He threw his head back as she circled her hips, a moan tearing from her lips. “You’re so pretty like that,” he said. “Make that noise again for me.”
So she did.
His fingers dug into her hips, words falling from his lips that only spun her higher and higher.
Fuck.
Perfect.
Yes.
Aesira.
Aesira.
Aesira.
Her palms pressed into his chest, her eyes on his and it was like he could read every thought, every worry she had, but he brushed his lips over hers and her thoughts and worries vanished. She slowed her pace before he flipped her again and she was on her back. At some point his glasses must have fallen, or he took them off, she wasn't sure. All she could focus on was his face, scarred and beautiful. His breaths, sweet and heavy.
He drove into her, cupping the back of her neck, kissing her slow and firm between ragged breaths. He used his free hand to hook the back of her leg, opening her up wider, just like he said he would and that was it.
Aesira was falling, falling over the edge. Her body arching into him, molding them together as closely as she could until she was completely undone and all that was left was the beat of her heart in her ears, the rush of blood and the feel of too-hot skin. A moan broke through Stone's lips as he came, following her over that cliff, his teeth finding her shoulder, then kissing where it hurt.
He kissed her deeply before moving away and she had a thought to pull him right back. Start again. Keep him as close to her as possible.
After they cleaned themselves, she tucked herself into his chest, running her fingers along his scars as his ran lazily over her back. "Sleep," he said before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She didn't want to close her eyes. She wanted to stay awake. Memorize every scar. Commit every sound Stone made to memory. But as with everything, time moved forward and Stone drifted to sleep, his arms tight around her.
Aesira's mind raced through every moment since they left Vargah. Everything that was to come. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t help the sinking feeling that she was losing something.
Losing him.
So, instead of sleeping, she sat up and penned a letter to Kamari.
Stone’s breath was warm against her neck as Aesira woke. The light through the porthole was dim, just barely morning. She rolled toward Stone and traced a finger over his bottom lip.
“Mm,” he said, cracking an eye open. “Good morning, you’re up early.”
“Can’t sleep.” She nudged closer, her nose brushing his. The last two days had flown by and they'd been lucky to only encounter a rogue sandstorm and another hive of crawlers. Nothing theycouldn’t handle and now, they’d reach Vargah by the end of the day.
“Shall I read to you again, Commander?”
Her lips brushed his. “No,” she said. “We should get up. Help out.”
“We could do that,” he said, “or we could just stay here.” He rolled her onto her back so his body caged her beneath him. He was firm on top of her, his lips warm as he found her hand, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I have an idea of what we could do.”
He dropped her hand and reached to the small table that sat next to the bed. “What are you doing?” He held up a piece of fabric, one she recognized from flying a few weeks ago. He’d tied it around her mouth before the storm, to keep the sand out.
“Do you trust me, Commander?” His arm bracketed either side of her again, the piece of fabric laid across her bare chest.
Their trust had been tested several times over the last few weeks and even when she felt she could trust him, there was always a small doubt. He was an Odega. The very opposite of what she was trained to be, but he was also now just Stone.
Stone who pushed his glasses up even when they weren’t falling. Stone who marveled at waterfalls and moths. Stone who she caught watching her. Stone who tended to her needs as if they were his own. Stone who read to her when she was restless and eased her into a deep sleep.
She did not give her trust easily, always something to be earned. Tested. But more than anything, she wanted to give it to him. He watched her, his question suspended between them.
“I trust you, Stone.”
