by Orr, Krystal
All was silent inside the cave, except for the small and light moans of Arizira as Talliea's fingers traversed her skin.
Talliea smiled upon hearing the response her actions were bringing about. She was still so thankful that Arizira was allowing her to touch her. After the accident, as it had come to be referred, she had truly feared she would never be allowed to explore the body of the woman she loved. How could Arizira accept her touch after what she had done?
Somehow, Arizira was allowing and welcoming her touch. She did not fear it, as Talliea had worried. It was as if an unknown barrier between them had fallen away. Arizira did not feel as reserved to Talliea. The facade she had always noticed was no longer in place. Talliea could not adequately explain how she had noticed such a change, but she did.
Arizira's eyes, having always fascinated her, were now more open and expressive. The feelings she had always hidden behind them were now clear for Talliea to see. Ever since Arizira had stumbled to the hot spring four days before, Talliea had been aware of the change. What had caused it, she could not say.
As for Arizira, she too had noticed a change in her companion. Talliea was no longer shy about her body. She did not fear Arizira's eyes upon it and she did not try to hide it any longer. There was a sense of sureness and acceptance that emanated from her now where her body was concerned that had not been present before.
Arizira recalled Talliea's feelings of embarrassment when she had informed her of knowing what Lao'dahn had done. Those feelings of ugliness, of being undesirable, were gone. What had caused the sudden change to take place in so short a span of time, Arizira did not know. She felt as if every insecurity or hidden worry the two of them had unknowingly possessed was now gone.
Talliea did not feel unworthy of Arizira any longer, just as Arizira did not feel as though she had to hide the greater part of her feelings. Certainly, there were still hurdles in the path before them, but both women felt a sense of calm the likes of which neither had ever experienced.
As Talliea held Arizira's body close, she was not aware of the actions of her fingers. The weather outside, coupled with the peace inside, put her mind and body in a place of absolute serenity. Eyes closed, she kissed the back of Arizira's neck and rubbed her nose down to her shoulder. No longer feeling the pain that had accompanied Arizira's body for days was welcome.
Her love was no longer broken. She was no longer hurting. Those thoughts were a huge sense of relief to her. She kissed the top of Arizira's right shoulder blade while her fingers moved higher up her stomach. The interruption in Arizira's breathing was immediate.
Talliea smiled against Arizira's skin. She had no grand plan in her actions. She was not moving to any great end. She was simply enjoying the closeness of her love's body. That was all. The knowledge that her actions were leading the two of them closer to a total unification was unknown to her.
She traced her fingers along Arizira's ribcage and marveled at the feeling of her bones beneath her skin. She felt Arizira entwine their legs together and instinctively scooted closer. The scent of cypress oil invaded her senses as she trailed her kisses from Arizira's neck to her ear. What was propelling her actions she did not know. She did not care.
She was tired of being scared. She was tired of worrying over circumstances. It felt good to not give those thoughts much consideration. Everything about Arizira was right. It always would be. Knowing that Arizira trusted her, even after what she had done, touched Talliea. She had never known that type of faith.
Arizira moaned again and turned her head up, exposing her neck further. One of her hands came up and landed on top of Talliea's. Talliea placed small kisses down the new skin being offered and spread her fingers out to slide down the dip between Arizira's ribs and stomach. She could feel Arizira pushing back against her and, for reasons not clear, the action excited her.
Slowly, she glided her fingers back down Arizira's stomach, taking time to truly enjoy the feeling of her skin, before stopping at the waistband of her pants. She kissed Arizira's jaw before letting her forehead come to rest against her temple. All actions ceased as she felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest.
Arizira swallowed nervously and rolled over to face Talliea. She did not know where their movements were leading them, but it did not matter. Whatever they were doing was bridging any last remaining distance between them. She looked into Talliea's dark and unsure eyes. The hand that had been on her stomach was now resting against the outside of her hip. She searched Talliea's face before leaning up to kiss her.
The kiss started off slowly, an exploration of what was accepted and what was not. Though she wanted to, Arizira did not attempt to roll Talliea onto her back. She kept them on their sides facing one another, and tentatively began to move her hands and fingers. They slipped under Talliea's blouse and brushed across her stomach.
Talliea's reaction was just as she had expected: heated. Talliea grasped Arizira's hip with more force and pulled them closer together. Opening her mouth, she allowed Arizira's tongue to glide across her own and in that moment everything made sense. They were in love. They had been since their first meeting, though neither could have been aware of that at the time.
All of their trials and tribulations had only been presented before them to increase the bond their spirits shared and strengthen a love that was already true.
There was no force in their embrace. Not this time. Talliea was not touching Arizira and desiring more because her body wanted it. She was not trying to prove anything to herself or get Arizira to open up. She was touching Arizira because she needed to. Her heart and spirit desired it. It was pure. Lao'dahn never even crossed her mind as she pulled Arizira down and on top of her.
Their tongues met with more passion than ever before. Talliea's fingers grazed the small of Arizira's back before slipping to the front of her jerkin and slowly untying the buttons. Arizira, breathing already ragged, pulled her face back and opened her eyes.
