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Soft golden firelight flickered across Ashlynn and Nyrielle’s entangled bodies as they lay on a dark fur blanket, luxruiating in the warmth of the fire and the feeling of their skin sliding over each other with a faint oily slickness after Nyrielle’s massage.

"My darling," Nyrielle whispered after several moment of quiet, comfortable touch. "You’ve left me feeling as light as a feather, but I hunger for more. Now that you’ve worked your witchcraft on me," she teased. "Will you submit to my whims?"

"Of course," Ashlynn said. "I will always submit to your will," she added, gently caressing Nyrielle’s cheek with the back of a finger. "It’s you who allows me to be so willful," she teased, turning Nyrielle’s head toward her so she could bestow a gentle, chaste kiss on her lover’s lips.

"Then indulge me in a game," Nyrielle said as she scooped Ashlynn up and carried her toward the large, four poster bed that dominated one wall in the room.

"You worked hard to sharpen your senses, didn’t you, my love?

" Nyrielle asked as she set Ashlynn down atop the satin bedspread. "How much do you trust your them?"

"I can hear an insect hunting more than a thousand paces away," Ashlynn boasted playfully. "And I can smell one stalk of tymme in a basketfull of rosemary. Why, do you want to test me?"

"Yes, I do," Nyrielle said playfully before she sauntered across the room to retrieve a few items from a pouch she wore with her dress. The first was a dark, midnight blue silk handkerchief and the second...

"That’s not one of your feathers, is it?" Ashlynn asked when she saw the long, slender feather in Nyrielle’s hands. The feather was so long, in fact, that it had to be curled back on itself just to fit in the small pouch.

"No, I wouldn’t dream of using one of my feathers on you like this," Nyrielle said as she returned to the bedside. "But, if it pleases you, you can pretend that it is. Now, are you ready to play a game?" Nyrielle asked with a glint of challenge in her eyes.

"For you, I’m willing to do anything," Ashlynn replied, echoing Nyrielle’s earlier promise.

"It’s simple," Nyrielle said as she began folding the handkerchief into a makeshift blindfold. "I’m going to blindfold you and then we’re going to play a game of Fangs or Feather," she said. "It’s better if I can tie you to the bed but I will not push you if you aren’t willing.

I know that you have been hurt before and. .."

"You would never hurt me," Ashlynn said firmly, locking eyes with Nyrielle so the other woman could see the strength of her conviction.

"But you have to explain to me why it would be better if you can tie me to the bed," she added, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"You haven’t ever done this with someone before, have you?

" Ashlynn said, suddenly horrified at the thought.

Of the many things she had discussed with Nyrielle, Ashlynn had been very open about her past with Owain.

They had courted for two years with the intention to marry and though Ashlynn had shared only a single kiss with him during their wedding ceremony, she’d been very open about how she felt about the man she thought she loved enough to marry.

But never once had Nyrielle mentioned loving someone the way Ashlynn thought she loved Owain. She’d mentioned being courted by the other True Vampires but she claimed to have rejected them all before. So just who exactly could Nyrielle have played a game of ’Fangs and Feathers’ with?

"Of course, I’ve never done this with anyone," Nyrielle said solemnly. "But I was inspired by our last evening in this palace," she said with a naughty grin. "As to how I know it would be better if I could tie you up," she teased as she leaned in closer to her anxious lover.

"It’s because, I happen to know that my darling Ashlynn," Nyrielle said as her hand blurred and the feather she held traced ever so lightly across the back of Ashlynn’s knee.

The young witch jumped immediately, pulling her leg back and looking at the vampire with an aggrieved look.

"Is ticklish," Nyrielle finished with a light laugh.

"If I bind you and your body betrays you, you won’t spoil the game. "

"You still haven’t explained the whole game," Ashlynn said with a slight pout. "What is it that you’ll be doing with your Fangs or Feather?"

"It’s simple," Nyrielle said. "Once you’re bound and blindfolded, I’ll touch you... somewhere. You have to guess whether I touched you with my fangs or the feather. Simple enough, isn’t it?"

"What do I get if I get it right?" Ashlynn asked. "Will you kiss me?"

"If you wish," Nyrielle said slyly. "But if you get it wrong then I’ll nibble on you."

"Just a nibble?"

"Just a nibble," Nyrielle said. "The game ends if you can endure longer than I can resist my hunger, or if you break down and beg for my bite," she added, running her tongue over her lush lips and pointed fangs. "So, what say you, my darling? Are you willing to play?"

"You spent some time thinking about this, didn’t you?" Ashlynn said, stretching herself out on the bedspread and putting on an act of looking helpless. "When you ask like that, and give me so many opportunities to say no, how could I refuse?"

A few minutes later, Nyrielle had repurposed a spare set of sheets to use as bindings and secured Ashlynn to the bed posts before gently tying the blindfold across her eyes.

For a moment, she stood still, much as Ashlynn had, admiring the figure of the woman who had brought more warmth and joy into her life than she’d thought it was possible for her heart to contain.

Where Nyrielle’s body was lithe and lean, Ashlynn’s was curvy and lush.

From her petite feet to her full thighs, Ashlynn’s legs all but begged for Nyrielle to rest her head in the other woman’s lap and sleep the night away.

Her curvy hips and trim waist drew Nyrielle’s eyes ever upward until they came to rest on her lover’s generous bosom and once again felt the desire to fall into Ashlynn’s soft embrace and rest until the end of days.

When Ashlynn arrived in the Vale of Mists, she’d been soft and delicate but that had slowly begun to change during her blossoming period as she undertook rigorous training to make the most of Nyrielle’s vampiric gifts.

Now, after months of training in the depths of the Briar, her body had transformed even further.

Before, her figure and been soft and tender like a perfectly ripe peach, but now, there was a core of strength beneath the softness.

The faintest lines of defined muscles could be seen on Ashlynn’s trim waist as she lie there trembling in anticipation and the muscles in her arms quivered against her restraints as she strained her senses for the slightest touch.

For Nyrielle, who’s body had experienced few changes in the past century, the subtle transformation was its own kind of magic, revealing her lover’s drive and dedication in every sculpted line and straining muscle.

Perhaps she would continue to change in the years to come and Nyrielle would enjoy each subtle variation so long as it was a manifestation of her lover’s desires.

And if anyone ever marked that perfect, pristine body again, if anyone ever harmed her the way Owain Lothain once had.

.. For a moment, darkness swirled in the vampire’s eyes and she nearly crushed the delicate feather in her hand before she caught sight of the mark of the witch on Ashlynn’s hip, the ash tree that had first drawn her to this remarkable woman.

The sight of that mark served as a potent reminder of the power it represented and helped ground her racing thoughts.

Ashlynn wasn’t the same vulnerable noblewoman she’d rescued that night.

She had grown into her power, fighting back against the people who dared to threaten her, and while Nyrielle would always protect her, she no longer needed to dwell on past hurts or future threats.

When the time came, they would face their enemies together, as a vampire and a witch bound together with bonds of blood and love that no force in the world could shatter.

But right now, at this moment, the woman who mattered more to her than anything else in the world lay quivering with anticipation, biting her lower lip and squirming slightly as she waited for Nyrielle to make the first move.

A slow smile spread on Nyrielle’s lips and her fangs grew longer as she prepared to do exactly that...