I walked over to the mini fridge tucked against the far wall beside my potting station. I pulled out a chilled bottle of water, the condensation instantly beading against my warm skin, and brought it back to her.
She took it with a grateful smile, her fingers brushing mine. The brief contact sent a jolt of static up my arm. I watched her unscrew the cap and take a long drink, my eyes tracking the movement of her throat. I had to force myself to look away before my thoughts spiraled into territory I was supposed to be keeping strictly off-limits.
“Thank you,” she sighed, lowering the bottle. “So, if the stones are the map, what else do you keep in here?”
I grinned, feeling a surge of pride. “Let me show you.”
I gestured for her to follow me, leading her away from the rock garden and deeper into the glass structure. The air here was thicker, richer, smelling of damp soil and blooming things.
“These aren’t from Earth,” I explained, gesturing to a row of broad-leafed plants with a faint, bioluminescent purple glow along their veins. “When our ancestors fled through the FirstCrossing, they didn’t just bring weapons and texts. The early Taurus refugees brought seedlings preserved in stasis.”
She stepped closer to the glowing leaves, her face bathed in the soft, otherworldly violet light. “You managed to grow them? After thousands of years?”
“It took generations of cultivation. The soil here had to be magically altered, infused with the specific mineral compositions of the home worlds. But yes. They survived.”
I took her deeper into the greenhouse, where the canopy grew dense and wild. We walked beneath towering trees that stretched toward the glass ceiling, their long, sweeping branches hanging down like curtains of emerald and silver moss, cutting us off from the rest of the world.
Jupiter was completely captivated. She walked backward, her eyes darting up to the sweeping branches, her hands gesturing as her brilliant mind worked through the logistics.
“But if the magical composition of the soil is different, how do they photosynthesize? Earth’s sun emits a completely different spectrum of light than the stars of the Aelari systems. Do you have to simulate the solar radiation, or did they adapt to?—“
She misjudged her steps. Her heel caught on an uneven patch of mossy paving stones, and she stumbled backward, bumping right into my chest. I caught her instantly, hands gripping her waist to steady her. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs in a soft gasp. For a second, neither of us moved. The world outside the greenhouse ceased to exist.
Jupiter slowly tilted her head up, her back still pressed against my chest, and then turned in my grip so we were fully facing each other. The air between us suddenly felt as thick as molasses, charged with a crackling energy that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. She stared up into my eyes, her silver irises swirling like a supernova.
I looked down at her parted lips, and something inside me simply snapped. The iron-clad control I’d promised my father, the cautious pacing Lucas demanded, shattered under the crushing weight of how much I wanted her.
I moved my right hand from her waist, bringing it up to cup her face. My large, calloused palm swallowed her delicate cheek, thumb resting just beneath her lower lip. I leaned down, pressing my mouth to hers. I kept the kiss achingly gentle for the first fraction of a second, giving her the time and space to pull away, to push me back, to tell me no. I braced myself for the rejection, knowing I would respect it instantly.
But she didn’t pull away.
Instead, a soft, desperate groan vibrated in the back of her throat, spilling directly into my mouth. Her hands came up, not to push me away, but to grip the front of my shirt. Her palms then slid up my hard abdomen, her fingers curling into the fabric as she pulled herself flush against my body.
The feel of her soft curves pressing into my torso was too much. My cock swelled instantly, a heavy, aching throb that strained against my trousers. I deepened the kiss, my restraint entirely fucking obliterated. I kissed her hard, parting her lips with my tongue and tasting the sweet, cool water she had just drank mixed with her own intoxicating flavor. She tasted like starlight and rain even though it was absurd to even think. I slid my other hand to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her long, messy dark hair, holding her exactly where I needed her.
She kissed me back, her hands sliding up my chest to wrap around my neck. She stood on her tiptoes, angling her head to give me deeper access, tongue tangling with mine. When the need for oxygen finally became unbearable, I tore my mouth away, resting my forehead against hers. We were both panting, our breaths mingling in the humid air between us. I kept my eyesclosed, my thumb gently stroking her cheekbone, terrified that if I looked at her, I would see regret.
“Jupiter, I?—”
“Don’t apologize,” she whispered. Her hands were still locked behind my neck, her thumbs tracing the tense muscles of my shoulders. “Phoenix, look at me.”
I opened my eyes. Her silver gaze was blown wide, pupils dilated, lips swollen and shining from my mouth. There was no regret.
“I’m not sorry,” I told her honestly. “I’ve wanted to do that since the moment you walked into the gala, and that makes me the biggest bastard.”
She grinned. “You hide it well. I thought you were just being polite. The strong, silent protector type.”
“When it comes to you, my thoughts areanythingbut polite.”
Her breath hitched, her eyes darkening with a fresh wave of desire. But I could also see the exhaustion lingering beneath the surface. I’d crossed a line, and while she welcomed it, I knew I couldn’t push her further. Not quite yet.
I gently untangled her arms from my neck, pressing a lingering, tender kiss to her knuckles before releasing her hands. “I should let you get back to your tower. Before Noodle decides I’m a threat and bites me.”
As if on cue, the black mamba’s sleek head poked out from the canopy of ferns a few feet away. His vertical pupils fixed on me with a distinctly judgmental stare.
Jupiter laughed, and once again it made my heart stumble. “He likes you, actually. Which is saying a lot, because he hates almost everyone.” She took a small step back, smoothing down the front of her sweater, though the flush on her cheeks remained. “Thank you, Phoenix. For the…uh… water. And for showing me the garden. It’s pretty damn awesome.”
“Anytime, love. The greenhouse is always open to you.”
