Chapter 64 Boobs.

Chapter 64: 64 Boobs.

I couldn’t even remember going to bed after Juniper arrived, but apparently I did.

The next morning I awoke maybe twenty minutes before dawn, so I slipped carefully out of bed to avoid disturbing the girls the best I could.

Elsa had apparently won the war and managed to claim most of my chest as her pillow, but Ayra had been curled into a tight ball against my side.

As I threw on some sweatpants and a tank top, I chuckled as I watched her tail occasionally twitch as she dreamed. When I noticed her tattoo pulse, though, I sighed.

After escaping them, I walked downstairs to my kitchen. Something about meeting the new party member—especially one who seemed more mature than the others—made me want to make a good impression.

She seemed harder to impress, maybe a bit more guarded. I wanted to help her let down her walls as soon as possible so she could fit comfortably in our dynamic in her own way, at her own pace.

And what better way to a woman’s heart was there than a breakfast feast?

By the time I heard anyone stirring upstairs, I had a veritable buffet in progress: pancakes bubbling on the griddle, bacon sizzling in a cast iron pan, a mountain of hash browns crisping in another, and a tray of cinnamon rolls waiting their turn in the oven.

I’d even whipped up some fresh-squeezed orange juice and set up the French press for coffee.

"My goodness," came a sultry, accented voice from the doorway. "Whatever you’re cooking smells incredible."

I turned to find Juniper coiled at the bottom of the stairwell, wearing one of my bathroom robes.

She’d managed to slither down the stairs, and up them last night, so that was useful information, but it didn’t seem comfortable.

I quietly admired the way the robe hung over her body. She’d tied it above where her human torso met her serpentine lower half, letting the fabric drape elegantly over her massive coils.

The robe was clearly struggling to contain her impressive chest, though.

"Good morning," I greeted her with a smile. "Sleep well?"

She yawned, covering her mouth with one hand.

For a moment her forked tongue was briefly visible, which made my eyebrows raise with interest. "Better than expected. Your guest beds are quite comfortable, even if a large portion of my lower end dangles off the mattress."

"Glad to hear it—not the dangling part though. How do you like your eggs?" I asked, gesturing to the spread on the counter. "I’m making a bit of everything—pancakes, bacon, hash browns, sausage links, cinnamon rolls, the works."

Juniper slithered closer, examining the food with a sweeping gaze. "I should probably mention that I can’t eat grain," she said. "My kind primarily subsists on meat and eggs. Anything along those lines would be perfect."

"Not a problem. I’ll make an extra batch of sausages and bacon for you," I promised, already reaching for more meat in the refrigerator.

"Thank you. That’s very considerate." She settled herself at the counter, coiling her tail beneath her in a spiral that somehow functioned as a natural chair. "You’ve been remarkably accommodating considering how I arrived unannounced in the middle of the night."

I shrugged, flipping a row of pancakes. "What’s one more strange houseguest at this point?"

That drew a little giggle from her, which made me chuckle too. "Fair point. Still, not everyone would be so calm about it."

"Yeah, well, I’ve had a bit of time to get used to this stuff. Hell, you’re going to have more to adapt to at this point than me."

That triggered an important conversation. As I continued preparing breakfast, Juniper asked thoughtful questions about Earth, showing far more contextual understanding than the other two had after days of being here.

I explained my background—winning the lawsuit, escaping unwanted attention, and ultimately landing in this remote property near Wapa Lake.

"So this Countess Beaumont," Juniper said, "she’s essentially a half-vampire ruler who maintains autonomy from your world’s governments?"

"Essentially, yeah. Technically she just rules Wapa Lake and its immediate surroundings, but her influence extends throughout the county. She’s powerful enough that the authorities decided to just let her... do her thing, I guess."

Juniper nodded thoughtfully. "A safe approach, I suppose—and unusually sensible for governments of such scale given the strangeness of the situation. And you... specifically chose to live near her territory?"

"It seemed like the perfect place to hide from all the people trying to find me and shake me down," I admitted. "Nobody from my old life would think to look for me here. Plus land was cheap so close to Wapa Lake—dirt cheap—which I paid more attention to early on before I realized there was no way I’d be spending all my money."

I added more sausages to the pan, watching them sizzle. "I mentioned it in passing before, but I’ve actually started on plans to renovate the old grain silo into a mage tower for you based on something the other girls suggested," I said casually. "Something that might be more comfortable for you long-term. With ramps instead of stairs, larger open spaces, maybe custom furniture, that sort of thing."

Juniper’s red eyes widened. "You’re converting a structure... for me? But you didn’t even know me yesterday."

I shrugged. "I’ve pretty much accepted my fate at this point. I have the means to embrace it and make the best of it, so that’s what I’m doing."

"That’s..." She seemed genuinely touched. Her eyes flashed toward the stairwell as she seemed to consider something. "That’s remarkably thoughtful."

"Do you want me to grab you a stool or anything?" I asked, looking at her.

"A stool isn’t necessary," she said, uncoiling and slithering closer. Her tail formed a seat beneath her again. "I can comfortably sit on my own tail, as you can see."

I nodded. "Just trying to be polite. I didn’t know if the tail was preferable to a stool or not."

As she settled beside me, I couldn’t help but look her over again—the ram’s horns, the small black wings, the snake tail. It was a hell of a lot to get used to, but I didn’t hate it at all. I realized I was staring and quickly averted my eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" I said, flipping the sausages.

She sighed. "Is it about my boobs?"