The Vampire & Her Witch

Darkness swirled around Nyrielle as she took Ashlynn in her arms, scooping the young noblewoman up like a princess and carrying her away to the luxurious wing of the palace reserved for visiting dignitaries.

Inside Ashlynn’s bedchamber, a fire crackled in the massive hearth, filling the room with soft golden light and dancing shadows that caressed the gilded furnishings of the room like with the lightest of touches as though the shadows were afraid to linger too long and spoil the view.

The scent of burning cedar filled the air, mingling with Ashlynn’s evergreen scent and Nyrielle’s own lavender to create a fragrance that felt as familiar as a night in the Vale of Mists even though they were on the opposite side of the mountains from the place they called home.

”You’ve been planning things,” Nyrielle said with a slow smile when she spotted an assortment of items laid out on a table beside the hearth. ”What sort of naughty thoughts have filled my Ashlynn’s head in these few months that you would need to prepare so much?”

”I’ve learned more than just witchcraft,” Ashlynn said. She leaned in close, giving Nyrielle the briefest of pecks on the cheek before she slid out of the other woman’s arms and walked over to the table beside the hearth. ”When I heard about the army you raised, I knew you must have pushed yourself hard,” she added softly as her fingers traced over several different bottles of scented oils and herbal infusions.

”Tonight, before you feed, let me pamper you the way you once pampered me,” Ashlynn said, setting down a bottle and turning to face Nyrielle. ”The night’s are longer now,” she added as a light blush spread across her face. ”We can take our time.”

”What if I don’t want to wait,” Nyrielle said, vanishing from where she stood and appearing beside Ashlynn in the blink of an eye. One hand cupped Ashlynn’s face and her star filled midnight eyes loomed large in Ashlynn’s vision as Nyrielle leaned in to plunder from her lover’s lips.

For a moment, Ashlynn melted into Nyrielle’s kiss. Her knees went week and only the hand that Nyrielle wrapped around her waist supported her asall thought was driven from her mind by the intense wave of pleasure that washed over her body at the vampire’s touch.

The next moment, Ashlynn collected herself, pushing Nyrielle back and pinning the vampire against one of the bedposts. Ashlynn’s hands roamed over the lace and silk of Nyrielle’s dress, finding the fastenings one by one as she pulled her lover into an even deeper kiss.

”It’s not so easy to have your way with me,” Ashlynn whispered when she pulled back to draw a shuddering breath. ”If you can’t wait, then take me now,” she said, tilting her head and pulling her long, blonde hair back to reveal her slender neck. ”But you know that when you take me, the night will end,” she said. ”And I don’t want our night to end so soon.”

”My darling Ashlynn,” Nyrielle said softly, leaning in to brush her lips ever so faintly across the tender skin of Ashlynn’s neck. Within her chest she could feel the echo of the young witch’s heartbeat, beating in time with the pulse jumping in her neck, just a hairsbreadth away from her fangs. ”Always willful and having your way.”

”Didn’t you say that you’d do anything I ask?” Ashlynn asked, turning back to face the vampire wand winding her arms around the other woman’s neck, pulling her close enough for their foreheads to touch and their eyelashes to brush against each other when Ashlynn blinked. ”So do this for me. Let me spoil you the way only I can...”

”If it’s what my darling desires,” Nyrielle said, relaxing into Ashlynn’s embrace. ”Then how can I refuse?”

”Then let me finish unlacing you,” Ashlynn said, tracing her fingers down Nyrielle’s lithe body until she found the laces of the other woman’s corset. The sound of soft satin ribbon whispering through the eyelets of the corset filled the air, matching with the sound of their breathing and the gentle crackle of the fireplace to create an intimate symphony that seemed loud in the quiet, isolated wing of the palace.

For a moment, when Nyrielle’s dark silk and lace dress fell away from her perfect, alabaster body, Ashlynn stood motionless, holding the silk ribbon loosely in her hands as she gazed at the perfect proportions of her lover.

No dream could compare to the sight of flickering golden light dancing across the trim, sculpted physique that seemed to have been carved from immaculate marble. Reaching out with hands that trembled, as if afraid that she would shatter a moment of perfection, Ashlynn traced her fingers over Nyrielle’s icy, cool skin, caressing her way up from slender thighs to the crest of her lover’s hip bones before wrapping her arms around her and pulling her in close, as though she was desperate to share the warmth of her body with the icy vampire.

”We can lie in front of the hearth, if you’d like?” Nyrielle offered. ”Unless you’ve had a bath prepared...”

”No,” Ashlynn said, pulling back from Nyrielle as her face heated in embarrassment. Nyrielle had always been so thoughtful about keeping herself warm before they were intimate that she’d almost forgotten how cold the vampire’s skin could be, especially on a chill night like tonight. ”I have something we can use,” she said, slipping away from Nyrielle before returning with a soft black fur blanket.

”I wanted to use this in the carriage when we go through the High Pass,” she said sheepishly. She’d meant for the blanket to be a surprise, along with several other things she’d acquired since returning to High Fen City, but it wouldn’t hurt to reveal one of her surprises a little bit early.

”I thought it would be good to keep warm with you. But we can use it for this as well,” she said, stretching the fur out in front of the hearth where Nyrielle could soak in its warmth. ”Now, sit down here, and let me take care of you...”