Page 156 of To Fight and To Fold

Thea kissed her. Skies, they were so close she barely had to lean forward before she tasted her again.

She'd missed this. It had been days since the fire, and before that, days since Thea had lied to Aaryn, and been forgiven. For what? For⁠—

"I can hear you thinking again," Aaryn murmured.

"Thank you for trusting me," Thea blurted. "Even though I keep giving you reasons not to."

Aaryn… rolled her eyes. And promptly took Thea's hand.

Aaryn grinned as she marched them home, her smile wicked and excited, and it made Thea warm. Especially as she pulled her through the doorway, shutting it a little too loudly, chuckling at the urgency. Then she pushed Thea to the closed door, tossing her long hair over her shoulder and meeting her gaze.

"So you want me, hm?" Aaryn asked, teasing and knowing and so very cute it was devastating.

Thea stuttered. "What?"

Aaryn laughed, the sound bright, and Thea was so taken with this woman. Thea kissed her because she couldn't resist.

It was different this time, as if Thea could taste her intentions in the kiss, or maybe feel the intensity of it in the way their lips pressed together, the way they parted and locked as one, tongues slipping out to meet. Heat made Thea lightheaded, sensation fluttering down her body and coalescing in her core. Her cheeks were surely ten shades of lavender at this point, but she didn't care as she tangled a hand in Aaryn's long pink hair and tilted her head for a better angle.

Thea tugged a little harder than she meant to, and a weak gasp spilled from Aaryn into Thea's mouth.

"I want you too, you know."

Twenty shades of purple now.

Thea gripped Aaryn’s hips and walked her back toward the bed. Their steps were clumsy, excited, and they laughed as they stumbled before finally breaking the kiss to arrive safely. Aaryn sat, bouncing into place, her hair so long it fell over her shoulders and pooled on the bed.

She stared up at Thea, lips bitten, cheeks flushed, eyes darkening, and Thea swore she resembled a siren just then, her gaze the summer fields she could lose herself in. She followed her to the bed like a dragon to a sunbeam.

Aaryn parted her legs to make room for her and Thea sank between them, a hand landing in the pillows to hold herself up.

"I want you more. All the time," Thea said as she leaned over her.

Aaryn shook her head, and Thea watched her chest rise as she drew in a deep breath. "I want you m⁠—"

"Aaryn." Thea kissed her, their lips melting together, learning each other anew. "You're the only one I'd ever kiss like that," she breathed. "Okay?"

Aaryn's eyes widened, which in their half-lidded state meant they opened a normal amount. Then she nodded. "Okay."

"The only one I want, yeah?" she pressed. Thea wrapped an arm around her waist, tugged her closer until she could feel the heat of Aaryn's body against her own. "Shall I prove it?"

Aaryn’s arms were folded between them, and she grasped at Thea's shirt. "I'd like that," she said, looking awfully proud of herself, before their lips crashed together.

And Thea couldn't—didn't want to—argue with that, their tongues twining as they bravely explored each other's mouths. Gone were the shy, unsure kisses. In their place were soft hums and gasps for air only when positively required for sustenance, because as much as Thea would argue otherwise, she could not survive on Aaryn's lips alone.

When they parted for breath, Thea trailed her mouth to the side, dragging her lips along Aaryn's cheek, her jaw, and Aaryn tilted her head to give Thea more access. The floral musk of her was heavier here, at her pulse, behind her ear. She nipped at the thin skin of her throat and reveled in the sounds she earned.

Aaryn's hands squeezed Thea's hips, then roamed over her back, and Thea wished more than anything that their skin was touching.

She could make that wish a reality, she realized, and changed direction, lips roaming and kisses dropping into the dip of her collarbone until her shirt was in the way.

"Off," Aaryn said, a demand more than a suggestion, and a husky one at that.

Thea smirked, sat up, and loved the weight of Aaryn beneath her, the seat of her thighs plush but firm. A princess in a tower no more.

Thea wanted her so terribly, her fingers practically shaking as she fumbled with the buttons. Eventually she remembered how they worked and managed to slip them free, baring pieces of Aaryn bit by tantalizing bit.

Her flushed pale skin, pink from the heat trapped within Aaryn—that is, if it was anything like the fizzing warmth beneath Thea's own skin. The pert roundness of her breasts, rising and falling with each rushed breath. A soft stomach, hips that begged for Thea's hands around them.