The forest pulsed in quiet rhythm, the island alive beneath their bodies, its breath mingling with theirs in the golden afterglow.
The air shimmered with heat and pollen, a heady blend of nature and intimacy that settled into every inch of Jude's skin.
He lay there among them, not just loved but worshiped, not just needed but essential - no longer a visitor or a question, but the answer they'd all grown into.
Lucy stirred first. Her hand slid along his ribs, fingertips featherlight. "There's something beneath us," she murmured, her voice drowsy but curious. "Not just roots. It's deeper."
Rose was already sitting up, her body draped in gold light like a goddess reborn. "I felt it too. While you were inside me," she said, her voice low and warm. "It hummed louder when we touched."
Jude pushed up onto his elbows, muscles trembling with satisfaction and something more primal. "Like the ground was singing?"