Page 169 of To Fight and To Fold

And she was none the wiser of how. Not yet.

She wrapped Thea in her arms and buried her face in her neck, her scent, her warmth, her touch—hugging her just as tightly—and her comfort.

They were pressed together from head to toe, and it still wouldn't ever be close enough for Aaryn. Not after she'd seen Thea almost⁠—

There was something frantic in Aaryn, as if she was on the precipice of losing Thea all over again, and she clutched her firmly.

"I want you, forever. Like the way I'm tied to Starspark. I want that for us," she said, words clumsy but carrying her entire heart and depositing it into Thea's hands. "I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't," Thea said, and cradled her close, her hand tangling in Aaryn's hair. "I'm right here."

"I could be inside you and it wouldn't be close enough," Aaryn pouted.

Aaryn felt the pause, the curl of Thea's lips against her cheek. "Well, you could certainly try."

The heaviness of the moment dissipated as they laughed, lips colliding with their giggles. Their comforting embrace turned to desire, dripping with something soft instead of desperate.

"What did you do? To make me feel better?" Aaryn asked.

Thea mumbled her response into Aaryn's throat.

"What?"

"I traced a rune into you."

"That's what you were doing down there?" Aaryn asked with a delighted laugh.

"It worked better than the cold cloth, didn't it?" Thea returned, equal parts smug and embarrassed.

Aaryn framed her face and squeezed just slightly until her lips pursed. She pecked a kiss there and tried to tame down the aggressive tenderness in her chest.

"What am I going to do with you?" Aaryn asked.

"Literally anything," Thea breathed. "I'm yours."

She said it like a profession, like a vow, with so much reverence in her voice.

Aaryn kissed her. And that kiss melted into the pleasure and passion they'd become intimate with in the last day. Aaryn traced her affection into Thea's skin with her lips and teeth and gentle touches until Thea was the one writhing beneath her and she was dragging shivers from Thea's limbs.

Aaryn tasted her as if she were parched, and while she may not be familiar enough with runes to trace one into her skin, she imagined she left her mark anyway with each muffled cry and twitch of Thea's body, with each pulse of her cunt around Aaryn's fingers.

Aaryn crooked them, and Thea jolted. Her moan urged Aaryn on, and it was while she was watching Thea fall apart beneath her that the rune wore off, that the magic within her burned through its seal and swelled again.

She directed it all into Thea, lowering her head and feasting upon her. She tasted her pleasure and took it for herself because Aaryn discovered she was greedy. She wanted the tremble of Thea's thighs around her shoulders, and the quake of her walls around her fingers, and the sound of her moans in her ear.

She wanted the tangled hands in her hair, tugging at the strands until delightful bursts of pleasure tickled down her spine, over her skin in waves.

But even more, she needed Thea. Just, all of her.

"Aaryn!" Thea cried out, and Aaryn felt her start to tremble. She pressed deeper, drawing Thea into her mouth, and worked her tongue. She gripped her thigh, holding her, making her still so the pleasure could find her, unavoidable.

Thea tensed, and her hands tightened, a gasp sounded and—she cried out as she came, high-pitched and relieved. Aaryn eased her through it, slowing her thrusts, memorizing the way Thea clamped around her digits, her hips rocking in slow, agonized movements as they dared to drag it out until her thighs shook and went limp.

Aaryn nipped at her thigh and then drew a map up her body, disentangling them in one way only to wrap them back up in another.

Thea coaxed her to her lips. "Can I try another rune?"

Aaryn nodded, head already foggy with the magic, the need. "You can do whatever you want with me."