Chapter 422: I'll Cry If You Reject Me
They raced through the forest for what felt like an eternity, weaving through trees, darting over streams, Nala's powerful tail responding to every squeeze and tug of Cassius's hands.
Her laughter echoed through the woods, mingling with his playful taunts, their chemistry electric as they lost themselves in the absurd, joyous chaos.
But eventually, the exertion took its toll.
Nala's pace slowed, her coils trembling slightly, her breaths coming in heavy pants. Cassius, too, felt the strain, despite barely moving, the constant gripping and steering, the adrenaline of their wild ride, left him drained.
Finally, Nala's tail gave out, and she slithered to a stop beneath a towering oak, collapsing onto the soft grass, her coils sprawling around her. Cassius slid off, landing beside her, his chest heaving as he lay back, panting heavily despite having been the passenger.
Nala lay there for a moment. But as her energy returned, she propped herself up on her coils, slithering over to hover above Cassius, her eyes narrowing as she fixed him with a pouty glare.
"You...you absolute jerk!" She huffed, her voice dripping with frustrated indignation. "Do you have any idea what you just put me through? You turned me into your personal racehorse, steering me around like some toy! Squeezing my breasts, making me swerve through the forest like a lunatic! I'm a lamia, Cassius, not a damn chariot!"
"I offered you a ride to share something special, something meaningful, and you...you turned it into a circus! My tail's sore, my pride's bruised, and don't even get me started on how embarrassing it was to be controlled like that in my own woods!"
Cassius, still catching his breath, grinned up at her, utterly unrepentant and said, "Come on, Nala, you had fun."
"Fun?! What do you mean, fun?! Cassius, I was the one who—"
Before she could continue her rant, he reached up, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her down and to her utter surprise—planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
Kiss!
Her eyes immedietly widened, her cheeks flushing a deeper red as she froze, her heart skipping a beat.
"C-Cassius!" She stammered, her voice flustered but still indignant. "Don't think a little kiss like that is gonna make up for what you did! You can't just grope me into submission and think a peck on the cheek will fix everything! I'm mad at you!" She puffed out her cheeks, her tail flicking irritably as she launched back into her rant.
"I-I mean, you turned my first date into a circus act!" Nala blurted out, her cheeks puffing out and her tail twitching furiously. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this, Cassius? I spent all morning doing my hair, doing my nails, picking out the prettiest dress I own, practicing what I'd say so I wouldn't sound like an idiot, and what happens?"
"You turn me into some kind of racetrack attraction! This was supposed to be special, and now I'm sweaty, my dress is ruined, my hair's a mess, and I probably look like I crawled out of a bush!"
She threw her hands up, pouting even harder.
"And you! You're just sitting there laughing like it's the funniest thing in the world! I wanted you to see me as a lady, Cassius, not as some...some village girl with twigs in her hair and grass stains on her dress!"
Hearing all this, Cassius only chuckled, his eyes twinkling before he grabbed her again, pulling her close for another kiss on her other cheek—
Kiss!
—his lips lingering just a moment longer.
"You're cute when you're mad, you know that?"
He teased, his voice warm and playful, while Nala's face burned, her pout deepening.
"Still not enough!" She declared, her voice rising with mock outrage. "You think two kisses will make me forget how you groped me into submission? You're gonna have to do better than that, Cassius!"
"I'm not some village girl you can charm with a few smooches! You humiliated me out there, steering me like I was your horse, and I'm not letting it slide!"
Before she could continue, Cassius laughed, pulling her down into his lap, his arms wrapping around her as he peppered her face with a barrage of kisses—her cheeks, her forehead, her nose, each one soft and tender.
"Mwah!♡~ Mwah!♡~ Pucker!♡~ Mwah!♡~ Suck!♡~"
"S-Stop it, Cassius!" Nala squealed, her voice breaking into giggles as she squirmed in his grasp, her tail coiling reflexively around his legs. "It tickles! It tickles, you jerk! Cut it out!"
But he didn't stop, his kisses relentless, each one melting her frown a little more until her giggles turned into full-blown laughter, her body shaking with delight.
"Okay, okay!" She gasped, swatting at his chest, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and joy. "You win, you big idiot! Stop kissing me, it's too much!"
Her tail flicked playfully, wrapping tighter around him as her smile broke free, radiant and unstoppable.
Cassius finally paused, his arms still around her, his grin wide and affectionate. "There's my Nala." He said, his voice soft but teasing. "Knew I could turn that pout into a smile. You can't stay mad at me, can you?"
Nala's cheeks flushed, her eyes softening as she leaned into his chest, her tail coiling loosely around his legs. She hesitated, her voice taking on a peculiar, almost reflective tone.
"I...I actually can't." She admitted, her words slow and deliberate. "It's weird, Cassius. You need to understand, I'm not someone who takes disrespect lightly. If anyone taunts me, mocks me, or crosses me, I go out of my way to make them regret it."
Her eyes lowered, her voice taking on a darker, more serious tone.
