[b]Ella nearly fainted as Marken kissed her again, breathing in and almost forgetting to breathe out. It took much of her mental strength to retrain herself to breathe properly while they rubbed their lips together, her fingers lightly digging into the back of his shirt to keep anchor on him.

Would Marken rub his tongue on her lips like last time, Ella wondered, and what possessed him to do that? While she liked the feeling of his tongue gently rubbing on her lips, she really had no knowledge as to why he would want to do more beyond pressing lips together; no one really bothered to clarify much about intimacy to the young woman up until now.

All Ella knew was that having Marken back to his teasing self was so wonderful. His kisses and warm hands on her chin and in her hair encouraged her to continue the gentle battle, her body lightly pressing against his as they both sought comfort and intimacy from each other. [/b]