Cassia opened her eyes, the woman was watching her with an expression that was surprisingly warm. "You haven't done anything wrong, Cassia. This is a bathhouse. People come here to relax. To unwind. It's perfectly natural."

"It's embarrassing."

"It doesn't have to be." Rhea shifted in the water, moving a little closer, and Cassia's breath caught at the way her breasts swayed with the movement. "But I do have to say- it's rather dangerous to come into a public space alone like this. When you're this-" She gestured vaguely at Cassia's lap. "-aroused. Someone less scrupulous than me might have taken advantage."

The thought hadn't even occurred to Cassia, which showed just how far gone she was. In her desperation for release, she had abandoned all caution, all the careful safeguards her mothers had taught her.

"I didn't think," she admitted.

"No. You didn't." Rhea's tone was gentle rather than scolding. "Why couldn't you just take care of this in the safety of your own room? Surely that would have been simpler than coming all the way down here."

Cassia's cheeks flamed. "My roommate."

"Mira?"

"Yep.” Cassia looked away, her hands curling into fists against the tiles. "I don't trust her not to take advantage of me when I'm like this. When I'm-" She struggled to find the words. "When my resistance is lower. My judgment isn't what it should be. And Mira has made it very clear that she intends to make me into something I don't want to be."

Rhea was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "She wants to turn you into her beta."

"Yes."

"And you're afraid that if you're alone with her, this aroused, needing release, you might-"

"Say yes." Cassia's voice cracked. "I might end up saying yes. And I don't want to. I don't want to be anyone's beta. I want to be an alpha. I want to hold wills, not cede my own. But when I'm like this, when I need it so badly, I can't think straight, I'm afraid that all my resolve will mean nothing. I'm afraid I'll just, surrender."

Rhea nodded slowly, understanding dawning in her eyes. "That's a real fear. And a reasonable one. Which is why you shouldn't be here alone." She paused, considering. "Listen to me, Cassia. Next time you have a problem like this, next time you're feeling this pent up and you can't trust yourself around your roommate, I want you to come to my office."

Cassia blinked. "Your office?"

"My office. In the philosophy wing." Rhea's voice remained steady, reassuring. "It's private. Lockable. I'm there most evenings, grading papers, or working on my next manuscript. You can come anytime, and I'll- I'll help you figure out a solution."

Help me figure out a solution...

The words hung in the steam between them, and Cassia felt her face grow hot as their meaning settled into her brain. Her aunt, not her real aunt, but close enough, had just told her to come to her office the next time she needed to jerk off.

"You mean-" Cassia started, then stopped, her courage failing.

Rhea's cheeks got even redder, but she didn't look away. "I mean exactly what I said, Cassia. You need a safe space. I can provide one. No questions asked, no judgment passed. That's what cool older aunties are for, isn't it?"

That is definitely not what aunties are for.

But Cassia found herself nodding anyway, because the alternative was drowning in her own embarrassment.

"Thank you," she managed. "I- thank you."

Rhea waved a hand, dismissing the gratitude. "In the meantime, we still have a problem to solve." She glanced at the water where Cassia's cock still strained, visible and undeniably needy. "You came here to take care of something, and I interrupted you. I could-" She bit her lip, considering. "I could stand guard. Turn my back. Give you some privacy to... finish what you started."

Cassia's heart lurched. "You would do that?"

"I just offered you my office for future emergencies. Standing here while you masturbate seems like considerably less of a commitment." Rhea smiled, and there was something almost teasing in it. "Consider it a test run. If I can't handle this, I certainly can't handle you showing up at my office door."

Before Cassia could respond, before she could even process what was happening, Rhea turned, presenting her back to Cassia in the water. Her shoulder blades stood out sharp beneath her skin, and the curve of her spine led down to the swell just visible above the waterline.

"You have five minutes," Rhea said over her shoulder. "Maybe ten. I'm not going to count."

Cassia's mouth went dry.

She should say no. She should get out of the water, wrap herself in her towel, and flee to her room where she could deal with her arousal in private, without an audience, without the knowledge that her mother's best friend was standing right there, naked, close enough to touch.

But her body had other ideas.

Her hand moved between her thighs before she consciously decided to reach for herself. Her fingers wrapped around her cock, still hard, still aching, still **** for the release she had been denied, and she gasped at the contact. The sound was soft, barely audible over the hiss of steam, but she saw Rhea's shoulders stiffen in response.

She knows. Of course she knows. She's standing right there.

Cassia stroked herself slowly at first, savoring the sensation after the interruption. Her cock pulsed in her grip, and her other hand drifted down to her pussy, her swollen lips parting beneath her fingers, pressing inward. She was so aroused, so ready, that her two fingers slid in without resistance, and she moaned again, unable to help herself.

Five minutes. She said five minutes.

But Cassia found she didn't want five minutes. She wanted to draw this out, to savor the strange, forbidden thrill of doing something so intimate with someone like Rhea so close. She noticed the way Rhea's head tilted slightly, as if she was listening to every sound Cassia made. She noticed the way Rhea's shoulder subtly shifted, the way her profile became visible as she turned her head just a fraction.

She's glancing at me...

The realization hit Cassia like a wave of heat. Rhea was glancing at her, stealing looks over her shoulder while pretending to face forward. Cassia could see her profile now, the curve of her cheek, the way her lips had parted slightly. And then, unmistakably, she saw Rhea's teeth sink into her own lower lip as she watched Cassia touch herself.

The sight sent Cassia hurtling toward the edge.

She stroked faster, her fingers pumping in and out of her pussy in rhythm with the movements of her hand on her cock. The water sloshed around her, and she didn't care who heard, didn't care who saw, because Rhea was watching now, openly watching, her brown eyes dark and her lips red from where she had bitten them.

"I'm close," Cassia gasped, and she didn't know why she said it, didn't know why she felt the need to warn Rhea, but the words came out anyway.

Rhea didn't respond. But she didn't look away either.

Cassia came with a cry that echoed off the tiled walls, her body arching out of the water as her release crashed through her. Her cock pulsed in her hand, seed spilling into the warm water, and her pussy clenched around her fingers as waves of pleasure rolled through her, one after another, until she was trembling and breathless, utterly and completely spent.

She slumped back against the stone, her chest heaving. The tension that had been building for three days finally, finally released, and she felt like a puppet with cut strings, feeling weightless and more relaxed than she had been since arriving at the Academy.

"That was-" She stopped, swallowed, tried again. "I'm done."

Rhea turned.

Her cheeks were flushed, her lips still pink from where she had bitten them, and there was something in her expression that Cassia couldn't quite read. But her voice, when she spoke, was steady.

"Feeling better?"

Cassia nodded, not trusting her voice. She was suddenly, acutely aware of what she had just done, of the fact that Rhea had watched her do it.

"Much better," she managed. "Thank you. For- for looking out for me."

Rhea moved through the water toward her, and Cassia tensed, uncertain what was happening. But Rhea just reached out and wrapped an arm around Cassia's neck, pulling her into a headlock that was rough and affectionate and utterly, absurdly normal.

"Always kiddo," Rhea said, her voice muffled against Cassia's hair.

Cassia laughed, the sound bubbling up from somewhere unexpected. She let herself be held, let herself be ruffled, let herself be treated like the niece she essentially was.