Aerin raises herself up on her elbow and looks down at me.
“Do you know how hot it is watching you fight with them?”
“Hot?”
“Oh, yes.” She traces her index finger over my chest. “It was rather difficult to keep myself from throwing you to the ground and taking you while the mountain fell apart all around us.”
“You like to live dangerously.”
“Maybe you’re just that tempting.” She rakes her fingertips through my beard, rolling slightly on top of me.
“Well, I’m glad you managed to control yourself long enough not to be crushed.” I reach over and grab her thigh, bringing it up over my waist and pressing up against her.
It hurt. Just moving hurt, but I don’t care at this point.
“I can’t think of anything better than getting inside of you right now,” I say with a grin, “but I’m not sure my body is going to cooperate.”
“Hmm.” Aerin runs her hand over my stomach and then lower. She flicks open my jeans and then slides her hand inside, wrapping her fingers around my cock until I start to groan. “Looks like this part is up for it.”
“That part is always up for it.”
“I’ll just have to take care of the rest myself.”
Without another word, Aerin straddles me and yanks my jeans down over my legs as I pull off my shirt, trying not to cringe too much. She quickly removes her own clothing and straddles me again, taking my cock in her hand once more.
She lowers herself over me slowly, staring into my eyes the whole time. When I’m completely inside of her, she leans forward and kisses me hard as I grab her backside and press up against her.
“Are you sure you want to do this now?” I ask and then let out a groan, partially from pain, partially from pleasure.
“Yes.” She leans over and runs her fingers through my hair. “I need this, Talen. I need this right now, or I think I’m going to lose it.”
I reach up and stroke the side of her face. We both need this. If even for only a moment, we need to forget everything that has happened in the past few hours.
Leaning back, Aerin breaks the kiss and sits up, placing her hands on my chest for balance. She raises herself up on her knees and then lowers herself again at an agonizingly slow pace. She keeps this up for a few minutes, closing her eyes and uttering soft, gentle moans.
I move only slightly, allowing her to take complete control as she rides me. She continues her slow, steady pace as she grinds down with every rise and fall. I reach up to cup her breasts, then run my hands down her sides. I caress her arms and her thighs and then move back to her hips. I want to touch every inch of her skin as she moves up and down, braced against my chest.
I feel the buildup inside, starting with the tension in my abdomen and thighs. If I lay my head back and close my eyes, I will be able to hold back longer, but I can’t tear my gaze away from her. She’s wild and glorious, and I could watch her until the end of time.
Aerin moans loudly as she grabs my shoulders and leans forward, moving with a quick, short tilting of her hips. I can feel her muscles tighten under my hands and around my cock.
Grasping her hips a little tighter, I pull her against me as I push up, rocking my hips until the pressure becomes too much to control. Aerin leans forward, matching my movements until I shudder as I come deep inside of her.
She drops against my chest, breathing heavily. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close to me as I softly kiss her throat.
“I love you,” I whisper against her neck. “I love you so much, Aerin.”
“I love you too, Talen. Always.”
Tomorrow, we’ll reach our friends. Soon after that, we’ll begin the trek north and a new life. I don’t know what lies ahead of us. I have no idea if we’ll even survive. I do know we have a long journey, and it will be a lot of work to start a new community in an unfamiliar landscape.
Whatever comes next, I’m ready to leave my demons behind and face whatever comes next with Aerin by my side.
Epilogue
I duck down and maneuver my way out of a short, snow-packed tunnel and into the bright sunshine, shielding my eyes with my hand as I exit the ice house. I look around at the other abodes, all circling the longhouse in the center of the village. Near the entrance is an evergreen tree, planted by Milo to remember those we lost in the Plastictown fire.
It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for over a year already.