Chapter 68: What She Chose When No One Looked
Aria's POV
She didn't know how long she sat there — alone in the echo of her breath, heartbeat slow but heavy. The dressing room still smelled faintly of dust, worn silk, and her. Her body was flushed, limbs boneless, her skin singing from memory.
Not just of Selene's hands.
But her mouth. Her voice. Her name rasped low in Aria's ear, a shiver wrapped in velvet and ice:
I'll ruin you again and again.
It wasn't a threat anymore. Not a promise. Just truth. Familiar. Inevitable.
Selene already had. Many times.
At brunch. Against the wall. That morning when Aria thought she'd gotten the last word — only to find herself breathless under Selene's smirk, back arching, nails clawing into her sleeves. Aria had lost track of how many times she'd folded beneath that cold heat.
But somehow, it still wasn't enough.
The ache between her legs wasn't leftover desire. It was continuation. Residue of hours spent unraveling under Selene's touch, knotted tight again by nothing more than a glance. Her thighs pressed together, and she exhaled, frustrated by how her body responded. Still hungry. Still strung high on her.
She turned toward the cracked vanity and sat.
The mirror reflected a version of her that was too flushed, too bright - eyed, lips swollen and kiss - stung. She looked like a secret no one had the right to see.
She touched her own throat, where a faint bloom of bruises lingered. Selene didn't mark her by accident.
Her fingers trailed down to the dip between her breasts, over the place Selene had bitten earlier — just above her heart. Aria had gasped when she did it. Selene had smiled against her skin.
Everything about her body felt electric, every nerve a thread Selene had plucked and tuned to her will.
She had touched her with command.
Taken her with care.
Wrecked her with both.
And Aria had begged for it. Again and again.
But even now — sated and breathless — her chest burned with wanting.
She let her hand drop into her lap, curling her fingers tight.
She should be afraid.
She was afraid.
But not of Selene hurting her.
Of needing her this deeply.
Of belonging in pieces to someone who could freeze the world and still make her feel alive.
She exhaled shakily, forehead resting against the cool wood of the vanity.
She hated how Selene always knew.
She hated how even the silence between them crackled with unfinished things.
And she hated how Selene had said "not yet" earlier — with a look that made "soon" feel like a slow burn beneath her skin.
The sound of boots tapping against tile pulled her upright.
Selene stepped into view — her coat dusted with ash again, hair slicked back with enviable ease, her presence still sharp enough to make Aria sit straighter without meaning to.
"Come," Selene said. Just that. No softness. No explanation.
Aria rose, her legs still shaky.
She didn't hesitate.
They left the boutique behind, stepping into the dying amber of twilight. The city stretched out around them, half - drowned and broken. Buildings leaned into waterlogged streets, ivy climbing toward windows that no longer held light. Still, it was beautiful in a way only ruin could be.
Selene walked ahead, cutting through the broken world like a blade. Aria followed. Not because she was told — but because she wanted to.
The green silk clung to her thighs, sticky against skin still tingling from earlier. Every step was a reminder: Selene had made her fall apart today — and could do it again with a look.
She already had.
They stopped at an overlook, a high place where the wind brushed past like fingers.
The city below was quiet. Flooded. Distant.
Selene stood at the edge, watching the world rot with serene detachment. Her silhouette was dark against the last sliver of sun. Powerful. Untouched.
Aria joined her.
And for a long moment, neither of them spoke.
The wind danced between them, ruffling the hem of Selene's coat, tugging at the silk Aria wore like a whispered dare.
Finally, Aria asked, "Why here?"
Selene didn't answer immediately. Her eyes stayed on the horizon.
"Because I wanted to see what you'd look like standing here."
Aria frowned. "That's not a reason."
"It's the only one that matters."
Aria stepped closer, narrowing her eyes. "You don't do anything without a reason."
Selene turned her head, and her voice dropped. "You're right."
She moved toward Aria — not rushed, just inevitable.
When they were close enough that Aria could feel the chill of her power dancing along her skin, Selene reached up and cupped her cheek.
The glove was cold.
Her gaze was anything but.
"You want the truth?"
Aria nodded, breath caught halfway in her throat.
"I brought you here because you've already chosen me. Even when no one saw. Even when you thought you hadn't."
Aria's eyes darkened. "You sound awfully sure of yourself."
Selene's smile was quiet. Dangerous. "I don't need to sound. You've screamed it enough times."
Heat scorched her cheeks.
"That's not —"
Selene stepped closer, cutting off the air between them. "Four times. Just today."
Aria swallowed hard. "You're keeping count?"
"I don't need to. Your body remembers, even when you pretend you don't."
Selene's thumb brushed Aria's lower lip, gentle and maddening.
"And I haven't even had you properly yet."
Aria whimpered despite herself.
"You are the most infuriating —"
"Say that again," Selene murmured, mouth brushing hers, "but this time, moan it."
Aria grabbed the lapels of her coat and pulled her in.
The kiss was molten. Demanding. A collision of pride and want.
Selene tasted like cold wind and the heat that followed it. Like knowing. Like patience worn thin.
When they finally broke apart, Aria's breath was ragged.
"You think you own me?"
Selene's mouth curved. "You act like I don't?"
"I could walk away."
"You won't."
Silence.
And then, softer: "Because you already did once. And you hated every second of it."
Aria's hands tightened around the fabric of her coat.
Selene leaned close again, brushing her lips along Aria's ear.
"You ache for me before I even touch you."
Aria shuddered. "You're infuriating."
"I'm yours."
That stopped her.
Aria's breath hitched, her entire body a battleground between denial and craving.
But Selene didn't press. She just stepped back.
"Come," she said again. "We'll make camp soon."
Aria didn't follow immediately.
She stayed at the overlook, wind biting at her skin, heart thudding hard enough to bruise.
She whispered into the dusk, voice trembling.
"I'm not ready."
But her body already was.
Her mind already was.
Her soul had always been.
And Selene had known.
Which meant one day, when Aria finally let go and gave in completely…
There would be no going back.
Not from the way Selene would claim her again.
Not from the way Aria would beg for it.
And not from the way she would love every unraveling second of it.