we do like it rough, don't we

But it was just as you were leaving your house in your best casual date clothes, with a strap packed comfortably in your pants, that the Doctor appeared and began advising you that there was urgent business, yes absolutely, no problem, he’ll get you to this exact moment, if a few minutes later, but you are URGENTLY needed. Right. Now.

Did he mention it was urgent? Because it was URGENT.

An urgent mission…to babysit, so it seemed.

It involved you staying in the TARDIS while the Doctor, Nardole and Bill went out and explored the cool alien town. Because you were to stay here and look after Missy and ensure she Did Not Get Up To Anything (though you knew that if Missy wanted to get up to anything, you wouldn’t be able to actually stop her. You wouldn’t even tattle on her because, honestly, you liked your insides to remain in the insides of your body more than you feared the Doctor).

So, there you were. In the TARDIS console room, packing for a hot date, watching as Missy bent over the console to adjust the TARDIS monitor that the Doctor had set up for her to watch as he, Bill and Nardole did Good Things.

Unfortunately, the camera the Doctor had on the lapel of his jacket was jerky and prone to cutting out, however, which meant Missy was often fiddling with the TARDIS to fix it, because, as she had told you, that was far more interesting than you were.

You shifted in your seat, arms crossed, sinking in on yourself.

Usually, you were up for whatever the Doctor said, but you had had a hot date and were now being told you couldn’t step out to the new planet, so your mood was a burning mix of frustration and arousal.

“Grumpy today,” Missy said.

You looked up at her, and then glanced away, ignoring the way her skirts shifted around her ankles as she fiddled with the console. “I had somewhere else to be.”

To that, she paused. “And what’s more fascinating than being in an alien craft? Don’t you humans get all gooey being in something so far beyond your capabilities to understand? I mean, it’s bigger on the inside! How can it be?” She mocked, eyes going wide as she posed, waiting for your response.

You ignored her, choosing to stare at the wall instead.

Missy’s heels clicked, edging closer. It made you want to pull back. There was something about the way her perfume washed over you that made you want to bury your nose in her throat and inhale deeply.

“Something the matter, poppet?”

“No,” you responded flatly.

You had an awful feeling that she knew where your thoughts were when you looked at her. There were times when you thought the filthiest things (just briefly!) and watched as her head tilted to you, a slow smile pooling over her lips before she turned away.

It could be a coincidence. You wanted it to be a coincidence. But you suspected otherwise.

“It’s just us girls, here,” she said. “You can tell me anything.”

You looked at her, and for a moment wondered what she would do if you said what was actually on your mind. Given her disgust about humans need to “constantly breed” you doubted it’d be anything nice (not that that bothered you. Her snarking commentary was nearly as good as how you imagined she sounded when you pressed her to a surface and sucked on her neck).

You exhaled, pushing the thoughts away. “There’s nothing to say. Shouldn’t you be watching the Doctor?”

She scoffed. “Because he’s going to quiz me later?” You paused, holding your tongue and her eyes narrowed. “How original of him. Well, I’m sure that watching him negotiate with a bunch of plants will certainly be the missing thing for this rehabilitation he’s going on about.”

“I think he’s trying to play to your fear of failing.”

“I don’t have a fear of failing,” Missy said, and there she gave a strange look. “If you’re afraid to fail, then you make mistakes. Sometimes the most frightening thing can be succeeding.” She turned, looking back to the video. It seemed to only be Bill and Nardol talking at the markets––even you felt your mind haze in disinterest, despite the alien culture.

You turned away, thinking about the hot date, about the way your pants pressed between your thighs. About how you kept wanting to ask the doctor about the future of sex toys but always seemed to shy away from it at the last moment because it felt like asking your dad.

By some point in the future, on some planet, they must have developed a strap the wearer could feel, right?

Missy was leaning over the console again and all you could think about was pulling those skirts up over her waist.

Un-fucking-fair for the Doctor to pull you away from a hot date. It’d been months since you’d had your tongue in another woman. You were nearly climbing the walls and half prepared to shag the first girl you could get your hands on and had you not cared for your friendship with Bill more than your own needs, you might have tried something there.

But you cared for Bill’s feelings. Or, you were pretty certain she wasn’t interested in you anyway and it was easier to simplify it that way.

“Come here,” Missy said. You looked at her and watched as she made an exacerbated look at you. “Well, I’m not going to bite you.”

Pity.

“Unless you ask first, of course.”

You swallowed, squeezing your jaw to prevent yourself from saying anything stupid as you walked over and stood beside her.

“What do you want?”

“I need you to move that,” she said, pointing to a nozzle out of her reach. “And then hold that while I do something marvellous but utterly incomprehensible to your tiny mind.”

“Why?”

“Because the picture’s fuzzy and in case you haven’t noticed, we can’t hear,” she snapped the last bit and you stepped forward, moving to where she asked you to stand. “Turn that twice, and hold that red button while I…do this,” she said. And you watched as she flicked through a few buttons, flicking switches, turning other things, and then she did something you didn’t expect.

She pressed between you and the console, reaching to touch something to your far right, as her arse wiggled against your front to squeeze between, you watched as she tensed and then suddenly pressed firmer to you.

The room felt hot and muggy all at once.

“Last I knew, human biology being changed in your decade requires quite an extensive surgery, and you don’t have the smell of someone who's had surgery.”

You swallowed, pulling back, but still holding the dial. “I didn’t plan to be here tonight. I was meant to be somewhere else,” you explained, before biting down on your dark. Your face was hot and you just wanted this to be over as fast as possible.

Missy turned to look over her shoulder, her smile going wide as she moved back, pushing against you. “And you were all prepped for your…paramour was it?”

The flush burned across your cheeks. “We don’t need to discuss it.”

“Oh, but I think we should. Is it an earthen one, or have you made your way to Sirius Sixty-Nine yet?”

“Sirius…sixty-nine?”

“It’s…think of it like an extensive alien sex shop that takes up the size of a planetoid. Named by humans, of course. But we can go there if you’re curious. The Doctor won’t even notice,” she was purring her words by the end of it and you could feel her slight wiggle as she pressed firmer against you. “I bet that human biological need to breed has you desperate to feel what it’s like to penetrate someone.”

“I can penetrate plenty with my hands,” you said as if you hadn’t just been thinking about what it felt like to have a cock.

Missy turned on her heel so her back was to the TARDIS console and her front pressed against you. All at once she’d propped herself up on the console and wrapped her legs around your waist, tugging you close. There was a heartbeat pause at that, as you felt your jeans press to her, knowing where it was pressing. “It’s different,” she said. “When you penetrate someone with a cock, when you feel that person squeeze around you. It’s different to your hands. Especially if your hands are…” and there she paused, grabbing yours and tugging them down, to wrap around her sides, below her breasts. “Occupied,” she finished with a sharp look, daring you to move them.

You swallowed, thumb tracing over the material of her blouse, feeling the corset bones underneath your hands. “Missy.”

“Don’t you want to feel me?”

“Don’t tease me. This isn’t fair.”

“Who said anything about teasing?” She asked, holding your gaze steady. “You don’t know what I want.”

“You don’t want this. You’re always making fun of…” you wanted to tug away, but her legs were firm around your waist, her hands deceptively strong around your wrists. “I didn’t think…you’d like that sort of thing.”

“What? That I don’t care for the simplest bodily pleasure? I’m not immune to desire. Now tell me, shall I go and find some other way to busy myself while the Doctor is off doing good? Or can I count on you to follow through with those nasty thoughts you’ve been having of me?”

“You…” and you trailed off, because the correct response, from the Doctor, would be to ensure she paid attention to what he was doing.

But Missy’s eyes were so blue, and her mouth was parted, her chin lifted up to look at you, causing the curve of her neck to become more apparent. You wanted to trail your mouth down that curve, to kiss her skin and tug the clothes from her body. You wanted to taste her and feel her, and––

You should have been worried that she confirmed your very fear of telepathy, but you could feel the corset moving with every breath of hers, watching her breath grow slow and heavy, her face tilted, waiting, watching you with curiosity.

“What do you want?” You asked her sincerely.

She scoffed, tugging your hands away. “If you can’t figure that out––“

There you stopped her, grabbing her and pressed her back to the TARDIS console just as she attempted to wriggle out from between you. “I said…” you repeated, slow, firmly to her as you held her still. “What do you want?”

She paused then, and a slow smile pulled over her lips. “How direct,” she teased, rolling her ‘r’s. “I want you on your knees.”

You sunk to your knees and it was all the permission you needed as your hands lifted up her skirts. Your heart thudded in your chest, waiting for the moment she’d laugh, or scoff or just pull a weapon from thin air and shoot you dead.

But she didn’t. Her eyes remained steady on you, watching as you kissed above her ankle where her heeled boot ended, trailing over her calves, her knees and thighs as the skirt was pushed up high, around her waist.

“Do time ladies often go without their knickers?” You asked.

“Skirts like this make them seem redundant,” she said, but there was a knowing look in her eyes, and you felt as if she was reading your thoughts.

No, you knew she was.

Her grin widened. “Perhaps I planned this,” she responded, echoing your own thoughts. “Manipulated the Doctor to get you alone in here with me.”

You paused, holding her gaze steady, watching for any changes to her expression as you kissed across her thigh, your mouth pressing against the crease where her thigh met her hip. Her expression softened, and there you were familiar with the look of desire.

“Are you lonely?” You asked her, “Or only looking for relief.” It was a sincere inquiry. You wanted to know what she wanted.

Her expression sharpened. “You’re a smart girl,” she teased. “Get started and I’m sure you can extrapolate from there.”

You obeyed.

It was easy to feel your mind soften, your thoughts quieten as you kissed over the pelvic bone, across the dark curls. Your hands drew up her thighs and there, with your hands on her hips, you felt her stomach tighten, intaking a breath as your mouth pressed over the slick folds, tongue sliding against the labia to taste the arousal.

Time Ladies, you found, tasted similar to the women you’d been with. There was a softer taste, muted sweetness, but it was still familiar. You stroked the flat over her vulva, before your tongue curled over her clit, testing what she liked––going from firm to soft, fast to slow, tracing different movements as you listened to her breath hitch, her thighs clench and relax around you.

Missy seemed to let you indulge in tasting her, of feeling her breath intake and muscles squeeze, before her hand curled in your hair and tugged you back.

“That’s enough of that, now.”

“Is it?” For a moment you hesitated over if you hadn’t done the right thing, and then her head tilted, her expression softening.

“We’ve limited time, and I’d rather this move to the next step,” she said, so matter of factly you wondered if you were a masturbatory tool to her. And then you wondered if that mattered at all.

You rose to your feet and tugged her thighs apart just as she pulled you close, undoing the zip of your pants, reaching out to pull out the dildo from the depths of your pants. And God, what’d you give to feel that hand curl around you, to feel her stroke it.

“You’re going to be fast about this,” she told you, “and if you’re a very good girl and do this right, I might just break out of my cell and find you again should I ever get the itch.”

“Because I’m going to be at your beck and call?”

“You will,” she said and then she pulled you closer, sliding the toy inside of her so sharply you found yourself gasping.

Well, you’d wanted something quick and dirty. Hand under her thighs, you pulled back and thrust inside of her, watching as her eyes fluttered, her back arching. Each thrust had her melting away, to wherever she wanted to be in her thoughts, mouth parted, a soft sigh on her lips as she rocked against you.

For a moment you were uncertain as to what you should be doing if you should move softly for her––as you usually would for the first time.

But this was Missy. If she wanted soft, she would have made some sardonic comment to the effect. Instead, she was drifting off to whatever bliss she wanted. You knew she was squeezing around the shaft as you thrust inside of her, muscles clenching, and for a moment you could…almost…imagine…

“Your thoughts are awfully busy,” Missy said. “Lamenting over the fact you can’t feel what it’s like inside of me?”

You didn’t respond, glaring at her.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she said, arching, breath itching. “I can give you taste.”

And before you could agree, her hand had snatched at yours, pulling it to her mouth where she placed two fingers over her tongue. Your pace slowed for a moment as you felt her tongue wrap over your fingers, curling as she sucked, drawing your fingers down her tongue and then back.

Her lips pressed over the length of them and oh, God, you felt like you could come from this alone.

And then your fingers were out of her mouth with a soft pop as you dropped them wetly against the console, breathing hard.

“Get back to doing your job,” she said to you, like a teacher giving a sharp warning to put your head down back on your own work.

You swallowed, curling back in your confidence, trying to remember to thrust in her in an even speed––but her hand curled in your hair, tugging so your attention was brought to the brilliant, blue eyes and snarl on her lips. “If you’re not going to do this right, what good are you?”

You glared at her, shoving her back against the console as your hands gripped at her thighs, thrusting back in her. How dare she turn you on like that, and have the audacity to act like––like––

She moaned softly, and then her hand had grabbed yours, leading you to grasp at her hair. You blinked at her before fisting it tight, pulling her head back so her neck was elongated and exposed. Your breath came out in a pant as you leant forward against the flesh of her neck, your teeth dragging over her pulse.

“Yes,” she hissed. “All those years of evolution, and you’re still no better than a dog in heat.”

You bit down, sucking and felt her rock hard against you, a sound reverberating through the air and you didn’t know if it was your enjoyment or hers.

You could feel her thighs tensing, her hips shuddering as nails dug deep into your shoulders, pulling you tight.

And there, in a hot breath against your ear, you heard her exhale in relief before she shoved you backwards from her, sending you with a swift kick to hit the side of the TARDIS.

You panted, pants slipping down your thighs as Missy dropped off the console, onto the mesh ground as she adjusted her skirts and wiped at her neck and mouth, cleaning the evidence of you from her. Her eyes turned to you, and then a sharp smirk formed, before it faded, as her nose wrinkled, looking you up and down. “You can leave.”

“Leave?”

She turned away, adjusting the monitor to look back at the Doctor’s screen, fixing it so at last sound came out before she waved you off. “Off you pop. Go and light a cigarette, or whatever you humans do.”

You bared your teeth, shoving the toy back in your pants and doing it up. The slickness of the toy didn’t escape you, and a longing pulse throbbed in your clit. But your job was done. Well, fuck her then. Thank fuck that was over.

Or so you thought.

As it was, you cleaned up, you sat back in your spot and it was barely another hour passing before the Doctor returned and dropped you back home (a day late, thank’s doc.)

After receiving the half-dozen texts from your ex going from confused to angry, burning a bridge that probably should have remained burnt in the first place, you laid in bed at night, thinking about the exchange, wondering what you would do if Missy turned up.

Tell her to fuck off, maybe.

Unlikely.

Her daughters would swarm around you, and in those times, you would look up and watch as they giggled, teasing you with their swarm as they tugged at your hair and fluttered against your skin. “Mother wants you.”

“Better go quickly.”

“Or we’ll have to take you,” the last sister said as she brandished her weapon. You should have been afraid. Deep down, you were, because one day your blood would turn stale. One day you would stop being valuable, and your Lady would let her daughters devourer you.

But that wasn’t today.

Today you rose to your feet, rinsing the cloth and took the bucket to empty outside before making your way up to the Lady’s room.

As you made your way up the stairs, you untied your hair, combing your fingers through it as you heard the Lady’s daughters laughter ring through the halls.

It should bother you, but it didn’t.

“Look at you,” your Lady proclaimed upon your entrance. “You’ve been cleaning up the mess of our most recent guest, I take it.”

“Yes, my Lady,” you said, meeting her eyes. In the village, you’d been tall, even against the men. Before her, you felt unnaturally small. And yet,you craved to meet her height, stand at her side and caress your hands against her face.

“Your days are numbered. Perhaps you should think of running,” the Lady teased.

“Only if you’ll chase me,” you responded in kind. Her eyes narrowed, and you watched as she examined you. And then she smiled, moving to sit down before her dresser.

“Undress me.”

You obeyed.

You sat the hat aside on a mannequin head. The earrings removed, necklace undone before you unpinned her hair.

Gloves and heels, then the dress and its dozens of buttons were undone and set aside before you moved to the undergarments, only for her hand to stop you. “Enough,” she said. “Go run my bath.”

“Of course, my Lady.”

It was a grande room, opulent as all of the higher rooms were. You filled the massive tub with water and then lit the fire underneath it, heating the water. Taking the perfumes, you scented the water and then set aside her soaps, comb and oils, ready to be used on a small table.

There you returned to the bedroom. “Your bath has been prepared, my Lady.”

She looked at you in the mirror of her dresser and grinned, setting aside her journal. “Good. Shut the door behind you.”

As she passed you, you pulled the door shut, feeling the lock click in place.

You washed her hair first, massaging your hands through the dark locks, watching as her eyes fall shut. She trusted you––anyone else, and this would be the moment you’d prepare for.

You could kill her.

She wouldn’t hesitate to kill you after all, and was human nature not to survive at all and at any cost?

You rinsed the suds from her hair and stepped back, fixing your sleeves. “My lady,” you said softly. Waiting.

Her eyes open. The air was hot with the steam, the smell of firewood in the lower recesses filling your nose. You didn’t dare open a window.

“Come closer,” she said. You stepped closer to the edge of the bath and watched her eyes draw over you as her fingers traced your face, watching your breath exhale from your lips. “What do you think about as you serve me?”

“If I should kill you.”

“Oh?” She paused and then laughed at your honesty. “And what conclusion have you come to, little one?”

“That you would kill me first.”

“It’s human nature to survive, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to survive. I want to live.” It seemed important to separate that difference, but you weren’t sure why.

For a moment, her brow pressed, and then she smiled. “Won’t you join me?”

Your body ached at the command.

