Chapter 63: Summer Dust and Silk Threads III
Aria didn't move for a long time after Selene left.
Her back stayed pressed against the cracked mirror, cold glass biting into her spine. She could still feel Selene's breath at her throat, the way her hands had moved — slow, deliberate, unrelenting. Not careful because they hadn't touched before, but because they had. Over and over again. Selene knew what every inch of Aria's skin could take. And she gave — oh, she gave — until Aria couldn't remember how to breathe without it.
The ache in her body wasn't unfamiliar. That was the problem.
It was need. It was memory. It was Selene's body draped over hers in the dark — how she'd taken her time, pressing kisses that ignited and soothed all at once, hands firm and claiming. Selene had ruined her sweetly, wholly, without asking for anything but her surrender. She had been in control the whole time. Aria had only held on.
And now the absence of her touch was unbearable. Maddening.
She hated that it still undid her. Hated that her thighs clenched at the thought of Selene's voice in her ear, that her pulse stuttered just from remembering the slow drag of fingers across her ribs. Even now. Even after everything.
She grabbed the crowbar like it might ground her and pushed herself back into the hallway.
The abandoned mall stretched out before her, glittering with broken glass and soft gold light. It smelled faintly of old perfume and ozone. Somewhere far off, a plastic sign creaked. It was too quiet. Too soft. Too full of ghosts and breathless heat.
Selene was waiting by a gutted jewelry counter. One boot propped against shattered glass, arms folded, head tilted with that damn smirk. Her braid was loose, falling over one shoulder, and the skin at her collarbone still bore the faded imprint of Aria's teeth. A mark Selene had coaxed out of her. Encouraged.
Selene smiled without turning. "You okay there, champion? Or are you still weak in the knees from all the attention?"
Aria's glare could've cracked cement. "You're infuriating."
Selene didn't flinch. "And yet, somehow, you keep begging for more."
"I was not begging."
"You made noises."
"I did not make noises."
Selene turned, eyes gleaming. "You whimpered."
Aria turned red. "I'm going to hit you with this crowbar."
"Try it. Maybe I'll pin you again. This time against a wall instead of a mattress."
"You're disgusting."
"I'm effective."
"You're cocky."
"I'm confident."
"You're —"
"— the one who had you trembling so hard you nearly collapsed in my lap last night," Selene finished smoothly. "Don't rewrite the script, sweetheart. I remember it perfectly."
Aria stomped past her.
Selene followed at an obnoxiously casual pace. "Come on. I'm not wrong."
"I'm ignoring you."
"You're failing."
They passed the skeletons of storefronts and decapitated mannequins. The dressing rooms loomed like mouths, yawning dark and empty. Everything smelled like dust and heat and the last remnants of summer — like the aftermath of something too big to name.
Selene's voice lowered just a little as she caught up again. "You're thinking about it."
"No, I'm not."
"You're thinking about the way I touched you."
"No, I'm not."
"You're thinking about how I made you come with just my mouth, without even letting you move —"
Aria stopped walking and whirled around. "Do you ever shut up?"
Selene raised her hands, unbothered. "Only when your legs are wrapped around my shoulders."
Aria groaned and pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead.
Selene grinned. "Need a minute?"
"I need you to stop talking."
"Unlikely."
Aria turned away again, cheeks burning, but Selene's voice softened behind her.
"You know I only talk like this because I want you to stop pretending," Selene said. "I don't say it to gloat. I say it because I remember every time you shivered under my hands. Every time you looked up at me like I was the only thing keeping you grounded."
Aria paused. The hallway was too still.
"You keep pretending I'm the danger," Selene said, stepping closer, voice low and maddening, "when I'm the one keeping you steady. You give in to me because you know I won't let you fall."
Aria turned slowly, caught in her gaze.
Selene stood just a breath away. "Tell me to stop. Say the word. I'll walk away. You'll never feel me again."
Aria opened her mouth.
Didn't speak.
Selene's smile flickered into something real. Warm. Sure.
"You won't. Because you don't want me to stop."
And then Aria grabbed her by the collar and pulled her forward into a kiss that wasn't neat or measured. It was fire and teeth, breath and surrender. Selene's arms circled her instantly, pressing her close, one hand fisting in Aria's hair while the other found her waist and held it with unshakable purpose.
Selene didn't take. She gave. She devoured slowly. And Aria, like every time before, broke open beneath her.
"You're the worst," Aria gasped, lips wet and breath short.
Selene's laugh was low against her mouth. "And still you keep saying yes."
Aria shoved her until Selene's back hit a column. They both laughed as flakes of old plaster rained down. Selene caught Aria's jaw, thumb brushing her cheekbone.
"You want to stop?" Selene asked, voice husky but calm. "Or should I keep giving you what you clearly need?"
Aria barely managed a breath. "You are not romantic."
"You say that," Selene murmured, already sliding her fingers under the waistband of Aria's jeans, "but your whole body is begging."
Aria laughed breathlessly and buried her face in Selene's shoulder.
"I hate that I like you this much."
Selene kissed the side of her head. "No. You don't."
Outside, the sky turned dusky pink through shattered skylights.
They didn't talk for a while after that. Didn't need to.
When Aria finally pulled away, dazed and flushed and trembling slightly, Selene was watching her with something deeper than pride. Something reverent.
"You okay?" Selene asked, voice quiet.
Aria nodded.
"You sure?"
Another nod. Then, barely audible: "I'm scared."
Selene didn't joke. Didn't smirk.
She took Aria's hand and kissed her knuckles.
"Good," she said softly. "Means it's real."
And that — that more than anything — was what wrecked Aria.
Not the teasing. Not the heat.
The realness.
The way Selene always gave. The way she held her like she was already something worth keeping.
Aria leaned into her and pressed their foreheads together. "We should find somewhere to sleep."
"I thought this was the warmup."
"Shut up."
Selene smiled. "Make me."
Aria did.
And this time, she didn't run.