Chapter 1316
By the time dawn bled pale gold into the sky, the entire grove was trembling with life. It wasn’t just the roots beneath them or the branches swaying with more awareness than wind could cause - it was the rhythm. Everything moved to it now. Jude lay beneath the canopy of tangled limbs, lips, and breath, his body claimed and re-claimed, not in conquest but in communion. He had been filled, emptied, worshipped, and reborn, and still the desire burned like sacred fire in his core.
Emma sat astride his waist, not moving, just resting her hands on his chest as she looked down at him. Her hair was damp with dew, her thighs streaked with the traces of all their shared pleasures. Her eyes were calm, but hungry.
"You’re not tired," she whispered, not as a question.
"No," he admitted.
She smiled. "Good."
Her hips began to move. Slowly. Deliciously. She was soaked, ready, and he slipped into her like home. She gasped, but didn’t speak. Her hands flattened on his chest as she rolled her hips in slow circles, grinding down, riding him with the grace of a storm just before it broke.
Around them, the others stirred.
Sophie stretched, arching her spine like a cat, then turned and kissed Lucy deeply, her hand already sliding between Lucy’s thighs. Stella and Grace had fallen asleep tangled together but were waking now, their kisses sleepy and soft, hands moving without hesitation. Zoey and Natalie were nestled together, whispering, their fingers still exploring lazy paths across bare skin.
But it was Emma who held Jude’s world in that moment. She rode him with control and intention, every thrust slow, every shift of her weight pushing him deeper into her wet heat. Her nipples dragged across his chest, her breath catching on every grind.
"Feel that?" she whispered, leaning down to kiss his throat.
"Yes," he groaned. "Fuck, Emma... you feel perfect."