Free Web NovelChapter 9: Host Is a Scammer
Kael broke the surface again, his muscles rippling as he performed a powerful victory lap through the current, still clamped onto the knife like a golden retriever with a very sharp stick.
[ You still have to talk dirty, Host. ]
"Hmm?" Nuan glanced at the screen, a devious smirk playing on her lips. "Yeah? Then watch and learn, Blue Buddy."
"Kael!!! Kael!!!!" she shouted, waving him over.
Kael turned, swimming toward the bank with a splash. He waded out of the water and stood before her, shaking himself dry like a giant dog.
"Ah! Calm down, boy! And wow, you look so cool like this!" she said, pointing at the knife still held firmly between his fangs.
Kael’s chest rumbled with a proud, territorial purr, his tail giving a heavy thump-thump against the grass.
"Can you put it in my mouth, Kael?" she asked, her voice dripping with mock-sultry mischief.
"But... you said it is dangerous, meek savior," he muffled through the steel.
"Ah! Please, Kael. Put it in my mouth. I beg you," she said, leaning in with a dramatic, breathless tone.
Confused but eager to please, Kael gently gripped the blade with his fingers and held the hilt right up to her lips. Nuan leaned forward and—snap—grabbed it with her teeth!
"Give me my plastic bags!!!" she muffled, immediately dropping the knife into her hand with a triumphant grin.
[ This... this is... ]
Oh, shut up! I talked ’stuff’ with my so-called mate. ’Put it in my mouth’ and ’I beg you’ definitely qualify for bedroom talk.
Now, give me my bags!
[ Host is a scammer... ]
Despite the System’s digital sulking, several plastic bags materialized on the grass. Kael scrambled back a step, his ears pinned. "Witchcraft again?"
"Yes, yes! High-level sorcery! Now I can finally take a bath!" She grabbed the bags and looked down at her mud-stained cargo pants. "Hm, maybe I should remove these first."
"Kael, turn around. I want to take my clothes off," she commanded.
"Why can’t I watch?" he asked, tilting his head with innocent curiosity.
"No, you can’t! Turn around like a good boy!"
Kael grumbled but obeyed, facing the river as Nuan worked with lightning speed. She unbuttoned her shirt and stepped out of her cargos. To maintain some "logistics" of modesty, she grabbed her shirt by the sleeves and tied it around her waist like a makeshift sarong, covering her undergarments while leaving her in just her bra.
Standing precariously on her one good leg, she finished tying the plastic bag around her herbal-wrapped ankle.
"Okay, big boy. Now, if you can lead me into the water? I’d really rather not slip and end up as downstream driftwood."
Kael turned around, his gaze traveling from her head down to her toes, lingering with a heavy intensity on her exposed skin. A low, hungry growl rumbled deep in his throat, vibrating the very air between them.
"Kael, I am not tasty! And please stop scaring your ’meek savior’ like that!" Nuan snapped, frantically tugging at the shirt tied around her waist to ensure it was covering the important logistics.
He leaned in closer, completely ignoring her protests. His nose twitched as he sniffed her neck, then trailed down toward her chest, descending lower and lower with animalistic curiosity.
Before he could get any further, Nuan reached out and grabbed his massive head by his furry wolf ears, tugging them firmly.
"Bad puppy! It tickles! Just get me in the water already!" she murmured, her face flushed.
Without a word, Kael scooped her up into a bridal carry as if she weighed no more than a handful of leaves. His large, claw-tipped hands felt solid and steady against her shoulders and waist as he began wading into the current.
"Kael! I asked for support, not a personal chauffeur service!" she yelped, a nervous laugh escaping her as his touch sent a ticklish jolt through her midsection. "Haha! Put me down!"
"Water is deep... you are injured, meek savior," he rumbled, his voice thick. "I will carry you." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
He waded out until the cool, crystal-clear water reached her chest. Only then did he gently lower her into the river. The moment her skin hit the current, Nuan let out a blissful sigh.
"Ahhh, water! Actual, clean water!"
She didn’t hesitate, dipping herself completely under the surface. She emerged a second later, shaking her head like a wet spaniel. "Haa! Finally! I feel like a human being again!"
Nuan floated on her back, eyes closed as she let the current bob her up and down. "Huhh!!! I just love this! Happiness, right here!"
Kael didn’t relax. He swam in tight, protective circles around her, his eyes fixed on the strange plastic bags covering her ankles. He reached out a long, blunt-clawed finger, curiously poking at the crinkly material.
"Oi! Watch it!" Nuan barked, treading water to pull her leg away. "Those will tear like paper with your nails! If you pop them, the herb paste is history. Do not touch the bags, Kael!"
Kael pulled his hand back, but his gaze didn’t wander far. He stared at her chest with an intensity that made the water around him feel five degrees hotter.
[ System Alert: Kael is in heat. Horny Level increased by 17%. ]
’Ugh, of course he is.’ Nuan rolled her eyes. "Kael, can you stop staring for a second and bring my cargo pants from that rock? I need to wash the forest out of them!"
"Do not drown. I will bring them," he rumbled, turning to swim toward the bank. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"Like drowning is a choice I make," Nuan sighed, floating again.
The laughter slowly faded from her chest as she drifted with the current.
Her thoughts drifted to the irony of her situation. ’How can I die such a silly death after years of experience? Dying by drowning after a career in the wild? It sucks!’
