Page 59 of The Mercy Makers
“Singix and I will be out in a little bit,” she says with a teasing smile.
As Amaranth snorts, she’s hit in the shoulder with her robe, thrown by a fed-up Sidoné.
Iriset returns her full attention to Singix, finding that the Ceres woman has been staring at her this whole time with parted lips. Iriset reaches to cup her jaw, skimming her smooth, dewy skin with a thumb. “Let me, Princess.”
“I—I’m getting married in three days.”
“You’re getting married inthree days.” Iriset smiles. “Until then, your love is your own to give.”
Singix hesitates still, but she leans her jaw against Iriset’s palm. Iriset slides her hand back, tickling Singix’s earlobe, scratching gently at her hairline. “I want to taste that ghost writing,” Iriset says softly. “You’re so elegant, and I like you, Singix Es Sun. You’re funny, and brave, and you deserve to be happy, to know a little of what your body likes beforehand. You know about the exchange of design eggs, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Singix’s eyes are closed. The peach-petal flush on her cheeks blossoms across her collarbone like a necklace of kisses. “But I don’t understand how it works.”
“Oh, I am a thorough teacher,” Iriset murmurs, composing her lecture as she speaks. “Listen to this, beautiful: While there are several kinds of marriage rites recognized in the empire, the Silent Marriage is considered to be the most intimate and important. Any two people—and occasionally four people—may go through the rite, so long as each fully consents.” Iriset brushes her thumb along Singix’s temple. “The mutual consent is important, for any dissolution of the bond requires mutual consent as well. This is because the rite literally takes two—or four—inner designs and joins them into a singular bound design.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Only death and unraveling can destroy the bond.”
Singix shivers, lashes fluttering. She does not open her eyes.
“To prepare, each individual undergoes purification rituals to display their inner design’s most singular elements so the priests can create what is known as a design egg. Each individual brings their egg to the marriage rite, and… well, honestly, Princess, the only important part is placing one’s egg within the body of the other.” Iriset draws her hand from Singix’s hair andtouches her thumb to the corner of Singix’s mouth. “All humans have some projectile anatomy—finger, tongue, genitalia, elbows or toes or thumbs.” She smiles and presses her thumb just a little harder, parting Singix’s lips. “And all humans have multiple orifices.”
The princess’s lips open wider with a quiet gasp. Iriset leaves her thumb where it is and watches Singix open her lovely dark eyes. They’re bright and nearly unfocused, but she stares at Iriset like Iriset is the silver-pink moon of Aharté.
Iriset keeps her voice gentle and hot. “It’s entirely possible to share the eggs through any, though I’ve never heard of anyone inserting an egg into, say, a nostril. However, theoretically, it should work, and if it were my rite, I would argue to try the nostril approach. For science,” she says with a little smirk.
Singix huffs, tilting her face into Iriset’s hand. “Ah. Ah… how can you make it sound so… clinical, and at the same time so…”
“Erotic?”
The princess shakes her head slowly. “I don’t know that word, but it must be the right one.”
“Erotic. Sensually arousing. Titillating. Explicit. Carnal.”
Singix presses her hands to her mouth, and then surges to her feet. Iriset scrambles to back up from the sloshing water, though there’s nothing to splash except her bare skin. She catches Singix’s elbows and the princess kisses her. Tries to. It’s a little like being gently punched in the mouth.
Before Iriset functionally returns it, Singix backs off. Her eyes are huge and she breathes quickly. “I understand your meaning, Iriset. No—no penetration. That is for the marriage rite. The seeds. None of your—your projectiles or mine, in… side… our…”
“Orifices?” Iriset smiles slowly and Singix giggles, squeezing her eyes shut. Iriset says, “Very well. I won’t go inside you and you won’t go inside me. No penetration. And you’ll see how much fun it can still be.”
Singix shivers and Iriset squeezes her elbows. “And I’ll know how it’s different for my body with a changed inner design, once I’m married.”
“That’s right. And you’ll describe it to me in detail, yes? Let me trace the new pattern of forces?”
“I can beyourteacher then,” Singix says so breathily and brave that Iriset is impressed she managed all the words.
Then the princess kisses her again.
It’s just lips at first, gentle, shy. Singix clasps her own hands together against her own throat, and Iriset holds her elbows. Though they’re the same height, Singix stands in the tub, and it gives her a little advantage. Only their lips brush together, and Iriset opens her mouth, getting a first taste of Singix’s bottom lip. She kisses the corner of that pretty mouth, then kisses one high cheek, and right next to her ear. As she leans in, Singix’s nipples skim against the top of Iriset’s breasts and Singix gasps, fingers clenching together.
Iriset kisses her neck and puts her hands around Singix, pressing them together. They’re soft and wet and warm, with the rim of the tub between their legs. Iriset gently scratches her nails along Singix’s spine, tasting the floral oils and perfumed water dripping down her neck. Her hair smells like citrusy Ceres incense. When Iriset’s hands reach Singix’s bottom, she grips the muscles, pulling Singix closer, and dips her fingers to the fold where ass meets thigh. “Out,” she murmurs, and Singix nods. Iriset hauls her up.
Singix squeaks and throws her arms around Iriset’s neck. It’smessy, but when Singix’s feet are on the tiles, Iriset kisses her mouth again, and it is so very hard not to push her tongue in, widen the kiss, make it deep and sucking and delicious—but she promised. Instead she nibbles at Singix’s lips, licks just a little under her chin, and Singix obligingly lifts it. Iriset kisses down her throat and Singix trembles, hugging Iriset with her head thrown back. Singix exhales a quiet whimper, and Iriset kisses her collarbone, bites the swooping edge of clavicle, then sucks lightly. If only she could give over completely, shove Singix down and do whatever she liked, whatever she needed. Lose herself in this princess.
Finding Singix’s hands, she brings them to her ribs, pressing, asking Singix to touch. Iriset nudges one up, putting her right breast in Singix’s palm. Her nipple is pebbled already, and Iriset hisses a little in pleasure. She draws Singix’s palm away, putting her fingers against the nipple instead. She rolls it on Singix’s finger, then arches her back, offering. Singix takes the nipple and pinches. “Yes,” Iriset murmurs, pinching her own left nipple, tugging. She wants to be fucked, but this is good, too.
The princess takes both of Iriset’s breasts, staring at her own hands like they don’t belong to her, and plays gently, too gently, but Iriset can already feel wet heat gathering at one particular orifice, the ache in her pelvic floor begging for friction and pressure. Iriset watches the play of wonder and thrill across Singix’s face, the spark in her eyes and damp lower lip. Singix runs her hands all over Iriset’s front, exploring. This slow, gentle teasing isn’t Iriset’s style unless she’s taking notes, and she’s going to start squirming any moment.
Abruptly, Iriset bends and puts her mouth right over one of Singix’s breasts and sucks the nipple in. “Ah!” Singix says, grabbing Iriset’s head. Iriset flicks her tongue and sucks harder, and Singix’s fingers dig into Iriset’s half-knotted hair.
The damp skin is overwhelmingly nice in her mouth, filling her nose with bathwater scent. She fits her lips around as much of the flesh as she can, gently, the flat of her tongue to the hard nipple. She holds on to Singix’s soft waist. Singix is pressing her hips toward her in little thrusts.
