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“There’s something intimate about channeling the Weave with someone,” Evie said, her own voice seeming far away. She thought she should feel embarrassed to say something like that but found only a gentle peace inside of her. Besides, Gale laughed knowingly, assuringly.
“Oh, indeed there is,” he said. Gale smiled at her and Evie drew a quick breath. She heard Gale but she could also feel some part of him, his voice or his magic, pluck at a string along the Weave that connected them when he spoke.
She looked at Gale channeling as easy as breathing, the purple lights of the Weave reflecting in his eyes and wondered distantly what it would be like to kiss him. Would he reject her - find her too cold and thorny? Or would he have that same smirk he always seemed to wear with her as he touched her chin and tilted her mouth up towards his. Maybe it could be more. Maybe his hands would slide across her body, her arms, her back, the curve of her waist, until he held her close enough that their breath seemed to come as one shared inhale.
Gale’s smile faltered. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t…I didn’t think…”
Evie felt a quick fire burst of trepidation and froze when she realized it had come from Gale. They were still connected through the Weave. He had seen the turn of her thoughts - worse, he had felt them. Goosebumps erupted on her arms though the night breeze was warm.
“Hells,” she took a step backwards. “I’m - I didn’t mean - that was an accident.”
Evie could feel Gale take hold of the Weave to keep it from falling away when she tried to let go.
“No, please, it’s alright,” Gale said in a rush. “I was just surprised. I…here -”
He placed his hand above her elbow to draw her in closer and Evie worried he would feel her pulse racing under his touch. Still, she gazed up at him, entranced by the purple lights shifting across his eyes, and waited.
Evie thought of kissing him again and hot shame flooded her system but she found she couldn’t shake the image now. The picture in her head wasn’t hers. Gale’s thoughts and intentions were making themselves known across the Weave. It was a truly baffling sensation to be looking right at Gale, feeling him touching her arm, but holding an image in her mind of his hands cradling her face, the soft press of his lips to hers.
Then his arms around her waist, kissing her with more urgency, heat building between them as they came together and apart. Evie’s real lips parted around a gasp and she saw Gale’s dark eyes fall to her mouth.
She glanced at the campfire and could see her companions eating and chatting but she could feel Gale’s lips traveling up her neck. It felt so real she nearly tilted her head back to give him more room. She stepped in closer, tangling her fingers in the front of Gale’s shirt, and as she felt more of his body, her thoughts started to overlap with his.
Gale was too shy to think about anything beneath Evie’s clothes but she wasn’t. She pictured his hands skimming over her chest, feeling her through her shirt. His hand against her bare back, pressing her body to him as his mouth sank against hers. It became harder to parse what was real or imagined as Gale’s hand gripped her hip and in their shared thoughts she saw him lifting her onto a desk, her knees spread wide so he could stand between them and kiss her.
“Sorry,” Gale said quickly. The Weave seemed to evaporate around them and even though Gale was still right in front of Evie, touching her even, he seemed further away.
Evie hoped he wouldn’t notice how short of breath she was. “It’s alright. We got carried away. You didn’t mean it.”
“No, I meant it,” he said and Evie’s body pulsed with need. She thanked the gods Gale couldn’t feel it anymore. “But perhaps we could travel together a bit more before any more excursions in the Weave.”
They stepped apart and the spot on Evie’s hip that he had touched seemed to throb.
“Of course,” she said. “I, uh - goodnight, Gale.”
“Goodnight. And thank you. I enjoyed sharing a moment of magic with you.” Gale brought his mouth to her ear, his closeness making Evie shiver. “And for the record, I would kiss you any way you asked.”
His hand brushed against hers, such a soft gesture after everything he had just thought of doing to her, and left Evie to all the racing thoughts that were now entirely her own.