he needed this as much as I did. With every sweep of his tongue, I can feel that he was just as torn, worried, and relieved to see me as I was to see him.
The need for more begins to build low in my stomach, tingling up into my lips and snaking out into my tongue. But I feel another hand thread through my hair, pulling out the strands until they’re hanging loose at my back. The next thing I know, Iceman’s cool lips pull away and in their place is the taste of masculine, carefree summer air. I don’t need to open my eyes to know it’s now Crux’s mouth fused to mine, confessing wordless emotion. His forked and pierced tongue is very obvious and fills me with excitement.
I can feel his longing and his relief pour into me with each nip of his teeth and stroke of his pierced tongue against mine. Unspoken promises are exchanged between us as he deepens the kiss and stokes a hunger that’s unfurling inside of me like a lotus to the sun.
“Alright already,” Echo declares impatiently, and in a breath, Crux is pulled away from me on a chuckle. Echo’s shadows caress my jaw, guiding my face and eyes to the right, where he’s waiting for me. He doesn’t pull me to him and devour me the way the flash of heat in his eyes says he wants to. Instead, he studies me for a moment, his shadows tracing the planes of my face, like he needs to memorize me in this moment.
“We’re so sorry we almost lost you,” he says quietly.
I shake my head, not liking the blame I can feel he’s holding onto. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m here. I’m okay,” I reassure him.
He nods and steps into me, pressing his forehead against mine, like my words are the balm he’s been in desperate need of. He kisses me, and it’s flavored with the gaping hole in his chest that he felt when he thought I’d been taken. I feel it with every stroke of his shadows as they move against my skin with reverence.
His tongue meets mine, and I can discern panic and loss and worry in his taste. I savor the peace that comes over him as he moves his hands from my waist up the naked skin of my back and consumes me the way his black eyes always promised me he would.
I’m lost to his pull as he kisses me and molds my body to his. He holds me like we were made to fit together and kisses me with a fervor that makes it clear that he’s never going to lose me again.
All at once, Echo pulls away from me and steps to the side, leaving Jerif’s heated body in his wake. I look over at Jerif, my lips pink and tingling, and his gaze holds me captive. He steps closer to me, wrapping his warm hands around my waist, and I don’t miss the shiver that runs through him as he presses me against him. I see passion in his fiery eyes, but I also see fear and vulnerability.
I wrap my hands around the back of his neck a little shyly, trying to get used to the feel of him in my arms. I’m not sure how to react to his proximity and willingness. There’s a momentary stiffness between us, like we’re both asking each other with our bodies if this is okay. Was the loss and sadness we felt as we watched each other almost die true? Are we ready to embrace the realizations we felt in those moments that, thankfully, weren’t our last?
What happened in the Vestibule changed everything. It opened my eyes and made room for my wants in a staggering way. I can feel Jerif’s hand gently rub my lower back, and I know that what happened changed how he sees things too.
Not wanting to waste another second, I wrap my palm around the back of his neck and pull him down to me. I kiss him softly, tentatively. I brush my lips against his, letting our mouths get familiar, giving him time to think about what this means and changes between us. I expect his kisses to slowly grow more confident and for us to find our rhythm together, but instead, he shocks the hell out of me by running his fingers up my sides and tracing the curves of my breasts with his thumbs.