Benezia stiffened at the feeling of Aethyta's lips pressing into her own. This was wrong. She gripped the edge of the counter behind her as she leaned away from the kiss.
She felt scattered. Benezia had felt that she should say something of substance to Aethyta now that she was here. She thought that perhaps if she just started talking, the right words would come out. But every movement Aethyta made distracted her. And goddess, that dress. She couldn't believe that she had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen it the second she was greeted at the apartment door. And to think that Aethyta had put it on with someone else in mind. Benezia swallowed the slight pang of jealousy that had risen in her throat, embarrassed and guilty that it had been there at all.
Benezia should have stopped Aethyta before she leaned in for the kiss. Persistence was something Aethyta had never lacked—it was at times equally endearing as it was problematic. Aethyta only hesitated a moment when Benezia leaned away before simply pulling her closer and continuing the kiss. And it was not just Aethyta's persistence that gave good reason to stop all of this before it started, because it didn't take long for Benezia to start kissing back.
Ever since the very first day they met, Benezia had never been very good at saying no to Aethyta. They had met as matrons when they'd found themselves with adjacent seats on a commercial spacecraft traveling from Serrice to Nos Astra. Benezia had been flying in to attend a few social events, mostly to build working relationships with other matrons who seemed to show the most political promise, knowing that such connections would be vital centuries down the line.
Despite her mind being on her work, Benezia had been looking forward to a little down time on the flight. She usually derived a great amount of joy from conversing with strangers, from the lighthearted banter that helps navigate towards common interests and values, to the secrets unburdened with a comfort that seems only to exist in the presence of a kind, anonymous face.
However, Benezia had cursed the Universe when she had first seen the asari in the seat next to hers. Her rakish grin was off-putting, but what irked Benezia the most was that she made no effort whatsoever to hide the way she ran her eyes over Benezia's body with an appreciative gaze. Benezia had had no intention of encouraging such a person. She thought she knew the type—that she'd be forced to listen to vulgar jokes and bad pickup lines for the duration of the flight.
Benezia hadn't been completely wrong, but there was also something in Aethyta that she found surprisingly attractive and intriguing.
Looking back, it seemed almost surreal to Benezia that nearing the end of the flight, she had agreed to meet Aethyta in the restroom at the back of the spacecraft. Had Benezia not been there herself, she wasn't sure she'd have believed it. But sure enough, as they landed, there she was, pushed up against the wall, eyes swirling black, with Aethyta's hand between her thighs. Even as a maiden, Benezia had never been so impulsive; there was something undoubtedly intoxicating about Aethyta.
Just as she had that day, Benezia could now feel her inhibitions withering away under Aethyta's advances, no matter how simple or clumsy those advances might be. Benezia parted her lips to deepen the kiss, and finally let go of the counter behind her and brought her own hands up to feel Aethyta's slim hips and waist. This time, it was not the novelty of Aethyta's unique charm in which Benezia was quickly losing herself, as it had been the first time they met. No, it was the fact that she knew Aethyta so well that was causing Benezia to so quickly ignore her better judgement. The taste of Aethyta's lips and tongue, although slightly tinged with alcohol, flooded her body with memories of pleasures past, to a time when Benezia had found herself in a position that she had never thought she would: bonded, and to one of her own kind no less.
Their relationship had started in earnest when the two had finally met once again, centuries after their little restroom tryst. Aethyta had been just as forward; it seemed that becoming a matriarch had done nothing to temper her impulsiveness or spontaneity. But hidden beneath a carefree countenance, Benezia could see tired eyes and a soul that was slightly sadder than the time she'd seen it last. They threw their lives together quickly and completely, and Benezia had been so sure that she was the one who could provide the love that Aethyta seemed to need and that she without question deserved. And Benezia had loved her. But she'd hurt her, too.
Benezia felt Aethyta push their hips together more firmly, the unexpected pressure sending a shiver down her spine. Benezia almost let out a whimper of frustration. She thought of all the promises she had made as she slipped a bracelet onto Aethyta's wrist the day of their official bonding. She thought of how she'd cried, only a century later, when she had left her own bracelet on the nightstand for Aethyta to find when she got home. But now her body didn't care; it was much more than willing to take its pleasure from the very person whom she had hurt so much.
Benezia pulled away once more. "Wait—just… wait," she said, an audible tremble in her voice that was not derived from frustration or self-loathing, as she thought it should; instead, she knew, her voice shook in an effort to contain what was undeniably arousal.
Aethyta had always been rather impatient, so it should not have surprised Benezia that her words were met with only the briefest of pauses. While Benezia took the time away from the kiss to close her eyes and catch her breath, she could already feel Aethyta begin to tease her nipples through the fabric of her dress. It began with the simplest of grazes across each breast. If it had been anyone other than Aethyta, Benezia might have thought the initial touch an accident. Of course, Benezia knew better, and besides, she didn't have to wait long before she could feel Aethyta begin to trace more purposeful circles just across where the dress was most taut. She felt her nipples stiffen at the touch, all hope of regaining control of her body, lost.
She opened her eyes to see Aethyta gazing down at her breasts, the glassy look of desire painted over her face. Benezia let out a small gasp of pleasure at the slight pinch and twist Aethyta gave to each tip that she had teased forth, and with it, Benezia became completely undone. She slipped a hand amongst the peaks of Aethyta's crest, pulling her in for another kiss. It was deep and hard and rough, and Benezia could feel the low groan in Aethyta's chest through the kiss as she pulled them into an almost crushing embrace.