Eydis clamped her hands on Astra’s waist, chair screeching away. They lurched upright, stumbling toward the stairs, mouths locked in a kiss that was messy and fierce.

  Halfway up, Eydis’s shoulder clipped a frame. She winced.

  “You ok?” Astra soothed the spot with her thumb.

  Eydis nodded, laced their fingers, gave Astra a fond squeeze, and tugged her along. Every footfall felt criminally overdue.

  At the bathroom door Astra fumbled the handle, yanked Eydis inside and slammed it shut.

  They stepped into the water left from the earlier shower. Slick porcelain met Eydis’s spine. Astra pinned her there, thigh wedged high between hers, one fist knotted in her black shirt while the other flipped the shower handle.

  Water crashed over them. Steam spiralled upward, carrying cardamom and sandalwood.

  Astra’s fingers found their way under Eydis’s soaked tee, tracing the lines of each rib. “You’re overdressed.”

  Eydis, too, flicked her gaze down Astra’s white blouse, now transparent and revealing the crimson bra beneath.

  “Couldn’t agree more.” She ripped open Astra’s shirt. Pearl buttons pinged off tiles. When the fabric slipped from Astra’s shoulders and dropped to the floor, Eydis froze.

  The bra dipped low, barely containing anything, lace so sheer the water couldn’t decide where to hide. Every shaky breath Astra drew threatened to spill her free.

  Eydis could not take her eyes off the pale pink tips straining against the delicate mesh.

  Fuck. I want to… bite. She fisted her hand to keep from acting on it. But then, why n—

  “It’s not like you to go quiet,” Astra pressed full-body against Eydis.

  “You are…” Eydis refused to stammer, though fire crawled up her neck. “You’re wearing this on purpose.”

  “Obviously.” The smug curve of Astra’s lips demanded punishment.

  Eydis obliged. She splayed her fingers over the bra, feeling the wild beat beneath.

  “How are you even real?” she whispered, then bent to chase one droplet with her tongue.

  Astra chuckled shyly. “Don’t shred it. You already owe me a sh—“

  Her voice broke off when Eydis dipped her head, lips hovering just above one flushed peak. Her tongue flicked out in the barest sweep across the tip, so light it shouldn’t have been enough.

  But Astra shuddered.

  Smirking, Eydis let her lips trail sideways, then bit into the curve above the lace. She caught the satin front strap between her teeth, pulled it tight, amber eyes locked with Astra’s.

  Then she let it snap.

  Astra’s groan went feral, vibrating through them both. She shoved Eydis’s shirt over her head, revealing a black bra, studded along the trim.

  Dark eyes dragged over Eydis’s body. One hand slid to Eydis’s waist, the other brushed the edge of a stud before slipping beneath to stroke bare skin.

  Eydis sucked in a breath, biting her lip.

  “You and your studs,” Astra whispered.

  “You and your lace.” Eydis reached for the clasp but Astra caught her wrist.

  “Not yet, I… You said you needed a shower.”

  Eydis was taken aback by the sudden change. “I… did.”

  Astra busied herself—or was she just trying to distract herself, Eydis couldn’t tell—with the shampoo. She squeezed dark-gold liquid into her palm and worked it into Eydis’s hair. Bubbles streaked her cheeks; Astra wiped them away with a thumb.

  “My bad, Your Majesty.”

  Eydis might have answered, had Astra not been kneading her scalp. Slow circles, firm pressure, and her eyes surrendered. For a woman who commanded nightmares, being touched like this, by the Saintess herself, was a gentler kind of ruin.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  One she never saw coming.

  “You’re forgiven, Your Holiness.”

  “I heard…” Astra’s thumbs skimmed Eydis’s nape. “You called Natalia your handmaiden.”

  “I might have… ah—there, yes.”

  Nose brushing her cheek, Astra whispered, “If she gets to hear you like this, maybe I need the position.”

  Eydis tried to laugh. Astra silenced it with another kiss.

  Soap slid under Astra’s palms, down Eydis’s shoulders, along the curve of her back, into the dimples above her hips. Fingers found the zipper of Eydis’s shorts and dragged it slow, slow, then shoved the denim down her thighs.

  There was no denying it now… Jealous Astra. Dominant Astra. Either way, utterly devastating.

  Eydis still had to say it. “You can be my anything.”

  Arms locked around Astra. She tucked a wet strand of silver behind Astra’s ear.

  “You can be my everything.”

  Astra’s breath hitched. “How can I even resist when you talk like that?”

  “I thought that was the point.” Eydis’s soap-slick hands glided across Astra’s sculpted stomach, teasing upward until they cupped supple flesh and squeezed experimentally.

  Their breaths stuttered when her hand brushed firm nipple.

  “Stop,” Astra blurted. “Not yet.”

  Eydis pulled back, heart lurching. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No—I mean…” Astra took a deep breath. Her eyes flicked up, caught Eydis’s face, read the fear there. Without a word, she guided Eydis’s wrist lower until her open hand rested against the fever-hot skin at her inner thigh.

  Steam explained nothing. Slick heat explained everything.

