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Chapter Twenty-seven: What Now, Princess?
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Nika woke up to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains of their hotel room, casting a warm glow over the woman still dead asleep beside her. She smiled at the sight, stretching languidly. She leant down, pulling her closer by the waist as her fingers tugged away the strands of hair on her nape. She peppered kisses from the back of her neck down her exposed back, hand palming her bare stomach as she inhaled the scent of her faint perfume deeply.
Quietly slipping out of bed, Nika padded across the room and prepared two mugs of coffee after struggling to work the room's crappy machine. She carefully carried it to Ariana's side of the bed, setting it down on a small table beside her. The aroma of coffee soon filled the room, mingling with the scent of lavender from the incense on Nika's bedside table.
Ariana stirred awake, blinking her eyes open slowly, met with Nika's half-smirk, half-smile.
"Morning, princess." the Croatian murmured in a low, hoarse voice, helping the younger prop herself up on the pillows. Nika handed her a mug of coffee, their fingers brushing lightly as she did so.
"Morning. What's this?" Ariana asked, settling back against the headboard as she took a small sip.
"It's me treating my girl right." Nika set her mug down, kissing the younger's head as she got up. "Don't worry about packing and stuff, go get ready. We're meeting the team downstairs in an hour to catch our flight." She leant down, pressing a quick kiss against Ariana's lips. Her own spreading into a warm grin. "Enjoy, draga."
"Ooh, 'draga'? What does that mean?"
"It means 'my darling'."
"Oh. It's cariña in Spanish."
"Cariña... I can work with that." Nika smirked. She set her mug down. "Hey, I've been thinking," She began hesitantly, her fingers playing with the edge of the blanket. "About us, and... well, where we're headed."
Ariana looked at her with a curious expression, setting her own mug aside. "Go on," she encouraged gently, reaching out to take Nika's nervous hands. Her own lacing their fingers together instinctively. The action eased Nika's fidgeting momentarily, her sharp eyes growing dull and soft when she looked back up at Ariana's. Nika squeezed her hand lightly, drawing courage from the warmth of Ariana's touch.
"Baby, you mean so much to me," she continued earnestly. "I wake up and go to sleep thinking about you. You're practically my lifeline, I breathe you, and I... I want you to know I'm serious about you."
Ariana's eyes widened slightly in surprise, her fingers tightening around Nika's hand. "Are you saying...?"
Nika nodded, a soft smile spreading across her face. "I know things are still fresh and you need some time to figure things out with Kate and Paige and everybody, so I'm not asking anything of you right now." She lifted their hands, planting soft kisses along Ariana's knuckles. "But I love you, Ariana. I love you."
