(As you read this chapter, please listen to Te Extraño bachata version by Xtreme. Here's a link, https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-14MK4NWU&si=fsEhlynAIQ3GyYPZ)
The elders called for a celebration, a feast to lift the spirits of the Sanctuary's people.
The town square pulsed with life. Tables groaned beneath roasted meats, sweet breads, and honey-dripped fruits, their scents weaving through the air. Flames from the towering bonfire leapt skyward, casting dancing shadows on faces flushed with wine and rum. Musicians filled the streets with drums and guitars, weaving rhythms that stirred the soul and tethered the past to the present.
But Elena sat apart, in the cottage garden, where the scent of herb blossoms mingled with the smoke of distant fires. Sitting on a stone bench, fingertips grazing its rough surface, her heart thrumming with an unnamed dread beneath the evening's warmth. The swell of music and laughter felt like a fragile veil stretched thin over something darker… something waiting.
Jaime found her there, a gentle smile tugging at his lips as he sat beside her and lit a smoke. The glow of his embered cigarillo flickered in the growing dusk.
"Your worry is thinly veiled," he teased softly, inhaling before passing it to her, "What's stealing your peace, mi Doña?"
She gave a half-smile as she took a hit and passed it back, the crease of worry still knitting her brow. "I try to breathe in the music, but it feels like a storm beneath the calm."
He exhaled a slow plume of smoke, eyes watching her. "Let me take your mind away, even for a moment."
Jaime rose with a low bow, a playful gleam lighting his dark eyes. "May I have this dance?"
Her hesitation flickered only briefly before she took his hand, letting him pull her up.
"Are you sure it's alright?" she whispered, fingers curling around his. His hand warmed against hers, his other settling firmly yet tenderly on her waist.
"I did ask," he said with a teasing grin. "No backing out now."
Their bodies found the rhythm instantly. Jaime led with steady, deliberate steps- side to side, hips swaying gently. Elena's feet traced the classic tap, the soft slide, the quick step, her movements becoming fluid, like water folding into his.
He held her close but not too tight, just enough to feel every breath and heartbeat. Their hands met and parted, fingers tracing gentle patterns as they moved together. A dance of invitation and answer.
Laughter bubbled between them, light and free, their smiles catching the firelight.
The drums quickened, and Jaime's touch deepened. His palm slid lower to her hip, pulling her nearer. Elena's breath caught when he dipped her just slightly, arm strong beneath her back, the world narrowing to the curve of her body pressed against his.
Their eyes locked- so close, so electric, the space between them vanished. When he lifted her back up, their lips hovered, tasting the smoke and heat on each other's breath.
Something inside her cracked open.
Without a word, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the cottage, the door clicking shut behind them like a secret locked away from the night.
Inside, the fire's amber glow wrapped around them like a secret. Elena's fingers trembled, undoing buttons and sliding fabric away, her eyes never leaving his.
He looked at her like the world had stopped turning, every ache and yearning laid bare.
Jaime's breath hitched as she pressed against him, skin warm beneath his hands.
He groaned softly as lips met lips- deep, tender, hungry. Their steps turned to tangled limbs and shuddering touches, the rhythm now a pulse beneath their skin rather than under their feet.
They tumbled into the bed.
His hands explored the curve of her breasts, eliciting a shiver that ran through her like wildfire. His fingers found the ache between her thighs; she was already ready, needy.
Her back arched, a soft whimper escaping. "Please, Jaime…"
He entered her slowly, both gasping at the fierce hold she had around him.
Their smiles met in the dark, lips parted and soft.
"You are more beautiful than I ever dared imagine, mi corazón."
She moaned his name like it could absolve her sins, begged him to say it again.
"Mi corazón. Ay, mi corazón- " he groaned each word, their bodies moving to a fierce, ancient dance of give and take.
When she shattered, trembling and soaked, dripping down their legs, Jaime's own climax followed, raw, desperate, perfect.
From deep within, Coatriskie groaned with aching need, while Guabancex hissed her fierce pleasure. Divine forces entwined with mortal longing.
Their names were moaned like a sacred prayer.
They collapsed tangled and breathless, the weight of the world momentarily forgotten.
Elena nuzzled beneath his chin, a soft smile lingering on her lips as she wrapped her arms around him.
Jaime held her close as if fear lived in the space between them, holding on, refusing to let go, one hand on her head, the other on her waist.
"I think I love you…" she whispered as her eyes fluttered shut.
He laughed softly, kissing her hair, melting into her, "I think I love you, too."
They drifted to sleep wrapped in the warmth of each other, knowing this night had changed everything.
Outside, the bonfire's glow spilled over the sanctuary, where celebration and shadow twisted together, dancing in a single, flickering flame.