Chapter 1457
The moss was still damp beneath Jude’s back as he lay there, limbs entwined with Grace and Zoey, Stella draped across his chest, Natalie nestled between his legs, her head resting on his thigh. None of them spoke. They didn’t need to. Their breath was a shared rhythm, like a slow tide washing over the roots of the tree that shaded them. The island seemed to breathe with them, a pulse deep under the soil that mirrored their satisfaction.
Then footsteps crunched on the path.
Jude sat up slowly, heart already leaping to his throat. The others stirred, lifting their heads lazily to look. From between the trunks, Lucy appeared first, her hair loose and falling in soft curls around her face, her lips parted slightly, her eyes glazed with something more than sleep. Behind her came Emma, her expression harder, tighter, cautious even now - but her feet moved without hesitation. And Sophie followed last, her gaze flicking between the bodies sprawled around Jude, her brows drawing together.
None of them spoke at first. The scene was too much. Raw. Sacred.
Lucy’s gaze found Jude’s immediately, and her steps didn’t falter. She walked straight toward him, dropping to her knees before he could even speak, and pulled his face to hers. Their kiss was deep, slow, burning. Not jealous. Not possessive. Just claiming. When she pulled back, she touched his cheek gently. "I felt you," she whispered. "Even before I opened my eyes. I knew where you were."
Emma approached more slowly. Her eyes lingered on Grace’s naked form curled against Jude’s side, then on Stella’s languid stretch, the sheen of sweat on Natalie’s thighs. Her jaw clenched once.
Sophie stood still, arms crossed. "Is this it now? This is what we are?"
Jude looked at her, his throat dry. "It’s not about what we are. It’s what the island is making us become."
Emma crouched beside Lucy and brushed her fingers through Jude’s hair. "You don’t look different. You don’t feel... gone."