Chapter 1366
He pushed her against the half-finished frame of a wall, tugged her wrap aside, and slid inside her with a low groan. She gasped and laughed and held tight to the frame as he moved deep and slow. Her eyes never left his.
And when she came, she whispered, "This is ours."
All around them, the others worked and loved in tandem. Grace straddled Natalie under a tree, the two of them covered in leaves and kisses. Scarlet and Stella built a corner frame then collapsed into it, grinding against each other with shared moans. Emma climbed up behind Zoey as she tied a beam and fucked her from behind with her fingers, breath hot against her neck.
By the time the sun began to set, the foundation of their new home was glowing - not with tools, but with touch. Every beam, every corner, every root held the mark of their bodies.
And when darkness fell, they gathered in the center again, beneath the open sky.
Rose stepped forward. "Tonight, we don’t wait for her. Tonight, we give her what we are. Together."
And as they fell together again - twelve women and one man - the spiral lit up above them in the stars.
They moved like water.
There was no beginning and no end, only the rhythm - the soft rustle of skin against skin, the flutter of lips trailing down a spine, the breathless gasp as mouths met in the dark. Jude lay on his back at the center of the circle, his chest rising and falling slowly, body marked with the lingering warmth of every kiss, every touch, every whispered promise. The ground beneath him was soft with moss and roots, cradling him as though the earth itself had opened to receive them.
Lucy straddled him first again, her hair wild and unbound, falling in a curtain around their faces. She lowered herself onto him in a slow, aching slide, sighing his name into his mouth. Her hands pressed against his chest, grounding herself as she began to ride him, slow and steady, hips rolling with the grace of a wave meeting shore. Around them, the others began to stir, drawn like moths to flame.
Sophie kissed Lucy’s shoulder and then leaned down to kiss Jude, their mouths brushing in a long, lingering connection. Behind them, Zoey and Emma were already tangled, Zoey pressed against a tree, her head thrown back in a silent cry as Emma’s fingers slid between her legs.
The heat spread quickly, deepening. Grace and Natalie had knelt at Jude’s sides, each kissing along his arms, their lips soft and reverent. Scarlet slid between his legs, her mouth hot and hungry on his thigh, teasing, while Stella pressed herself to his side, nuzzling her cheek to his ribs, whispering to herself in a language the island seemed to breathe along with.