The Darkness Within

45 - Good Morning Indeed

A/n: Fair warning, there's sexual content ahead; if that makes you uncomfortable, please skip this chapter entirely or to the ⥐ symbol.

Ciara woke first the next morning, her throat dry and sore. She was warm and comfy and could hear the fuzzy dream-like thoughts that drifted into her mind from Lucienne's, resulting in her reluctance to get out of bed despite her thirst. Still though, she forced herself to sit up from her warm cocoon of the blankets and her mate, and walked to the bathroom. She was too lazy- and honestly still feeling too protective of Lucienne- to walk all the way to the kitchen for water, and instead scooped water into her mouth from the bathroom faucet.

Just as she was finishing gulping massive amounts of water, she felt Lucienne gain proper consciousness, her mate's drifting thoughts no longer sounding muddled. Instead, they were clear thoughts of confusion and worry, wondering where Ciara was, before remembering the previous night. Lucienne's thoughts, when thinking of Ciara, were filled with love, and Ciara had to pull away from them before she melted on the spot.

Admittedly, Ciara had wanted to be angrier with Lucienne for keeping such an important secret, but when her mate- a term that was still a shock to think even to herself- had explained and had felt so very sincere and apologetic, she couldn't help but forgive her. Ciara understood why Lucienne had done what she did, and it had allowed her to heal some before having to deal with the mating bond.

Ciara found her way back to the bedroom, her hands guiding her along the wall, and felt Lucienne's small amount of worry evaporate.

"There you are," Lucienne said, and Ciara smiled sweetly at her.

"I just went to get water, I didn't go far," Ciara explained as she climbed back into the still-warm bed; not that she expected it to get cold with Lucienne being an actual furnace most of the time.

Lucienne simply hummed in response and pulled Ciara into her side, the smaller female rolling a bit so that she was half laying on top of Lucienne.

Ciara felt an odd blush form on her cheeks as she cuddled into Lucienne's neck. At first, she had simply intended to lay there comfortably and enjoy Lucienne's uniquely ashy scent, however, the next moment she was kissing Lucienne's soft lips.

The kiss started gently, with Ciara pushing her lips softly against Lucienne's. But, as a warm and tingling sensation built in her lower stomach, she couldn't help but kiss harder and rougher, pushing her tongue into Lucienne's mouth and claiming every inch. Her kisses soon moved to Lucienne's neck, enjoying the whimpers certain places brought out from her mate, before moving back to Lucienne's mouth.

Lucienne seemed content to let her explore and dominate for a while, Ciara's hands tracing over Lucienne's body and heatedly claiming her mate's mouth. Gradually, Lucienne took back some of the dominance in the kiss, rolling them both over so that she was now leaning over Ciara, taking her own time to explore. A small moan escaped the dark-haired goddess when Lucienne's warm hands gently traced over a sensitive spot on her neck, interrupting their kiss for a moment.

"You like that?" Lucienne teased, and before Ciara could formulate a response, soft lips were being pressed gently to the sensitive spot of her neck making her moan again, this time louder.

Lucienne trailed kisses all over Ciara's neck, occasionally stopping to bite gently at a particularly sensitive spot. As Lucienne moved downwards, hands exploring up under Ciara's shirt along her hips, Ciara's need for Lucienne's touch grew. The Light Goddess's own mind began to ring with a similar sensation of growing need for intimate physical contact.

Lucienne kissed down to Ciara's collarbone, biting the bone gently before she pulled away, making Ciara release a very needy whine as those warm hands left her body. She hadn't meant to make such a sound, but the twisting in her lower stomach and the growing wetness between her legs did not allow her to be embarrassed about it. She wanted her mate close and in contact with her body, not pulling away from her.