Page 36 of Ozma

He ran a hand over her damp hair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“You already know Reva and I constantly ran from things.” She bit the inside of her cheek and listened to the slight movement of the water beside them.

“But you never mentioned if you’d been hurt while there,” Jack said softly.

Perhaps it would help for her to talk about her experience more instead of keeping such a tight hold on it. After Thelia had pulled them out of the darkness with her magic, Ozma hadn’t been able to think about how she truly felt. There had been too many important tasks that needed to get done, beginning with her short journey with Reva before parting ways.

“At first, yes. Mostly scratches and cuts, but I was also bitten a few times. That’s when Reva taught me how to climb trees quickly. Up in the branches, I could steer creatures away from Reva. Other times, she would do the same for me.”

“I’m glad you had someone there with you.” His gaze connected with hers, as they lay on the ground on their sides, and the edges of his lips tilted upward. “Your eyes are even brighter under this light. I like them.”

Ozma frowned. “Because they remind you of Tip?”

“No,” he drawled. “because they’reyours.”

Before she could speak, he placed that finger over her lips and continued, “It’s not just your eyes I like.” His hand drifted into her hair. “The color of your hair Ilike, your blossom scent Ilike, your height Ilike, the way your body arches into mine Ilike. Do you want me to go on?”

Her heart pounded faster than it had this whole time, even more so than when she’d been falling down the hole.

“Have you …tumbledanyone before?” Jack cleared his throat as if he were hesitant to ask. He’d never used that term when talking about sex—only she had.

“No, I’ve neverfuckedanyone.”Not in this body anyway.

“Ah, a beautiful word from a beautiful mouth.” Jack’s hand slid down her side until it rested at her waist. His nose brushed softly over her lips, his mouth came next, his lips grazing over hers so gently that she wasn’t sure if she’d felt them at all.

With a light touch, Jack’s other hand moved up to her neck before skimming the curve of her ear. Her body arched into his. For now, there was no way out of this hole, and there was a possibility that they would die down here. If so, then Jack would never get to be free. And neither would she. But perhaps for a while, they could be. She could pretend they weren’t trapped, just as she had in the pumpkin patch when Mombi’s barrier had kept her hidden.

Jack’s mouth hovered over hers, and he lightly licked her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. “I forgot to mention that Ilikethe way you taste.”

Done with words, she gripped his hair and kissed him. Slow, too slow, agonizingly slow, but she wanted to taste as much of him as she could before devouring him. A low groan escaped his throat when her tongue entered his mouth, caressing his.

As Jack’s lips and tongue lit her body aflame, his cock swelled against her stomach. She wanted to know what it would be like to have his length inside her, how it would feel when she stretched for the first time. Reva had explained to her how tumbling worked as a female, but listening was different than experiencing.

“You’re not close enough, Blossom,” he rasped, placing her leg around his waist.

“More,” she whispered as her center rubbed against his cock.

In a quick swoop, Jack lifted her into his lap and pressed his back against the cave wall. Ozma moaned when his hardness settled perfectly against her core.

As she rolled her hips forward, they both released moans that reverberated around them. Jack’s finger glided down the valley between her breasts to slightly above the aching spot between her legs.

“Can I touch you?” he asked, kissing her until both their lips were swollen.

“Please,” she murmured, unable to deny whatever he asked right then. “It’s been far too long.”

Jack froze, halting her from shifting her hips forward again. “What did you say?”

Ozma took a deep swallow, playing back what she’d said, realizing what she’d done wrong.

“You’re a liar,” Jack said in a low voice. He licked his lower lip and studied her with an intensity that she couldn’t begin to describe. “A pretty liar. Lie to me again. Lie to me for all eternity as long as you’re here with me.Alive.”

That finger went up again over her lips, trapping her words in. But she didn’t have any to say as they were lodged in her throat, her head, her heart.

“Tell me the truth so I can fuck you however you want. I can’t go along with this charade anymore, and before I worship all of you, you need to know that I already knew. Until the day I die, I will never stop fucking lovingyou.” Tears welled in his eyes after he said the last word, his voice a whisper.

Her hands shook, the sentence finally forming as she moved to get off of him and stood. She could tell he wanted to hold her down, but instead, he got up directly across from her.

“You know I’m Tip.” Her voice came out shaky.

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