They both looked at one another for several long moments. There were no barriers between them, no hidden fears or questions born of worry or insecurity. Arizira licked her lips, mint dancing across her tongue, and hesitated . "What are we doing?" she asked, still feeling the need to verbalize her one and only nagging voice of doubt.
Talliea smiled at her, a smile of complete trust, and raised her fingers up to reverently caress Arizira's jaw. "What we both want, what we need," she replied, fingers slipping from a strong jaw down to a soft and inviting neck.
Arizira closed her eyes at the sensation. She knew this time was different. It did not feel unsure like it had before. What was different, she did not know. There was not one logical or rational thought that could explain her actions or her feelings in this moment. Everything was happening by what her emotions were telling her. Something had changed between herself and Talliea, something that did not have a name.
Her mind tried to step up and fill her thoughts full of useless questions. How had she healed so quickly? What was now so different between them? Would matters happen as they had before?
Just as quickly as the wayward thoughts flittered through her mind they were gone, replaced by the certainty of her feelings for Talliea, her trust. Before, when they had tried to bond, it had been for the wrong reasons. Neither woman had been completely honest with the other and that lack of communication had hurt both of them.
"It will not be like last time," Talliea continued. Her fingers, while Arizira had been lost in thought, had completely untied her top.
Arizira looked down at Talliea, into her shadowy and deep eyes, and knew that she spoke the truth. The force between them, the one both had not understood but still tried to deny, was pushing the two of them together and Arizira knew it could not be fought. Not any longer.
"I know," she replied, the veracity of her words quite abundant. Talliea glanced down, her eyes briefly taking in the sight of Arizira's breasts, before looking back up. Her right hand moved and settled between a pair of slight shoul
der blades. "I will not hurt you," she whispered, needing the words to be felt rather than heard.
"I know," Arizira said again. Talliea smiled, the pounding of her heart nearly clouding the sound of her thoughts. "You shall not hurt me," she said.
"Never, failira."
Smiling and swallowing anxiously, Talliea brushed her fingers across Arizira's chin again. "I am nervous," she confessed. Arizira turned her head and kissed her fingers. "We can wait if you are not ready."
"No," Talliea replied quickly. "I want this with you. Touch me. Experience me."
The two of them stared at the other for another moment before coming together in a wet and passionate kiss. Talliea could not believe the difference in Arizira's kiss. She had thought before that the other woman's mouth and lips had felt good against her own, but that was before she had experienced them without any reservation.
Arizira, her playful, gentle, and sometimes introspective love, was now a woman lost to the feelings she had longed to express. Talliea, one hand on the back of Arizira's neck and the other in the middle of her back, moaned as she felt every emotion the Arniran woman possessed for her. As Arizira straddled her hips, she did not feel panic. She did not see Lao'dahn.
Instead, she was taken back to the first dream she had ever had about Arizira. She remembered the way it felt to have Arizira on top of her and the images the dream produced set her body to humming.
This was not a dream. This was not going to end. It was real and it was happening. She was finally able to express herself and she gave her mind over to what her body felt was right. Arizira's lips were warm and wet and, if possible, the taste of mint was stronger than ever. Talliea's tongue tingled and her breath was cool as she panted. She tangled her hand in Arizira's hair and opened her mouth to fully allow her tongue inside.
Though she had very little experience when it came to kissing another person, somehow, with Arizira, she felt as if she had initiated the act several times before. It was familiar, yet surprisingly new. Arizira tore her mouth away from Talliea's and trailed her kisses down her neck. Her tongue was hot as it licked a path down to Talliea's pulse point.
Arizira felt the hands on her body grasp her more tightly and despite herself, she rolled her hips into Talliea's sex. A strangled half cry, half moan filled the space around them with a reverberating echo. Talliea felt her eyes roll back into her head and her senses threatened to black out.
Whatever Arizira had just done felt wonderful. Lips attached themselves to the throbbing and erratic pulse in her neck and she felt Arizira begin to suck the spot. She had never experienced anything like this. Occasionally, Arizira's tongue would swipe across her hypersensitive skin only to be replaced with intermittent bites and nips.
"You feel so good," Talliea murmured to which Arizira only replied with a moan.
She felt herself falling away the more Arizira touched her. She had thought the other woman had made her feel as good as was possible, but she had been wrong. So wrong. Her breathing was coming faster than she could ever recall and her mind was nearly at the brink of being useless to her. She tried to focus; tried to remember every touch, every bite and lick, every kiss; tried to burn every sensation into her memory, but her body was too overloaded to do as she wished.
Arizira was leaning over her, lips trailing down to the hollow of her neck, and Talliea was only vaguely aware of the sounds she was making. She struggled to open her eyes, to somehow participate in what was happening, but the act proved more difficult than she anticipated. After a moment, she succeeded in opening her eyes and looked down at Arizira.
As if feeling her gaze, Arizira glanced up and met her eyes. Both shuddered as something powerful passed between them. Leaning forward, Arizira kissed Talliea slowly. She did not try to lengthen their kiss and instead sat back on her calves and looked down at her love. Talliea's eyes looked over the small amount of exposed skin the halves of her jerkin were providing and Arizira felt as if her body was on fire.
