The forest air, thick with damp earth and pine, pressed around them, a velvet cloak against the chill of the night. Moonlight, fractured by the dense canopy, painted shifting silver on the forest floor.
"Maria," Cassian's voice, a low rumble, vibrated against her skin as he cupped her face, his thumbs tracing the sharp line of her cheekbones. "My Maria."
Her hands, cool and slender, found purchase on his shoulders, gripping the rough fabric of his tunic. "Cassian," she whispered, her voice barely a breath, "I thought… I thought I'd lost you."
He tasted the salt of a tear she hadn't realized had fallen, his tongue a slow, deliberate caress.
Her knees threatened to buckle. "It was… two years. Every day, I waited."
He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, the raw hunger in his own a mirror of her deepest desires.
"And I dreamed of you. Every waking moment, every desperate sleep. This. Us."
His gaze dropped to her mouth, lingering there, then lower, to the swell of her breasts beneath the delicate fabric of her gown. His fingers, calloused from sword hilts, found the laces of her bodice, untying them with surprising dexterity.
The silk parted, revealing the pale curve of her skin, the rising and falling of her chest.
"Cassian," she breathed, her voice a plea, a command.
He lowered his head, his lips finding the soft skin of her throat, trailing fire. "I've imagined this a thousand times. A thousand nights, lost in the mud and blood, your face the only thing keeping me sane."
His tongue flicked out, tasting her skin. "Your scent. Your taste." He pushed the silk further aside, baring one breast. His mouth closed over her nipple, drawing a sharp gasp from her. He suckled, a deep, rhythmic pull that sent an electric jolt through her core, her fingers digging into his hair, holding him closer, tighter.
"Oh…" Her head arched back, exposing more of her throat to the cool night air. The sensation was overwhelming, a primal awakening.
He moved to the other breast, his lips hot, wet, his tongue lashing, teasing, until both nipples stood engorged, aching for more.
He lowered her to the soft moss, her gown pooling around her like moonlight. His eyes, dark and intense, never left hers as he pushed the fabric up, revealing the smooth expanse of her thighs, then the dark triangle nestled between them.
She felt a flush spread across her body, a mixture of shame and fierce anticipation.
"Beautiful," he rasped, his voice thick with desire. "More beautiful than any dream."
He knelt between her legs, his fingers parting her, exploring the delicate folds, slick with her own burgeoning wetness. She gasped, her hips instinctively arching.
"Please, Cassian I feel weird," she begged, her voice raw, trembling.
He leaned down, his mouth finding her, the wet heat of her clitoris, his tongue a deliberate, swirling torment.
Her body convulsed, a moan tearing from her throat, echoing in the quiet forest.
He licked, sucked, teased, drawing forth sounds she never knew she could make, sensations that stole her breath, blurred her vision. Her hands clutched at the moss, her nails digging into the earth.
"You taste of honey and wild flowers," he whispered against her, his words muffled by her flesh. "Everything I craved."