Chapter 1718
Sophie’s back was to him, the wind tossing her dark curls around her bare shoulders. She wore nothing but a wrap of palm leaves across her chest, her legs long and bare, skin painted silver beneath the moonlight. She didn’t turn when he approached, but he knew she had heard him. She always did.
"I couldn’t sleep," he said, stopping just beside her.
"Neither could I," she replied softly.
For a moment, they just stood there, listening to the sea’s ancient lullaby.
Then she turned to him, and he saw the shadows in her eyes - not fear, not doubt, but weight. She was thinking. Feeling. Her hand lifted and rested gently against his chest, over his heart. "We’ve changed everything," she whispered. "I don’t even remember who I was before the island."
Jude covered her hand with his. "You were brave. You were fierce. You still are."
She looked up at him. "But now I’m also... part of this. Part of something I can’t control."
"You don’t have to control it," he said. "We just have to move with it. Trust it. Trust each other."
Her lips parted, and her breath caught. "Do you still see me?" she asked. "Not as part of them. Just me?"
He stepped closer, his hands rising to cup her face. "Always."
The kiss she gave him wasn’t hesitant. It was deep. Searching. Her body melted into his, warm and trembling. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer, her breath hot against his skin. The heat between them flared fast, drawn from longing and something older - something made of memory and need. He lifted her in one motion, her legs curling around his waist, and carried her toward the stone outcropping that overlooked the ocean.