I hear Jo’s sharp intake of air.
A second later, I feel the faint brush of her fingertips against my abs. Sliding down the indentations. Stopping just shy of my hips.
My pulse is roaring between my ears. I can barely formulate a coherent thought. All I can think about its getting my hands on her skin, touching every conceivable part of her until I’ve memorized them by heart.
Stepping closer to her, I bring our bodies flush. In my eagerness, I smack my head against the low ceiling of the cabin.
“Fuck!”
Jo giggles at me.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?”
“Yeah,” she laughs. “I really do.”
Growling playfully in retribution, I toss her onto the bed and follow her down. Our laughter is quickly forgotten as our bare bodies collide. I brace myself on top of her, staring down into her face.
“Jo,” I breathe. “My Jo.”
This time, she doesn’t pull away.
This time, she brushes her lips against mine, wraps her arms around my back, and pulls me closer.
“My Archer,” she echoes, kissing me again.
In the dark bunk, we explore each other like adventurers discovering new lands, using all our senses to drink each other in. I kiss her everywhere, reveling in the sound of her moans as I bring her to the brink of pleasure with my mouth between her legs. Feeling a thrill while I watch her hands fist in the crisp white sheets as her first ever orgasm rocks through her like an earthquake.
The more we touch, the more the need to be inside her grows. I’m panting hard when she retrieves the condom from the pocket of my discarded pants. As she rolls it onto my shaft, she keeps her eyes locked on mine.
“Are you sure about this?” I grit out between clenched teeth. “If you’re not, if this is moving too fast—”
“It’s not too fast,” she breathes, pulling me on top of her. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for eighteen years.”
“Me too.”
My mouth brushes hers lightly. “This might hurt, Jo. If it does, just tell me to stop.”
“I trust you, Archer.”
Our eyes never shift as I push slowly inside her. We both gasp as our bodies join. She’s so tight, it makes my eyes water. Pleasure shoots through my veins. I wonder if this is what it’s like to do heroin — this sudden rush of extreme elation, this incomparable joy.
She cries out in sudden pain. Instantly, I go still. It takes all my strength not to move; to fight against the urge to drive inside her, burying myself to the hilt.
“Jo?”
Her voice is tight. “I’m okay.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m good. Just…” She’s looking up at me with so much trust, it slays me. “Just go slow.”
I nod. “Okay.Okay. I can do that.”
For Jo, I can do that.
It’s not my first time, but it might as well be. This, now, is nothing like I experienced with Sienna. It’s not even in the same realm of existence.
As the pain subsides and we begin to move together in earnest, Jo comes alive beneath me. Our hands grip hard enough to bruise as we both edge closer to the precipice of desire. And when I thrust fully into her, letting her have my length in its entirety, we tumble over that precipice together, free-falling into the depths, crying out for each other in the dark.
I love you,I think in the aftermath of our union, holding her tight. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
I’m not sure why I don’t say it aloud. Why I don’t tell her exactly how I’m feeling.