Chapter 67: Things That Don't Stay Buried
Aria woke slowly to the faint glow of mid - morning light filtering through the dusty lace curtains of the bridal boutique. Her naked body ached in every delicious way, muscles twitching from exhaustion and pleasure. She didn't remember how many times she'd come last night, the memory a delicious blur of heat and Selene's relentless touch. She barely registered the countless finger cots Selene must have slipped on — she'd never take the initiative again, no matter how curious or daring she felt.
Her limbs felt leaden, her skin flushed and sensitive, the tender ache of too much want lingering beneath it all.
She lay still, drifting in that hazy in - between place when the soft scrape of footsteps caught her attention.
Selene appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray with a sandwich, fruit, and a cold bottle of juice. She smirked at Aria's bare form sprawled on the mattress.
"Brunch is served," she announced, voice low and teasing.
Aria blinked blearily, realizing she'd slept late — later than she intended. She sat up, cheeks burning red, suddenly aware of her nakedness.
"You could've told me I was still naked," Aria said, shooting a mock glare at Selene.
Selene just grinned wider, unashamed and smug. "Are you seducing me by not wearing any clothes, or is that just a happy accident?"
Aria's blush deepened. "Pervert."
Selene chuckled, setting down the tray beside her. Then, before Aria could respond, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips — innocent at first, but with an urgent heat simmering underneath.
The kiss quickly deepened.
Aria's breath hitched as Selene's hand slid between her thighs, the sensation electric. Her fingers moved with expert precision, coaxing shivers from her skin until she gasped and came again, the taste of Selene's lips sweet on hers.
"Can't help myself," Selene whispered, voice rough with desire.
She rubbed, massaged, and teased Aria with a slow, deliberate patience that left her breathless. When Aria finally cried out one last time, Selene pulled back with a satisfied smirk.
"You really like me, don't you, little flame?"
Aria smiled shyly, touching Selene's face. "Yeah. I really like you."
The boutique smelled of old perfume — sweet, cloying, and now laced with the sharp tang of rust, heat, and the phantom press of bodies tangled in dark corners. Pleasure didn't fade easily. Violence didn't either.
But the girl who had screamed beneath Selene just hours ago was now walking barefoot across the floor, her steps slow and deliberate as if the walls themselves had no memory.
Selene watched her from the cracked pillar she leaned against, the cold air swirling faint frost around her like a halo. She didn't need layers; the chill of her ice affinity wrapped around her like a second skin. Her coat hung open, revealing pale skin kissed by a shimmer of frost, the faintest trace of ice crystals tracing delicate patterns along her exposed arms. The crowbar beside her had dried blood dark and dull on the tip, forgotten but never far from mind.
Aria drifted, but not aimlessly.
Purpose and fire burned in her slow, deliberate movements as she traced her fingers along racks of silk and satin, touching the fabric like a thief claiming spoils. Her damp hair curled around her neck in inky strands, and a small mark peeked above her collarbone — barely visible unless you looked just right.
Selene knew exactly where it was.
She'd left it there.
Aria wore a green dress — modest, long - sleeved, thigh - skimming — but it did nothing to hide the aftermath of their night. The faint pull in her thighs betrayed the pleasure still lingering beneath the surface, and shadows beneath her eyes whispered of nights spent awake with desire unquenched.
Selene's brow lifted lazily as Aria paused near the dressing room wall, crouching to sift through a pile of lace and satin that had spilled onto the floor.
Aria's fingers brushed something darker — black lace, velvet straps, sinful and whisper - thin. Her eyes flickered with a familiar hunger as she slid the delicate set into her pocket dimension with a smooth, almost smug motion.
Selene smiled, folding herself up from the floor like a shadow retreating into the walls. She didn't shake dust from her coat; instead, she adjusted the cuffs with an elegant menace, ice mist curling from her fingertips as she moved toward Aria.
The temperature dipped subtly around her.
Aria straightened, suddenly aware of Selene's presence behind her. Her breath hitched, caught in a brief moment between defiance and surrender.
Selene bent close, voice low and velvet-soft. "Picking out souvenirs?"
Aria glanced over her shoulder, cheeks flushing. "I thought we were resting."
Selene's fingers brushed lightly against Aria's shoulder — the touch so cold it sent a delicious shiver down her spine.
"Resting doesn't mean you can't look sexy doing it."
"I wasn't—"
"You were." Selene smirked, curling a finger in the hem of Aria's dress and pulling it down an inch with deliberate excess. "You always are."
Aria stood too quickly, brushing off imaginary lint from her sleeve. "I just liked the fabric."
Selene circled her slowly, eyes heavy and teasing. "You like a lot of things now."
"Is that a problem?"
"It's an improvement," Selene said, stopping in front of her. "You're glowing. Not just flushed — glowing. It's annoying. Distracting."
Aria tilted her chin defiantly. "You're the one who made me glow."
Selene leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "You sound proud."
"Maybe I am." Aria's cheeks warmed. "You said I needed to embrace my hunger."
"I said understand it."