She easily shrugged out of the leather top and tossed it to the side. Her eyes never left Talliea's.
Talliea swallowed and looked at the woman above her. Though she had seen Arizira's breasts before, there was something different, something erotic, about having them presented to her in such a wanton situation. Arizira was not undressing so she could bathe. She was undressing so Talliea could touch her.
She was undressing so that their bodies could connect and explore one another as their spirits expressed themselves. Sitting up, Arizira still in her lap, Talliea exhaled a shaky breath and looked into deep and glowing blue eyes. She held the gaze for only a moment before lowering her eyes to take in the sight of two perfect breasts. Her fingers moved as her head leaned forward to land against Arizira's sternum. She wrapped her left hand around her love's waist while her right sought out the feeling of Arizira's nipples.
Shy fingers cupped Arizira's left breast and tested its weight. Talliea heard the contented moan that left Arizira's mouth and guessed her touch had been appropriate. Squeezing and palming the pliant mound, she turned her head slightly to place a small kiss on Arizira's collarbone. She moved her fingers up and swirled them around a taut nipple and felt Arizira tangle her hands in her hair.
Opening her eyes, Talliea looked down at her fingers and watched as they grazed over a pink and pert nipple. The flesh was harder, more rough, than she was expecting. She felt Arizira's nipple tighten against her fingers and the sound that escaped her mouth was more beautiful than anything Talliea had ever heard before.
She continued to touch and explore Arizira's breast, both amazed and excited at the softness and the roughness. Arizira was pressing her body against her own and the hands in her hair were scratching at her scalp. It aroused her, Arizira's reactions and lack of inhibitions. She felt a familiar wetness form between her legs.
Arizira pulled away, hands still in her hair, and looked down at Talliea. The heat in that single gaze caused the throbbing in Talliea's sex to increase. She felt herself being pushed back gently before Arizira's body was once again covering her own. Lips pressed against her mouth while hands moved to begin undoing her top. She was overcome with sensation and could barely keep up with Arizira's movements.
This kiss was different than before. It was softer, slower. Talliea could feel the shift in Arizira's touch move from less hurried and frantic to more cherished and venerated. "Do not hold a part of yourself back from me," she said as she turned away from Arizira's kiss.
Arizira rested her weight on her left arm which was settled next to Talliea's head. Her right hand spread Talliea's jerkin apart and let it fall open at her sides. Before continuing, she looked into her love's eyes. "It is my wish that you fully appreciate this experience, Tah-li. I do not want to rush this or make it ugly for you. Your innocence is a sacred part of what it means to be a woman. It can only be experienced by one person in our lifetime. I desire for this release in you to be beautiful."
Talliea smiled at Arizira's words. She did not fully understand them or what exactly her innocence consisted of, but the fact that Arizira wished for her to be comfortable and to enjoy their experience meant more to her than she could convey. Still, like Arizira, she wanted the other woman to enjoy their act as well.
"You do not have to hide for me to appreciate this, Ari. I want to feel everything. I want to feel how you feel about me and I, too, desire for this to be enjoyable for you as well."
Arizira trailed her fingers down between Talliea's breasts. She watched her fair-skinned hand as it glided across Talliea's beautiful golden-brown complexion, and the vivid contrast excited her. "All will be well," Talliea assured her.
They came together a second time, each embrace shedding the last of their worries. Talliea felt Arizira's breasts and hard nipples press against her own heaving chest. The feeling was so very different than it had been earlier when they had been in the water. She felt her own firm nipples brush across Arizira's and she moaned. Arizira's lips were kissing her neck again while
the fingers of her right hand were kneading the flesh of her lower abdomen.
Talliea felt her legs fall apart and her hips begin to move. Why, she did not know. She felt as if she was searching for something. Something more. What that something was remained elusive. She could tell that she and Arizira were moving further into unexplored territory. That thought made her both anxious and excited. As much as she wanted this experience with Arizira, the fact remained that she was still a virgin. Everything was new to her and she did not know what to fully expect.
Arizira stopped kissing her and leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. Talliea could feel the warmth of Arizira's breath as it washed across her face. Silvery hair fell around them and Talliea registered movement. Arizira's right hand, having been on her stomach, slowly began inching its way up and over her ribcage. The pounding of her heart increased as did the throbbing between her thighs. She felt her hold on Arizira's body become slightly shaky.
Fingers continued to move until Talliea felt them brush along the underside of her left breast. Her mouth opened and a surprised gasp sounded around the two women. She arched her back slightly and brought her body closer to Arizira's touch. A pleasurable shock-wave had jolted down to her sex at the small caress and Talliea wished to experience the sensation again.
Smiling, Arizira leaned her body to the side so that it rested more on Talliea's right. She moved her fingers agonizingly slowly until they came in contact with Talliea's hard, dark nipple. Talliea's moan sounded like a cry to her ears. It was beautiful to her. She was giving this woman, her goddess, someone so pure and good and innocent, a type of pleasure no other had ever offered her. Knowing that she was making her love feel so good was nearly enough for Arizira.