How could anyone forget a thing like that? Madeleine had dreamed of Hæra kneeling before her, offering her mouth just like…like…

“Now I’m going to show you what you did,” Madeleine said.

She leaned in, and it was her turn to grab Hæra’s bare arse as she buried her nose in Hæra’s curls. She didn’t start slowly. She didn’t tease, as she often liked to do, with a gentle beginning. Instead she found Hæra’s clitoris and rubbed the flat of her tongue against it, fast and hard and firm as any finger⁠—

Hæra grabbed her hair and dug her nails in. She went up on her toes, threw her head back, yelled, and came.

Oh, thank the depths. Thank the Great Mare. Thank God. Thank everything that might have been involved in shaping this moment of all moments. Hæra wailed her release like a prayer and surrendered herself to what was too much, and not enough, to bear.

Eventually, the balance tipped toward “too much,” and Hæra had to tug Madeleine away. She moaned at the loss, and Madeleine’s eyes glowed up at her with pure delight. She licked her lips. “I wasn’t the only one ready for it, was I?”

“Shut it,” Hæra groaned. With little effort, she hauled Madeleine to her feet and into her arms. Madeleine laughed softly and held Hæra in a tight embrace. It was enough—just—to tether Hæra to earth.

Her hair was damp with sweat and smelled wonderful. Hæra inhaled it deeply and savored the press of Madeleine’s naked body. She must gather these impressions, as many as she could, before Madeleine left.

She wanted to ask right away, How long until you come back? But Madeleine wouldn’t know yet, and it’d wreck the mood. Best not to.

Madeleine intuited it, though, judging by how she ran her hands soothingly up and down Hæra’s back. She kissed the underside of Hæra’s jaw. “I’ll always return to you,” she whispered.

It turned out Hæra didn’t need her former strength to carry Madeleine to bed. She yanked her pants back on and swept Madeleine up into her arms.

This seemed to put Madeleine into some kind of overjoyed swoon, but when Hæra lowered her to the bed—admittedly, with an effortful grunt—she came back to herself. “Oh gosh. We never finished dinner.”

“We will. I’ll have what you cooked for me.” Hæra lay atop her, putting her weight on her elbows. “I won’t waste a bite of what you give me.”

Madeleine’s eyes glazed over again, which was wonderful. In that moment, her nose was irresistible, and Hæra playfully bumped the tip of her own against it.