You undid your dress, allowing it to drop to the ground, uncaring that it would get wet. You removed your slip, setting your shoes aside. Removing the last of your undergarments before you climbed into the great tub.

Despite your careful attempt, water sloshed as the sides, spilling onto the polished marble floor as you set yourself in the tub, across from the Lady.

It wasn’t the first time you were naked before her, but you felt at vulnerable as you could be in moments like this, knowing what would come next.

“Am I so terrifying, dear one?”

“Yes, my Lady,” but you drew closer anyway, watching her smile widen.

The water came up to your collar bone as you moved towards her. When you were before her, you knelt between her thighs, staring up at her with awe. The Lady’s head tilted, her eyes studying you as you stay on your knees before her.

Your heart thudded in your chest, so loud you could hear it in your ears. There was an unnatural heat spilling over your skin, and more noticeably than all of that, you trembled, your mouth going dry as you watched her eyes draw over your form.

Her hand slid around your waist, easily dragging you closer as you felt her lift and settle you onto her, straddling her thigh.

The water had warmed her, but she was still cool against your hot skin.

“Tell me, how would you kill me, should have the chance?”

“Here, in the bathroom,” you tell her as you feel her thigh press against your sex, nudging. Your hips jerked, dragging across her skin that was far more supple than you’d expected. “I would wait until you ask for a bath again before I struck.”

“And when did you come up with such a plan?”

“As I washed your hair,” you told her as you rocked your hips. Her lips part, and you felt your heartbeat quicken. “I would bring in a weapon when I cleaned up the bathroom, ready for your next bath.”

“Whatever will I do with such impertinent thoughts?” she inquired of you. “I’ll have to punish you. Maybe even rid myself of you.”

“My Lady,” you said to her softly, feeling your heartbeat thud between your legs.

She grinned at you, watching as you arched back, though your own thighs squeezing around her’s.

You served house Dimistrecu well. You cleaned for them, lured in unsuspecting maidens and men alike for them to play with.

But your finest service had always been your body.

Lady Dimistrecu’s claws pierced your skin, and you felt the hot blood spill across your skin, down your body as she leant forward and licked over the wound. And then her mouth settled on it, drinking the blood that poured from you.

You clutched at her, crying out, feeling the dizziness wash over you as hot streams of blood spilled down your chest and back, sinking into the water.

Your heart pulsed between your thighs and heavy in your chest, and then it slowed, and the world darkened for a moment, fading away as a warm bliss shivered down your spine before that, too, faded away.

Again her cool breast, you settled against her, wondering if she meant what she said. Was this the end?

Your cunt clenched, aching to be filled, and you trembled, a weakness slipping over your limbs as you found yourself letting go of her as you slipped away into euphoria.

If it were the end, you’d gladly take it.

“Wakey-wakey,” came the familiar sing-song voice of one of the daughters. “Come on; Mother needs you to clean the kitchen. Someone left a big mess!”

“It was fun chasing him around, wasn’t it?” Someone else said.

You gave a soft moan, waking up to see in the golden candlelight, two daughters standing before you. You were tired, utterly exhausted. But you’d been dressed in your nightgown and tucked into bed.

You awoke, sitting up and began your day again. This time, as your brushed your hand over your shoulder where the claws had pierced, you thought you could feel a scab where the claws had pierced. But when you made your way to your mirror, tugging the nightgown down your shoulders, the skin was smooth, unbroken as if it never been touched.

“Off you go,” the daughters sung and then laughed, exiting your room, leaving you to dress and prepare for the kitchen.

One day you wouldn’t wake up. One day there’d be no gentle sing-song from the daughters.

Zelda hardly cared. She was an unexpected guest.

Lilith had completed some of her administration work through the evening, permitting Zelda to sit by her as they discussed the semantic difference in the work between high school and college–there was still funding to be scavenged for, boards and parents to answer to. In the fine details, it sometimes seemed very similar.

And yet, discussing their work like that had been surprisingly enjoyable. It’d been a soft ending to an otherwise hard today, and somehow Zelda had fallen asleep tasting hot chocolate on her tongue with a yearning in her chest.

She hadn’t conversed with Lilith like that before. Furthermore, she hadn’t conversed with anyone in such a matter in some time. It’d been…nice if she was honest with herself.

Stirring, Zelda turned and faced the hearth, watching the red and gold embers glow in the last remaining log. The remains of the fire would die soon, but the heat held in the house, despite its age. Zelda shifted, moving against the pillow to get comfortable again as she closed her eyes and began to drift asleep.

Just as the edges of a dream touched over her, she heard a noise.

Soft, muted, like a whimper.

Zelda turned, looking to where the stairs were in the dark of the house and wondered if Lilith was having nightmares…or if she was doing something else. Surely she wasn’t. Surely Lilith knew that Zelda might hear her if she were doing such an activity.

There was the sound of floorboards creaking, shifting, and another vocal noise.

Zelda sat up, feeling her heart thud in her chest. She should turn over and sleep again. She shouldn’t stand up or creep across the cold wooden floors, across the rug, and ascend up the stairs.

She shouldn’t…and yet she did.

On the first step, she paused, looking up at the bedroom door. A soft light, likely a lamp, poured from the partially opened doorway. Here, Zelda could hear the soft, panting breath, though it didn’t distinguish if it was pain or pleasure.

She could be having a nightmare.

And yet Zelda was certain of what was occurring as she took another step, her hand on the banister, feeling her skin brush against the polished wood.

The stairs creaked, and she paused, but the soft noise didn’t cease. Instead, they sounded louder as if to pique her curiosity. Zelda continued up the stairs, feeling her throat constrain, her breath held in her lungs. Her mouth felt dry as she made it up to the second floor, trying to peer into the room and confirm her suspicions. Lilith wasn’t trying to be discreet-–she wanted her to see.

She shifted closer to the bedroom and hesitated.

There was a swallowed noise like a moan cut off, and Zelda stepped closer, nudging the door wider. She knew what Lilith was doing, and yet a curiosity to see it, witness it for her own eyes pressed her closer.

The door opened wider, and there Lilith laid, on top of her sheets, her fingers stroking between her legs, back arching as her heels dug in, grounding her on the duvet as she gasped. It was a sight to see, and Zelda felt stuck to the floor, her body unwilling to move as she watched Lilith’s body shift, muscles tensing before easing again.

And then her head turned to face her. It went from a moment of Zelda’s voyeurism into an intentional exhibitionist activity on Lilith’s part.

Lilith’s blue eyes stared at her, her hands continuing to stroke, her mouth parted before a smile tugged at the lips. “Enjoying the show?”

Zelda went to ask, “what are you doing” but the answer was obvious, so she held those words back. She went to inquire if Lilith deliberately tried to summon her, but that too was obvious. She stepped closer, and Lilith’s hand slowed its pace, her eyes unwavering as she watched Zelda stand before the end of the bed.

Zelda undressed from the nightgown before she crawled onto the bed, moving towards Lilith on all fours until she was positioned above her. And then, with one hand, she slid Lilith’s away from between her legs.

“May I?” Zelda asked.

“It’s been a while…” Lilith whispered. “Since I let anyone touch me.”

Zelda rested her hand on the bed, her body hovering away from touching her. “We don’t have to have sex. I can watch if you prefer, or I can go back downstairs––“

Lilith leaned up, capturing her mouth as one hand seemed to curl around Zelda’s neck, pulling her closer, as the other reached for Zelda’s hand, leading her intentionally between her legs. She wanted her to stay; even Zelda could take such a hint.

Zelda slid her fingers against the sex, feeling the wetness against Lilith’s vulva as she stroked. She kissed her deeper, feeling drawn closer and closer against the woman’s body.

Lilith’s words, it’s been a while rang through her head, leading her touch. It wasn’t fair to fuck her, to treat her like she was just fulfilling a need. If anything, Lilith deserved to be worshipped, to be shown that this wasn’t only about sex.

Zelda wanted her, wanted to experience this with her––and God, that should terrify her, but right now, her mind was clouded with the feeling of Lilith’s tongue against hers and how her arousal coasted her fingertips.

She pulled back, looking into Lilith’s eyes as she slid down the bed, kissing over the woman’s collarbone, down her clavicle. She paused, pressing her mouth over Lilith’s breast as her hand continued to stroke her sex before she began to kiss down her again, over the ribs, her belly, her hips––pressing light kisses against the skin as she felt feeling the woman’s breath rise and fall, desire palpable in the air as she moved her mouth down, low over the mound. And then she slid her fingers away, pressing her tongue between the slick folds to taste her.

Lilith’s hips arched up, a small whimper breaking through the air. Zelda did it again, flicking her tongue, sliding deep over the labia, tasting the arousal before she did it again, broader this time.

“Zelda––!“

Zelda paused, slowing between Lilith’s legs as she looked up to see the woman’s brow pressed, her mouth parted as she gasped long, deep breaths, rocking against her. Her hair was cast wild around her, and for a moment, Zelda was completely enamoured by how she appeared.

She hadn’t expected the sound of Lilith’s moan to strike through her like that, to bloom in her chest like that. As she ran the flat of her tongue against her again, she felt Lilith shiver, her hips shaking as she tried to urge the mouth where she wanted it to be.

“I like you like this,” Zelda whispered. There was a soft inquiry noise, shaken with a moan. “For once, I get to see how you look when you come.”

Lilith’s noises were…explicit. They rung through Zelda’s ears, electrifying down her spine––because of this, she couldn’t help but try to summon them over and over, seeing how many different ways Lilith could keen and whine as she licked and sucked over her sex, around her clit and back until she heard the sweetest sound.

Lilith began to whimper, a soft”Please,” coming out with short and sharp breaths from desperation. Zelda obeyed the request, sliding inside of her to feel Lilith’s sex squeeze around her fingers.

She could feel the duvet shifting as Lilith’s hands seemed to claw at the material, her feet pressing at the mattress as she arched against Zelda’s mouth––and Zelda felt this moment hold in her mind. Lilith was coming undone because of her; she was pleading into the air, saying her name, crying out because of what Zelda’s tongue and fingers were doing to her.

It was a powerful and humbling feeling. One she wanted to live in for a few seconds longer.

Zelda felt as Lilith squeezed again, her body getting closer and closer. The moans had cut to bright, sharp breaths as her movements became all the more jarring.

Zelda glanced up again and then watched as Lilith rocked, her head tilting back as she came gasping, looking like some goddess in the middle of worship. And then her chest rose with breath and fell again as she dropped back against the bed, the orgasm finalising.

Zelda pulled away slowly, taking care to sit up as Lilith remained panting on the bed, her chest rising and falling before her head tilted to look at her. She gave a small laugh and then smiled, shifting up onto her elbows despite the lethargy to her limbs. “I’m pleased you came upstairs,” she said.

“I should hope so,” Zelda advised. “Otherwise, this situation would be quite awkward.”

“No, I mean…” she paused to laugh, shifting so that she sat up properly, tucking her knees underneath her, though her shoulders sagged, her body still tired from activity. “I was hurt when you left because I enjoyed our time together…probably more than I should, but who says you can’t have favourite clients?”

To that, Zelda smiled, her chest warming. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“No,” Lilith said. “I don’t. I don’t know what you’re after with me, Zelda, but if you’re honest, I am prepared to be honest, too, with what I want.” She paused there, biting her lip before adding. “For us.”

There it was, a shift in their dynamic. Zelda felt the words in her chest, the constraint pull. What did she want? She swallowed, feeling her mouth go dry, a panic rising. It was awful to feel so exposed, to be naked and tasting Lilith on her mouth and uncertain as to what she wanted. Was it a relationship? Was it sex? Was it the feeling of relief and crying and the words I’m proud of you whispered over and over?

“I’m satisfied with where we stand,” she lied.

Lilith seemed to pause, and for a moment, there was a pang of hurt on her face. With it, Zelda turned away, feeling the awkwardness pile between them. Gone was the casual relief, the fun and ease that had built between them, and now an awkwardness.

“Of course,” Lilith responded, and then, with a nod, she shifted, looking to Zelda. “And what are we? Because right now, you’re not my client. So what’s…this?”

Zelda blinked, shifting. “I–I don’t know,” she admitted.

Lilith nodded again, her face masking into the familiar expression Zelda had come to know of her dominatrix. “Perhaps you should think on what this is, and then let me know however you want to define it. But, I need to understand what parameters you’re setting when you advise that you arecurrently satisfied with where we stand.’”

Zelda swallowed and nodded. “Of course.”

And then Lilith’s expression softened. “Good. Now…did you want a cup of tea before you return to the couch?” Zelda didn’t need to read between the lines to notice that she was being kicked out.

“No, I…I can make my own way.” She shifted off from the bed, moving to grab the nightgown and tug it on. The words continued to hum in her head, the inquiry from Lilith, and what are we followed by the soft, sweetened voice. It’s been a while…since I let anyone touch me.

Zelda realised that her heart was heavy with guilt as she made her way downstairs, moving to lie back on the couch. Lilith liked her, and Zelda had essentially recoiled away from that vulnerability. She wasn’t sure what that meant for them but knew that she needed to consider Lilith’s question fairly, take the time to consider it.

What did she want?

The next morning was quiet. Lilith was polite as she made breakfast and then offered to take Zelda home. Through the drive, Zelda sat rigid in her seat, feeling the last night run through her head. What had begun awful had slowed to becoming an almost nice evening and then somehow devolved to her feeling guilty over what had occurred.

She sighed, looking out at the window.

“You’ve huffed every minute for the last five minutes,” Lilith advised. “Either you’re trying to get my attention, or you’re still embarrassed about last night.”

“Who said I was embarrassed?” Zelda asked––despite the truth of the observation.

Lilith glanced at her. “I did, just then,” she pointed out. “Did you want to involve me in your thoughts?”

“Not particularly.”

“Suit yourself. But the only reason that I have been frustrated with you is that you’re not honest with me. Which, as you recall, was the only thing I requested from you.”

Zelda was silent at that. Last night, it had been her only request. And if Zelda looked back, on the first night at her townhouse, it’d been her only request then, too.

As the drive continued in the quiet, Zelda felt the words shift in her head as she realised that perhaps she was unnecessarily complicating this. She turned and looked to Lilith. “I enjoy your company,” she advised. Lilith blinked and glanced at her.

“I enjoy your company, too.”

“I––“ she paused then, trying to find the words. “I don’t know what I want. I enjoy the…activities we involve in. The sex. But anything further than that, is difficult for me. I have a full-time job that requires out-of-office hours for it to be effectively maintained and a niece who I’m raising, which feels like its own full-time job––not to mention Hilda and Ambrose. I can’t…I don’t have time for a relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“Is that the only reason? You don’t feel you’d be able to fairly share your time?”

“It is.”

Lilith’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel. “For clarity’s sake, if that weren’t an issue, are you saying that you would potentially be interested in a relationship?”

Zelda swallowed, feeling the familiar panic rise. “I wouldn’t pursue it at this stage.”

“That’s not a no.”

She turned, looking to Lilith, catching a strange hardened expression, as if Lilith was holding back something. “I enjoy your company outside of sex, too,” Zelda admitted. “But it’s not fair to dwell on maybes when my life isn’t ready for such a step.”

Lilith nodded, but she smiled nonetheless. “How about we uncomplicated this. Once a week, I’ll set a time for you and me in unpaid services on the weekend. We can engage in kink if you like, or we can just sit and talk as friends, or we can have sex. But perhaps instead of being client and service provider, we could be friends with some additional benefits.”

“Friends,” Zelda echoed, feeling the word on her tongue. “I’m happy to pay.”

“I know. It’s not about that. It’s unethical for me to continue to make you pay one half of the time and yet not the other half when I summon you for my own sexual desires. This way, I think we’ll both feel more comfortable.”

Zelda nodded. A set time she could pencil in. A friend. It wasn’t a situation she disliked, though a strange ache filled her chest––truthfully, she did want more, but she stood by what she said. There was no room in her life for a partner. The last decade of dating was proof enough for that. “I would like that,” she agreed.

“So would I,” Lilith said. “Because I enjoyed your tongue last night, and I want to see what other skills you have hidden from me.”

“Is that so?”

“It is, indeed,” Lilith said. “In fact, we’re not that far from my other townhouse. If you like…we could begin with this arrangement today. Test the waters, so to speak.”

Zelda wanted to advise that they probably tested the waters last night, but who was she to argue against Lilith offering sex? “I think that sounds agreeable––though if we’re ‘testing waters’ and checking for ‘hidden skills,’ perhaps I should take the lead this time and show you what I’m truly capable of.”

“I told you before, I’m more than happy to reverse our roles,” Lilith said before she gave her a quick glance. “But out of curiosity…what are you looking at doing?”

“Why don’t you pull off this road, and I’ll give you a preview?”

Lilith did, and Zelda showed her what she could actually do with just her hands as she fucked Lilith in the front seat, making her come as she ground against Zelda’s thigh, her hot breath fogging up the car windows to prevent any curious onlookers from peering in and seeing Zelda’s mouth wrapped around her breast as her fingers curled inside of her.

Perhaps the shift in their relationship was for the best––it at least eased the ache in Zelda’s chest, providing warmth and steadiness as she listened to Lilith make those most beautiful noises she’d ever had the pleasure to hear.

She didn’t know what the future held, but right now, Lilith was apart of that future, and that seemed to steady her.

“Just you wait, Zelda Spellman,” Lilith panted as she shifted back into her seat, adjusting her clothes. “I’m going to tie you up and fuck you hard––I know what you like.”

“And what’s that?”

