The fire had burned low and the moon had begun its inexorable journey toward the horizon by the time Nyrielle and Ashlynn began their game of Fangs and Feather. The few moments that Nyrielle spent appreciating her loverâs beauty left Ashlynn squirming in anticipation as every sense strained to feel the slightest touch.
Goosebumps rose on her skin as the faintest whisper of a breeze from the shuttered windows drifted through the room. The muscles of her abdomen clenched as she tensed for a faint touch that never came. No sooner had she begun to relax, however, than Nyrielle climbed into the bed. The movement tugged at the bedspread beneath her, triggering Ashlynnâs sensitive body yet again as she tensed, waiting for Nyrielle to make her move.
Slowly, like a great cat stalking its prey, Nyrielle crawled across the bed, hovering just above Ashlynnâs tender sides. Slowly, moving with a combination of grace and precision that would be impossible for most humans, she reached out with the tip of the featherâs quill, lightly prodding her with a faint, sharp pressure.
"Fangs," Ashlynn said confidently as her body shivered at Nyrielleâs touch. Sheâd imagined she could at least feel the vampireâs breath on her skin before a fang made contact but sheâd forgotten that, if she didnât wish to, Nyrielle didnât need to breathe at all. It was only due to years of habit that the vampire did so, but now that very habit had turned into a surprising advantage!
"Wrong," Nyrielle said with a wicked smile. Leaning in close, she brushed her lips across Ashlynnâs side before pricking her skin ever so lightly with her fangs. The instant she did, a wave of pleasure rippled through Ashlynnâs body, pulling a startled gasp from her lips before she bit her lower lip and allowed the sensation to consume her until she felt Nyrielleâs tongue lapping up a few drops of blood like a kitten lapping up cream.
"Letâs try again," Nyrielle said, shifting on the bed to approach Ashlynnâs opposite side, this time, hovering just above her mark of the witch. While she wouldnât risk biting into the mark itself, the smooth, creamy thigh beneath the mark offered a perfect target for the tip of her fang.
"That was a fang," Ashlynn said, clutching at the sheets that bound her wrists to stop from flinching away from Nyrielleâs feather-light touch. "This time, that really was a fang."
"Oh?" Nyrielle said in a slow, languid tone. "How do you know?"
"When you pricked me with the quill, I felt the faintest brush of the soft strands at the base of the feather," she said proudly. She hadnât noticed it at first, but now that she had something to compare it to, she was certain that sheâd noticed something different from the first time. "Iâm right, arenât I? Fangs?"
"My darling Ashlynn is very clever," Nyrielle said, moving further up to brush her lips and the point of a fang ever so gently beneath the swell of Ashlynnâs breast. "And that time?"
"I, I donât know," Ashlynn said, her body trembling in the wake of the light, delicate touch. "Feather?"
"Not this time," Nyrielle said, her midnight blue eyes swirling with hunger as she lowered her lips again to prick Ashlynnâs skin with her fangs. This time, Ashlynnâs entire body shook as the feeling of Nyrielleâs bite coursed through her. The wooden posts of the bed groaned as Ashlynn pulled against her restraints and Nyrielle felt her fingernails lengthening into claws as the sweet, earthy flavor unique to Ashlynnâs blood filled her mouth.
A moment later, when Nyrielle pulled back, both women were trembling with a mixture of carnal desire and decadent fulfillment that left them craving more. Licking the last drop of Ashlynnâs blood from her lips, Nyrielle began to suspect that her loverâs blood had become even richer with the energy of life after training under the Mother of Thorns and the intoxicating taste clouded her mind with a desire to drink much, much deeper than she had.
"Ashlynn, my darling," Nyrielle said in a voice that had grown hoarse with desire. "Are you still willing to keep playing?"
"No," Ashlynn said with a contented smile spreading across her lips. Nyrielle wasnât begging to feed on her but it didnât matter. She could hear her victory in the other womanâs voice. Nyrielleâs pride wouldnât let her admit defeat so soon but Ashlynn had no desire to push her lover to her limits. Nyrielleâs hunger was dangerous enough and they were already playing with fire.
"Bite me, my love," Ashlynn said, flicking her wrist to free herself from the bedsheet that bound her and beckoning for Nyrielle to join her. "All of me is yours to feast upon," she added, gesturing to her voluptuous curves.
"Then prepare yourself, my darling," Nyrielle said as she dropped the feather to descend on Ashlynnâs body like a bird of prey falling on her prey.
Nyrielleâs midnight blue eyes seemed to swell in Ashlynnâs vision until they became liquid pools of the night sky reflecting only the woman that completely consumed Nyrielleâs heart. With carefully restrained strength, Nyrielle wrapped her arms around Ashlynnâs body, pulling her close enough that they could feel each otherâs heartbeats through their chests.
Then, gently, delicately, with as much restraint as she could manage, Nyrielle sank her fangs into Ashlynnâs neck, drinking deeply for the first time in several days as she savored the flavor of her one and only love.
Ashlynnâs body trembled as wave after wave of pleasure spread from her neck to her toes, enveloping her in a haze that felt warm and comforting at the same time as it was intense and stimulating. The sound of wood snapping echoed in the luxurious room as Ashlynn pulled her other arm free of the binding, shattering a bedpost in the process as she wrapped her arms around Nyrielle, clutching at the other womanâs back with enough strength to crack the bones of an ordinary person.
Both women trembled as hot, metallic blood slid down Nyrielleâs eager throat. Her tongue danced across Ashlynnâs neck, savoring a taste that was as sharp as a knife and as smooth as honey.
Several heartbeats later, both women felt themselves falling toward a dark abyss that lay deep within Nyrielleâs heart, but this time, brilliant emerald energy surged from Ashlynnâs hands as she pushed back against the darkness.
"Enough, my love," Ashlynn said as her act of resistance took the last of the strength remaining in her body. "I canât take much more," she whispered.
Slowly and with great tenderness, Nyrielle pulled back from her loverâs neck, licking the wound until it sealed, and not a trace of blood remained to mar the perfect, pristine beauty of Ashlynnâs tender neck.
"Youâve grown so much stronger, my darling," Nyrielle said as a swirl of emerald green energy danced within her eyes before it was devoured by the midnight blue depths of her gaze. "Before long, Iâll pose no threat to you."
"You could never threaten me," Ashlynn said, raising a hand weakly to cup Nyrielleâs face. "You would never choose to harm me, and one day, Iâll catch up to where you are..." she said, her voice growing quieter and quieter until she lost the strength to keep her eyes open and her hand slipped from Nyrielleâs face.
"One day, not long from now," Nyrielle agreed, wrapping herself around her sleeping lover and holding her close. The darkness within her still threatened to consume them, but perhaps, one day, they truly would have nothing to fear and could surrender themselves to the pleasure they both craved. One day when there was nothing in the world that could threaten them and all they needed was each other...
Outside, there were still several hours left before dawn, but just as Ashlynn had warned, once Nyrielle fed, certain things would have to end. For Nrielle, however, the hours she spent holding Ashlynnâs sleeping figure were just as precious as the moments they spent locked in the bliss of her bite. Theyâd been apart for far too long and her body craved far more from Ashlynn than just her loverâs blood.
"Soon, my love," Nyrielle whispered as she gently stroked Ashlynnâs hair. "Soon, your enemies will fall and we can wipe away one of your worries, the way youâve wiped away so many of mine..."