Toma
The main room of the house was empty when Toma entered. Upon closer inspection, he discovered wet bare footprints leading from the front door to the stairs. With a wolfish grin, Toma followed them up the steps as quietly as he could manage. Which was very quietly.
Aida was standing beside a large bed with her back to the doorway, looking for something in a large cedar chest. She was wearing a white robe made of something that looked a lot like silk, although Toma couldn’t be sure. It was loosely tied around her waist with a cord, and was not doing a lot to hide her from view as she bent over the open chest. His eyes followed the long line of her leg up to her hip, then drifted higher. The robe floated open as she leaned forward, exposing the curve of her breasts to the cool air in the room. He could very clearly see the small peaks of her nipples hardening through the fabric.
Son of a bitch. His pants suddenly felt a hell of a lot tighter as his throbbing erection pressed against them.
Her long black hair was still slightly damp, and hung loose across her back and shoulders. A few especially rebellious strands had abandoned the others and were hanging in front of her eyes. She reached up unconsciously and tucked them back behind her ear, inadvertently exposing her slim neck to his gaze as well.
Toma shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching for her.
“You never answered my question.” he said instead.
Aida shrieked, jumped backwards and landed on the mattress, smashing her thigh into the rough footboard of the bed as she fell.
The string of curses that she directed at both Toma and the offending footboard included several suggestions Toma was sure even magic couldn’t make human anatomy capable of.
“You know,” he said placidly, inspecting his fingernails and trying valiantly not to laugh “I spent 7 years living down by the Capitol dockyard. You swear better than any of the dockhands or sailors I ever met.”
She shot a couple more anatomically questionable suggestions at him, then yanked her robe aside enough to examine her injured thigh. A large angry red mark, oozing blood, had appeared already.
Before he knew what he was doing, Toma was right there, kneeling in front of her, all traces of amusement gone. “Are you alright?” he asked, examining the cut with concern. “I’m so sorry I startled you. I didn’t mean…”
Aida placed a hand on his shoulder, and to his surprise she was smiling broadly when he looked up at her. “I’m a natural healer, remember?” she gestured back down at her leg “Watch what happens.”
As Toma watched, the skin around and somehow under the cut slowly started to change. It was so gradual at first that he wasn’t sure what was happening, but in a few moments her skin was very clearly glowing. It got brighter and brighter until the whole area shone a brilliant gold, then it faded away again as quickly as it had come. When it disappeared at last, the skin on Aida’s leg was the same translucent opal as always. No evidence of any injury remained at all.
“Cool, right?”
“Yeah,” Toma replied, in awe. He had never seen healing magic do anything like that before. Even the most powerful potions took time to work and often left scars behind them. He traced his fingers over her unmarred skin, until her sudden sharp gasp made him realize what he was doing.
When he looked up again, the smile was gone. In its place, Aida wore an expression of surprise, embarrassment and… what? Her cheeks were rosy again, she was looking at him through eyes that were half closed and she was holding her breath. Then he felt her leg shaking a tiny bit under his fingers.
Was it possible she was attracted to him too? Gods, he hoped so. He didn’t think he would be able to stop touching her now.
“Aida…” he said softly.
“Y..yes?”
He moved his fingers lightly and slowly over her skin again, tracing a path from her knee all the way up to her hip, and back again. He could feel her skin quiver in response to him. Her gasp was softer this time, more like a moan. That sound almost destroyed what was left of his resolve. More than anything, he wanted to kiss that soft skin, and to hear how she would react if he did.
“…Should I stop?”
“Y..yes” came her voice again, after a long time.
He stopped moving his fingers, but kept them resting on her leg.
“I don’t want to stop. Are you sure?”
Another soft sound, this one more like a sigh.
“No… I’m not sure at all.”
Aida
“Aida…”
Before she knew what was happening, Toma moved. Somehow he maneuvered them both so that he was leaning over her as she lay back on the bed. He wasn’t touching her, but she couldn’t move either. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and it made tendrils of heat spiral through hers too. He brought his mouth very near her ear, so close she could feel his breath on her skin. It made her shudder. His voice was soft and strained when he asked again.
“Why didn’t you want to answer my question before? What happens when you kiss someone who isn’t sick?”
She turned her head and answered, although she knew he probably didn’t hear. He gently turned her head back towards him.
“Say that again?”
“I said, I don’t know what happens. I’ve…never…”
Toma’s eyes widened in shock. He blinked at her. “What?”
Aida blushed furiously, and tried to push him off of her.
“I know, I know, okay? It’s weird. I’ve never kissed someone who wasn’t a patient.”
Toma didn’t move, and wouldn’t let her move either. Damn it.
“Were all the men in your village blind, or just stupid?”
Now it was Aida’s turn to blink in confusion. “Huh?” she asked “Of course not. What are you talking about?”
“Those are the only reasons I can think of to explain how you’ve managed to go this long without kissing anyone for pleasure. I’ve known you less than a week, and I’ve been going crazy trying to keep my hands to myself pretty much the whole time.”
A split second later, Toma seemed to realize what he had just said. “Shit. I didn’t mean to say it like that.” He dragged his hand though his hair, took a deep breath and tried again “I don’t want you to think I’m after you for your magic like Magnus was or anything..”
“You…” Aida stammered, not totally able to process what he had said. “You…wanted…”
Toma smiled a little ruefully at her expression. Her eyes were so wide, they probably looked like they would pop out of her head at any moment. “You mean you hadn’t noticed?”
She couldn’t say anything. She tried, but nothing happened. So she just shook her head.
Now he chuckled, brushing a stray hair off of her forehead gently. “Then you’ll have to take my word for it, Sunshine. Even when I was half-dead, you were all I could think about. I’ve spent this whole time dying to touch you. Actually… I’ve been dying to do a whole lot more than just touch you.” Aida was pretty sure his cheeks darkened a bit, and he definitely looked away from her eyes as he said the last part. At least she wasn’t the only one finding this encounter a little embarrassing, she thought rebelliously. Insanely erotic? Yes. But also a little embarrassing.
Something about the idea that he felt the same way she did made her relax a little. She could feel the tension she hadn’t known was there leave her body. He must have felt it too, because he looked back at her and leaned in closer to her again. Without thinking, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He made a noise very like a growl.
“Aida… you said to stop earlier… so I’m doing my best not to touch you until you say I can. But I’m not a saint…”
“Toma?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you quit being so damn noble and kiss me already?”
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