Chapter 1357

The light spilled through the trees like honey, thick and golden, warming their skin where it touched bare shoulders and thighs still damp from pleasure. The spiral on the tree shimmered with each beam of sunlight, pulsing slowly, rhythmically - as if it had taken on the cadence of their breath. Jude sat at its base, Lucy nestled against his chest, her fingers tracing slow spirals over his skin as if mimicking the mark behind them.

The others stirred in quiet waves, stretching, brushing against one another, kisses shared like morning greetings. No one rushed. There was no urgency anymore. Just gravity, gentle and inescapable, drawing them back together with soft smiles and roaming hands.

Sophie stood first, completely naked, wild-haired and flushed, the light catching on her collarbones and the inside of her thighs. She raised her arms and looked skyward, breathing deeply like the forest had become lungs they shared.

"She's listening," Sophie murmured.