As a warrior, one develops a keen sense for being watched particularly the weight of someone's gaze.
But that instinct is limited to direct visual contact. Surveillance through hidden cameras or thermal sensors beyond solid walls was a different story entirely. Harder to detect. Almost impossible.
The same applied to Ethan Chen and 2B. Neither had the slightest idea that Ada Wong was observing them from afar not with her eyes, but through a skill that mapped the heat signatures of their bodies through the wall, forming images in her mind.
Even Observation Haki wouldn't have helped. Even 2B's radar scan had no use here.
All she could know was that someone was nearby and active. Where exactly they were looking or if they were peering through surfaces that was unknowable.
So, unaware they were being watched, the two behaved naturally just as they always did.
In the captain's quarters, locked in a heated embrace, Ethan suddenly withdrew from 2B's body. Like a flower suddenly shaded, her parted lips seemed to question where the sunlight had gone.
A sharp sound rang out as Ethan gave her a playful slap on her full, firm curves. He said nothing, but 2B understood instinctively, turning around to embrace him again. One toned leg wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck.
Ethan caught her mid-movement, strong arms lifting her effortlessly. His core strength surged as he brought her down with forceful precision.
This time, he didn't return to the same familiar garden. Instead, he led them into another one where clear waters rippled, lotus petals bloomed, and every movement echoed like a wave in a crystalline pond.
His mouth explored hers in a passionate kiss, as if pouring every ounce of fire into her lips.
His hands firm and steady alternated between appreciating the softness of the moon and tending to the flower that had not yet fully basked in the sun.
Tossing and catching her three-hundred-pound frame was nothing for Ethan's trained body. His abs and hips moved in perfect synchrony, each motion smooth and powerful.
Under his rhythm, the moon quivered on a glassy sea reflections like the real one outside the cabin window.
With every crash, waves scattered crystal-clear droplets across the walls and floor, like stardust breaking upon a tide.
It didn't take long before the whirlpool stirred.
But Ethan was no longer the untrained man he once was. After countless hours of physical training and system upgrades, the force of that swirling storm no longer overwhelmed him.
He had resistance now.
And so, rather than dodge the blow, he braced and took it head-on.
Still, even his body couldn't come away unaffected. The sheer intensity left him winded. His stamina took a hit, and his ability to launch another attack was momentarily halted.
Breathing hard, Ethan held 2B's trembling form tightly, neither of them moving.
That was when a knock sounded at the cabin door.
"Who is it?" Ethan asked, voice still husky.
"Ada Wong," came the voice from outside. "Do you have a moment? I'd like to talk."
"Not really," Ethan replied. "I'm in the middle of a bath."
"Is that so?" Ada smirked to herself. Her ability told her exactly what was happening inside. "Then this is probably the perfect time. I could help scrub your back, maybe? Wouldn't hurt to try."
"No thanks. I'm good."
"Really?"
Without waiting for further permission, Ada tried the doorknob. It wasn't locked.
The door creaked open.
She stepped in and feigned surprise at the sight of the two figures intertwined in the bathroom skin glistening, breath thick in the air.
Rather than retreat, Ada took her time. Her eyes wandered slowly down Ethan's sculpted frame, pausing with curiosity and admiration. Then, without hesitation, she dragged a chair over, crossed one long leg over the other stockings catching the light and said with nonchalance, "Don't mind me. Continue. Pretend I'm not here."
"How am I supposed to keep going with you staring like that?" Ethan muttered.
Feeling the moment had passed, Ethan carefully separated from 2B. He moved slowly, deliberately, allowing Ada to take in every detail his calm composure only sharpening the raw, restrained power of his physique.
She watched with widened eyes, lips parted, throat twitching.
For the first time, Ada realized just how dangerously captivating this man was.
Strength. Looks. Aura.
He was the full package.
And he struck precisely the kind of nerve that made her weak.
Ethan chuckled lightly, then laid 2B gently down to rest. She hadn't yet recovered, her body still limp from exhaustion. He grabbed a robe and tossed it over his shoulders, not bothering to tie it shut.
Bare-chested, he strolled toward Ada.
She didn't flinch. Didn't look away.
There was no fear in her expression only something else. Something raw.
No not her heart.
It was her body that yearned.
Ripened and untouched, now dripping with anticipation.
He leaned in close. The dragon brushed against her lips as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"You interrupted the captain's training," he murmured. "How do you plan to make that up to me?"
"Apologies," Ada whispered, her breath warm on his fingers. Then, whether by accident or design, her tongue flicked out and touched her lips just barely.
It wasn't accidental.
No one apologizes like that unless they mean it.
Ethan saw through it, but pretended not to. He turned away with an exaggerated shrug and flopped down onto the bed.
"Just sorry? That's it? If you're serious about making it up to me, then at least fold your clothes neatly and kneel before me."
"Is that all you want?" Ada smiled, trailing her tongue along her lips. "Don't you want more than that?"
"You tell me," he said. "What are you offering?"
"You asked for an apology. Shouldn't you name the price?"
"You're the one who owes me. I want to see your sincerity."
This was no simple flirtation. It was a contest of wills.
Ethan wanted Ada to surrender to offer her loyalty on her own terms.
Ada, in contrast, was testing him. She wanted to know what he desired most, so she could use it gain the upper hand.
Two predators circling, each waiting for the other to blink.
But in the end, it was Ada trained spy though she was who cracked first.
Her body betrayed her.
Her needs were no longer subtle. They were all-consuming.
And she now knew why.
It was the effect of the Snake-Snake Fruit.
In some Eastern cultures, snakes were often symbols of lust. When mating, they would twist together in tangled knots indistinct from one another and stay like that for hours. Sometimes days.
The fruit had awakened something in her. Something primal.
Something that wanted to coil around the dragon before her and never let go.
Ada didn't follow Ethan's exact instructions. She didn't fold her clothes or kneel in reverence.
Instead, she knelt between his legs.
And with that long, agile tongue, she began to move in a way that was slow, deliberate, and utterly serpentine.
Her throat welcomed him without resistance. Smooth. Unnaturally deep.
A skill she hadn't possessed before.
It was, in every sense, a serpent's throat.
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