Page 141 of Luxuries of Lust

“Aw, somehow, this turned out very sweet,” Glyma said.

The kitchen doors opened, and Bryce popped his head inside. “Hey, Gem, could I borrow your height really quick?”

Rusty followed Gem and Bryce out of the kitchen toward the Christmas tree where Quin, Oliver, and Liel were decorating. Cya—one of the younger closers—must have arrived while Gem was in the kitchen because they were now watching the decoration ceremony with narrowed eyes.Their long curtain of deep green hair looked almost black against their bronze skin, but the ends were brighter green, matching the iridescent scales on their lower body.

They wore a fashionable tunic common amongst Sypents—since they had a tail instead of legs—and their arms were adorned with bangles that clanged every time they moved. Their face was angular and striking, but cold in a way Gem associated with most high-society Pride dwellers. Why Cya worked here, Gem had no idea, but it did pique his curiosity. Unfortunately, Cya was very closed off, and the one time Gem had tried to get them to spill the tea, they’d rebuffed him.

But that was okay. He was nothing if not tenacious.

“Hey, Cya, I didn’t know you were coming today,” Gem said, and Cya blinked up at him with a bored expression.

“Glyma invited me,” they said in their posh Pride accent.

“As well she should have; we’re so happy to have you.” This time, they didn’t respond at all, just another bored blink, and Gem’s smile dimmed. “Well, aren’t you just a bucket of sunshine today? You’ll have to excuse me. Bryce needs to borrow my height.”

After putting the star ornament on top of the tree, Gem decorated the highest branches with Bryce while Quin, Oliver, Liel, and Rusty decorated the lower branches. When Willow and Krul arrived, Willow joined the cooking team while Krul chatted animatedly with Cya. Cya stood stiff as a board, giving one word answers as Krul rambled.

Enfys arrived last, and Gem was only slightly annoyed at her presence. He could admit to himself that his jealousy was petty and unfounded, and her coming to his rescue that night at Zef’s with the whole butthole-debacle had done wonders in improving their relationship. But there was still a partof him that twinged with envy when he thought about how she understood Rusty’s experience in ways he never could.

And yes, he was jealous of her style and overall magnetic aura, but she was growing on him. She was badass and beautiful, and he appreciated both of those qualities. Plus, she was a good friend to Rusty, and how could Gem begrudge either of them for that?

“Is there a reason we’re covering a tree with balls?” Enfys asked, her orange wings flitting lazily open and closed as her antennas flattened in what Gem referred to as her “resting bitch antenna.”

“It’s a human tradition, apparently,” Gem said. “I think it’s used to ward off an evil spirit that crawls into people’s homes through something called a chimney. They have to leave it milk and cookies as an offering so it doesn’t eat their children or something. Isn’t that horrifying?”

“I don’t think that’s the story,” Rusty said as he hung a peppermint-flavored cane on a lower branch.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” Gem said.

As Enfys took Rusty’s place decorating, Gem grabbed Rusty’s hand and dragged him away from the others, dropping his voice to a whisper. “So, I have a surprise for you.”

“What? Why?” Rusty asked, whiskers twitching in curiosity.

“I finally figured out what to give you for your birthday.” Gem wriggled in excitement, bouncing on his toebeans.

With a laugh, Rusty crossed his arms over his chest. “My birthday was months ago, and I told you I didn’t want anything.”

“Bup, bup, bup,” Gem shushed him. “And I told you that I was going to get you a present anyway. It just took me a while to decide.”

“Okay,” Rusty surrendered after a moment, and Gem squealed in excitement and bent down to kiss him briefly.

When he started unbuttoning his shorts, Rusty chittered and intervened. “What are you doing? If you want to give me a sexy present for my birthday, that’s fine, but not in front of our coworkers.”

“It’s not a sexy present. Well, maybe you’ll think it’s sexy, but that’s not—ugh, can I just show you?” At Rusty’s hesitation, Gem huffed. “I’m not taking my clothes off. I just have to loosen my shorts because they’re hella tight.”

“Okay?” Rusty said, sounding even less enthused.

Turning around, Gem grabbed the band of his shorts and tugged them down just enough on the left side to reveal the top of his asscheek. He watched Rusty over his shoulder, grinning wildly as Rusty’s eyes widened, then the Pyclon laughed, covering his mouth with a paw.

“Oh my gods,” he said, and Gem giggled.

“I know. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Oh my gods,” Rusty repeated, and Gem danced in place.

“I know! I was so scared, but I did it anyway.”

Clawed fingers spanned over his hip and ass as Rusty inspected the tattoo. It was still freshly scabbed and healing, but Gem thought it looked spectacular, even if it had been the most horrifying experience of his life.

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