Touch Starved Love

"God that felt so good..." I stare at myself through my vanity mirror, buttons on the collar of my nightgown opened to show my collarbones and the dark bruises that covered them. Raising my hand up, I trail my fingers softly over the dark bruises and bite marks that littered my skin, tears slowly begin trailing down my cheeks as I relive the memories from the night before in my head joyfully.

I carefully finish weaving the green stems of the bright yellow dandelions and the pure white daisies I had found on my walk in the gardens earlier, holding the completed flower crown up to the light to get a better look at it as I begin to smile to myself. Standing up from my seat at the table, I quickly glance at the dark veil resting next to an empty teacup and decide to leave it as I walk into the foyer. I climb the stairs and take a right, stopping just outside of the guest room and knocking lightly on the door.

"Bela, may I come in?"

The soft rusting of paper and fabric followed by muffled footsteps sound from the other side of the door before it opens.

"Hey, yeah! Come on in."

She smiles softly at me as she steps away from the doorframe to let me into the room. I feel my cheeks begin to heat up from nervousness and begin to look down at the the crown in my hands, fiddling with the petals softly so I don't ruin them.

"I...I found some flowers in the garden that I thought you would look really pretty on you so...I made this for you..."

I look up and hold the flower crown out towards her, a shy smile on my face. Bela's smile widens as she looks from me to the small crown of flowers resting on top of my outstretched palms. She walks closer to me, hands moving forward slightly to grab the crown. Before her hands touch the crown she pauses before slowly moving her hands back down to her sides, I panic slightly, thinking I had done something wrong. Before I could stutter out an apology Bela takes a step closer before kneeling down infant of me. The light blush already dusting my cheeks grows darker as I feel my ears grow hot. She looks up at me, a shy smile laid out across her lips.

"Put it on for me...?"

I release a shuddering breath as I raise my hands, shaking slightly from nerves, up to her uncloaked head and delicately place the flower crown in her hair. I lower my hands to her cheeks and brush a few loose strands of hair behind her ear before cupping her face in my hands. She leans further into my touch as I begin to gently rub my thumbs over her cheeks, her eyes close as a steady purr begins to sound throughout the room.

"I love you...so, SO much..."

I smile down at Bela as I say this, gently beginning to pull her her by her face so that she is standing again. As she begins to stand she opens her eyes, looking at me softly.

"Stunning... absolutely stunning."

I blush at the complement she murmured dreamily.

I look away from her as she raises her hands to my hips, gently trailing them up to my waist and pulling me flush against her body. One of her hands lives my waist and moves up to hook the underside of my chin, forcing me to turn my head and look at her. She's smiling at me, not a mischievous smirk or a flirtatious grin, a genuine smile that makes me feel as if i'm melting from the inside out. The hand hooked underneath my chin moves up to cup my cheek, finger delicately trailing up my jaw in the process.

"Can I kiss you?"

My eyes widen in surprise at the question and my blush darkens again. I nod hesitantly, still slightly surprised by her request. My gaze shifts from Bela's glowing golden eyes to her lips, cleansed of the blood that was usually caked across her face and chest, as she slowly leans closer.