Lilith loved her, and Zelda felt as if the happiness she felt might burn her up. There was nothing and no one that could take it from her as she kissed her over and over, tasting the words on her mouth, her skin, her sex until they had laughed and kissed and fucked until only sleep brought relief from the happiness she felt.

And even there, she found herself waking up and peaking over at Lilith to ensure she was really there, that this was all real.

Hilda agreed to pick up Sabrina, which left Zelda returned to Lilith’s home and kiss her again. She kissed her in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bathroom where they showered, on the stairs, against the doorframe, and in the bedroom where they fucked.

She kissed her and felt as if the world stopped turning, giving them a few moments with another. They had sex and didn’t have sex. They talked and fucked and laughed, and Zelda thought about her future with Lilith more seriously for the first time in life.

How soon was reasonable to say to Lilith that she was freely allowed over at her home?

Probably after speaking with her niece.

“Sabrina’s home,” she said as she finally pulled herself away Lilith’s grasp, standing on the floorboards to pick up her clothes. “I need to speak to her.”

“What about Ambrose?”

“Ambrose and Hilda both gave their blessing,” she said, looking up as she fixed her bra and began tugging her blouse on. She paused, watching Lilith shift in the bed, head propped up on one arm, looking good enough to eat. “I need to speak to Sabrina––I didn’t even want to say any loveconfessions until after I spoke to her.”

“Ah, the glory of God,” Lilith declared before she grinned, “Or a good orgasm.”

“Mm,” Zelda fixed the last of her shirt buttons, before she pulled her skirt on, zipping it up. The underwear was ruined, and she couldn’t be bothered with stockings, so it would have to do for now. “I’m sure I can imagine what version you’ll be telling your friends.”

“Fist deep, God staring from above as holy light filled the room, she looked at me as if––“

Zelda threw her underwear at Lilith’s face and watched as the woman laughed, tossing them back. “There was no holy light.”

“There was moonlight. You looked ravishing in the moonlight. I’d very much, so enjoy having my wicked way with you again.”

“Is that so?” Zelda said, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, there’s a clearing near the Spellman manor if you truly think that.”

Lilith’s eyes flashed, a soft ohh on her lips as she watched her step into heels. “Equinox is coming up.”

Zelda laughed, “another orgy?”

“Mm, no. I think I’d want you all to myself for that one. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything fun. I could suspend you from a tree?”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” She turned to Lilith’s dresser, fixing her hair and wiping off the remaining ruined lipstick on her mouth. “I’ll call you tonight.”

“Or could come around, again?” Lilith said.

Zelda hummed. “I need to spend some nights with my family. But I could come over before dinner,” she said. The truth was, she’d hoped that once Sabrina had agreed, then Lilith could start spending more time around the manor, come to the family dinners until it became natural to serve a plate for her.

Zelda walked over to the bed, leaning down to kiss Lilith only for the woman’s hand to run through her hair and hold her firm as she kissed her with decadent passion––so much so that Zelda felt herself almost begin to crawl on the back of the bed before she remembered her intentions.

“Soon,” she promised, pulling her face just far enough away that the woman’s face filled her entire peripheral. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Lilith said, her smile breaking wide across her face. She lifted her hands then to cup Zelda’s jaw as she kissed her again, soft and sweet, her thumbs caressing across her cheekbones. “Come back soon co I can have my way with you.”

“I’ll do my best,” Zelda agreed, kissing her goodbye.

She returned home around mid-afternoon. She’d hidden as many of the marks Lilith left as she could, but it was plainly evident that she’d been up to something.

Hilda was out when she arrived, and Ambrose was nowhere to be found, which left the perfect opportunity to privately have the long-awaited conversation.

Knocking on Sabrina’s door, Zelda felt her excitement bubble, before trepidation filled her.

Ambrose had plainly provided his blessing, but this was the first time she’d be discussing it with Sabrina.

So when the door opened, and her niece stared back at her frowning, the anxiety only grew. “Sabrina,” she said. “How was your vacation?”

“Fine,” she answered, hands folding under her chest. Zelda paused at the short response, taking a moment to look at the scene before her.

“Did…something happen?”

“You lied to me,” Sabrina said. “You––“ she paused, mouth twisting, “Aunt Hilda told me that you’re dating Ms Wardwell.”

Zelda stilled, feeling as if ice was encasing over her as she watched Sabrina’s anger grow before her. “We’re not dating. We’ve only been seeing each other,” she advised. “But we are looking to…move to that next stage.”

“How long were you together?” Sabrina asked. “Was it just Christmas? Or…” and Sabrina paused there, swallowing as her brow pressed together. “Or longer? You’ve been disappearing at night to meetings and drinks with friends for a while now, and I know it’s not with Constance. So…was it with Principal Wardwell? Is that why you invited her to dinner?”

Zelda took a moment to reflect. Looking at it, with all the evidence placed before her, it was…a significant time they’d been meeting together. Since midway through September, she’d been seeing Lilith if she were to consider the time she paid Lilith as a dominatrix as ‘seeing’ her. Otherwise, it’d only been a few weeks. Barely over two weeks since they’d been formally ‘seeing’ each other.

“Yes,” she answered.

Sabrina’s eyes glimmered for a moment, a look of horror on her face as she shook her head. “Why would you lie to me?”

“Because––“ and she paused, the truth was unfair to Sabrina, so she swallowed it back and softened it with another. “Because I didn’t know how far her feelings went. And I wanted to ensure that she wanted the same thing as me before we continued.”

“Which is what? A relationship?”

Zelda nodded slowly. “Openly.”

“No,” Sabrina said. “You can’t.”

Zelda blinked, feeling the dread slip over her at the words. “Sabrina, she’s a good person. I care for her, quite a fair amount. I’d appreciate it if you’d at least consider it.”

But Sabrina’s head shook, adamant, “No, not her. You can date anyone else, why would you want Ms Wardwell? She’s just a Principal.”

“What on earth is this about? Mary is a good person, a kind person.”

“She’s not-–Aunt Zee, please! Please, I’ve never asked you not to date anyone, I never said a word with anyone else, even when you were going to marry them, and they were so wrong for you! Please. Not her. She’s not good, she’s a liar and––”

Zelda flinched, blinking as she shook her head, “Sabrina––!“

“She’s not right for you. And…and it’s not fair that you’re dating my Principal. What if you guys break-up, what about––“ and Zelda could hear excuses pouring from Sabrina’s mouth, hypotheticals about things that wouldn’t happen, how Lilith would treat her differently, how the school would react, how it would come back to Sabrina and Theo, as well as Zelda.

There were so many excuses and so many reasons. But Zelda didn’t care about any of them. Who cared what strangers thought––so as long as she had Lilith.

But Sabrina looked at her, and she pled, eyes wide open, tears in her eyes, begging her not to date Lilith.

“What do you mean when you said that she’s a liar?” Zelda asked.

“She…she did something. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Did she hurt you?” Zelda asked, but Sabrina shook her head. “Someone else, then?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Sabrina snapped. “You said that if I ever had a problem with someone you would listen to me! You promised! No justification needed, so as long as it was fair. This is fair, Aunt Zee. Trust me. Please.”

She was right, Sabrina may not have liked some of Zelda’s other partners, she may not have approved of them, but she’d never requested anything like this and Zelda was dumbstruck at the sudden pleads, unsure as to why Sabrina was feeling this way.

“Okay,” she agreed, feeling the words lump in her throat. She gave a small nod and turned away, tongue pressing against the roof of her mouth to prevent the rising emotion from coming out. “I won’t…I won’t see her any more,” she agreed.

It was like she’d swallowed rocks. Her throat ached, and there was a horrible weight in her stomach.

Her and Lilith were not going to date. They were going to break-up.

Sabrina drew in a breath and exhaled, “Thank you,” was all she said. “You can date anyone else, I swear. Just not her.”

“Why not her?” Zelda asked, unable to help herself.

But Sabrina bit her lip, hands in fists at her side. “Because she’s not right,” was all she said. “Please, Aunt Zee?”

Zelda nodded, feeling her throat swell. Less than an hour ago, she’d been untangling herself from Lilith’s hands and warm kisses, promising to return to her soon. And now, Zelda dreaded seeing her again, having to say the words that no, she didn’t have Sabrina’s blessing, and therefore no, she couldn’t see her.

She gave another nod, taking in a deep breath as she pressed a hand to her abdomen, willing the emotions to settle in her chest. She was a big girl, she could handle this.

“At least it wasn’t serious,” Sabrina mumbled.

“Excuse me?”

“Your relationship. At least…as least it’s not serious.”

Zelda gave a smile, wondering if she should admit the truth as she felt Lilith’s whispered love hum through her ear, but she thought better of it. “I’ll…tell her tonight,” she said. “It’ll be awkward for you tomorrow I imagine but the sooner…”

“The better,” Sabrina finished, nodding.

Zelda couldn’t face her niece anymore. Irrationally, she wanted to spit insults and demand a better response than she’s not right or she’s a liar. She wanted something more substantial than maybes and hypotheticals, but Zelda knew in her heart that Sabrina wouldn’t provide it.

She wanted to plead for Sabrina to make an exception, but that wasn’t fair to ask of her.

Whatever the truth was, Sabrina wasn’t going to share it. Zelda swallowed back the growing ache that filled her, pushing it deep down as she walked away. She grabbed her keys, she got into her car and pulled out of the driveway and made it a few hundred meters down the road before she pulled off and felt the swelling ache shatter as she burst into tears.

She’d promised Sabrina long ago that if her or Ambrose ever blatantly disagreed, she would agree to their decision.

And here she was, following a promise she’d long since hoped would never be stood by. There’d be terrible exes. Partners who weren’t cruel but nor were they kind to Sabrina, and never once had her niece spoken-up. So why, Lilith? What had Lilith done that was so terrible Sabrina demanded they break-up?

Did it matter? She’d made a promise, and if she was going to have Sabrina stand by her commitments, then she needed to set an example.

So she cried in her car until her sobbing turned to deep breaths, and then she rose and looked at herself in the mirror, collecting all the strength she could as she fixed her make-up and made her way to Lilith’s cottage.

And still, she couldn’t work out what she needed to say. How do you say to someone that you love them, but that you can’t be together? She would have given Lilith the world if she asked––the only person that preceded her love and adoration for the woman was the very person she viewed as her daughter.

An hour. That’s all it took—one hour for her to go from happily in love with heartbroken.

She pulled up at the house and settled for a moment before she made her way to the front door. Her body felt heavy as she lifted her hand and knocked on the door, swallowing back everything as she tried to bottle her feelings away.

She couldn’t make this any more difficult than need-be. It had to be a clean break. It had to be fair to both of them.  

God, it hurt to think about.

Lilith came to the door, opening it wide with a familiar, bright expression before it softened and then paused, eyes dancing around Zelda’s face. “Did something happen?” she asked.

Zelda swallowed, feeling the lump in her throat. And then Lilith was stepping back, allowing her entrance into the home and maybe she should do it there, at the threshold so she could leave quickly, but it wasn’t fair to be so separate, and if Zelda was honest, she wanted to be selfish in these last moments. So she entered.

“I––“ she began, watching as Lilith shut the door, worry flooding her face.

“Is Sabrina okay?”

Zelda nodded and then blinked as her eyes prickled. Looking up at the ceiling, she sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember the words she’d thought about on the way over. And then she swallowed and looked at Lilith’s face.

She’d broken off engagements. Had left a half dozen relationships before. They’d all been hard in their own way, but this felt worse. It felt wrong because, for the first time, she didn’t see the reason why she was doing this. Lilith loved her, and she loved her back. They were in love.

It wasn’t fair.

“I don’t have Sabrina’s blessing,” she said, but it sounded ridiculous, so she shook her head and stepped away as Lilith tried to reach for. “So we can’t…” she paused, swallowing again, “I can’t see you any more.”

Lilith’s expression shifted to puzzlement, and then she was shaking her head. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “Your niece can’t––“

“She begged me. Begged. She’s never––“ and Zelda shook her head, setting her hands on her hips to prevent from reaching out for her. “I promised her Lilith. Many years ago that if she or Ambrose said no, I wouldn’t––that I would break the relationship off.”

“But…” Lilith paused and gave a short, nervous laugh, “I don’t understand. We’re happy.”

Zelda nodded, feeling the tears spill down her cheek before she took another breath, trying to swallow back the growing sobs. “I know,” she said, and her voice was strangled as she said it. “And I am, I am so…so happy, but I promised her.”

“Fuck that promise. You love me. You said you love me and I love you. Whatever it is she’ll grow-up and get over it and––“

“No,” Zelda said. “No, Lilith.”

“But—“

“No.”

Lilith scowled, turning on her heel as she looked away, pacing the length of the room. “Then I’ll talk to. Explain that––“

“You’ll do no such thing!” Zelda snapped. “I don’t know why Sabrina has requested this, but it’s her request. She’s never asked for it, not with anyone else. But I will abide by it.”

“This is ridiculous Zelda. Certainly, you can hear that yourself. You’re letting some sixteen-year-old girl decide your happiness, for what?”

“For family! She is an orphan, Lilith. You may not see it, but she’s heartbroken every day. I am all she has. Not Ambrose, not Hilda, me. I’m her family. I raised her from when she was a baby. And if she asks this of me then so be it, I will follow because I promised her that I would and by God, she needs that stability that I’m not going to lie to her.”

“But it’s bullshit!” Zelda paused, letting the words ring out between them, watching as Lilith’s fury softened as she receded and pulled away. “I fucking love you. We’re happy. I don’t understand how that’s not enough. What more is there, what more do you want?”

“Nothing, there’s nothing else I want for,” Zelda said. She wanted Lilith. She wanted Lilith in her arms and in her bed. She wanted her at Christmas and New Years, at her Birthday and family events. She wanted to marry her if Lilith would have agreed to it. She wanted her, completely, utterly as much as Lilith would give––Zelda would have provided in return.

But she promised Sabrina.

“It’s not about what I want,” Zelda said. “I made a promise…that’s as simple as it is.”

Lilith shook her head, and Zelda could see the tears spilling there. The desperation to find an answer. “It’s not fair,” Lilith said.

“I know.” So she reached out and took Lilith’s hands. She kissed her cheeks from the tears, and then her mouth and felt as Lilith hissed in a breath, swallowing back her heartache.

“I love you,” Zelda said. “I mean that. Honestly, truly, I love you.”

And Lilith sobbed, so she kissed her again, and again until Lilith’s fingers were undoing the buttons of her clothes and tugging them off desperately.

They stumbled against the wall, and Zelda undressed quickly, watching as Lilith ripped her own clothes from her body, before she pressed against Zelda and kissed her.

Her body was warm, and at that moment, Zelda thought they fit perfectly against each other. During all those nights of waking up beside her, of wrapping her arms around Lilith, of stepping behind her and pressing her chin to Lilith’s shoulder, she hadn’t appreciated enough how well they fit.

And it burned her.

She tugged at Lilith, feeling herself drop against a side table and knock its contents to the ground. Something crashed, a painting fell from its hook, and her head banged hard against the wall, but she didn’t care. At the moment, all she wanted was Lilith.

It was hard and rough. And if Zelda bit too hard on Lilith’s shoulder, and Lilith’s nails dug in too sharply, they didn’t say anything. They kept going, marking each other as if they could imprint on the skin forever, leaving half-moon indents and long scratch marks.

She couldn’t speak for Lilith, but she knew that the marks she left, she hoped they didn’t fade too quickly. She wanted to be remembered, that she’d been here, she’d existed, she’d loved her.

It didn’t feel like enough.

She tasted Lilith’s moans and felt them hum against her, and when she gasped up at the ceiling, Zelda kissed her harder, ignoring the sob scratching up her throat.

She watched as Lilith’s eyes fluttered shut, as her mouth parted wide. She felt her come around her fingers, her thighs trembling against her. And then she did it again until Lilith snarled and shoved her down.

Then Zelda felt herself come undone by Lilith’s hand and mouth once, twice and then a third until she was shoving the woman’s hands away, trying to catch her breath and ignore the ache in her chest.

When it was done, and over, she didn’t allow herself to linger against Lilith, knowing that if she heard the woman’s heartbeat, she’d never leave. So she kissed her for the last time and dressed, and felt the words swell in her throat again.

I love you.

Lilith looked at her and then her eyes glimmered as she turned away, unmoving from the mess they’d made on the floor.

Zelda grabbed her jacket and turned away, leaving as fast as she could before she went back on her decision.  

Before Lilith, she didn’t know that you could love another person so much, feel so safe in someone’s arms. But the heartache she was familiar with. In a way, she should have known it would end up like this––her family ruined everything, how could this have been any different?

She returned to the car, pausing just a moment to see her reflection in the mirror and feel the shame wash over her before she turned the engine on and pulled out of Mary Wardwell’s driveway.

They’d see each other around, but for now, that was it—a clean break.

For Agatha, it felt like death followed her, specifically. Some of it was her own doing, others not.

Sabrina was dead. Dorcas was dead. Father Blackwood, her teachers, her parents––all of them were dead. She’d grown used to the taste of grave dirt on her tongue, and as of late, it tasted all the more bitter.

And there was no one to talk to. Everyone else had their own grief, so she didn’t reach out. Not even to Prudence.

Her sister was busy, looking after Judas and Judith, learning under Zelda Spellman's tutelage, whilst also training the once-mortal now-witch into witchcraft. Not that she cared.

All it meant was that, like everything else in her life, Prudence no longer had time for her, especially now that Agatha was no longer insane.

Though the cost of sanity seemed to be isolation.

She couldn’t even reach out and feel Hecate’s influence as everyone else seemed to. Once, on a whim, she’d prayed the Dark Lord just to see what would occur and felt her own magic slap against her in response––someone didn’t want her praying to him, so she didn’t.

