Chapter 459: The Shadows In Our Hearts
"I’ve done it again," Nyrielle said, splashing in the warm water to wash the tears from her eyes. "I’m leaping at shadows again where there was nothing to fear in the first place."
The wave of relief that washed over her left her knees weak and her face flushed, and if she hadn’t been clinging to Ashlynn, she might have slipped beneath the steamy surface of the water as the tension melted from her body.
She was upset at Ashlynn for pushing herself so hard and taking so many risks, but she’d forgotten that even though her lover had begun to wield powers like her own, there was still a wide gap between them in terms of experience and the ability to use that power effectively. Rather than treating Ashlynn like a young woman still growing into her power, she’d tried to treat her like a true equal before she was ready for everything that went with that.
Ashlynn had impressed her so much with her progress in High Fen City, navigating the politics of the city in ways that Nyrielle herself had never thought to delve into, that she’d forgotten how new to all of this Ashlynn still was... and how hard she must have been pushing herself, even in things as ’ordinary’ as negotiations with merchants, in order to accomplish as much as she had.
"Promise me that you’ll treasure yourself more," Nyrielle said solemnly. "That you’ll reach out for help sooner and more often. And, and tell me when the burdens on your shoulders have become too heavy," she added softly.
"You talk of snatching young Ollie away from the life he’s known as though you haven’t suffered the same and worse. For all the grace you give him," Nyrielle said, stretching up in the bath to gently kiss Ashlynn’s brow. "Extend some of that same grace to yourself. If not for your own good, then do it for me."
"I will," Ashlynn said, trembling under the brush of Nyrielle’s lips. "For both of us. Now, let me make it up to you," she added, wrapping her arms around the other woman’s lithe frame and relishing in the feeling of Nyrielle’s silky soft skin sliding over her own. "You said that we have the whole day. Savor it with me," she said, leaning in to brush Nyrielle’s lips with her own.
What started as a chaste kiss quickly grew deeper as the vampire responded with enthusiasm, drinking in Ashlynn’s taste as though she were a fine wine. Their tongues darted back and forth, rolling over each other in a constant back and forth of hunger and desire. In the dream they shared, their kiss lacked the sharp edge of Nyrielle’s fangs and the familiar taste of blood and power that mingled with so many of their shared moments.
Instead, each woman drank deeply in the other for physical proof of the words they’d spoken. Hands sliding from shoulders to hip or fingers getting tangled in each other’s wet hair while warm, steaming water splashed around them acted as constant reassurances of desire that went far beyond primal lust.
Nyrielle’s heartbeat echoed in Ashlynn’s chest, falling perfectly in tune with her own racing pulse as she used her body to tell Nyrielle that she truly belonged completely to her. At the same time, Ashlynn’s hands clung to her lover, and her legs wrapped around the other woman’s, trapping her lithe figure as if to say, ’I belong to you, but you also belong to me.’
Words were completely unnecessary as their gentle back and forth became more and more intense, sending waves of water splashing against the marble edges of the tub as wave after wave of pleasure enveloped their bodies.