Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer by Dante King (free e books to read online txt) 📕

He lowered himself into the bath. It was a large, wide barrel, with plenty of room to spare. The warm water soothed his aching muscles the moment he was under the surface. For the first time that day, he was able to fully relax. He felt better than he would have expected after so much exertion, but the hot water was still a welcome relief. For a few moments he just stared at the wall in a stupor, allowing his tired brain and body to unwind.

“Lulu mixed up some herbs to make a cleansing liquid for us,” Melody said from behind him as she too undressed. A vial sat on the rim of the barrel. It contained a golden liquid that sparkled in the torch light.

Melody also tossed her skirt and tank top out the window as Ben started scrubbing himself down with the cleansing liquid Lulu had made. The liquid cleaned his skin like nothing he’d ever used before. His skin felt fresh, and the dirt dissolved and disappeared.

After Melody had finished undressing, she walked over to the edge of the bath. He looked up at her, and his breath caught in his throat.

“I’d forgotten how beautiful you are without any clothes on,” he said.

Melody smiled coyly, and her sandy-colored tail swished behind her. She lifted a smooth and graceful leg to the rim of the barrel and paused a moment. Her pink pussy lips were on full display. Ben felt himself rapidly growing hard.

Melody climbed into the bath beside him. Her thigh brushed his cock as she sat down. He couldn’t tell if it was by accident or not.

As she too began washing herself down, he admired the way her round breasts floated in the water, so close he could touch them.

Melody saw him looking and smiled. “Could you get my back for me?” She turned.

He rubbed the cleansing oil into the skin of her back, dwelling on the places where he could feel tight muscles. Melody groaned as the tension eased out of her weary shoulders.

His hands worked into the skin, cleansing and relaxing her. She giggled as he rubbed her lower back and the curve of her upper ass.

Then, as if of one mind, their stomachs loudly growled.

Melody sighed. “I suppose we’ll have to eat before we starve to death in here.”

He laughed. “We’ll have to pick this up again later.”

She had also found a couple of towels in the hut and left them beside the bath. Thankfully, they were clean. They dried off and dressed in their new clothes and prepared to eat.

“How are you feeling after everything you went through today?” Melody asked, bringing the wooden chairs from where they were stashed by the side of the wall. “The ordeals you endured would have been trying even for an experienced apprentice, and this was your first day in a new world.”

“I was lucky to have you as a guide,” Ben told Melody as they took seats across from each other at the table. “I feel …good, surprisingly. I’m not even that tired.”

Melody smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. I’m not tired either.”

Did he catch a gleam of mischief in her sparkling purple eyes? It was gone as soon as it appeared, and they both turned their attention to eating.

The damp smell of the freshly scrubbed pine table mixed with the aroma of the tree roots. The roots had the smell of newly cut vegetables, though they were not vegetables Ben had ever tried before. They smelled more savory than what he was accustomed to.

“Have you ever eaten these before?” he asked Melody.

Judging by the intent look with which she was studying her portion, he assumed that was a “no.” She held the floppy substance in both hands, examining it as an entomologist might examine a never-before discovered species of beetle.

Ben was inclined to do the same. But he was starving, so he had little choice. “Hell, staring at my food all night isn’t going to fill me up.” He brought the soft fleshy root up to his mouth and took a bite straight out of it.

It was spongey. He had to rip at it with his teeth to tear a chunk of it off. It started to immediately soften and dissolve in his mouth though, and he was soon able to chew it up and swallow it.

His tastebuds were flooded with sensation. The flavor was warm and salty, not unlike the flavor of barbecued chicken, but more natural. He smiled to himself. Everything really does taste like chicken.

Melody watched his face closely as he chewed. He almost felt self-conscious as she studied him with the same intense look as she’d reserved a moment ago for the tree flesh.

After he swallowed the morsel, he gave a contented sigh and took another bite. That seemed to be enough to convince Melody. With the sort of skeptical and unhappy look that a child gets when being fed vegetables for the first time, she bit off a morsel of the tree root and ate it.

Her eyes widened with surprise, and she swallowed the mouthful faster than she meant to, almost choking slightly as it went down.

“This plant meat is actually…not horrible,” she said with the utmost astonishment.

Ben laughed at her. “You really should have a bit more confidence in those nymphs. They seem to be alright, really.”

Melody didn’t even respond as she began munching down the tree flesh with abandon. He quickly followed suit. His stomach was aching by now, and the food brought welcome relief.

The food left no mess. Although it tasted similar to meat, possibly better, if he was honest, it wasn’t juicy or sticky, so they didn’t have to clean up afterwards. Nothing but crumbs remained, and Ben didn’t waste any time dabbing them up with his fingertip.

When they were done, Melody put her apron back on and helped him carry the barrel of water outside, where they tipped the water out onto the grass. Then they came back in