She missed the madness, at least there in its influence she didn’t feel the weight of grief.

Perhaps that was why she found herself walking off campus, her feet taking her as far as to the edge of the woods where a familiar residence stood.

She knocked twice on the door and then stepped back, feeling an ache fill her. The woman was mortal; what could she offer her? And yet no one else had offered her anything as of late.

The door opened before she could talk herself out of it, and there stood Mary Wardwell. Glasses high on her nose, a furrow in her brow. “Agatha, what are you––?“

“I thought you were owed an explanation. After everything.”

She opened the door wider, and she was bid entry inside the home. Twice before she’d been inside Mary’s cottage. Once, on the first day after Mary joined her and Father Blackwood, they went as a unit to discuss everything. And the second time, by chance, for dinner––because Mary worried she wasn't eating well enough.  

As Mary placed on the kettle to make a pot of tea, Agatha's eyes drew around her home. Not much had changed, though she noticed the alcohol was no longer sitting out.

Agatha stepped into the kitchen, feeling her feet press on the linoleum. She’d wondered once what mortals did with themselves in their short lives. Her and Mary Wardwell were a similar age, not that anyone would know by looking at them both. And yet in all of her years, Agatha couldn’t recall what she’d done.

She’d lived in the orphanage, and then the Academy. Only in the last year did it feel like things were occurring outside of alcohol, sex and school.

“Sugar?”

“Two,” she confirmed and watched as Mary dropped two cubes of sugar into her tea before stirring it.  

They sat at the kitchen table and still Agatha tried to piece why she was here. What could a mortal offer her as her cup was placed before her.

“I’ve been worried about you. I tried to find the school, but…”

“It’s warded against mortals,” she advised as Mary settled into a chair opposite her. The conversation paused, and the only noise in the room was the quiet sound of a clock ticking on the wall. She wasn't sure what to say, so she tapped her nails against the cup, trying to find the words.

“You said you wanted to explain something to me?” Mary prompted.

“Father Blackwood is dead. Well….as dead as he can get. Prudence took a chainsaw to him and spread him to the corners of the earth. Fitting in some ways.”

Mary blinked, and then nodded, taking in the words as she set her cup down on the table. “Prudence is your sister. Her and Dorcas,” she recalled. “But she was Blackwood’s other daughter, is that correct?”

“Dorcas is…is also gone,” Agatha said, swallowing as she felt the words. She could still feel her sister’s lips against her own. For a moment, it’d been sweet, and then the taste of grave dirt had returned, and there was nothing that could remove the taste. Not food, nor drink, nor sex or blood. “Dead. Forever. I think…I think I did it. In the madness, I suffered. I think I––“ she paused, watching the tea leaves float in her cup.

Perhaps she should try and read her fortune. She’d probably see a banshee or the grim––some omen of death, anyway.

Mary’s hand clasped over her own, and it's warm drawing over hers.

That was one of the things they didn’t teach at the Academy. Mortals were warm. Warmer than witches.

Was that why Sabrina––?

No, Sabrina was dead. She couldn’t allow herself to fill with questions for the dead.

“I once promised to show you how us mortals bake,” she said. “How about we make spree almond biscuits? They’d go quite nicely with the tea, and I should have all the ingredients.”

She wanted to say that the tea would be cold by the time they were finished, but that wasn’t the point. So she nodded and rose, standing beside Mary.

Mary had her wash her hands and then pulled out an apron for them both to wear. One by one, she gathered all of the ingredients they required, and pulled out the necessary implements, setting them down on the kitchen bench, so they stood side-by-side.

Kitchen witchery was old magic; it dated back to the roots of magic, to Lilith. Most old families passed on recipes from mother to daughter, though Agatha’s family specialised in fortune. Teas, cards and seances. Practices of old.

Kitchen witchery was used more by witches like Hilda Spellman. It could provide sustenance as much as it could poison, and she advised Mary as such, of the little things she recalled about kitchen witchery after Father Blackwood had poisoned the church.

“Almonds can hide the smell of cyanide,” Mary advised, smiling at her. “If you ever need to dispose of someone discreetly…outside of your magic, of course.”

“Have you ever poisoned someone?” Agatha asked.

“No. Have you?”

She couldn’t recall. Possibly. She’d done so many things, and poisoning was just another way to play with mortals. “Maybe,” she shrugged.

“I shot someone once. I think,” Mary said, her eyes squinting as she stared out the kitchen window, to where it overlooked the forest. “I can’t…quite remember.”

“Do you want to?” Agatha asked.

“No. No, I don’t think I do.”

She kept her hands busy in the cooking, whisking the eggs and butter and sugar together.  Placing four in, and then came almonds. “Sometimes, I remember what I did to Dorcas. I’ve done worse, to others.”

“Like remove tongues?” Mary asked, and there was a gentle tease in the way she asked the question. Somehow, whether through circumstances predating the eldritch terrors or because of her and Father Blackwood, Mary’s views of death had shifted.

Or maybe she’d always been that way, and the good Christian values just held over that.

“I’ve done worse,” she advised softly. She didn’t feel bad about all the death and pain she wrought––especially not about the mine collapse. But the death of her sister, even madness inflicted, left a hole in her heart.  “Dorcas hurts,” she advised.  

“You loved her,” Mary advised. “When we hurt the ones we love, it hurts us in return, no matter how much we might pretend it doesn’t.” She stopped then, and then drew in a breath, looking pale. “Here, the next step is that we cut the dough into pieces.”

Agatha followed the instructions, watching as Mary guided her like she was one of her students. Usually, Agatha would be resistant to the direction. Deliberately not follow instructions, but as of late, she was so tired. And Mary wasn’t like any of her other instructors––certainly not like anyone from the Academy.

There was a kindness she didn’t expect, in how she guided her. Even now.

“Good job,” Mary said, pressing a hand to her shoulder and squeezed. Agatha felt as if she might collapse at the pressure of it. How could someone have done what they did, and still be kind?

“They’re uneven.”

“They’re meant to be,” Mary assured, taking the tray and placing them into the oven. Then, she pulled out a timer and set it. “We’ll wash-up while we wait.”

“How do you do it?” Agatha asked.

“Do what?”

“This, all of this, it’s so…boring.”

Mary laughed. “Yes, I suppose it is, isn’t it? Especially when you can just…magic up your food.”

Agatha shrugged. “We have a cook,” she advised. “Magic can’t create out of nothing. You still have to have ingredients. Potions and ceremonies require material components as well as semantic.”

“Well, that sounds pretty boring too. Finding all those ingredients, putting them together and hoping something comes out of it––not so different from cooking. Though, I’m sure a bit more deadly if it goes wrong.”

Agatha sighed. “It’s different.”

“Is it?”

“It is,” she assured. “You don’t get it. You never will. Mortals just don’t feel it like we do.”

“Could you show me?” Mary asked her voice soft. “Do something small?”

“Here,” she reached out, taking Mary’s hands in her own, holding them between each other. Then, closing her eyes she drew the warmth of the kitchen around them into her hands, feeling it pull and pulse until she was able to cause a gentle vibration from her hands through to Mary’s.

“Oh,…” Mary advised. “What–what are you doing?” She stuttered, trying to tug her hands away, but Agatha held them firm as she stared at the woman’s face.

“This is what I feel. Constantly. This ocean inside of me going back and forth like a tide coming in. That’s magic. And you don’t feel it. You can’t feel it carry in the air, or feel it spark inside of you––“ and there she let a spark crackle from her fingertips, across Mary’s palms and watched as the woman’s mouth parted her cheeks flushing. “––you mortals don’t get it. You never will.”

She pulled her hand away and watched as Mary continued to stare at her before she looked away, adjusting her glasses. “Why did you come here, to my house?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do,” Mary said, turning to look at her then. There was a surprising hardness to her tone. “What do you want, Agatha? Do you want a counsellor, a parent?”

“We’re the same age,” she scoffed.

“A teacher, then?”

Agatha ached, looking away. She didn’t want any of those things.

“A friend, then?”

“No!” She snapped. “Maybe, I don’t know. I thought––“ she paused then, uncertain as to where that trail of thought was going, but there were words on her tongue, and she may as well say whatever they were. “I thought you might understand.”

“The loneliness you’re feeling? Yes, I suppose she and I are longtime companions,” Mary said.

Companion. That was it, the word she wanted––not a friend, but a companion. “No one wants to know about what we did. They think that Father Blackwood was some mastermind, manipulating us. And he was, but…”

“He was kind, at times. Made you feel important.”

Agatha swallowed, feeling the conflict of emotions ache inside of her. Prudence and Directrix Spellman had convinced themselves that she'd been charmed into doing his will. She hadn't corrected them, if only because she was afraid to lose the only place she could call home these days. But it left her to lie awake at night, wondering if everything had been a lie. If maybe he had charmed her. He'd made her sane, while she'd been around him. Perhaps he'd done other things to her mind. “He was kind to you, too. Wasn’t he?”

Mary nodded. “Doesn’t mean that what he did to us was right. You can be angry with him and still…enjoy the good times we had.” She paused, her brow pressing. “How…how are Judith and Judas?”

“Good,” she advised. “Prudence is looking after them both. She’s teaching them magic and trying to…befriend them, I guess.”

“And you? How are you, Agatha? You don’t need to lie to me this time.”

Lonely, she wanted to say, but she smiled instead. “I miss the Church. It felt good to…work with you. If you like, I could…I could come back and help with what you’re doing, now?”

“What about your church?”

“She won’t answer me. Even Directrix feels her waver since Sabrina…” she paused then, tilting her head. “We were a good team, weren’t we?”

Mary frowned her, reaching up to cup her face as she angled Agatha’s head to look her directly in the eyes. “The church won’t provide what you’re looking for.”

“What am I looking for?” Agatha asked.

“I think you’re trying to discover who you are. I am, too.” Her hand went to move away, but Agatha snatched at her wrist to hold it still for a moment longer. She closed her eyes, leaning into the warmth of the hand and pretended, for just a moment, that things weren’t so different.

And then she dropped her hold of the hand and opened her eyes, moving away. “How do mortals clean up?”

“How about this time, you show me about witches do it?”

It wasn’t so different, though witches magic made it easier to wash to the mixture from the bowls,  and a quick charm dried everything quickly enough for it to be set away. Mary marvelled at it. Making jokes about how it would certainly make roasts easier. It was like the world softened again, and all of that pain in her chest eased for a moment.

The time went off, and Mary switched its dial before she took her oven mitts and reached into the oven, pulling the tray out before she set it on the stovetop.

“Do you have a cooling charm…or sp-spell?” Mary asked.

“Charm,” Agatha confirmed. And with a summoning spell, she drew heat from the cookies, dispersing it through the kitchen.

Mary reached for the biscuits tentatively then, touching them with the back of her fingers, before confirming their warmth. There, she took one in hand and handed it to Agatha to try.

Agatha took the biscuit in grip and then brought it to her mouth.

It was good. Better than she expected. Chewing and swallowing, she nodded at Mary. “Maybe mortal cooking isn’t so bad,” she advised.

“Maybe,” Mary advised. “Though I’m intrigued to see what witch's food is like.”

Agatha shrugged, finishing the biscuit and then licking the crumbs for fingertips. It was rude, but she hardly cared––and as she looked up, she watched as Mary smiled to herself as she did the same.

It was a friendly smile, she thought.

And then, the warmth of that faded as she realised there was nothing else for them to do. Her tea had turned cold, they'd finished baking and washing-up, and there was nothing else to say.

“I...should get going,” Agatha said.

“How about…you come and visit me on Saturdays. Help me bake. It gets…lonely here, and I could use a friend––and in turn, you can talk to me about your studies?”

Agatha felt a venomous comment rise and fall in her mouth. But it faded. Mary was friendly, and if she was honest with herself for once, baking the mortal way hadn't been so horrible. So, she nodded and smiled. “I’d like that.”

“I’d like that, too,” Mary said. And then she brightened, “Now, I have a container around here somewhere…” she shifted through her cupboards, moving things around before pulling out a set of Tupperware. Standing up, she set half of the biscuits inside the container before closing the lid and handing it back to her. “There. Finish them up, and maybe next week we’ll do an upside-down cake.”

At that, Agatha paused. She didn’t understand what that meant but smiled nonetheless. “I might share them…with Prudence.”

“I’m sure she’ll like that.”

Mary followed her to the front door, and there, Agatha paused. She felt as if she should thank her, but the words didn’t come easily. So she waited, watching as Mary looked at her softly as she asked, "Was there something else, dear?"

Agatha darted forward and kissed Mary’s lips, pressing against them gently.

Mary gasped against her, but before she could move away or press further against her, Agatha pulled back and smiled at her as she licked her lips. They tasted like almonds and vanilla. “Until next Saturday,” she said, before she left, teleporting back home as she watched a red flush spread across Mary Wardwell's cheekbones, the woman's chest rising and falling as she stared at her dumbstruck.

It was a lovely expression, and she savoured the image as she carried the Tupperware, back to where her dormitory was, sitting on the edge of the bed as she tried to think about what she wanted to do the rest of the day. Maybe find Prudence, though that would likely lead to questions.

There was no way she was going to something as stupid as head to the library and study. No, maybe she would just take it easy. Have a nap, and do some simple magics, look into things that might impress Mary. Perhaps some gardening spells? She could show her how they grew crops at the Academy and watch her.

As she set the container down on the bedside table, she realised that she didn’t taste grave dirt in her mouth for the first time. The taste might come back, but for now, Agatha opened up the container and pulled out a biscuit, taking a bite. Perhaps there were some acceptable mortals. Or maybe Mary Wardwell was the only acceptable mortal.

Opening her eyes, Zelda looked up to see Lilith standing before her in nothing but a bathrobe with a mug of french press coffee. “Good morning, darling. I had a peek at your itinerary and noticed that you were looking to leave in the next hour, so I thought that you might want to wake-up, despite how cute you are.”

Zelda shifted up, feeling her chest flutter at the thought that, although Lilith didn’t understand her itinerary's purpose, she understood that it was important to Zelda.

“Thank you,” Zelda said, taking the mug of coffee and bringing it to her lips. “What did you think about the plan?”

“Breakfast at the hotel, then a walk around the park, before arriving at the art gallery where it was noted that you expect me to provide you with a grande tour.” Lilith paused to pose dramatically, which only further served to reveal her naked body beneath the robe.

Zelda's eyes dropped, shamelessly admiring the view as she nodded. “You did promise, after all.”

“I’m not sure an open-ended comment about what the girlfriend experience deluxe may have involved like consists of…promising. But for you? I’ll make the exception.” At that, Lilith’s hand reached forward, tilting Zelda’s eyes to face hers. “Thought you might be worn out from last night.”

“Hardly.”

Lilith's hand shifted to cup her cheek before she leaned forward and kissed her again. “I should get ready,” Lilith advised, “Before I distract you any further.”

Zelda smiled, sipping her coffee.

By the time she’d finished waking up, Lilith had dressed and began to do her hair and makeup as Zelda started to dress, feeling anticipation prickle at her skin. Lilith’s punishment was forming clearer and more explicit in her mind, and as she watched Lilith comb her fingers through her hair, fixing wayward strands into place, she couldn’t help but imagine what she’d look like caught in ecstasy where she couldn’t let go.

Zelda dug into her bag, pulling the desired item out while Lilith remained distracted before hiding it behind her back.

“Lilith,” she said, calling her attention. “There’s one more thing for today.”

Lilith turned and looked at her, expression shifting into surprise, before they darkened with desire, hearing the purr in Zelda’s voice. “Oh? And what other things might this be?”

Zelda looked over Lilith’s outfit, delighted to see that the woman opted to wear a dress with woollen stockings. Zelda stepped closer until she kissed Lilith’s lips, uncaring towards their lipstick as she drew Lilith’s dress up.

Lilith shifted, allowing herself to pressed against the wall as she kissed back hungrily, unaware as Zelda tugged the underwear aside and stroked gently over the sex, feeling Lilith’s arousal grow underneath her touch. She slid two fingers inside, stroking there too, and then, with her other hand, slid the butterfly vibrator into place.

Lilith gasped against her and then laughed. “Is that how it is?” Lilith said.

“I can take it out,” Zelda said,, but she reached into her pocket and tested the remote control before she did. She couldn’t hear it hum, but Lilith tensed, a moan drawing in her throat. “But you were…entirely wicked last night in disobedience. Think of this as an encouragement to follow the rules.”

“Are you going to make me walk around like this?” Lilith asked.

Zelda swallowed. She was going to say there was no way in Hell that she would ever make Lilith do anything, and then she felt Lilith’s hand slide over the hand holding the remote control, her thumb shifted the vibration higher, until she was gasping again, a gasp pulling from her as she pressed closer to Zelda.

“For as long as it takes you to learn your lesson,” Zelda advised, feeling her anxiety ease.

She kissed her again, fixing Lilith’s underwear back into place before she adjusted the dress down over her thighs. She could feel Lilith tensing, her thighs trembling as she teetered closer and closer.

Zelda turned off the toy and stepped back, watching as Lilith panted, leaning back against the wall. “We have an itinerary to keep,” she reminded, before looking away to the mirror and fixing her lipstick. Taking her coat, she pulled it on and slid the remote control into her pocket.

Lilith remained against the wall, her cheeks red, breath heavy and slow before she grinned over at Zelda, shaking her head. “I never would have expected the shivering woman on my doorstep to become so cocky.”

“Cocky?” Zelda scoffed, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “You haven’t seen me at my worst. Now, shall we? I don’t enjoy being off schedule.”

