Chapter 59: The Morning After the Storm
The first rays of dawn crept through the cracked, weather-beaten window of the apartment casting a soft golden glow that kissed the tangled sheets and bare skin with tender light. Outside, the wind whispered through the skeletal trees, brittle with frost, but inside, a warmth lingered—gentle and radiant, untouched by the harshness of the world beyond.
Aria lay still beneath the sheets, her body slow to stir, as if unwilling to break the delicate spell of morning peace. Her fingers curled slightly against the pillow, and a hum slipped past her lips—soft, contented, genuine. Not from routine. Not from mere wakefulness. But from something deeper. Something that still echoed in her bones, curled sweetly beneath her skin.
Satisfaction.
Not just physical, though her body still ached in the best ways. But something more primal. Soul-deep.
For the first time since the hunger had awakened—since desire became torment and her nights were ruled by fevered dreams—she felt whole. The fire that had consumed her had finally quieted. Her body, once restless and writhing, was loose now. Soothed.
Selene had done that.
She turned slowly onto her side, limbs heavy with a pleasurable soreness. The ache between her thighs was a tender, molten thing—no longer desperate, but reverent. Her fingers brushed her abdomen, where the sensations still lingered, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
She could still feel the memory of Selene's mouth on her.
The way her tongue had moved—methodical at first, cool and teasing, then suddenly devastating. Each stroke deliberate, guided by a frigid, predatory control that unraveled her piece by piece. There was no mercy in Selene's touch. Only ownership. Only truth.
Aria's breath caught as the memory flashed vividly behind her eyelids.
She had begged.
Moaned.
Screamed until her throat was raw, her fingers clawing the sheets, her legs trembling uncontrollably. Selene hadn't stopped after the first orgasm—or the second. She had dragged her through climax after climax until Aria had sobbed into her hands, overwhelmed, shattered, completely undone.
And afterward?
No dream.
No hunger.
No night terrors of ghostly touches or phantom mouths that couldn't satisfy her.
Only Selene.
Only peace.
She rolled to the other side of the bed, only to find the space empty. Warm, but vacant.
Selene was gone.
The absence startled her for a moment—until her senses caught up. The scent of spices and frost lingered on the pillow. It clung to her skin. Between her thighs. In her mouth. That familiar crispness that only Selene carried, like snow kissed with smoke and steel.
She pressed her legs together instinctively—not in denial, but to savor the aftermath.
No one had ever touched her like that.
Not in her past life.
Not even close.
Dominic had fumbled through her like she was a means to an end. Others—forgettable and distant—were merely hands chasing bodies, not souls. No one had worshipped her. Consumed her. Possessed her.
No one but Selene, her first time given to Selene she didn't regret them.
Selene hadn't just licked her—she'd tasted her like a starved beast and held her like she was fragile snow, melting in her arms.
And Aria had melted.
Utterly.
She licked her lips and tasted the phantom trace of herself there, remembering Selene's kiss afterward—how she'd made Aria taste it too, dragging her tongue between her lips, whispering nothing but hunger and truth.
Aria sighed, stretching like a cat in the sun, and the blanket slipped down her bare body. The air was cool against her skin, sharp with the bite of Selene's lingering affinity. But Aria didn't shiver. The cold now reminded her of Selene's mouth. Her fingers. Her frost-kissed breath against burning skin.
She rose slowly, muscles aching, and found one of Selene's shirts—black, oversized, rumpled—at the foot of the bed. It still smelled like her. Like ash and cold wind. She slipped it on, burying her nose in the collar, smiling to herself.
Through the cracked bedroom door, she saw movement.
Selene.
Standing by the salvaged stove, back to her, hair slightly mussed, steam rising from a pot of boiling water. Her presence, even from here, was grounding—imposing, untouchable, yet impossibly familiar. Like gravity. Like a promise.
Aria's heart skipped.
Selene hadn't changed.
She stood there like she hadn't just torn Aria apart with her tongue and put her back together with reverence.
Typical.
Aria padded forward, silent on bare feet, and slipped her arms around Selene's waist from behind, pressing her cheek to her back.
"You're up," Selene said calmly.
"Mmhmm," Aria murmured, nuzzling into her shoulder blades.
Selene's hand reached back, resting lightly on Aria's arm.
"You're quiet this morning," she added.
"I'm full," Aria said simply.
Selene stilled for a beat. Then, a low chuckle rumbled in her throat. "That so?"
Aria nodded. "I didn't… I didn't know it could feel like that."
Aria smiled against her skin. "You… silenced it."
Selene turned in her embrace, facing her. Her cold hands cupped Aria's flushed cheeks, tilting her face up. Her gaze was unreadable—but her thumb brushed Aria's bottom lip with a tenderness that made her knees weaken.
"You mean real?" Selene asked softly.
Aria flushed nodded, heat blooming in her chest. "Better than any dream. God, Selene… thousand times much better."
Selene's expression didn't change, but something in her eyes did. A flicker. A hint of something soft beneath all that ice.
"Good". "You needed to know the difference," she said.
"I do now," Aria whispered. "God, I know it."
Her eyes fluttered shut—-hmmm..
Selene leaned in and kissed her—no hunger, no domination. Just a slow, affirming press of lips. Warmth in the cold. A seal.
Aria melted all over again.
When they pulled apart, Aria rested her head against Selene's chest, listening to the steady thrum of her heartbeat.
"I don't think I'm going to crave again for a while," she murmured.
"No more hunger?" Selene asked.
"No more torment," Aria replied. "You… you gave me peace."
Selene ran her fingers through Aria's hair. "Good," she said after a pause. "That was the point." "Until you needed them"
They stood like that for a long moment. The world outside cracked and groaned with the wind, broken and hungry, but inside the cabin, there was stillness.
Aria finally pulled back, her expression shifting to something playful. "You know," she said, nudging Selene's ribs gently, "your tongue should be illegal."
Selene arched a brow.
"Seriously," Aria continued. "I think I saw stars. Or blacked out. Or… both?"
A rare smirk touched Selene's lips. "Only stars?"
Aria gave her a mock glare. "Okay, fine. Galaxies."
They shared a quiet breakfast afterward, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the worn bench beside the counter. The air was still crisp, and frost curled at the edges of the window—but inside, Aria felt invincible.
Safe.
She watched Selene sip her tea in silence, steam rising around her like mist. Her presence was a fortress. Her touch, a balm. Aria had known darkness, pain, betrayal, and hunger—but none of it had prepared her for the quiet salvation of being held like she mattered.
She glanced down at her own fingers, still tingling slightly, then over at Selene's.
And she thought: I want to wake up like this every day.
Even if the world was ending.
Even if it all came crashing down again.
For now, she was tethered. Fed. Whole.
And it was more than enough.