Chapter 140

Natalie helped undress Ana. Or undress herself. Because it was her armor, and her body. But that didn’t change the fact that, more than anything, it felt like she was stripping her teammate.

What a mess.

Sensing Natalie’s awkwardness, Ana politely avoided looking down at her body—Natalie’s body—as she undressed. It was clearly for Natalie’s sake.

Natalie sighed. “You don’t have to do that. You can look. There’s no point tip-toeing around each other.”

Ana studied her for a moment. “I agree. But if you’re uncomfortable with it, then you’re uncomfortable.”

“It’s whatever.”

Slowly, Ana nodded. “Then, it is rather difficult to avoid,” she admitted. “Especially with how much you have up top. There’s too much to not accidentally look.” To emphasize the point, she cupped her breasts and bounced them, showcasing Natalie’s unwieldy assets.

Natalie stared at her, disbelieving of what the clueless girl had so casually done. She shook her head in incredulity, then continued helping Ana unstrap her gear. This girl.

“Then again,” Ana commented idly, “maybe you’re just saying I can look so that you can look.”

Natalie started to protest, but stopped before the words came out. Despite Ana’s face—Natalie’s face?—being passive, like it always was, Natalie detected a hint of sparkling eyes.

“You’re messing with me,” she said in realization. “Wait. All of it? The bouncing too?”

“Yes,” Ana said. “I would think that was obvious, but I’ve been told it’s difficult to tell when I’m joking. So I understand.”

The words were delivered with a complete deadpan. Natalie stared at her, then gave a short, incredulous laugh. “Difficult. That’s putting it lightly. Anyway,” she said, happy to grab onto a conversational topic to distract from the fact she was helping peel armor off of Ana. “You do joke, then. What about that stuff with Sofia?” She hadn’t been able to tell.

“My offer to be her owner?” Ana asked. “And my stating that the situation was humorous?” She hummed. “It depends what you define as a joke, I suppose.”

It took Natalie a second to understand what she meant. “The offer was real, but you were also teasing.”

“More or less.”

“But, you meant it? You wanted Sofia as a pet?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

That was fair. But Natalie was more than a bit shocked to hear Ana state it outright.

“After all, she’s a proficient duelist,” Ana said. “And an extra pair of hands never hurts. She’d make an excellent pet. One of the best familiars I could imagine, down in the dungeon.”

Ana managed to make an impassive expression look tauntingly innocent.

Natalie narrowed her eyes. “Stop messing with me.” Disregarding the teasing, though, Natalie was still curious. “You’re attracted to Sofia?”

“She’s objectively an attractive woman.”

“But you’re serious about wanting her,” Natalie pressed.

“I’m usually serious.”

“You prefer women, then?” That much was obvious by this point, but she wanted to ask outright.

“Yes. Does that make all of this more or less awkward?” She quirked an eyebrow as she looked down at her body, which was losing piece of armor after piece of armor.

“Uh.” Natalie wasn’t sure. “Both.”

Ana snorted. “Don’t worry,” she said dismissively. “I already know that Sofia is yours. I’m not infatuated with her—she’s just plainly a beautiful woman. But I won’t intrude. I have little interest in romance in general, for that matter.”

There was a lot of revelations about Ana to take in there. Though, one tidbit felt more important than the rest. Something that needed immediate clarification.

“Sofia isn’t mine. Why would you say that?”

Ana paused, giving Natalie an odd look. “I see.”

“What? She isn’t.”

“Okay.”

“She isn’t.”

Ana shrugged.

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Ana, then, after a brief internal debate, dropped the topic. She didn’t want to venture down that path. Sofia was a sticky topic even with Jordan, who Natalie trusted with just about anything.

Soon enough, the two finished undressing. They placed their gear in the marble bin, but kept their weapons. Natalie stalwartly didn’t look down at herself—at Ana’s body—despite having told Ana it wasn’t a big deal. Not that she could avoid everything, since Ana wasn’t exactly flat. Natalie caught plenty in her periphery.