They stepped out to the hallway and then summoned the elevator. As they waited, Lilith stood beside her, looking stunning as she smirked at Zelda. “What are you thinking to have for breakfast?”

“I’ll have to see what they have on offer.”

Once inside the mirrored carriage, Zelda paused, ensuring Lilith looked relaxed and unaware before reaching into her pocket.

Lilith caught the movement too late, and Zelda watched as the woman’s eyes fluttered shut, her lips parting as the remote was dialled up to a higher setting. A high, sharp moan exhale from her as she bowed her head forward.

“Careful,” Zelda told her. “Anyone could walk in.” She pressed the controls off and watched again as Lilith exhaled.

She moved closer, her hip pressing against Lilith’s. Part of her wanted to slide up the dress and feel how soaked the underwear was, now that they were barely out of the hotel room, but as she considered doing it, the doors opened, and a man was stepping in, pressing for the ground floor.

Zelda smirked, looking at Lilith, and watched as the woman stared back, her eyes flicking to where Zelda’s hands were before looking back up to her eyes. Uncertain as to what was to happen next. Would Zelda do it, press the control here, with someone else present?

She wouldn’t, but the threat was there, and she enjoyed watching as Lilith’s chest rose and fell, uncertain as to which situation was worse and to how much she wanted it.

Zelda reached out, entwining her fingers with Lilith’s, and squeezed. It was a promise, a reminder between them that no matter what, if the other spoke, if they requested the game to stop, they would-–no explanation required.

Lilith squeezed her fingers back, and then the doors opened up to the ground.

They ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, with Lilith’s eyes carefully watching her, a tentativeness in it before she softened. The conversation drifted as Lilith asked about which Art Museum they’d be attending before discussing her own history with the arts and its patrons.

It coloured an exciting picture of a young, starving Lilith using exhibition openings as a way to feed herself, drinking free alcohol and talking to artists by pure chance whilst dining on platters of fruit, cheese, and cold meats.

Lilith then moved to speak of her experience doing modelling for live drawings, and Zelda said of her own experience for partners. All the while, Zelda toyed with the control in her pocket, fiddling with it only to see Lilith’s expression shift in anticipation before Zelda smirked and pushed the conversation elsewhere.

Zelda’s eyes caught the clock on the wall, showing the growing hour. “I think we should traverse through the park if the weather holds.”

Lilith stood, and just as she was standing, Zelda pressed it and watched as Lilith froze, stumbling before she looked up at her. “You’re evil,” she hissed.

Zelda rose, standing beside her as she nudged up the control. Lilith’s jaw clenched, her brow pressing as she swallowed back whatever noise was building in her throat. “No,” Zelda said, whispering low. “Evil would be making you come right here, over and over until I was satisfied that you couldn’t take another.” She flicked the control off, watching the red bloom over Lilith’s skin. “But we have an itinerary to follow.”

They exited the hotel, the cold air washing over them. Zelda reached into her pockets, pulling her gloves on, and watched as Lilith did the same.

Zelda took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill her lungs as she tilted her head to look up at the sky. It was likely to snow later, but for now, it was just a cold winter’s day, with thick cloud cover. Stepping closer to Lilith, she slid her hand around the woman’s waist, feeling an eased comfort of the woman being there.

They walked through the streets together, stopping to get takeaway coffees to keep their hands warm, and then both of them spent the next ten minutes complaining about how horrible the coffees were before discarding them when they no longer supplied warmth.

It was easy to laugh with Lilith, to pause as they waited for street lights to change, and see her expression shift as she caught her staring. Zelda could feel her chest tighten, warmth spilling through her as she looked at her.

She felt at ease, not worrying about work, or family, or life. It was as if, for one weekend, she could pretend that she was allowed to be selfish.

Lilith made her happy in a way she couldn’t remember.

She couldn’t remember laughing so hard that her head tossed back, but with Lilith, it became easy as the woman ran through her first babysitting experience when she’d been in her mid-twenties. Detailing the horror of a child coming across her growing collection of restraints and having to lie to the kid that she was secretly a police officer.

“Did you ever want children?” Lilith asked. “Before Sabrina?”

“I did,” Zelda said. “But Sabrina came before I found any partner I wanted that with.”

“Do you still want children?”

“No,” Zelda said. “For a while, I considered it. And then…” she paused, swallowing as she felt painful memories rise up. She wanted to push them away and snuff them down, never remember them. But Lilith had been so open and so candid with her.

“We can talk about something else,” Lilith said softly, pausing on the path to look at her. “There are ducks over there.”

Zelda glanced over her shoulder and looked at what, decidedly, were not ducks. If anything, they looked to be a collection of sculptures. “You need to get your eyes checked,” she said before smiling at her, watching as Lilith blinked back at her, uncertain if she was jesting or not.

“You can’t see them?”

Zelda laughed, reaching to Lilith’s jackets and tugged at the labels. “When we return home, I kindly request you have your eyes checked.”

Lilith frowned and then looked away. “Fine. But you’ll have to come with me to hold my hand.”

At that, Zelda tried to swallow back a laugh, “Are you telling me that you’re afraid of the optometrist?”

“Deathly,” Lilith said before laughing.

Zelda warmed at the sound, feeling her arm lace around Lilith’s waist again, their steps slow and steady as they tried to find sync with one another. The conversation had shifted, but Zelda could still feel the question pressing between them. “Faustus, as you know, is married to Constance,” she said.

Lilith paused, nodding. “I did hear that.”

“They had a set of twins, a girl, and a boy. Judas and Leticia,” she explained. “But Constance ended up suffering postpartum depression after giving birth. She was hospitalised, and during that time, only I was privy to what occurred. Faustus was so overwhelmed with having the two children and knowing I had experience…requested if I could take care of Leticia.”

Lilith nodded, though she didn’t say anything, and for that, Zelda was thankful. It made it easier to continue.

“I had thought it would only be for a week or two while he reached out to the family. But a week turned to months, and I ended up looking after Leticia for…over six months. And then, out of nowhere, one morning, I woke up, and Constance was at the door acting as if I had only babysat for the weekend. Leticia was given back, and…” Zelda paused then, feeling her eyes prick. “I wasn’t her mother; I had no right to her but––“

“You cared for a child during her most fragile development,” Lilith said. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been to have her leave.”

Zelda paused at that, feeling an unusual tug at her heart at the words. “I suppose,” she said softly. “I think I fooled myself into thinking I might…get to keep her,” she said, feeling herself taste the words out loud for the first time. She hadn’t dared to say such a thing to Hilda, let alone Ambrose or Sabrina. But she looked to Lilith, feeling a trepidation that she might get judged.

It wasn’t her child.

Constance was Leticia’s mother, just as Diana was Sabrina’s. She’d only been a guardian. Only ever would be a guardian, and that should be enough.

It was enough.

Lilith’s arm wrapped around her, hugging her close. “You’re a good mother, Zelda. Leticia was lucky to have you, if only for a short while, and god knows Sabrina has turned into the woman she is because of you.”

“Oh, headstrong?”

“Well, I would have said authoritative, but yes, you can be headstrong too,” she teased, kissing her temple. “But it’s an admirable trait.”

“You haven’t been on the receiving end of it.”

“Mm. I don’t know about that,” Lilith teased, “Where are we on the itinerary, by the way?”

Zelda softened, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. She felt Lilith tense, anticipating the remote control, but Zelda bypassed it and flicked through her phone out, stepping away from Lilith’s arms to look at the time. “We have time to stroll.”

“Oh, to stroll do we?”

Zelda hummed, taking Lilith’s arm in hers once more and pressing her head to Lilith’s shoulder. “Stroll,” she confirmed. “And you can tell me about how you and Marie met.”

“Oh, now that is a story,” Lilith said. “I was in the peak of my career and no longer a starving ragamuffin on the street, so––“

“You lived on the street?” Zelda asked.

Lilith flushed. “For a time,” she admitted, “But it was a very long ago, and only for a few months. Now––“

“Why were you on the street?”

“Zelda,” Lilith said, “Do you want that story or the story about Marie?”

Zelda contemplated the question, relenting to listen to Lilith. “Marie,” she said, “But you can tell me about the other story later.”

Lilith nodded and then began her story about Marie, detailing what the peak of her career looked like and how she’d begun attending exclusive art openings with clients. The story involved Lilith apparently stealing one of Marie’s artworks and then crashing every single exhibitionist the woman did after that, in an attempt to annoy her, before somehow finding themselves as friends when an ex-partner at the time tried to publicly berate Lilith.

It was a charming story in its own way, though Zelda found herself disapproving of Lilith’s antics. Though Lilith assured her, both Marie and she found the entire thing hilarious.

“I still have the artwork,” Lilith advised. “It’s in the other house, in the hallway.”

Zelda blinked, trying to remember which one, but found her memory of the artworks fuzzy. “You’ll have to show me.”

When they arrived at the art museum, Zelda purchased the tickets to the collection and pressed her hands in her pocket. Here was where she wanted to truly enact her revenge. The art collection had a few people walking around in the galleries, though the current one remained empty, allowing Zelda the perfect opportunity to stand side-by-side with Lilith and admire the art.

“This one appears to be more impressionist than modern,” Zelda said, baiting Lilith.

“Ah, that’s because modern art overlaps impressionists; it’s when artists began to become experimental,” Lilith advised, “both with form and style, but also the mediums they used. This is an oil painting, but that one there is a lithograph, which allowed the middle-class to buy prints instead of commissioning new artwork. Essentially reforming how we view and obtain art.” She continued on, detailing how Manet came into modern art–whilst teasing Zelda that she should pose nude for her by the river in summer.

Most were studies on the female form, and as Lilith talked about the mixed media component, detailing art history with German and Dutch art schools, Zelda listened attentively, following Lilith’s gestures to the way the strokes of the pencil or paint, the use of the colour, and as Lilith became truly, utterly distracted, Zelda began playing with the remote.

“See this shade of yellow? It’s actually––“

Lilith’s words cut off, and Zelda turned and looked to her, eyebrows raising. “What was that?” she asked.

Lilith inhaled a deep breath and continued speaking, her voice shaking as she continued, “…this shade of yellow, specifically, is interesting because at the time…” and then Lilith paused as Zelda increased the setting, looking at her innocently.

“What’s interesting about the shade of yellow?” Zelda asked.

She watched as Lilith swallowed, shaking her head as she bowed forward. “F-first manufactured…shade,” she advised with a heavy breath.

There, Zelda slid her arm around Lilith’s waist, holding her steady, and moved her to the next artwork.

“I like the colours on this one.”

Lilith nodded, and Zelda reduced the setting on the control, watching her gasp. “Yes,” she agreed. “It’s…it’s….”

Zelda turned to watch her curiously. Lilith was shifting, likely feeling a low-level hum run across her clit and inside of the vaginal wall, pressing firmly against her. Or, perhaps with how wet she was, it was sliding out.

She stepped closer to Lilith and undid the woman’s jacket. “What are you doing?” Lilith asked.

“Keep talking to me about the artist.”

Lilith continued speaking about Munch, discussing the use of red, of the muse he depicted as the Madonna, and as she did, Zelda slid her arm around Lilith’s waist, under the jacket, and then began to pull her skirt up.

“Keep going,” Zelda said as she looked around them, confirming no one else was in the gallery. And then, with the jacket still hiding what she was actually doing, Zelda slid her fingers over her underwear from Lilith’s ass, across to her sex.

The material was soaked.

She could feel Lilith’s hips shake as she stroked over to where the toy was, her fingers sliding underneath the cotton to fix it back in place before she slid her hands out, flicking the underwear back, pulling the skirt back down and then, smoothing the jacket.

Lilith sucked in a breath, and when she did, Zelda pushed the controls up as high as it would go and listened as the most erotic gasp poured from Lilith’s mouth before the woman squeezed her jaw shut.

“Are you still good?” Zelda asked. Lilith nodded, making a whimper, and Zelda dropped the toy down, turning it off. “Good, then you can finish telling me about this artist.”

Lilith turned and looked at her, glaring. “I need to use the facilities.”

“No, you don’t,” Zelda said, knowing precisely what Lilith wanted to do in the bathroom. She tugged her hand and drew her to the next artwork, standing before it, and waited for Lilith to begin. Lilith groaned and then began, her body tense waiting for the pulse to begin.

But she’d been so close to orgasm that it wasn’t fair to let her get it straight away, so Zelda moved her to the next gallery, where a man was walking around slowing, reading the didactic panels.

Zelda shifted closer, wrapping her arm around Lilith’s waist as she began playing with the remote control again, feeling her abdomen tense, watching as Lilith clenched her jaw shut, her legs shaking. She was close.

“Are you going to come for me?” Zelda asked her quietly. “Right here, in this gallery?”

“Yes,” Lilith said, her voice low and thick with arousal.

Zelda looked over her shoulder at the gentlemen who was making his way around, completely oblivious. And then she took her hand in hers and felt Lilith’s hand squeeze around her fingers as she bowed her head, her mouth opening only to draw a short gasp before she otherwise kept it firmly shut.

Zelda turned off the remote and watched as Lilith whimpered softly at the lost orgasm––or perhaps the weak one that trembled through her as a result.

“Zelda, please,” Lilith said.

“Please?” Zelda asked.

“I’ll be good if that’s what you want.”

“Oh? And pray, tell, what do you think you’ve done to classify as naughty behaviour, Lilith?”

Lilith huffed, looking away, and seemed to swallow back her words before she turned around to her. “Let me come once.”

Zelda gave a short laugh. “And why would I do that?”

“Because,” and then Lilith was stepping closer to her, wrapping arms around Zelda’s waist as she nuzzled playfully against her neck. “I know how to get into a church that’s nearby, and if you let me come right now, I’ll fuck you in that church.”

Zelda shivered before remembering that they were in the city, and the church’s often worked differently in such a populace. “Won’t someone be there?”

“Oh no, it’ll be utterly empty. Completely available for holy worship, if you so wish.”

Zelda tilted her head, biting her lip as she felt Lilith kiss her throat. It was tempting. She hadn’t had sex in church, and there was a rebellious part of her from her youth who desperately wanted to do that.

But was it worth it? There was still the remainder of this gallery to drift through, utterly teasing Lilith until her underwear was completely ruined.

As her thoughts teetered between one and the other, Lilith’s mouth pressed to her ear and began whispering filthy things that Lilith planned to do to her in the church. They were sinful, advising that she’d fuck her on the pulpit or make her masturbate in the confessional booth. Causing her to squirt wherever Lilith so chose.

And it was all said with a purr, a devilish whisper until the only thing Zelda wanted was to feel Lilith’s fingers curling inside of her.

Damn her.

She snatched Lilith's hand and tugged her from the gallery, out into the hall to where the bathroom signs pointed, and then they tugged her into the room, where rows and rows of clean stalls stood, all of which had had their doors opened.

She pushed Lilith into the nearest stall, locking the door behind her, and then reached between Lilith’s legs.

“Spread your thighs,” Zelda said. Lilith laughed before obeying her. Zelda’s hand reached up and pulled the toy from her, placing it into her pocket. She’d played with Lilith enough.

Pressing her against the wall of the stall, she placed one hand on Lilith’s waist to hold her steady, as with her other, she slid three fingers inside of her.

Lilith gasped and then clenched her jaw shut, swallowing back the sounds as Zelda pulled away to watch her, thrusting inside of her.

It was a quick, merciless fuck, and as soon as Lilith was coming around her fingers, Zelda was pulling out, smirking at her as she watched the woman’s flushed expression turn to her. It wasn’t enough, and she knew that.

“Zelda,” Lilith warned.

“You said one,” she reminded. “Now you’re going to be a good girl and follow the rest of the itinerary.”

Lilith stilled, her teeth baring as she seemed to consider what unspeakable things she could do to Zelda in return, but before she could so much as pin her to the stall, Zelda was unlocking the door and exiting, heading to the sink to wash her hands.

Lilith seemed to take a few minutes, fixing her clothes before she walked over and washed her hands, her face flushed and a smile tugging at her lips. “I’m going to get you back,” she vowed.

“And just how do you plan on doing that?” Zelda asked. “I have the toy.”

“I don’t need a toy to get you worked up,” Lilith said. “I know what you like.”

Zelda’s brow quirked, but she didn’t disagree with her. Lilith certainly did know what she liked. But despite her boasting, Zelda was quite sure she was in control of the situation. Lilith was worked up and scrambling for power to get herself off. The best thing to do would be to ignore her.

So she did.

“It’s lunchtime,” Zelda said. “Did you want to sit at the Museum’s restaurant, or did you want to go out somewhere else?”

Lilith quirked her head at the change of conversation before a slow, scheming smile pulled over her face. “Here’s fine.”

They dined at the Museum’s overpriced restaurant. Zelda expected Lilith continue the game of seducing her, but she didn’t. Instead, they ate, they drank a glass of wine, and they talked before paying for their meal and making their way through the remainder of the exhibition, wandering through a few other galleries, as all the while, Lilith kept her hands at her sides, occasionally brushing against hers as she discussed the artworks.

Her voice was warm and confident, discussing the art of display, and despite the game, they’d been playing earlier, Zelda couldn’t help but soften. There was something beautiful about watching her passion explored––in such a way that Zelda found herself drinking in her words, all the more aware of how much she loved her.

After the museum, they made their way out into the city, drifting through shops. “Was there anywhere you wanted to go?” Zelda asked.

“Oh, no, I’m quite happy to follow,” Lilith said, her head tilting. “Lead the way.”

