#oop indeed.

elia does not know which one of them initiated the kiss. all she remembers is looking at him and thinking how handsome he looked in the soft candlelight, how gentle his grey eyes were. how familiar it felt to have him close; how safe. she remembers the heat she felt rushing to her cheeks, being unable to look away from him, the sound of her heart suddenly pounding in her ears. that first bruise of their lips came almost as a relief, as if it was something she had been waiting for. parting, a sweet breath, a careful look exchanged before they kiss again. she loses all rational thought. she parts her lips to taste him, to drink him in. it's still not enough.

she grasps him by his shirt and pulls him closer, clinging to him, a sudden need for him burning in the back of her throat, warming the low of her stomach. she tastes his lips and his tongue and shares his breath and thinks of the maid and stable boy she once caught in a corner of the gardens, taking what pleasure they could from each other. briefly she imagines cregan's hands under her skirts, sliding over her thighs, his hips rutting into hers. it wrangles a shallow breath from her. she pulls away for the first time to look at him, at his swollen lips and his square jaw and his sweet eyes. her chest heaves. she takes his face in her hands, runs her thumb carefully over his cheek, down to the corner of his lips. she nods imperceptibly, keeping his gaze, praying he will understand. take me. take me. make me yours.