"When I was younger, when I went to my clan, the lamia there threw stones at me for no reason. They mocked me. Spit on me...And you know what I did?"
She looked down at him, her eyes narrowing like a warning.
"I burned the entire village to the ground. My own kin. Just for mocking me. That's the kind of vengeance-filled snake I am, Cassius. That's the truth about me."
Cassius blinked, surprised by the sheer venom in her words. But before he could respond, she frowned, her voice cracking as she added,
"But for some reason...with you...I can't stay angry. No matter what you do. You groped me, you humiliated me, you turned my tail into a racetrack, and yet…"
She jabbed a finger against his chest, glaring at him through eyes that shimmered with confusion.
"Yet I can't be mad at you. Not really. And even if you did something awful. Even if you betrayed me one day, I don't know why, but I'd feel like I was the one in the wrong, not you."
"What's wrong with me? Why do you make me feel like this? It's so strange…"
Cassius's teasing grin softened. He pulled her closer, one hand gently stroking her back as if soothing the ache in her words.
"Don't worry, Nala." He murmured, his voice calm and steady. "You're not the only one who feels that way. My wives back home..." He chuckled softly. "...they're the same. No matter what I do, no matter how much I annoy them, they can't stay angry at me for long."
"...They'll pout, maybe throw something at me, but a little warmth, a little affection, and their anger just melts away."
He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, his thumb lingering on her cheek.
"You're already becoming like them. You're already starting to feel what they feel."
Hearing him call her his wife, Nala's cheeks flared. She quickly averted her gaze, muttering under her breath.
"D-Don't think too much of yourself, Cassius. The day's not over yet. I haven't given you my answer. I still haven't accepted your proposal. There's still a chance I might reject you if you push me too far!"
But Cassius only smirked, leaning in closer, his breath hot against her lips. "Really? Will you really have the guts to reject me? Do you dare, Nala? Do you even dare to reject me?"
Hearing the dangerous tone in his voice, narrowed her eyes at him, playfully glaring back like his threats had no weight.
"And if I do? What then, Cassius? Are you going to threaten me? Pack me up and drag me back to your manor? Lock me in a cage until I say yes? Is that your plan?"
"Oh no. Nothing like that." Cassius tilted his head, his grin widening, beige his tone dropped into mock solemnity as he confessed, "If you reject me, Nala, I'll cry. I'll cry so hard, right there on the spot. Big, ugly tears. I'll sob until you feel so bad for me that you'll take pity and accept my proposal just to shut me up"
"...You don't want to see that do you?"
For a second, Nala just stared at him, her expression blank, her lips parted in disbelief. Then it hit her, and she burst out laughing so hard that she had to clutch her stomach.
"Pfft, Cassius! Y-You big idiot!" She gasped between laughs. "You'd actually cry? Cry your way into marriage? That's your grand strategy? Gods, you're so dumb, so silly!"
She collapsed against his chest, her body shaking with laughter as her tail writhed happily in the grass.
Cassius just watched her, his smile softer now, his arms wrapping around her as if to keep her close while she laughed. Her joy was infectious, and he found himself chuckling along with her.
Eventually, her laughter slowed, her breathing evening out. She blinked her eyes open again, only to find Cassius's face much closer than she'd expected.
Their lips were almost touching, and his gaze, warm, intense, unwavering, was locked fully on her.
Her breath caught. She knew exactly what was supposed to happen next. And yet, her heart pounded with a nervous flutter.
She had always been self-conscious about it, about the two tongues she carried in her mouth. She'd always feared what someone would think if they kissed her, what he would think.
For a second, the fear almost made her pull back.
But then she saw his eyes again.
That gaze, so full of passion, of tenderness, of absolute acceptance. There was no judgment there. No hesitation. Only desire and love. And in that moment, all her fear crumbled away.
Slowly, she leaned in, closing the distance. Their lips met, soft at first, hesitant, before deepening into something far more passionate.
"Peck!♡~ Peck!♡~ Kiss!♡~ Peck!♡~ Taste!♡~"
Cassius kissed her without hesitation, and when her tongues slid forward, his own met them eagerly, intertwining and playing with both at once.
He wasn't overwhelmed, wasn't disturbed, in fact, he dominated her, moving with a confidence that made her shiver.
"Mmm!♡~ Mmm!♡~ Smack!♡~ Mmm!♡~ Lick!♡~"
Her mind swam as he explored her mouth, each movement of his tongue teasing, commanding, making her realize that even with two tongues, he was still more experienced, more relentless.
"Kiss!♡~ Kiss!♡~ Mwah!♡~ Kiss!♡~ Sip!♡~"
His hands weren't idle either; one gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him, while the other slid lower to grope her ass where her scales met skin, squeezing firmly.
A soft moan escaped her throat, muffled by his lips, her tail instinctively wrapping around his leg like an anchor, as if holding on for dear life. She didn't want this moment to end.
She wanted it to last forever.