Selene stepped closer until their bodies brushed, the chill of her ice affinity like a soft winter breeze against Aria's skin. "You, however, seem very interested in giving it cute accessories."
Aria laughed softly, a sound that slid down Selene's spine like warm embers melting frost.
"I like lace," Aria admitted.
Selene's eyes darkened with desire. "Do you like what I do to you in lace?"
Aria's breath hitched, lips parting just slightly, thighs instinctively pressing closer.
Selene didn't touch, not yet.
She let her mouth hover close — close enough to brush Aria's cheek with a breath so cold it was like frost on bare skin. "I could taste you through the fabric last time. Did you know that?"
Aria swallowed hard, cheeks flushing. "You didn't say."
"I was busy," Selene murmured, voice low and playful. "Your legs were around my head."
Aria whined, embarrassed but not offended, shoving lightly at Selene's shoulder. "Stop it."
Selene caught her wrist with a cool hand, pulling her gently forward. "Say please."
Aria leaned in, defiant but teasing. "Please stop turning me on in an abandoned boutique full of dead perfume and haunted mannequins."
Selene grinned wickedly. "Then stop being so damn responsive."
"I'm not!"
Selene's hand slid to the back of Aria's neck, cool fingers threading through damp strands of hair. The touch was electric, like icy silk gliding over skin.
"Your pupils are blown out," Selene observed, voice teasing.
"It's dark in here."
"It's not that dark."
Aria shifted closer, their bodies brushing chest to hip. "You're not exactly subtle either."
"I never pretended to be."
Then Selene kissed her.
Not hungry — not yet — but slow, deep, tasting something familiar and impossible to resist. Aria melted instantly, fingers threading through Selene's coat, curling against the ribs beneath. The pressure of their mouths was soft but insistent, the tension simmering beneath skin still tender from pleasure.
Aria tasted like sugar and heat, breathless, teeth grazing Selene's bottom lip just to provoke a low growl.
Selene pressed Aria back against the curtain - draped wall, hands braced on either side of her head. "You know what I keep thinking about?" she murmured between kisses.
Aria blinked, dazed. "Do I want to know?"
Selene bit her lower lip, eyes gleaming like frost catching the last light. Her voice dipped, velvety and wicked. "The way you sounded when I pulled your dress off the first time…"
Aria squirmed, heat blooming under her skin. "That was, like… three hours ago."
Selene hummed, pressing a cool kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Exactly. I've had time to replay it — again and again."
"You're impossible," Aria murmured, breath fluttering.
"No." Selene tilted her head, the ghost of a smirk curling her lips. "I'm hungry."
Aria narrowed her eyes, barely managing to keep her voice steady. "Again?"
Selene's smirk deepened. "Sweetheart," she purred, her icy fingers trailing along Aria's bare arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake, "I haven't even started."
Aria gasped softly, her breath catching as the cold followed the heat already simmering beneath her skin. The contrast sent a delicious shiver through her — craving sparked by bloodline, but lit by Selene's presence alone.
Selene leaned in, her mouth brushing Aria's jaw like a secret. "You think just because you came apart on my mouth in a dusty fitting room earlier… that you're safe now?"
Aria made a soft, strangled sound — half warning, half plea.
Selene's lips barely touched her skin as she added, cool and lethal, "You should know better than that."
"I —" Aria stopped herself, swallowing. "I thought we were taking a break."
"This is the break."
Selene nipped her ear, breath cool and tantalizing. "And you're still squirming."
"I'm not —"
Selene suddenly grabbed her thigh, dragging it up and around her hip. Aria gasped.
"You were saying?"
Her protest dissolved into another kiss — messy, eager, deliciously desperate. Selene smiled against her lips and let her other hand drift lower, trailing along the edge of the stolen dress.
"You're going to ruin this," Aria mumbled, shivering.
"Then we'll steal another." Selene's eyes glittered. "I'll find one I like watching to rip it off."
Aria grinned, biting her lip. "You could just ask nicely."
Selene's smile was pure mischief. "Where's the fun in that?"
They kissed again, deeper this time — breathless, hands tangled in hair. Their rhythm slowed to slow fire — both knowing how it ended but in no rush. Every kiss stretched between heat and ice, every touch daring the other to break first.
Finally, Aria pulled back, panting. "We should… stop."
Selene arched a brow. "Why?"
Aria looked down, flushed and grinning. "Because I'm going to forget my own name again."
Selene kissed the corner of her smile. "I'll remind you."
"Over and over?"
Selene chuckled darkly. "Until it's the only thing you know."
Aria leaned her forehead against Selene's chest. The coldness beneath her skin was undeniable, a reminder of the ice that lived within Selene — always beautiful, always distant, never warm.
"You're dangerous," Aria whispered.
Selene stroked her hair gently, voice low and certain. "And you're mine."
Outside, the wind moaned low against the shattered glass. Inside, the boutique held its breath. But here, in the half - ruined center of everything, time bent for the slow undoing of need — again and again.
Tomorrow could wait.
Because tonight, Aria didn't need dreams.
She already had Selene.