Zelda obliged, wandering through shops looking at clothes, but even there, Lilith remained pleasant and polite. Even as she teasingly walked through a lingerie store, Lilith merely nodded approvingly, her expression soft as if they were commenting on what groceries to buy for dinner.

Zelda didn’t know how, but there was a power shift. Suddenly, she felt as if Lilith was leading, though the woman still deferred to Zelda, inquiring about what the plans were for the rest of the day, and made no effort to direct her otherwise.

It was maddening, distracting. But more than anything, it was confusing.

Zelda tried on a dress, expecting Lilith to come into the dressing room and have her wicked way with her, but she didn’t. She asked if Zelda had the right size and then moved to continue looking at clothes.

As they made their way back to the hotel to prepare for dinner, Zelda realised what was happening.

Lilith was avoiding touching her. Or rather, if she did, it was a carefully placed hand, midway on her back, or gentle touch against her arm, which was used only as a reminder to Zelda that Lilith was chaste in her choices to touch.

She was actively avoiding seducing her. There were no playful touches or pressed kisses against her skin. Nor even a flirtatious remark.

And then at dinner, everything changed. It was a rather luxurious restaurant, and Zelda had booked a private seating with a chef’s menu and wine pairing. Which meant that they were seated on a private balcony, separate from any eyes.

They were in the chill winter air, a heater standing tall beside them, warm enough that Zelda was able to comfortably remove her jacket as Lilith did the same.

They’d returned to the hotel to shower and change into appropriate wear for the restaurant. Lilith looked good, damn good. Enough so that Lilith wanted to forgo the meal and seduce her as she pleased, but Lilith merely smiled at her, eyes sparkling with mischief as she discussed their day, going over the artworks she enjoyed seeing.

They were on their second course, and therefore their second wine pairing when Zelda sat down her glass. “Enough,” she said. “I know what game you’re playing, but I’ve had enough of it.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Lilith said, and there was a faux innocence to her voice. “I’ve been perfectly amicable.”

“I know what you’re doing.”

“And what’s that?”

Zelda breathed in, feeling her lungs expand in the dress as she watched Lilith’s head tilting curiously. What had she been doing, aside from being perfectly chaste? Nothing. An absence of anything she usually did.

And how was it that that was all the more maddening than if she’d pinned her to a wall and stroked between her legs?

“You know what you’re doing.”

“Do I?” Lilith’s asked. Her smirk widened as she brought her glass to her lips to take a sip. Zelda turned away, unable to hold her eyes. It shouldn’t be maddening, but it was. Utterly, completely maddening the way she was looking at her and was doing nothing about it.

The waitress interrupted, clearing their plates as she confirmed they were enjoying their meal before topping up their glasses of water. But Zelda felt all the more parched as Lilith’s shoe accidentally brushed against hers before she made an apology and shifted in her seat.

How was it that she could look so utterly seductive doing nothing? Was it the way she lifted a hand to brushed her hair from her eyes, or how she glanced at Zelda and smiled?

The waiter left, confirming the next meal would be out soon, and Lilith’s eyes turned, looking over the balcony at the cityscape. Cars passed, lights changed on the tall buildings, and Zelda thought about what it would feel like to be bent over the railing as Lilith’s finger slid inside her.

She flushed, turning away, and finished her wine, trying to focus on where she was.

She turned to the doors and watched as the waiter brought a new bottle of wine, presenting it before she topped up the new glasses, taking their previous ones away. Zelda felt sorry for whoever the dish-hand was. From three courses already, she’d felt there’d been over nine plates and three sets of wine glasses between them.

The food was set out, a small wagyu pastry with a wasabi-soya sauce blend. To be enjoyed in its entirety, the waitress stated before leaving.

Zelda nodded, going to take the pastry before she watched Lilith pick it up and then lean forward, presenting it to her. “In its entirety,” Lilith echoed. “Open wide.”

Zelda bent forward, eyes sliding away as her mouth parted, her tongue sliding out, and then she felt as Lilith’s fingers gently placed the pastry onto her tongue. Closing her mouth, her fingers wrapped around Lilith’s fingers, sucking as she looked into the woman’s eyes, watching arousal flood over her features before her fingers pulled away, out from her lips.

Lilith seemed to take a deep breath, her mouth parted with a soft exhale as she gave a soft laugh. “I’m going to fuck you, Zelda. But I won’t do it here.”

“Is that so? And just where will you fuck me?”

“I already told you. At the church.” And then she smiled wide at her, sipping her wine. “I’m going to fuck you hard.”

“We’ll see.”

“We’ll finish this first,” Lilith said. “I’m quite enjoying the food and wine.”

Zelda hummed in agreement. And yet, for the rest of the meal, she felt herself squirming with anticipation, wondering just how they were going to get into a church. Lilith had assured her it’d be empty, which only raised further questions as to what type of place they were going to––she didn’t want to get fucked in some decrypted rundown building where who knows how many other people were seduced before her.

As it was, she didn’t need to wait long. When dinner had finished, Lilith led her down the street, fingers brushing against her hand. The streets were still reasonably busy, with night still only just reaching the late hours.

The walk wasn’t long from the restaurant, and Zelda was thankful for it. But as they stopped outside of the building, Zelda’s breath came with a gasp. It wasn’t some small building in some backstreet. Lilith was tugging her into one of the central Catholic churches of the city. An ancient building of great size.

It was a cathedral, and as she stepped around to its side, anxiety building in Zelda, concerned about what would happen if they were to be caught.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Lilith said. “I used to break in here all the time.”

“And host orgies?”

Lilith hummed but didn’t otherwise deny it. Zelda watched as she reached into her clutched and pulled out a strange-looking device before she slid it into the keyhole, and then with a quick twist of her fingers, the door opened, and the device was set back aside into her purse.

Lilith smirked at her, opening the door wider for her to step past.

Zelda sighed. “Won’t someone be here?”

“Not tonight,” she said, closing the door behind them. And then her hand wrapped around Zelda’s and as she tugged her through the small room, into a hall and then there they were, in the cathedral.

It was big, with massively tall ceilings. Their heels clicked on the hardwood floor, echoing across the room as they walked past the rows and rows of pews. And then Lilith stood upon the raised platform before the altar and smiled at Zelda.

“Get undressed,” she said.

Zelda swallowed. “Here, but if someone––“

“Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“Get undressed for me, Zelda. I wouldn’t ask if there was a high risk.”

Zelda closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath, and then reached behind her, unzipping the dress. She stepped out of it and then removed her slip, leaving her standing before Lilith in her lingerie set with her garter belt.

There, Lilith stepped forward, tugging her close by her hips, and combed her hair back from her shoulders before she leant forward and pressed a kiss to her jaw, to her throat, and then her shoulder.

Her fingers unclasped the stockings, and then Lilith was sliding the lace underwear down her thighs.

“Zelda, you were merciless today.”

Zelda hummed. “But you enjoyed yourself.”

“Entirely.” the lace dropped to her ankles, and Zelda stepped out from them. She was almost entirely naked in church. It was sinful, utterly terrible, and if there were a God, she was certain she’d be struck down for this.

But Lilith’s mouth was drawing over her throat, her hands on her hips as she tugged her towards the pulpit.

“Bend over, I think you owe me a confession.”

“And just what will I be confessing?” Lilith asked.

“Your sins.”

Zelda hummed and then following, hands sliding over where the priest’s notes would go, her breasts pressing against the wood as she arched her back and stood ready, waiting.

Lilith pressed behind her, hands sliding over her back, and then across her hips and down her backside to her thighs. “Tell me, Zelda. What do you think your sin today was?”

Zelda shrugged. “I’m free of sin,” she said, looking over her shoulder.

She was rewarded with a spank, hard and firm against her ass. She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the sound of her gasp ring throughout the cathedral into its very recesses.

“Let’s try that again,” Lilith said. “What was your sin today?”

Zelda bit her lip, feeling herself grow wet at the tone Lilith used. It was commanding, cold, and firm. She arched her back and hummed appropriately, considering the question. “Perhaps it was not paying enough attention while you spoke about art?”

She gasped again, hands curling against the wood as the spank hit hard. She wanted to beg for it again but bit her tongue, bowing her head forward. She had to play the game. “Try again.”

“The wicked thoughts I had about you?”

She moaned this time when Lilith spanked her, the feeling of the hands slapping high against her ass. She’d been right to desire the feeling of Lilith’s bare hand, the woman was good at what she did, and Zelda could feel her growing arousal as she blinked out at the church. “Let’s try that again, shall we?”

Zelda hummed and nodded. “Teasing you.”

“Good girl. Teasing me in the gallery and then fucking me in the bathroom and leaving me utterly unrelieved. I promised you a proper fucking Zelda, but first, you need to repent your sins.”

Zelda nodding, squirming as she waited.

“I think…fifteen strikes should do it, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” Lilith asked, waiting.

And Zelda sucked in a breath, feeling clit throbbing with arousal. It was so familiar and so different at the same time, but still, she couldn’t help but say, “Yes, Principal Wardwell.”

Lilith laughed behind her. “Well, it is a lesson, after all.” And then the strike came, hard against her ass, and Zelda moaned, feeling the pain strike through her. Lilith was relentless in the strikes. They were hard and firm and running through her until she could feel her arousal dripping down her thighs, the sound of moans and gasp slipping around them, echoing until they were all she could hear with the strikes.

And then they stopped, and Zelda felt as Lilith wrapped her fingers through her hair, tugging her head backwards. “Do you think you’ve repented?” she asked.

Zelda made a strangled noise as she arched her back, feeling herself press her abdomen harder into the pulpit. “Yes,” she managed to say, her chest rising and falling.

“And what shall we do now that you’ve repented?” Lilith asked, her voice low and warm. It sent a thrill down Zelda’s spine.

She knew what she wanted. “Please fuck me, Principal Wardwell.”

“Please fuck you?” Lilith asked. “And just how do you want to be fucked, Zelda?”

“I don’t care.”

“Turn around.” The hand dropped from her hair, and Zelda turned around awkwardly until she leaned back against the pulpit, staring at Lilith. The woman seemed to stand tall above her, a grand smile on, and Zelda felt it spark straight through her. She’d do anything, anything at all Lilith asked of her, and wouldn’t regret it. “Spread your legs for me.”

Zelda obeyed.

“Oh no, wider darling. I want you to spread as far as you can.”

Zelda clutched at the stand behind her, obeying Lilith as much as she could. Lilith stepped forward, her hand reaching out to wrap around her waist and hold her firm as she slid her fingers across from, drawing across her sex.

“You’re drenched, Zelda.”

Zelda nodded, inhaling a long deep breath as she pressed against Lilith’s hands.

“You’re so wet that I bet you could take me entirely.”

Zelda swallowed at the insinuation before she smiled at Lilith and nodded. “I could,” she agreed. “Why don’t you find out?”

Lilith laughed and slid inside of her. Three fingers. Zelda gasped, eyes falling shut as she rocked over them. It was firm, and she squeezed around the fingers, feeling herself slide. But Lilith’s fingers stretched inside of her, and it ached, ached so beautifully as she measured what she could do.

“You feel tight,” Lilith teased. “Let’s try another, hmm?”

Zelda nodded and then felt as Lilith’s fourth finger pressed against the lips of sex. She stretched her wide, and Zelda gasped, feeling her hips jerk away. But Lilith held her firm against the stand, hushing her as she kissed her.

“Relax,” Lilith said, “Breathe.”

Zelda breathed and felt the fingertip enter. It ached and stretched, and then Lilith was sliding in firmer, her thumb pressing against her clit, and Zelda could feel her sliding deep, and god, it felt so good. The feeling of her clit throbbing, her cunt squeezing around Lilith’s fingers as bit by bit she was filled entirely.

“Good girl.”

Zelda nodded. “I don’t…I don’t think I can––“

“Yes, you can,” Lilith said, and she kissed her softly, her fingers sliding deeper into her. “Just breathe, I’ve got you.”

Zelda’s eyes fluttered shut, and she felt as the fingers worked inside of her, and then Lilith’s thumb pressed against her, and Zelda felt her hips jerk again, driving her deeper into Lilith’s hand.

“I––“

“I’ve got you,” Lilith assured. “I’m right here. Take a deep breath.”

Zelda opened her eyes, and looked at Lilith, watched her as she felt the thumb nudge. It was tight, so tight, but she pressed her hips further.

“Good girl, just relax for me.”

Zelda hummed, trying to forcefully relax as the thumb slid further, and then it was pressing inside of her, and Zelda had never felt so stretched out, nor ever so full before, but…

But it felt good, and Lilith’s mouth pressed to hers as she slid in deeper, stretching her wider, and Zelda felt her body adjusted against her.

And then she watched as Lilith pulled away, her hand sliding out, thumb first, and then the fingers, and Zelda ached at the loss of her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not done yet,” Lilith assured before she knelt down before her. “Eyes on me.”

Zelda looked down between her thighs and watched as Lilith entered her against. Four fingers at first this time, pacing back and forth, steadying her, and then the thumb, slowly, surely until it filled her. And then Lilith leant forward, her tongue sliding over her as Zelda’s legs began shaking.

“Oh my God,” she said, feeling Lilith’s tongue slide over the labia, her mouth coming to suck on her clit. “Lilith.”

Lilith smirked as she looked up her, tongue stroking gently over her, and then she stopped teasing, and Zelda felt her grip tighten behind her on the pulpit, holding herself steady as Lilith seemed to work divine magic with her mouth.

“Mary, mother of God!“

“Mary––?“ Lilith teased, pulling away from her,, and Zelda grabbed at her to urge her back.

“Don’t stop,” Zelda gasped, her limbs trembling as she squeezed around her, her hand tangling in her hair, pulling her close. “Lilith, please––please.”

She obeyed with a laugh, and Zelda felt her breath catch in her lungs at the feeling of it.

Lilith had one hand inside of her, filling her as her mouth sucked and licked around her sex, as her other handheld her thigh steady as Zelda jerked and squeezed, her legs trembling as she gasped in a breath, filling the church with her moans.

It was sinful. It should have been a sin. She was being fisted in a catholic church, and as her eyes fluttered, she could see the stained glass window, reflecting religious iconography, but all she could focus on was Lilith and her mouth and her hand inside of, and how good everything felt.

It couldn’t be a sin. This didn’t feel like anything else she’d ever done. This felt divine like bliss was washing through her, like ambrosia ran through her as she clutched at Lilith’s hair and tugged her closer, urging her to keep going.

She was sore, and yet it only burned with pleasure. She could feel her back pressing against the indents of the stand. Her muscles were aching from clenching as her legs shook with fatigue, and yet she felt every inch of that fall away until all that remained was Lilith.

And as she arched up into Lilith’s mouth, feeling the orgasm squeezed from her, Zelda’s head tossed back, a great cry releasing from her mouth. It echoed around the church, filling it entirely, and it was all could Zelda could hear, lost in the sensation.

And then it was over, and Lilith was pulling out of her as she dropped back against the pulpit, gasping for breath.

Lilith stood up, and Zelda felt the ache at her absence as Lilith rose before her, wiping at the wetness around her mouth, though Zelda flushed when she realised it’d also spilt across her forearm and shoulder.

Not that Lilith minded. If anything, she looked pleased with herself as she stood up, both hands holding Zelda’s hips steady before she leant forward and kissed her.

“I love you,” Zelda said. And then paused wide-eyed as she felt Lilith tense before her.

Fuck. She hadn’t meant to say it, hadn’t meant for the words to spill out, and all at once she wanted to claw them back in her mouth, swallow them back as she tried to pull away––but Lilith was still before her, and the pulpit was just as rigid behind her. She had nowhere to go.

And then Lilith smiled at her, “I love you, too,” she said.

Zelda sighed at the words, feeling her heart ease as she kissed Lilith again and then again slower, and then once more, deeper, feeling the words alight between.

I love you. She wanted to hear them again, so she peppered kisses down Lilith’s throat, down her shoulder, and unzipped Lilith’s dress, pulling the clothes from her body. I love you. They were such sweet words.

Such holy words from a mouth as divine as Lilith’s.

She kissed down her breasts, down her abdomen and felt Lilith exhale as she knelt before her and tugged Lilith’s underwear down. She kissed over her thighs and then against her sex and licked her firmly. Lilith laughed, her back arching as the amusement turned into a moan, and it was the sweetest sound Zelda had heard her make.

So she kissed her again, made her do it again, and then she fucked her until Lilith was panting her devotion hotly into the winter air on the floor of the church.

No, Zelda decided. It wasn’t a sin. It was, perhaps, immoral in some way, but as she drew her tongue over and over Lilith and heard her breath panting, “Fuck, Zelda, don’t stop!” thundering through the air, Zelda knew.

Zelda frowned. The mirror was void of her image, but she could see Lilith’s hands curled firmly around something. She was aware that they were holding her shoulders, and yet, it seemed odd to stare in a reflection and not see herself there.

Lilith leant forward, pressing a kiss to her throat, and then her shoulder, hands slipping down around her bare waist. She could feel it, but all she saw was Lilith’s hand outstretched before her as if she was pretending to hold a basket.

“Will anyone else be able to see through the illusion?” she asked. “My reputation, let alone yours, could––“

“No,” Lilith said, and then Zelda felt as one hand slipped down, stroking between her thighs. “And the only reputation you need to worry about is mine,” Lilith purred, low and threatening in her ear and Zelda nodded feeling a sigh escape her. “And would you look at that, you’re already so wet for me.”

Zelda felt heat pour over her face. She couldn’t deny that the premise of being so open, so close to being seen and yet entirely hidden didn’t arouse her. Fear and concern laced it, but as Lilith’s mouth pressed to her throat, she could feel the worries taken from her one-by-one.

