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*****

ELRETH

Aaryn had rolled only to take his weight from her. They hadn't parted. But he held her to him, her leg cocked over his hip, his arms holding her to his chest, her nose in his neck.

She was warm and held and she'd never felt more loved in her life.

"That was…" she whispered against his skin.

"I know," he rumbled, his voice deep, vibrating against her chest.

They'd relaxed several minutes earlier, but neither of them wanted to let go. They'd avoided talking about how they only had one more day before they had to go back to their real lives. She wondered if, like her, he was reluctant to sleep, to lose any moment where they remained alone.

But then she realized, why fight it? The day was theirs. They could make love, sleep until high sun, and still have a wonderful day ahead. If they had only hours left of this magical time, why not? Just then, all she could think about was being with him.

"I wonder if it will always be like this?" she asked in a small voice, partly in smug joy, partly in fear. If it always felt this raw, this intense, how would she ever focus on the many, many things and Anima that were her responsibility?

How would he?

"I think… I'm guessing this is what your parents have," he said. "Why they're always so sickening, as you say," he grinned. "So… yes, I do think it will always be like this. But maybe we'll just be better at holding it aside when we need to?"

"I hope so. Otherwise I'm going to end up throwing you down on the dining table in the Market and traumatizing the children."

Aaryn's laughter echoed off the cave ceiling.

Elreth smiled, but she wasn't entirely joking. "I've never felt this… drive before," she whispered, awed. "It's… I can see why people call it a hunger. That's what it's like. It's like, when you touch me, I can't think of anything else. Nothing else matters. Nothing else even registers, Aaryn. I just want you so badly. It's a need."

He huffed. "You're telling me."

"Seriously, though, this is a problem. Like I don't think we've gone more than a few hours since the Flames and Smoke. What are we going to do when it's elders meeting and disformed conferences, and meals at the market and..."

Aaryn snorted. "I suspect we'll find private corners and hidden thickets, and pray no one is listening?"

Elreth put a hand to her face. "You're describing my parents."

"Well, at least you come by it honestly," he said, smiling. "What's my excuse?"

Elreth raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked at your mate?"

He laughed again, then kissed her, sighing when they finally broke apart. "What do you want to do tomorrow, since its our last day?"

"I don't know. I can't decide if we should try practicing doing things other than this for more than an hour, or if we should try to mate it out of our systems before we go home."

Aaryn cleared his throat. "I can't be certain, of course, since I've never had a true mate before, but my experience in general with holding yourself back is that it tends to just make the fire burn hotter."

Elreth sighed, then wiggled against him until Aaryn grunted and grabbed her ass to keep her still.

"Temptress," he muttered, then kissed her neck.

She giggled as the goosebumps washed down her side again. "It's not my fault you're so desirable. Blame the Creator."

Aaryn chuckled, then pulled back to meet her gaze. "I do love you, El. I love your heart and your mind and your courage. It's not just this. This is… this is how I show it."

Elreth could feel her cheeks heat, but she nodded. "I know. Me too. And I'm serious. We're going to have to have some kind of strategy for… I don't even know what to call it. Feeding the need?"

They both laughed and Elreth snuggled back into his chest to listen to his heart. The heart that beat so strong and true. And only for her.

*****

AARYN

He didn't remember going quiet, but they must have, because the next thing he knew, he was waking up, blinking at the bright light coming in around the door and through the fireplace. It had to be at least late morning, if not high sun.

Part of him panicked—they needed to get up and see each other, talk and laugh and pack as much as they could into the day ahead before they had to leave! But then Elreth shifted and sighed her arms still wrapped around him.

He squeezed her closer and sighed. No. No, they didn't need to rush or pack things into this time. This was enough. Just to be close and touching, and focused on each other. This was enough. Hell, he could spend the whole day in the furs today and it wouldn't wasted, though they might get hungry.

As Elreth woke with a groan, then rolled over to stretch, her breasts pressing up as the furs fell down her extended body, Aaryn swallowed.

Definitely, definitely didn't need to pack much of anything into this day. Nothing at all, as it happened. Definitely a great idea to just stay in the furs and—

"Good morning, gorgeous." Her voice was husky from sleep, and about the sexiest thing he'd ever heard.

Aaryn hummed and pulled her back into him, burying his nose in her neck. "Good morning," he said, his body fully awake and already seeking her again. "What do you want to do this morning?"

She snorted. "I'm not sure there's much of the morning left, is there?" she said, squinting towards the door.

"No," he admitted, stroking his fingers through her hair. "But whatever we have, I just want to spend it with you."

She finally met his eyes then. Hers were puffy and a little bloodshot, but they shone. She smiled and shook her head softly. "You are more than I deserve, Aaryn."

He wanted to laugh that off, but something stopped him. There was a soft awe in her eyes. He recognized that feeling. It was one he had for her.

"Well, then, I guess we're even," he whispered and rolled her onto her back to kiss her a proper good morning.

*****

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