Page 141 of To Fight and To Fold

Aaryn nodded, tasting the words from Thea's lips directly, her hips rocking into every slick press of her fingers. It bloomed within her, beneath her skin. "Thea," she whined.

"I love the sound of my name on your lips."

Aaryn tipped her head back but Thea coaxed her upright again, her gaze intense and lip bitten as she watched the pleasure overtake Aaryn, arm flexing and shifting with every stroke. "I want to see you come for me."

And she did. It swelled within her before cresting, and Aaryn stiffened as it hit, a hitching breath preceding the absolute fall. She welcomed it with rolling hips and a messy kiss, yanking Thea close as if she might find refuge in the surge of pleasure. Thea coaxed her into the depths, dragging her fingers through a sudden flood of arousal, lips twitching against Aaryn’s in satisfaction.

Aaryn went limp once it faded, the clover soft beneath her.

Thea's hand retreated, and she lifted—Aaryn watched with half-lidded eyes as Thea sucked the shine from her fingers one at a time. She pulled Thea atop her, giving her arm a break and delighted to feel her full weight. The kiss turned slow and lazy, lips sticky with affection and her own taste.

Aaryn's knee was between Thea's thighs, and she pressed up, felt the jolt of Thea's hips, captured them to drag her against the friction.

"You aren't going to leave me alone in this afterglow, are you?" she challenged.

Thea took a slow, deep breath, eyes fluttering shut. "I wouldn't—wouldn't dream of it," she murmured.

Aaryn drank in the sight of Thea. "Can I touch you?"

Thea's hands were at the waistband of her pants. "Oh, fuck, I don't wear belts anymore," she breathed, and they both laughed, Aaryn delighted at Thea’s flush and so full of affection and desire.

Thea was wet at her touch, and Aaryn hoped she wouldn't notice the shake to her hand, the nerves that ran rampant beneath her skin⁠—

"Skies above," Thea groaned, and buried her head in Aaryn's throat. Aaryn repeated the same stroke that had inspired such a sound and discovered art in the way Thea muffled her pleasure into Aaryn's neck, then wondered if the thump of her heartbeat was as obvious as the wet pulse at her fingertips.

Aaryn wanted so much of Thea—gripping her waist to feel every grind of her hips, skating her hand over her bared skin, cupping her breast, coaxing Thea to sit up so Aaryn could reach her with her lips. Maybe she wasn't quite skilled enough to do both at once, but Thea certainly didn't seem to notice her stilted rhythm.

Aaryn, however, noticed everything. Every gasp, the dart of Thea’s tongue to wet her lips, the shake of her body and the squeeze of her thighs. The shiver as Aaryn rolled Thea's nipple between her fingers, and flicked over the other with her tongue.

"I'm—" Thea pitched out, her voice high and tight, the frame of her poised over the peak.

"I want to see you too," Aaryn said, face aflame at voicing her desires. "Feel you in the palm of my hand."

Thea's hips stuttered, and a hand shot between them, gripping Aaryn's wrist as she cried out, biting down on the sound as she tensed and splintered apart.

Aaryn flattened her palm, grinding the heel of it gently, easing Thea through the aftershocks.

Their chests expanded with each breath and in the following silence, Aaryn didn't know quite what to say. She was content here, beneath Thea, petting a hand through her dark hair.

"So. That wasn't exactly what I had planned to show you today," Thea murmured into Aaryn's shoulder.

Aaryn laughed, affection overwhelming her. "Oh, I don't know," she teased. "That was pretty magical, if you ask me."

Aaryn and Thea practically floated around the circle in the following hours and into the next day.

Thea was no longer running from Aaryn between their practice sessions. In fact, they'd met for a meal, and Aaryn's cheeks flushed every time she remembered Thea's head thrown back, her throat on full display and a moan spilling from her lips.

What pulled Aaryn out of the honeymoon-like afterglow was the murmur of something she hadn't heard in years.

"—death by dragon's breath," someone hissed as Aaryn and Thea passed them.

The phrase stopped them both in their tracks, and they shared a twin glance of dread.

"Briggs," Thea called, because of course Thea recognized one of them enough to call out to them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh! Uh—hey, Thea," Briggs greeted, somewhat nervously. Briggs had multiple bands of runes tattooed around his arms, a few piercings. He was someone important. His gaze darted beyond them. "Vaelen wants to see you when you get a chance."

Aaryn's stomach sank, and the skip was gone from their steps.