“Such a noble lady for her Empress,” Lilith said to her and Zelda nodded.

But Lilith’s hands slid away, and the woman stepped over to her chambers where she opened her chamber door. The servants spilled in, and Zelda felt her self press backwards, aware of her nudity as she watched as Lilith’s personal servants began to undress her from her day wear, moving her into a far more dignified dress. They fixed her hair, ensuring it was in place, touching up the make-up she wore.

And then, a messenger arrived, bowing low to inform the Empress of Hell that her Council was ready for her, should she choose to attend.

Lilith rose to her feet, and the servants scattered away from her, and there, Zelda knew her place. She stepped forward, moving to stand beside Lilith and watched as the Empress’ eyes moved to hers, a smile on her lips before she nodded her head.

She strode forward, and Zelda followed, feeling the anxiety burning through her. It felt wrong, it should be wrong. She was the High Priestess, walking the halls of Pandemonium as bare as the day she was born?

Zelda had never been ashamed of her nudity, but there was a difference to being bare when everyone else in the room was dressed.

And yet it thrilled her, knowing that no one but the Empress could see her.

Lilith’s hands flicked, and the guards continued to accompany them, but at a pace that meant Zelda didn’t need to worry about tripping across them. She followed down the halls, head held high and felt the warmth of the enchantment over her skin, warmed by the heat that radiated through the final circle of Hell.

When they arrived in the Council’s chambers, Lilith entered first. Each of the council members rose to their feet, eyes falling to the floor with their heads bowed, allowing Lilith to move with ease to the head of the table. She adjusted her skirts and sat down slowly, allowing the men to follow. Only then did her eyes flick to Zelda’s, giving an arched brow to signify that she should move to her seat.

Zelda swallowed, feeling her hands shake. None of the council noted her appearance, their attention turned to the Mistress of Coin as she began to advise where the taxes were at with collection, and the recommendations for wealth and prosperity to continue.

With the Kings of Hell eradicated, Lucifer cast out and powerless, and Lilith in her new reign of power, she’d elected a new council of her dividing, one whose loyalty she could assure whilst also knowing every single weakness should she need to exploit it.

Zelda took her seat on the Empress’ lap and then felt as Lilith adjusted her, turning her, so legs went over the chair’s arms, her head pressed to Lilith’s chest.

It made her feel like a household pet being adjusted, and in a sense, Zelda understood that was her place. She wasn’t indeed a friend to the Empress––after all, Lilith was nearly deific in status, how could she have friends.

Zelda was hers to play with.

Lilith’s hand was warm across her thigh, drawing patterns over her skin slowly. It was enough for Zelda to relax, her head turning to watch the council with interest.

Whilst she remained High Priestess in the mortal realm, here in Hell, she was a courtier at the best of times, and therefore was not permitted to witness council actions. To see them in person was something reserved for only those who were either a part of the council or the council members' servants.

So it was with a curious hunger than Zelda drank in the meeting, listening to where the economy sat, the wars that sat on the margins of their lands, and concerns the council brought.

Magic was paramount, and Lilith listened to the concerns, and as she did, Zelda wondered why she’d been brought here at all, outside of being treated as a familiar to stroke absentmindedly.

It seemed the answer became apparent when the conversation turned to the topic of the concerns with the hellish nobles (petty concerns regarding land disputes). Lilith’s expression shifted into boredom, and Zelda watched as she sat up straight, feigning interest as the topic continued.

Her fingers drew over Zelda, sliding between her legs and stroking over her vulva absentmindedly. It wasn’t purposeful, wasn’t intended to draw intimacy or arousal––though Zelda rose her hips, rocking against the fingers as she suppressed the growing moans in her throat.

Lilith’s expression shifted with annoyance, her eyes flicking down to look at Zelda as she pressed the hips to still before returning to watch the council.

“Tedious,” Lilith declared. “We should eradicate Agaers and split his lands evenly amongst the surrounding Dukes.”

“That would cause Zepar and Barbatos to then share a border, likely causing further disputes for you tomorrow,” the council member reminded.

Lilith’s eyes rolled, nails digging into Zelda’s skin before she eased. The conversation shifted, as other options were placed forward and even there, Zelda found herself struggling to pay attention. Although she’d familiarised herself with all of the demons, having memorised all of their names, their status and lands centuries ago, it was tedious to listen to.

Though Lilith’s fingers drew over her lazily, before sliding inside of her.

Zelda swallowed her surprise, turning her head to press against Lilith’s shoulder as the fingers began to stroke inside of her.

Her stroking had no rhythm. They were inside of her and then out again, tasing over her clit before lazily drawing patters over the labia. Before sliding inside of her again, where she would thrust deep––sometimes with two, three or four fingers––stretching her before they shifted out of her.

Zelda kept her mouth press against Lilith’s shoulder as she focused on breathing slowly.

She could hear the conversation change to other matters––and listened to the mention of fates––but as Lilith's fingers began to pick up in rhythm, it became difficult for her to focus.

Lilith’s hand stilled, curled inside of her and Zelda could feel the vibrations of her voice against her chest, but a haze remained over her mind. Lilith mentioned something about weapons and alliances, before she quieted again, fingers sliding out to drag back of her clit, playing with it absentmindedly before her hand dropped away to settle at her thigh.

Zelda had barely caught her breath when the fingers returned. Her hips rocked, mouth parting as she felt the orgasm building.

Lilith’s other hand drew patterns over her hips, up to her waist and then back.

Zelda squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on breathing in through her nose, and then out through her mouth.

“––Against Hades. We should send them to the ferrymen.”

“Charon only deals with witches, now. Mortals are to be sent to Styx.” It was an exciting conversation, and Zelda was curious to understand the politics of other death domains, but Lilith was stroking inside of her, and she was trying very, very hard not to whimper as her mouth parted and pressed against Lilith’s shoulder, trying to muffle herself.

The hand on her hip pressed against her thigh, nails digging in and Zelda shuddered, a small whimper as she bit down on the Empress’ shoulder. The fingers working inside of her picked up, and Zelda shivered, her breath coming out in soft pants––but the table continued to converse, their voices raised in an argument, seeming to not notice her.

There was something about Cereberus, and then Charon again and Zelda wanted to ask, but Lilith was stroking inside of her in such a way that Zelda could feel her magic humming in her bloodstream, singing out.

Lilith in Hell, save me–– She felt her thoughts sing out as her body tensed.

And then Zelda was squeezing hard around Lilith’s fingers, her breath burning in her lungs as she couldn’t will herself to breathe. And then it stopped, and Lilith’s hand dropped wetly against her thigh.

“Enough!” Lilith said. “Fix this or I’ll have your heads on spikes!”

The council rose and murmured, leaving with a nod of their head, and Zelda sighed, a pleased hum rolling through her body.

Once the last of the council had left, Lilith chuckled. “You made a mess of my dress.”

“Terrible,” Zelda advised, her chest rising and falling heavily as she shifted on Lilith’s lap. “But as fun as this was––“

“Oh, I’m not done with you yet,” Lilith advised. “I have other meetings to attend, and you agreed to be mine until the spell wore off.”

Zelda swallowed, turning to look at Lilith, “And how long does the spell last?”

“Eight hours. We’re only in hour one.” Lilith’s fingers drew across her jaw, tilting her head before she kissed her. Whatever argument Zelda had about paperwork and family drifted away as Lilith’s tongue pressed against her own, a hand coming up to squeeze at her breath.

She turned in the lap, adjusting herself until she straddled Lilith, setting her hands on her shoulders. “How long until your next meeting?” Zelda asked.

“Whenever I summon it,” Lilith advised. She set her hands on Zelda’s waist, then slid down, cupping over her ass to squeeze. And then, with her strength, she lifted Zelda onto the table before, eyes steady on hers. “Lie back for your Empress,” she told her.

Zelda obeyed, feeling the order hum through her. There were seven more hours, and Lilith was determined to have her entirely.

And if she was honest, she didn’t mind at all.

Zelda rolled her eyes, but took the basket from her nonetheless and placed it on the backseat of the car. “Thank you, sister, but it will only be a few hours drive. We don’t need to stop along the way.”

“Never know,” Hilda said. “There may be some delays or a flat wheel, and you’ll be thankful for that warm bit of coffee.”

She meant well, and as much as Zelda wanted to argue, she bit her tongue and gave a short nod. Her sister was supportive, in her own way, and it was enough for her to hold back from making any snide comments.

From the veranda, wrapped up warmly in gloves, jacket and a scarf, Ambrose gave a nod of his head. They’d spoken a few days ago, and Ambrose had supplied his support, reminding her once again, that she should be choosing her own happiness.

Zelda softened and smiled at him, feeling her chest warm. All she needed now was to wait for Sabrina. She’d thought about doing it through phone and then had decided against it. It deserved to be in person, and right now, it didn’t hurt anyone that she and Lilith were off spending the weekend together.

“Right,” Hilda said, stepping back. “I trust you’ve got everything, but were there any errands here you needed me to run while you were gone?”

“No, Hilda. But thank you. I’ll return before it’s time to pick up Sabrina from the Walkers.”

“And if you don’t, I’ll pick her up. Don’t rush your trip, enjoy it. Lord knows that once classes start up again, you’ll both be busy little bees.”

That was undoubtedly true. Zelda smiled and gave a short nod and then offered a wave to Ambrose. Then she was climbing into the car.

As she drove off, she checked her rearview mirror and watched as Ambrose and Hilda both waved at her departure before returning inside, smiles on their faces.

It was cold. Freezing really. To prep for picking up Lilith, she placed the heaters on high and the seat warmer on for passenger side.

When Lilith climbed in, after setting her bag into the trunk, her eyebrows shot up as she looked to Zelda. “Seat warmers, you really did put out big money for the car.” And then she was leaning forward, pressing a kiss to Zelda’s lips before a protest could be argued.

Zelda sighed against her mouth, feeling the familiar flutter in her chest. Her and Lilith, Lilith and her. She pulled back, watching as Lilith bit her lip as she smiled at her. “What’s the first thing on your agenda?”

Currently, Zelda was thinking about pushing the car into park and then opening up Lilith’s house again to pin her to the nearest surface. But there was plenty of time for that later. “We arrive, check-in, and then there’s the hotel bar and restaurant. I thought tonight we could settle in.”

“Settle in,” Lilith teased. “I brought a few things. I hope you don’t mind my presumptions.”

“I brought a few things too,” Zelda said. “And I fully intended to be presumptuous.”

Lilith laughed and then she was settling in the seat, smiling at her. “I can’t wait. I have a feeling this weekend is going to be a lot of fun.”

Zelda pulled onto the road, flicking her car’s stereo to play a radio show for their first hour. It was mostly a conversation starter, and they both took to it quickly, discussing the hosts' opinions and then going off on their own tangents, getting into a disagreement over the semantics of some philosophies, and then diving into the depths of others.

It was refreshing to speak to someone who’s mind was as sharp as hers, who’d read as much as she had, but wasn't also comfortable to say that she didn’t know what Zelda was talking about. There was no pretence behind any of it. Lilith wasn’t afraid to tell her she was wrong, nor was she afraid to back down from an argument and agree.

Zelda adored her all the more for it.

“Did we pass the roadhouse?” Lilith asked, twisting in her seat to look at a passing road sign.

“A few miles back. Why?”

“It was a landmark that I used to measure how far away we were.”

“The GPS is right there,” she said, pointing to where her phone was. Lilith looked at it and then at her.

“It feels more real with the landmarks,” she said. “You get used to going, ‘ah, yes, the dog statue, we must only be an hour out, now’.”

Zelda rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She used GPS for any of her lengthy trips, even when they were for something as simple as a direct highway to the city. “We’re only two hours out. You can sleep if you want to.”

“Hmm. There’s definitely something that I want to,” Lilith said to her, turning her head to look at Zelda mischievously. “Two hours is a very long time, and I didn’t see you at all yesterday.”

No, Zelda had been busy preparing for the trip.

She flicked her eyes from the road to looking at Lilith, going to ask what she intended to do––and then watched as Lilith undid her pants and slid her hand underneath. Zelda flicked her eyes back to the road and sucked in a deep breath, focusing on the stretch of highway before them as she listened to Lilith sigh.

Two hours was a long way, she realised. The highway was long, and she couldn’t just pull off in the middle of nowhere.

She listened as Lilith sighed again, making a small noise before she drew in a long deep breath.

Zelda briefly glanced at her, catching a glimpse of Lilith with one hand deep in her pants, and the other grabbing at her chest, firmly squeezing it.

“Are you intentionally trying to tease me?” Zelda asked.

“Yes,” Lilith said, “Is it working?”

Zelda shifted in her seat, keeping her eyes forward. She passed a road sign informing her there was a truck stop up ahead. Good. She swallowed, listening to the quiet hum of the engine, of the wind passing around the bonnet and windscreen, as she tried to ignore Lilith masturbated in the passenger seat.

She knew that if she asked her to stop, Lilith would. She would clean her hands and move the topic to something that would distract them both. But Zelda couldn’t find herself asking her to stop. All she could do was listening as Lilith slowly, lazily masturbated.

And the only question Zelda wanted to ask was how wet are you. But she knew what the answer would be: find out for yourself.

Jesus Christ.

She saw the truck stop against the horizon, void of any other vehicle. She pulled up, probably faster than necessary, and then unbuckled her seatbelt, placing the car into park and looked at Lilith. “Get out of the car,” she said.

The surprise on Lilith’s face was worth it.

“Out!” Zelda snapped and watched as Lilith grinned at her, before climbing out of the car. It was was cold, but not as freezing as it’d been Greendale. Zelda left the car running, and stepped out, shutting the door behind her as she grabbed Lilith and pressed her against the front bonnet of the vehicle. She shoved at her shoulders, and Lilith obeyed, lying down against the heat of the hood, stomach first.

The bonnet was warm, and as Zelda pressed behind Lilith, she adjusted the woman’s hips. “I bet you think your self absolutely wicked for teasing me like that.”

“Oh, I do.”

“Mm. And what do we do to wicked girls?”

Lilith’s hips shifted, moving to press up against her. “I do so hope the answer is to punish them?”

“It is, indeed,” Zelda said. “Now, I think I’ll take a page out of your book.” She kept her hand pressed on Lilith’s shoulder. “Pull your pants down for me.”

Lilith wriggled, pressing her hips firmly against Zelda’s as she looked over her shoulder. “And if I don’t?”

“And if you don’t, whatever lovely fucking you believe will happen in that hotel will be done only to yourself as I get a good night’s rest.”

Lilith studied her, eyes flicking over Zelda as if considering challenging it before she thought better of it. Zelda watched as she reached up and pushed the pants down, dropping them to the ground, around her ankles along with a lovely pair of underwear.

“Thank you,” she said as she leant back to admire the bare ass before her. Should anyone drive past, they might suspect what was happening, but they certainly wouldn’t know, unless they were to pull off to the truck stop. Which meant that Zelda could punish Lilith as she saw fit. “It’s cold, and I don’t want to be out here any longer than I need to be, so I’m going to make this quick,” she said.

“How quick?” Lilith purred.

“Ten strikes?”

Lilith paused, and Zelda wondered, briefly if it was too much, if they should have negotiated better. She went to speak to say that they could do something else until she saw Lilith’s expression, hungry and waiting for her. Giving her absolute permission.

“What’s your safe word?” she asked Lilith.

“Morningstar,” Lilith responded.

Zelda grinned. And then she rose her hand and brought it down on Lilith’s bare ass. It felt good. The hit was hard and sure and Lilith tense, gasping. Zelda did it again, watching the woman’s face, her body’s reaction, and each time Lilith tensed and then relaxed, her breath coming out in hot pants against the bonnet.

She was enjoying it as much as Zelda. Each spank was firm, loud, and Zelda could feel her hand sting by the tenth one. She wanted more––knew that she could do more later––but was content with how her work looked; Lilith’s ass was reddened, and arousal was beginning to form.  

It made her wonder if this feeling of pride and arousal was what Lilith had felt all that time ago in the office. And made her wonder if, during future drives on highways, Zelda would find herself going back to this memory of Lilith pressed over her bonnet.

She drew in a deep breath, and then, mindful of the cold, reached down and pulled Lilith’s pants back up. Underwear first and then the pants. The woman pushed up from the bonnet, turning around to face her and grinned. “You did well,” Lilith said, before leaning forward, “Now that I’ve been thoroughly punished. Perhaps there’s something else we could to warm up before we drive the next two hours.”

Zelda grinned. “I’m sure there is,” she agreed, and then took Lilith’s hand, tugging her into the backseat of the car. The moment the door shut and they were in the warmth of the car, neither of them waited.

They clashed together like they were short on time, biting and fucking as they both slid into the other’s pants, pulling the other person closer.

Zelda’s mouth bit down against Lilith’s shoulder as she stroked against her, grinding down against her thighs, and Lilith grasped at her hair, thrusting deeper inside of her.

They were fucking as if they were in competition, until at last, they both drew away, panting hard.

Somehow, she had ended up in Lilith’s lap, legs spread wide over the woman’s.  

“Fuck,” Zelda whispered.

“Fuck indeed,” Lilith laughed.

Zelda inhaled and then leant forward kissing Lilith sweetly. “We should actually try and get to the hotel, or we’ll be starving by the time we arrive.” Though the picnic basket sat beside them as a reminder of Hilda’s love and care.

“I can drive if you want,” Lilith said. “And then you can be naughty in the passenger seat.”

“Mm, and distract the driver? I don’t think so. You can sit in the passenger seat and let me drive in peace. Keeping your hands to yourself.”

