“You’re still so tight. Let me stretch you more.” He added another finger.

I bit down on the top of my forearm. It felt so good. It felt—oh, gods—

“Wait, stop. It’s too much. I’m gonna come.”

Claude stopped curling his fingers but didn’t remove them. “Fucking look at you.” He gazed down at me. In the dull light, it was difficult to make out his expression, but his eyes were glassy and there was a slight furrow to his brow. He looked on the brink of tears. Which was exactly how I felt. “Let’s get into position.”

I nodded, having forgotten what words were and how to use them, and I just sort of helplessly watched as Claude moved the duvet to the other side of the stone tablet. He smoothed down an area, where my ass should go, and grabbed the lube again.

I nestled into the space he’d created—my ass at one end of the tablet, Claude’s knees on the grass at the other end.

“I’m trying not to think about how my father must have done exactly this,” he said, grimacing, but laughing all the same.

“Yeah. Or how the Earth Bells are probably watching,” I added.

“I guess we’ve grown accustomed to an audience by now,” he said, and he didn’t seem slightly fazed as he squirted more lube into his palm and slicked himself up.

My eyes watched him greedily, my breath catching. I leaned back on my elbows and Claude tipped his weight forward, caging my body with his. His cock nestled against my hole.

“Um...” He swallowed. “I really hope this works, but if it doesn’t, I just wanted to say... thank you. For everything. For being you. Perfect, incredible you. And... I love you.”

“I’m sure it will work. I know it will, in fact. But even if it doesn’t, I’m not going anywhere. I want to come to this stone—and come on this stone—every six months until the end of our days.”

“Fuck,” he breathed. As though the last tether of his control had snapped, he pressed into me. “Oh, gods. Sonny, where’s that sun? This is all going to be over so quick.” It was the first time he was fucking me without a condom. I could only imagine how incredible it must feel for him.

I lifted my head up and peeked over Claude’s shoulders. “It’s getting close. The sky is orange... Any second, and...” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I didn’t even know what I was goingto say, anyway. Instead, I whined, spurring Claude to begin rocking, thrusting.

Which he did. Gently at first, as he kissed my neck. And then harder as he pushed up on his arms to gaze into my eyes. I couldn’t look away. I was so far gone for this man, so fucking in love with him.

“Claude . . . fuck, I’m . . . gonna come.”

He eased a gap between our bodies, and I snaked my hand down, wrapped it around my cock, and pumped my fist. Within seconds, my orgasm crashed over me, arching my back, whiting out my vision. Wet warmth blossomed over my hand and shot up my stomach.

Claude cradled my face, watching the show. He stilled inside me, clenched his jaw, and slammed his eyes closed as he teetered on that invisible line. One movement, one tiny stroke or muscle spasm could end this too soon. Ruin everything.

“Fuck, Sonny, you almost sent me over,” he gritted out. “You’re so... You feel so... Fuck.”

“I feel so fuck?” I asked, trying to defuse the moment, edge Claude. Only a little bit longer. The sky was getting lighter by the second.

“You feel so fucking fuck.”

I realised my legs were still wrapped around his waist, so I brought them down to make the sensation less intense for him.

“Thank you,” he breathed against my neck. “I hate edging. I just want to come. I want to come so fucking bad.”

Over his shoulder, I glimpsed the very tip of a golden speck as it crested the horizon, seemingly lighting up the entire sky, announcing the moment in magnificent fashion. “Now. You can come now. The sun—”

His hand slid around the base of my neck, and he brought his mouth up to mine. Hard. Claiming everything. “I love you,” he said, then he pulled out.

I eased up onto my elbows in enough time to watch Claude’s face crumple under his ecstasy. Silky white ribbons shot from his cock and splashed against the tablet over and over.

Like the blood from before, Claude’s release was immediately absorbed into the rock surface until it was bare again. Like he hadn’t just covered it with cum.

I sat up, reached a hand forward to touch the stone. Dry. No signs of any mess. My own cooling jizz trickled down my happy trail.

Claude let out a long, slow breath, recovering from his climax. “Did that work?” He glanced over to the spires of the house visible beyond the tree line. “Jenny?”

We both stared at the tablet, waiting for something, anything to happen. If this wasn’t the ritual, well, we were truly fucked.