Everything that Gia had been thinking or observing -- how warm Daphina's remaining hand was in hers, how smooth her lips had seemed under her finger, the amusement at the pout that had come once she stopped biting -- ground to a halt that was so loud Gia was sure it should've been heard in the room. It should've been heard all over the castle when she realized that Daphina was leaning closer. When she kissed her, Gia couldn't have moved away if she'd wanted to, and she very much didn't want to. It wasn't until there was a space between their lips again that Gia even realized Daphina had placed a finger on her jaw. She wasn't going to complain about that, either. A giddy part of her mind thought that she wouldn't have complained about anything Daphina did so long as it didn't involve running away.
After Daphina apologized, if it was a true apology, Gia stared at her with a strange sort of wonder. When had a woman ever kissed her instead of the other way around? Had that ever happened? No, normally she was the one to make the first move as it was, the one to cross that line, and it was a very special sort of thrilling to be the one who was kissed first. It did away with the sense of guilt she got when she kissed women who weren't Eileen. For whatever reason she didn't feel that as she continued to look at Daphina, her hand going up to brush a stray piece of hair behind one reddened ear, using it as an excuse to touch the skin there and just behind the ear. Soft, as she said.
"Why apologize?" she asked, her voice more hushed than it had been before, though her eyes were doubtlessly sparkling and she had a silly sort of smile on her face. "I believe I have been flirting with you since you responded to my first question." She'd been trying to at least. It seemed she had succeeded. "And if you must apologize, then I will have to plead your pardon." Gia couldn't have cared less if the whole court had suddenly poured into the library, she was claiming a longer kiss; partially because she couldn't deny how much she wanted it, and partially to reveal in the amazement that she didn't feel her usual guilt.