ASCENSION: BOOK 2 - SHADOW BLOODS.

Chapter 2: The Commander & The Ambassador.

I'd been awake since dawn broke. My head was racing with what felt like a thousand and one responsibilities keeping me from my sleep.
As I turned over in bed, my worries instantly faded away as I glanced over at the beautiful woman asleep next to me. A smile played upon my lips as I traced my fingertips along the dark lines that were now etched upon her naked back.
After her ascension, Lexa had decided to honour her fallen Natblidas by having her back tattooed so she would forever bear the mark of her conclave. Six circles, one for each Nightblood and the seventh for her rise to The Throne Of Polis. On the back of her neck she bore the sacred symbol of The Commanders, black ink now covering the scar left behind by The Flame.
The intricate circles and patterns fascinated me and each time I awoke to see them I couldn't help but follow the lines with my touch.
As I continued to move across Lexa's back, I felt her body shift as her breathing changed, "Is this how you intend to wake me every morning, Ambassador?" Lexa softly spoke, her voice still husky from sleep.
I moved closer to her, feeling the warmth of our naked bodies pressed together, "Is that a complaint, Commander?" I playfully answered, placing a kiss upon her shoulder.
Lexa turned over to face me with a smile, "Only if you stop."
She pulled me closer and kissed my lips, gently at first, before that all too familiar heat began to rise between us. The kiss deepened as our touch became more and more intense. It was always like this between us, that  intensity burning hotter and hotter the more time we spent together.
I craved her day and night, my Trikru Commander, my wild warrior woman, keeping that fire in my soul lit.
Lexa owned every part of me, she was the only one who ever had, the only one I had opened up my heart to.
We were caught up in the middle of such tumultuous times, but here, in each other's arms the heavy burden we faced simply fell away. These were the moments I lived for, the moments that made it clear that life was about more than just surviving.
As war with the Mountain Men brewed on the horizon, the uncertainty of our fate was ever prevalent. I looked deeply into the eyes of the woman I loved as we lay entwined beneath the furs and I knew exactly what I was fighting for, what I would die for if it came to that.
For Polis, for our people, but most of all for my Heda.