Chapter 347: Important Matters (Part One)
For several intense moments, nothing existed for Ashlynn beyond the feel of Nyrielle’s lithe body pressed up against her own, the press of their lips and the dance of their tongues. The faint scent of Nyrielle’s lavender soap filled her nose and the soft texture of silk lace beneath her fingertips reassured her that, even as her mind drifted on waves of pleasure that pulsed all the way down to the most sensitive of places between her thighs, this moment, this touch, this woman in her arms... was real.
The dream they’d shared months ago felt like a dim, pale imitation for the love of her life that teased and tantalized every sense as they held each other beneath the moonlight. No dream, not even a mystical vision that connected them across a distance of hundreds of leagues, could ever compare to the reality of the person their hearts most desired.
But no moment, no matter how intense, could last forever. Slowly, with great reluctance, the two lovers began to relax as their deep, sensual kiss melted into a string of soft pecks on the lips, as if they were promising each other that there was more to come before this night could end.
"I’ve missed you," Ashlynn said softly as she blinked away the moisture filling the corners of her emerald eyes. "My life has never felt so incomplete as it has since you went so far away."
"I waited centuries to find you, my darling," Nyrielle whispered, sliding her fingers beneath the band of Ashlynn’s silky green witch hat to run her fingers through her lover’s soft blonde hair. Briefly, her tongue traced over the stray drop of blood that had spilled down her lip, as if she was savoring the rarest, most precious flavor she’d tasted in hundreds of years of life. "But waiting even an hour longer felt like an eternity."
"You made an impressive entrance," Ashlynn said, her face heating slightly as she began to feel the stares of more than a hundred guests and dignitaries fixed on her and Nyrielle.
"And are you impressed, my darling?" Nyrielle teased lightly. "If not, I can have them do it all over again."
"Don’t, don’t you dare," Ashlynn giggled. "Look, we’re being rude to our host," she said, stepping back and gesturing for High Lady Erna to join them.
"I’m sure that Little Snake doesn’t mind if I greet the most important person present first," Nyrielle said, turning to give Erna a rare and gentle smile. "Thank you, for watching over my Ashlynn since she arrived," she said with a slight bow of her head.
"Teacher, if it were anyone else you’d ignored me for, I might have been hurt," Erna said with a fang baring smile of her own. "But since it’s Ashlynn, I can hardly complain."