Chapter 1233

Jude had one arm wrapped around Sophie, her hair trailing across his chest, the other stretched to where Lucy's fingers laced with his. On his legs, Susan rested, drawing lazy shapes into his thigh, her smile barely a curve but deep with satisfaction. Grace and Layla were curled up beside him in a tangle of kisses and whispers, while Rose and Zoey lay opposite, their bodies entwined in silent conversation of skin and breath. Stella was perched slightly above them, braiding Emma's hair with such delicate care that neither of them noticed Natalie climbing over to stretch across all three of them with feline ease.

They were a constellation of limbs and mouths, warmth and wanting, and nothing in the world outside this island had ever felt more distant.

Eventually, Jude sat up.

The movement was small, barely a ripple among them, but it made the others stir. Lucy's eyes met his first, and she nodded. "We should see it."

The new island.