The Legacy of Critical Hit Max by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 14: Enemy With Benefits?

Two days and three uneventful roads later, they camped near the remains of an old roadside shrine.

It had no blessings left — just crumbled stone, moss-wrapped arches, and a half-collapsed roof tangled in vines. But behind it, half-hidden by overgrowth and weathered statues, Kaelen had spotted an old bathing pool.

Spring-fed, probably.

Warm, somehow. Maybe geothermal. Maybe divine runoff.

Maybe cursed.

He didn’t care.

It was early sunset when he slipped away, the sky stained amber and gold, the heat of the southern path still clinging to his back like sweat-drenched armor. The days had grown hotter with every mile south, and the air now smelled like damp stone and honeysuckle.

The bath called like a siren.

Kaelen stripped down with a weary sigh, muscles tight from travel and sword drills, then stepped into the water. The heat welcomed him instantly — wrapping his body in soothing tension-melting warmth. He sank lower with a long, relieved groan, shoulders dipping, hair damp, arms outstretched along the pool’s mossy edge.

His sword rested against a broken pillar nearby.

His thoughts faded.

His eyes closed.

So, of course — when he opened them again, she was there.

Vireen.

Naked.

Lounging across the pool like it was her personal pleasure temple, one leg bent lazily, the other trailing in the water. Steam curled around her body like enchanted silk. Her damp obsidian hair clung to her shoulders. Her crimson eyes gleamed like candlelight filtered through wine.

“Miss me?” she asked, voice thick with teasing sin.

Kaelen blinked.

Stared.

“You’re in my bath.”

“I’m in your thoughts,” she corrected smoothly.

He exhaled. “You know stalking isn’t flirting, right?”

“Depends on the prey,” she purred, slipping deeper into the spring until the mist barely covered the soft curve of her breasts.

“And you’re very… trackable.”

Kaelen arched a brow. “What does that mean?”

She grinned, voice lower now, thick with heat.

“You bathe like a wounded god. I could smell the need from a mile off.”

He didn’t dignify it with a response.

Didn’t need to.

Because she was already closing the distance — walking, not swimming — until her hands rested against his chest, and her leg slid between his under the water.

Kaelen met her eyes.

Unblinking.

Vireen tilted her head. “You gonna stop me?”

He leaned in, lips brushing her ear. “I’m not sure what part of me looks like it’s trying.”

She laughed — soft and wicked — and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Steam curled. Her tail slid along his thigh.

And then her voice again, just above a whisper:

“Next time, maybe wear armor.”

Kaelen’s mouth found hers before she could make another joke. Her fingers tangled in his hair. The water churned, mist rose, and whatever divine serenity the ruined temple once held?

It did not survive what followed.

Three nights later, the shrine long behind them, the group had set up camp beside a twisted cedar grove. The road had narrowed into an overgrown trail, and the scent of night blossoms clung to everything.

It was late.

The fire had burned low. The others were asleep — or doing very good impressions of it. Kaelen stirred in his bedroll, rolling onto his back, sensing it before he even opened his eyes.

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