The Offering (Lesbian, Gay, Girlxgirl)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Brielle had seen and experienced things that would make weak people succumb to despair. Weak people would slit their throats. Weak people would have dragged others in their demise. Not her though. Giving up wasn't in her vocabulary, even when the odds had never been in her favor. But right at this moment, she didn't know if she was ill-fated or having a strange dream. She didn't know whether to blame bad luck or shake herself awake. She wasn't sure how to feel about Talin being on top of her, doing things she never would have thought possible.

A sharp breath escaped her mouth when the defender's tongue dragged sensuously on her neck, sending a pleasant but peculiar thrill down her spine.

This.

Was this really happening?

Brielle squirmed underneath. She was bound by shackles and pinned by a woman much taller and skilled than her. This arrangement, this position, this whole thing felt wrong. Talin wouldn't act like this, would she? Not after what happened back at the crater.

"What's wrong with you?" Brielle asked, her voice shrill against her ears. Talin had just nipped her neck and was venturing lower. "Are you sick?" That must be it. The defender wasn't in her right frame of mind.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Talin said. "I just need to feel you."

"That's what Xander would say." Brielle tried rolling away. "You hate Xander. Maybe not as much as you hate me, but close." It was hard to admit, but she was being realistic.

Talin's mouth lowered still. Brielle could feel every nudge. Her chest was tightly wrapped, but the cloth was flimsy, especially against a determined foe. With each deliberate prod, she could feel her knees buckling, giving in with the sensations. She had never been touched like this.

Guilt swarmed her heart like locusts destroying an evergreen field. How could she feel this way with a person who let her fall on the crater? Someone who didn't help her? It was betrayal to the fullest. She didn't understand herself.

"You want me," Talin murmured, as if in affirmation to the silent, forbidden thoughts. She trailed her fingers on Brielle's stomach. "And I want you. There's nothing bad about that. It is a sodales' duty to hold her defender in high regards above all, is it not? You said the vows. We slept beside each other every night. I've seen you following me with your eyes. Was that not desire?"

Was it? All Brielle knew was that she needed a friend, someone she could trust with her life. Talin had let her down in the literal and figurative sense.

Her breath hitched. But wasn't it also true that Vincent was always in the middle of the havoc? Had he not planned everything with his twisted purposes, they wouldn't be here. She understood it better now.

Brielle did what most people wouldn't do at a time like this. She moved her arms down to embrace the defender, her shackled hands squeezing them tighter against each other. Talin's smell was all over the place. She didn't shy away from it anymore, and instead, savored it with a deep breath.

For a second, she forgot about The Offering and the dangers that came with the competition. Here, in this small breath of space between them, it felt like she was on a meadow— safe, warm, and surrounded by exotic flowers that had the same smell as the defender. Being this close to anyone had been impossible for her. The stolen moment should be treasured.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," she whispered to her partner. "You were a victim. That's why you were so mad at me. I should have realized much sooner instead of. . ."