“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I said airily, pushing away my self-doubts. I sidled forward until I was close enough to touch him, then reached out and ran my fingers across his large belly, trailing them up toward his third chin. Another wave of revulsion hit me, and it took everything I had not to recoil. “Or I just might get too excited to perform.” I giggled and batted my eyelashes at him. “And you wouldn’t want that, wouldyou?”
Before he could respond, I sauntered away, showing off everything thekyuubi’sillusion had given me, even though my skin was crawling. I knew it wasn’t my body the king was ogling, but it still made me feeldirty.
There was nothing for it, though. I needed to get the king’s liver, and if seducing him was the only way, then I would make myself the sexiest monkey that fat bastard had ever laid eyeson.
After I’d reached the center of the room, I threw my hands up above my head and called on thekyuubi’spower. It answered easier than I’d expected, flowing into me like liquid magma and filling my veins withfire.
Taking care to use mykyuubi’spower over illusion to ensure my act didn’t remind them of the fight on the beach and give us away, I raised my hands heavenward and smiled coyly at the monkeyking.
“Are you ready?” I asked, batting my eyes at him as I wove together living flame with my fingers like a spider spinning herweb.
With each movement, ballerinas made of sapphire flame leapt from my fingertips, and while I’d been worried the king would catch on to what I was doing, he seemed so enthralled by my conjured dancers I knew we had nothing to worryabout.
My ballerinas danced above my head as I spun back around and brought my hands around. This time the entire room warped, changing under the force of thekyuubi’spower as the illusion I’d called upon tookhold.
A moment later, everything in the room but the king and me seemed to vanish, and we were standing atop Mount Fuji. Stars glittered in the sky overhead as the ballerinas danced themselves into flaming oblivion. As they dissipated into the ether and the king turned his eyes back to me, his mouth fell open. He twisted around as much as his fat body allowed him, trying to figure out how he’d beentransported.
“Are you prepared to enter a world of illusion?” I purred, my lips quirking into a sly smile. I raised one finger to my lips while bending at the waist and shimmying backward slightly. “Where pleasure and decadence are only theappetizers?”
Not waiting for a response, I stepped forward and took his hand, pulling him to his feet. Except he didn’t actually move—he only thought he did, thanks to the illusion thekyuubiand I were expertlyweaving.
“What’s going on?” he asked as I sidled next to him, moving my body against him as I shimmied to my own internal beat. As I did, thekyuubismirked in my brain, and her power leapt over me. Fire leapt from the ground around us as our bodies began to writhe, perfectly in tune with each other. The king moved around me, his hands gripping my waist and running up my body, and I wasted no time flaunting myself while being careful to keep him from touching any of my more intimateparts.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be caught dead seductively dancing with a two-ton Jabba the Gorilla. But I threw myself into the illusion so I wouldn’t think too much about it, and instead pretended I was dancing with a hot guy. Someone I didn’t mind bending over and shaking my assfor.
Suddenly, the image of the king flickered, and Raiden was the one dancing with me. My mouth dropped open at the sight of him dressed in nothing but a pair of black jeans and boots, his washboard abs fully on display. What the hell? Where had he come from? Wasn’t he still lying on the ground in the throneroom?
Careful,thekyuubisaid, her voice rife with amusement.Illusions can take on a life of their own if you don’t control them.The image flickered away, revealing the monkey king again, and I quickly masked the shock on my face before he noticed. In my efforts to try and pretend he was Raiden, I’d actuallyturned himinto Raiden. My face flamed, and I threw myself back into thedance.
Thankfully, the monkey king hadn’t noticed anything amiss. Probably because he was too busy ogling my furry ass. I swiveled my hips a few more times, then, as the dance wound down, I raised my hands and summoned more fire. It leapt through the air like firecrackers, hitting the star-strewn horizon above and crackling into flares of color and sound that, in turn, danced and gyrated, replicating our own dance in the nightsky.
“Are you not entertained?” I asked, leaning in close to the king as another firework exploded overhead, dazzling us in brilliant amber light. I exhaled on his neck as I continued, “I only aim to please, myking.”
The king opened his mouth to say something, and I stepped back. With a snap of my fingers, I undid the illusion. It shattered into crystalline fragments that rippled in multi-hued patterns before dissipating into the ether, leaving me standing in a low curtsy before the king while he sat on his throne, lookingstunned.
“Amazing,” he muttered, still staring at me as the room went dead silent. I hazarded a glance around, and as I did, I saw everyone watching us with mouths agape. Raiden stood on unsteady feet, his eyes wide. A surge of concern for him momentarily wiped out my sense of accomplishment, until I caught a glimmer of what looked like pride in his eyes. Was he impressed with what I’d done? How much had the others been able to see? I sincerely hoped he hadn’t seen the entireillusion.
Before I could continue down that train of thought, the king was on his feet and coming toward me. He reached out, taking my left hand in his and bringing it to his lips. “Please, I must have more. Come back with me to my chambers and give me anothershow.”
I could practically feel Raiden tense like a bowstring behind me, and my own spine went taut in response to the wicked gleam in the king’s eyes. But I ignored the sensation. This was what I’d wanted, right? The chance to get him alone and steal hisliver.
“Yes, I’d love to.” I smiled coyly at the monkey king, batting my long lashes at him. “You’ll find my show ismuchbetter inprivate.”
15
“Now then,how about you show your king just how playful you can be?” the monkey king growled teasingly as we entered his personalchambers.
The room was lavish to the extreme, filled with decadent pillows. The walls were all mirrored, as was the ceiling, and the carpet was thick and black. In the center stood a massive bed covered in plush red pillows and satin sheets. It looked like the bedroom of a Lothario, not an impressively obesemonkey.
“Come on, don’t be shy now that we’re all alone.” The monkey king waddled over to the bed and plopped down on it. The whole thing strained under his bulk as he shifted on top of the satin sheets, causing his robe to fall open and leave him nearly uncovered. A flash of heat flitted across my cheeks as I turned my gaze back toward his face, but he must have seen me looking, because he smiled, revealing his yellowedfangs.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find a way for you to properly accommodate me.” His grin widened, and I swallowed hard. This was going to go south real fast if I lost control of thesituation.
“I think you’re quite right,” I said, taking a tentative step into the room. My bare feet sank into the plush carpet, and I was surprised to feel it caress my flesh like it was alive. Another shudder scrambled down my spine as I looked around theroom.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern etched into his voice as he watched me look around in confusion. “Do you need something? I can assure you, I’m happy to satisfy all your needs.” The purr that entered his voice left no doubt in my mind as to what “needs” he was referringto.
“I just…” I looked down at my feet and twisted my fingers anxiously. “I had heard about your magic liver and was hoping to see it. But it doesn’t seem to be around here, so maybe it was just a rumor.” I pouted, looking up at him through loweredlashes.