  Eydis’s mind went blank. Her fingers jerked helplessly, brushing against the crimson lace.

  Both women exhaled the same broken sound.

  “You’re torturing me.” Astra shut off the water and wrapped them both in a single towel, their bodies pressed tight. “But not here.”

  “Wait, but you didn’t even—”

  “I did. Before I came down.” Astra pulled her into the hallway with impatient hands. Their wet footprints marked a path across the hardwood.

  Inside Astra’s dim bedroom candles breathed lavender and jasmine. Eydis paused in the doorway, drops rolling off her hair, pulse hammering.

  “So… you never went back to sleep.”

  Astra gave her a mischievous smile. She placed a palm over Eydis’s racing heart and guided her backward onto the queen-size bed.

  “I pretended,” she confessed, “because you asked.”

  Royal-blue silk sighed under their combined weight as Astra crawled atop her, knees nudging bare hips. “Should Your Majesty reward such devotion?”

  Astra rarely talked like this, which made every word lethal.

  She tasted the droplets along Eydis’s throat, then followed the dip of her collarbone. Her hands hovered above damp silk, twitching with restraint.

  They stayed like that for a moment until Astra slid both hands beneath the lace bra. Full breasts spilled into her palms. Her fingers fanned wide and sank deep, claiming and memorising every curve.

  Eydis moaned, heat rushing to her face.

  Despite the confidence of her touch, Astra’s own breath hitched when she unhooked Eydis’s bra. Candle-glow brushed bare skin in bronze and honey.

  Astra stared openly. Her gaze drank in every bare inch she’d never seen before, searing a path with eyes alone. Her lips parted then closed on words she couldn’t find.

  Eydis nearly folded her arms before mischief won. Her foot slid along Astra’s calf, teasing the sensitive inside of her thigh with the tips of her toes.

  Astra shivered.

  “You know,” Eydis purred, “you could’ve just asked for a photo.”

  “No need.”

  “Oh?”

  “You can show me every day,” Astra’s breath brushed her nipple. “Offer yourself every day.”

  “Every day?”

  Eydis had barely finished before Astra’s mouth closed over the rosy peak—a tug, a roll, a slow pull that made her see sparks. It wasn’t perfect, but even this stumbling tenderness, this earnestness, was too much for her to bear.

  She cursed, head swimming from the onrush of sensation. “This isn’t how I pictured it.”

  Astra drew back just far enough to meet her gaze, half-lidded eyes shining with both want and worry. “You don’t like it?”

  Eydis shook her head, seized Astra’s shoulders and flipped her gently onto the mattress, damp curls spilling across one arm.

  “I like it way too much,” she managed. “I want my turn.”

  Astra’s gaze roamed hungrily over Eydis’s bare torso. One hand kneaded upward and a firm thigh pressed between slick heat.

  “That move is wildly unfair,” Eydis gasped.

  Fire coursed through her, pooling deep.

  Just… what is it?

  Too much.

  “I’m unfair?” Astra’s voice smouldered. “Have you seen yourself?”

  Eydis didn’t answer. Her hips moved on pure instinct, grinding against Astra’s thigh, chasing friction she barely understood.

  Not enough.

  Astra let out a shaky sigh, hand cupping firmly, thumb teasing. “You can be on top any way you choose,” she answered, voice nearly sinful. Her thigh pressed again, slower, coaxing a tremor from them both. “But remember—”

  “Remember?”

  “That you don’t know what you unleash…” Astra’s arm slid around her waist, heartbeats thudding together. Fingers traced the waistband, shaping tiny, maddening circles. “…when you finally give in. So my answer to your ‘turn’ is…”

  Her tongue dipped into Eydis’s ear, a decisive stroke.

  “Not yet.”

  Eydis didn’t trust her voice to form anything coherent. She had wanted to touch, to feel, to taste Astra.

  To see her break.

  But now, watching her open and vulnerable with want, she somehow found the will to reach out and grab Astra’s wrist.

  She guided that hand upward, past the slope of her breasts until Astra’s fingers hovered at her lips. Eydis stared right at her, parted her own lips and drew two fingers inside.

  Sucked, hummed, teeth grazing just enough to send a tremor up Astra’s arm.

  Astra swore under her breath, cool composure slipping.

  When Eydis released the fingers with a subtle pop they glistened in candlelight. She laid that hand over her own racing heart, dragged it down the flat plane of her abdomen to drenched lace.

  Astra hesitated only long enough for a shuddering inhale. Whatever guard she still carried flicked off like a switch.

  Wet fingers eased the garment down. The soft fabric traced the swell of Eydis’s hips, slid past her thighs, baring a slick trail of want.

  Both of them froze.

  Eydis, her face flaming, reached up and gently covered Astra’s eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” she whispered. “Not yet.”

  A fluttering blink against her hand.

  She pulled her hand away slowly, only to find Astra’s cheeks now burned deep rose, teeth worrying her bottom lip. Shy and hungry all at once.

  “I need you to know I want this too,” Eydis whispered, voice rough with nerves she rarely admitted to. “I want you.”

  She swallowed.

  “Now… touch me.”