Chapter 1089
Rose smiled, brushing hair from Grace’s face. "You will."
The kiss was gentle at first, sweet, almost tentative. But it deepened quickly, pulling Grace under like the river beside them. She didn’t resist. She couldn’t. Her body moved on its own, desperate and aching. When they returned to camp, the fire had died down. Only Jude remained awake, standing with his arms crossed.
He saw the way Grace walked now. Like she floated. He saw how she brushed her fingers along Zoey’s back, how she leaned into Natalie’s neck, how she kissed Layla without hesitation before slipping into one of the hammocks.
"She’s gone," Sophie said behind him.
Jude nodded slowly. "We’re losing them too fast."
Stella came next.
It was subtle, like a gentle tide. She had always been affectionate, always eager to touch, to hold, to tease. But after one afternoon spent alone with Natalie in the eastern part of the woods, she returned glowing, eyes glassy, voice lower.
She kissed Jude that night with more intensity than usual, her fingers trailing over his skin with a hunger that made his breath catch. He tried to pretend it was just her love. Her passion. But when she pulled back and whispered in his ear, "We can be so much more," he knew she’d changed.
Even her laughter had shifted, richer, darker, fuller.
That night, they made love under the stars, Stella riding him slow and deep, her eyes never leaving his. Her touch was divine, her rhythm maddening, and for a moment, he forgot everything else. He surrendered to her completely. Afterward, as she curled into his chest, he almost convinced himself it was all in his head.
Until she whispered, "She’ll come for Sophie soon."