“Or else?”

“Or we go back to you fucking me and you…what did you do all those times when I wasn’t allowed to touch you?”

“Masturbate a lot before and after seeing you. I’m pretty sure I broke two vibrators in three months.”

Zelda laughed. “Tragic, I’m sure.”

“Well…there was that night that you came stumbling across my cottage in the woods,” Lilith said, as she drew her hands over Zelda’s shoulders, rocking her hips to shift her in her lap. “I was trying to be loud in hopes of drawing your attention.”

“I didn’t hear you,” Zelda advised.

“Therein lies the true tragedy.”

Zelda closed her eyes, feeling the pang settle in her at what she missed out on. How many times had she thought about what might have happened had she’d ascended those stairs and peered into the room to find Lilith’s fingertips deep between her thighs.

She’d thought about it, over and over, and had every plan on making Lilith masturbate for her to at least make up for it.

But that was for later.

Now, they needed to get into their hotel room as soon as possible. “We should head out,” she said, looking up at Lilith. “The sooner we arrive, the sooner I can fuck you like I promised.”

“Like you promised?” Lilith asked.

Zelda nodded, “I plan to make you clutch at sheets and bury that lovely cock you love so much, deep inside of you.”

Lilith visibly took a deep breath, her eyes flashing with excitement. “And here I thought you were asking me to bring that dildo for you,” she said. “Zelda Spellman, you need to drive us to the hotel right now.”

Zelda looked up at her, unimpressed as Lilith made no attempt to let go of her, hands holding her firmly in place.

And then a mischievous glint crossed over the woman’s face before she leant forward, kissing her as her hands moved to cup Zelda’s face. “Or,” she said, “You could find it now and fuck me here, in the backseat of your car.”

“You can wait,” Zelda said. “And if you’re patient, I’ll fuck you however you ask.”

Lilith gave her a sharp grin before she kissed her again, truly and deeply before allowing her to slide off from her lap. “As you wish,” she said. “But I’ll want to test your endurance.”

“We’ll see,” Zelda said. And then she climbed from the backseat into driver’s, pulling her seatbelt on, before Lilith followed in her stead, somehow making an elegant show of moving from the back into the passenger seat. Likely having had experience and natural lithe grace, which only made Zelda all the more curious to her past.

The remainder of the drive moved to soft discussions, dipping into light-hearted stories of their childhood and teen antics before discussing art. There, Lilith cheekily discussed art thefts and conspiracy theories, but when Zelda tried to pry into discussions of artists or their bodies of work, she remained vague––advising that she couldn't wait to show Zelda around the museum.

It left Zelda with a sense of anticipation for their upcoming tour through the art museums.

And yet, underneath all of their chatter, they were both aware of their desire for one another, and it seemed easy to feel it press between them as conversation passed as fluidly as caresses.

On their arrived, Zelda parked into the hotel lot and drew out their bags, taking the picnic basket with her as she felt the desire tug between them. Both of them looking to the small, weekend bag, knowing what was buried in its depths, though Zelda was confident that they both carried a lovely secret of two between them both.

She flicked her eyes up to Lilith’s and watched the woman grin at her knowingly. “Almost there,” Lilith teased.

Zelda scoffed, looking away from her as she continued forward, towards the entrance. The concierge desk stood to the immediate left, and after confirming her name and credit card,  they were provided with their room keys and confirmation of their access to the gym and spa, should they so wish.

It was past midday but not quite evening and Zelda planned to enjoy the next few hours with Lilith, uncaring as to if they missed dinner.

She summoned the elevator, swiping the key and stepped into the elevator as Lilith stepped beside her. The door shut as she pressed their floor number and then Zelda was pressing beside Lilith, mindful that this was a public space, that anyone could summon the door as she pressed her hand again Lilith’s ass.

The woman was lucky she wasn’t wearing a skirt, if she had been, Zelda would have slid underneath it to feel Lilith shiver.

“I’m going to fuck you hard.”

“Promises,” Lilith teased, glancing to her.

Their room was spacious, there was a bed, a kitchenette, a bathroom with a sizeable shower, and a television mounted to the wall, before the bed.

“They probably have pay-per-view,” Lilith advised, as she set the bags down.

Zelda hummed at the thought, she wasn’t sure how she felt about watching porn, she’d never taken an interest in it.

“Get undressed,” Zelda said, as she set her bag down.

“So soon?” Lilith asked. “I haven’t even settled.”

“Get undressed, or I’ll find something else to occupy my time with.”

Lilith grinned at her, and then, very deliberately, began to undress in what could only be described as a striptease. It was slow and purposeful, with meaningful looks thrown Zelda’s way, and then Lilith was sitting on the bed, naked and ready. Good.

“Close your eyes,” she said, and Lilith obeyed, more likely out of curiosity than anything else. And then, Zelda unzipped her bag, watching to make sure Lilith didn’t move. She saw the woman peek curiously before closing her eyes once again as she caught Zelda’s glare.

Zelda walked up to her and settled before her, kissing over her shoulders and down her collar. Lilith exhaled, her head tilting forward and Zelda smiled as she gently drew her hands over Lilith’s back and then down, dipping into the curve of her waist and then the swell of her hips as she kissed over her shoulder.

Lifting a hand, she brushed Lilith’s hair over one shoulder and moved to kiss over her throat, nipping at it.

“The other day,” Zelda said, “You mentioned you used to engage in wax play. I used to be quite the expert.” And then she set on the bed a long, thin dagger. “But I was especially good with knives.”

Lilith turned to face her. “Knife play?” she asked softly.

Zelda nodded, biting her lip. “I have a lot of experience,” she assured. “Especially with wax if you’d prefer to keep it…relatively safe with me dripping wax onto you and then peeling it off with the knife. The edges are blunted for safety as well, but…it’s a favourite of mine.”

“Oh no, I’m very intrigued about what you have planned with just the knife,” Lilith said, her eyes flashing. “I trust you, implicitly.”

Zelda smiled and leant forward, kissing until she felt Lilith sigh against her mouth, before pulling away. I trust you. It was so little, so small, yet Zelda felt like the words were as impactful as I love you.

“What are your limits?” she asked.

Lilith hummed in thought as she seemed to consider it carefully, before answering, “Don’t stab me.”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Honestly,” she said. “Is that really your hard limit.”

“Mm, with you, it just might be,” Lilith teased, and Zelda should remember who was in control. That she was trying to lead because Lilith had made some hints that she would enjoy Zelda taking control. Especially with the strap-on. But it was difficult to remember who should be in control when Lilith was pressing against her body and kissing her in such a way that had Zelda almost dizzy with desire.

She wanted Lilith inside of her. She ached to feel her.

Zelda withdrew, inhaling sharply as she watched as Lilith leant back against the bed, looking absolutely wicked.

“The dagger,” Zelda said.

Lilith looked over at it and then turned back to Zelda. “Tell me what you want to do with it.”

“I thought about cutting your clothes, but that seemed unfair to whatever clothing you brought.”

“Mm, I would have been most displeased. Perhaps my underwear I would have allowed…” she said, and Zelda filed that away for things to consider, “What else?”

Zelda took the dagger in hand, watching the light dance across it. “I like how it looks when you drag it over someone’s skin. You can press and cutbut you don’t have to. You can just…” and she showed on the back of her own, running the blade across the skin.

“Show me,” Lilith said, and then she reached for Zelda’s hand brandishing the dagger and brought the blade to her sternum. With her other hand, she took Zelda’s and lead her between her thighs. “What do you want to do to me, Zelda?” Lilith asked.

Zelda slid her fingers across Lilith’s sex, feeling the growing wetness as she stroked. Lilith’s hips matched hers.

And then Zelda dragged the blade down the sternum, between the rise and fall of her chest, until she pressed firmer and watched as Lilith’s breath held as if she was hesitating from pushing it into the blade.

“What are you going to do?” Lilith asked. She was still leading, and Zelda leant forward, kissing Lilith’s mouth.

“I think the question is…what are you going to do,” Zelda asked, and she slid her fingers away from Lilith, watching the woman’s expression shift from confusion to arousal. “I think you should put your hand to better use,” she said, and she pressed the blade firmly against Lilith, watching the breaths grow short and shallow as Lilith’s lips parted, her mouth tugging into a smile. “Go on, then. I’m not going to get you off, you’ll need to do that yourself.”

Lilith’s back straightened and then she slid her hand down between her thighs, her eyes holding hers. Zelda leant back to admire it and then brought the dagger down, using the flat of it to nudge against Lilith’s thighs.

“Wider, dear. I want to see the show.”

Lilith moaned, but she obeyed, her thighs spreading further apart and Zelda watched as the fingers worked deftly, focusing on stroking over and around the labia, And then, when Zelda could see how wet she was getting, Lilith slid three fingers inside of herself as if it were hardly difficult.

Zelda swallowed, watching the hips rock, listening as Lilith’s breath came in long, slow pants, a soft keen on the edges of it.

It wasn’t enough, she wanted to play harder. She lifted her dagger, pressing the tip to the hollow of Lilith’s throat and then slid it higher and higher, until the flat of the blade pressed underneath Lilith’s jaw and nudged her chin up until Lilith was tilting her head back, looking down at her as she masturbated.

“Much better,” Zelda purred and watched as arousal bled over Lilith’s face.

Holding the dagger steady, her eyes flicked down to where Lilith’s fingers worked, watching as she slid in and out of herself as her other hand worked her clit, stroking down and over it in a tease.

Zelda’s eyes fixed to Lilith’s, and with her empty hand, she reached to Lilith’s sex and slid over it with a single finger, around Lilith’s entrance, teasing to enter it and spread her wider. It would stretch her, and a part of her wanted to, just to hear what lovely sound Lilith would say.

Instead, she brought her fingertip to her mouth and licked the coated arousal from it.

God, she wanted her. It was hardy enough, and all she wanted now was to shove Lilith down on the ground and lick over the mess that had been caused.

She steadied herself, and continued to watch, focusing on how Lilith’s hips jolt––signalling how close she was getting to climax.

“Stop,” Zelda said, but she kept the blade steady, watching as Lilith stopped but didn’t move, her chest rising and falling with a heavy pant.

“Zelda,” Lilith purred, a request in the subtext of her voice.

“You must be quite used to delayed gratification around me by now,” Zelda teased. “What’s one more day?”

Lilith drew in a deep breath. “A day?” she asked.

“I think you can control yourself for a little bit longer,” and then she set the dagger aside and reached down, pulling Lilith’s hand away from her. Lilith’s expression shifted, frustrating passing over them, and then Zelda was undressing, ripping her clothes off quickly.

She shifted Lilith, getting her to on the mattress, lying flat. “Maybe if you’re very good,” she said, “I might return the favour.” And then she was shifting her hips above Lilith’s face, watching as the woman looked up at her, a hunger filling her eyes.

“Oh, it will be my pleasure,” she said.

Zelda realised her mistake the moment Lilith’s tongue touched over her. This was Lilith’s ruling position and whatever power she expected to hold over her by sitting here, on her face, was gone the moment the woman’s hands slid over her thighs, tugging her down, harder to grind over her tongue.

Lilith worked fast, and Zelda found herself doubled over on the mattress, her hands fisting into the sheets as she felt Lilith’s tongue slide over her in swirling patterns that had her dizzy. And then, just as Zelda found her hips rocking over the tongue, she felt the woman’s fingers sliding inside of her.

“God,” Zelda whined, inhaling long, deep breaths as she blinked up at the ceiling. She could regain control back over Lilith, grab at her hair and tug her into position, but if Zelda was honest, she didn’t mind at all the relinquished control. Not when her whole body seemed to hum.

Lilith was squirming so nicely under her that––

Zelda paused, shifting to look over her shoulder and notice why Lilith was squirming underneath her. The woman was fucking herself why she licked her out.

Pushing up and off Lilith’s face, she glared down at her. “Is this how you delay yourself?” she asked.

Lilith grinned, biting her lip as she refused to stop. “And what are you going to do about it?” she asked.

Oh, what a question. She could deny her, but she doubted that she would have the desired effect she was after. Instead, Zelda moved, shifting down. She had a most lovely idea, but it would have to wait. It wouldn’t work for now, and it wouldn’t be near as fun to do over dinner as it would be in the Art Museum.

No, she’d wait to have her revenge until tomorrow, but Lilith didn’t need to know that just yet. Shifting down, she kissed Lilith’s mouth, tasting the arousal on her lips and then continued to move down her body, kissing down her throat, and shoulder, her chest and belly, until she came between her legs.

And there she moved Lilith’s hands away and replaced it with her own fingers and mouth.

Lilith sighed, her body dropping back against the mattress before her hips lifted, back arching. There we go, Zelda thought. There was the control she was after.

She kissed and licked over Lilith’s sex, her fingers sliding inside of her and curling where she knew Lilith liked to feel pressure, and then, when her hips began to buck, thighs squeezing around her, Zelda sucked on her clit, stroking inside of Lilith until she felt the woman squeeze around her fingers.

Lilith came, panting with soft moans, and a sigh, before she was reaching down and tugging Zelda’s face back to hers.

It was lazy and messy. Open-mouthed kisses and tender stroking as they shifted on the bed, and somehow, it didn’t matter at all who was leading. They groped at one another, sliding inside of each other as they fucked in so many different positions, at one stage Zelda had to stop due to a leg cramp.

By the end, Zelda was wet and sticky, uncertain of where her own arousal began, and Lilith’s ended as they both ended up draped over the other’s body, her head pressed against Lilith’s calf, and Lilith’s head lying against her ankle.

She shifted, looking over her shoulder as Lilith’s eyes fell half-lidded, exhaustion pulling at her.

“Tired?” she asked, watching as Lilith hummed in agreement, her head resting heavily against her.

“What time is it?”

Zelda squinted, shifting to look over at the clock on the bedside table. “Nine,” she said, with a yawn, “but it’s been a long day. Hilda made us food, did you want some?”

Lilith hummed, nodding.

Shifting off her, she crawled across the bed and reached for picnic basket before bringing it to bed. There, she opened up to see that Hilda had set up the food in containers, packing ice blocks around it to ensure it remained cool. They ate quietly, enjoying the food, sipping at coffee though the buzz from the caffeine seemed to supply very little energy before Zelda turned to look Lilith.

“Shower,” she said.

“Shower,” Lilith agreed, though she pushed up from the mattress tiredly, following her into the bathroom. There, Zelda washed both Lilith and herself, cleaning them of the mess of body fluids. Although washing herself involved Lilith’s arms around her waist, head resting against her shoulder as she drifted off to sleep again.

“You didn’t even drive.”

“Mm, multiple orgasms.”

“Ohh?” Zelda teased. “Is that all it takes to wear you out?”

Lilith shifted against her before nodding against her back. “Better with giving than receiving,” she said softly. Zelda sighed, feeling the breath tickle against her.

“Well, better get you to bed then.”

Lilith only curled tighter against her, apparently content to stay in the shower a little longer, but Zelda wasn’t having it. It was a waste of water. Turning the taps off, she shifted them out of the shower and handed Lilith a towel before she drying herself off.

She returned to the bedroom, dressed in her pyjamas, noting that Lilith opted to remain undress as she resumed to settle on the bed. However, as Zelda settled beside her, Lilith made herself comfortable by shifting to lie on her chest.

Zelda hummed, looking down at her as Lilith’s eyes blinked tiredly as Zelda flicked on late-night television before she drifted asleep.

There’d been a time where Zelda had wondered what domestic bliss might look like with Lilith. She’d thought that, like in sex, Lilith would vie for control, only to occasionally permit it to be the other way around. But it seemed in both things, Zelda was wrong.

Lilith was content to have her head on Zelda’s chest, an arm around her waist and saw no reason to deviate from it. And in sex, Lilith was as excited to be led as she was lead––or in some cases, mutually work with Zelda to bring them both to new heights of ecstasy. The domineering side of the dominatrix could be brought present at any moment, but the more Zelda saw her, the more she found that Lilith wanted an equal.

And Zelda wanted that too.

It was fun to be bent over and spanked, as it was to be the one bending the person over and spanking them—but in love, she wanted an equal; someone who respected her opinion, who understood her commitments and didn’t ask for more than she could give.

Lilith was offering that. Had shown that and was continuing to provide it. What else could she possibly want?

Lifting a hand, she stroked Lilith’s hair and felt as the woman snuggled tighter against her, hands gripping the nightgown before she eased back into a deep sleep, her breaths long and slow.

Zelda peeked down at her, feeling warmth hum through her. Her home had always been at the Spellman Manor. She'd travelled the world, lived in other houses and apartments, but a sense of home had always felt like her childhood residence.

And yet…for the first time, she didn’t feel homesick.

Switching the television off, Zelda reached over to the bedside table, and flicked the lamp off, holding Lilith close, so the woman didn’t think she was leaving. And then she kissed the woman’s head as she pondered one question she'd asked herself before making any lifelong decision.

If this was for the rest of their life, would she be content?

She would. In the depths of her heart, she knew she would.

Zelda loved her, and if she looked closer, and thought about all the actions and words, Lilith had said. She might believe that Lilith loved her too.

Once Sabrina had agreed, Zelda promised herself she would tell Lilith how much she loved her. She hoped that Lilith would say them back, but honestly, so as long as she was open to the idea of Zelda loving her, then the rest could wait.

She brushed Lilith’s hair from her face, watching as the woman’s brow pressed before it eased again. It seemed easy to love her, so much so that she couldn’t help but taste the words and wonder what they sounded like out loud.  

I love you, I love you.

I love you, Lilith.

They tasted sweet.