"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Svedka’s reaction to her bite is awfully extreme, she thinks, and she manages to bite down the impulse to call him a baby and to laugh at him. She cannot stop her eyes from dancing, though, intent as they are upon him - amused by his angry snort. Perhaps there’s a little fire in Svedka without his lion after all. The space between them evaporates again and her eyes flutter closed at the first trace of his lips against her skin. She can feel the electricity of the touch course through her entire body, invigorating her.
But then those eyes flash open a moment later as his words briefly worry her, even as the breath of them is hot against her skin. If that willing someone wasn’t him, she needed to know now. Doubt plagues her that they are somehow playing different games, and his is one she cannot understand. Had she not been obvious enough? She’s about to open her mouth to ask, to make sure, and shed this feeling of unease that has come crawling back.
But when he scrapes his teeth against her skin, her breath hitches in a gasp of surprised delight. It’s not nearly hard enough (he hadn’t even broken the skin!) but it’s a start and it has the effect of soothing away her worries.
“You can do better than that.” She surprises herself with the breathiness of her voice. The embarrassment of how much she’s enjoying this is almost strong enough for her to pull away. Almost.
When she reaches out for him again, the nip she immediately makes is lighter than her last - just a tug of the skin - and it is followed by a brush of her muzzle against the same spot. Her entire focus is on him, intent on reactions so she can adjust the movements against his skin accordingly.
Of all the ways to get to know someone, this was not the worst.
