Page 122 of The Heart of Winter

"But they’re not zero."

Winter shook his head. "Sariel, for our own good, we shouldn’t count on it. If we let ourselves believe, and it turns out not to be true, it’ll hurt like hell. Can you do that for me?"

In a way, he was right. It was safer to be cautious. The worst thing was riding on hope… only to be disappointed.

"I guess you’ve got a point," I admitted. "Better to assume it’s just a coincidence. And if it’s not, well… at least we’ll have a nice surprise."

Despite what I said, deep down, in a quiet corner of my soul, a small part of me had already started to believe. Hope raised its head and just refused to go away.

But one thing refused to go away even more stubbornly: my heat. My body, tired of waiting, stirred, impatient.

"Can we move to the mattresses now?"

Winter gave me a small smile and nodded.

I crouched down again, just to rinse off one last time, then Winter helped me climb out of the stream. I was basically hopping on one leg, which sent painful jolts through the injured ankle. It was a terrible feeling as it mixed with the heat, probably affecting it, maybe weakening it? I had no idea.

By the time we made it back to the mattresses, I was clenching my jaw again. I hated the pain, such a sharp contrast to what I’d just experienced.

Winter helped me dry off with the blanket we’d picked as our makeshift towel. It wasn’t great for the job—barely absorbed anything—but with enough rubbing, we managed.

The entire time, Winter’s cock stood proudly at attention, which honestly delighted me. Mine, despite just having come and dealing with the leg issue, showed no signs of giving up either. The power of heat!

And speaking of which, the arousal was building again, steadily, relentlessly. The blowjob had been amazing, but now a different kind of need was taking over. Something deeper. Heavier. Hungrier.

Still, I had to hold on for a few more minutes. Winter was busy stabilizing my leg again, making sure it wouldn’t move during what was coming. Every touch there made me shiver with agony, but once he adjusted it, the pain eased significantly. I figured the heat endorphins were also doing their job.

We each took a few sips of mineral water, and I popped a painkiller just to be safe.

Then we lay down on the mattresses; me on my back, Winter beside me, propped up on his elbow. It was warm enough in the cave that we could lie there naked without too much discomfort.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. We just looked at each other, waiting. But my hunger wasn’t fading. I knew it would only get worse.

"One orgasm wasn’t enough, Winter," I murmured. "The wave is getting stronger. Will you help me even more?"

"As much as I can," Winter replied, a mischievous glint in his eye.

He leaned in to kiss my neck, but I stopped him.

"Wait. I have a request. There’s something I want to see first."

Almost like having telepathy, Winter seemed to know exactly what I meant.

"Why are you so curious about that?"

"I have a suspicion about the color."

Winter stifled a laugh, what came out was youthful, almost boyish. "Seriously? That’s what you’re most interested in right now?"

"That… and a lot of other things. But yeah, I really want to see it."

Winter gave me a knowing smile, then slowly rolled onto his stomach. The move itself—oddly sexual, and his gaze, as he did it, was nothing short of seductive. Yup, I so enjoyed this another side of him!

Fascinated, I sat up, carefully sliding lower, doing my best not to strain the injured leg, though it wasn’t easy.

I glanced at Winter's perfectly round, yet firm ass cheeks and placed my hands there, fingers splayed. I gradually spread the white mounds apart, revealing his hole.

Wow, I couldn't help but marvel. Just as I'd suspected, the surrounding tissue had the same pearly color, tinged with a light pink, like his nipples. It resembled a small, closed jasmine bud.

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