The jungle never went quiet, and that was one of the things that Psycho loved most about it.
Like him, it never stopped, it only shifted slightly to know if you were in danger or not. Sounds traded places as heat settled heavier against your skin and leaves sighed under their own weight. The air felt thick enough to press fingerprints into, and everything slled green and alive and far too close.
And that was one of the reasons why Psycho smiled. The other one was constantly within eyesight of all four of them.
Sera stood near the edge of the clearing, one hand braced against the trunk of a massive tree, her head tipped back slightly as she breathed in the humidity like it was sothing she’d been missing.
Sweat clung to her skin in a fine sheen, catching the low firelight Ashkar had coaxed from the earth earlier before stepping away.
Psycho watched the way her body reacted to the heat and he forced himself to not rush over an lick off every drop of sweat from her skin.
"You’re going to get wet like that" he said casually, stepping up beside her and leaning his shoulder against the sa tree. "Tragic. Absolutely tragic."
She glanced at him, eyes half-lidded. "You’re enjoying this."
"Imnsely." His gaze dragged over her, slow and unapologetic. "You glow when you’re like this. Jungle life suits you. Makes you look like you belong to sothing dangerous."
She snorted softly. "Says the man who looks like he’s one wrong sound away from starting a fight with a fern."
"Hey." He reached out and flicked a leaf away from her shoulder, fingers brushing her skin just long enough to feel the heat there. "That fern started it."
She laughed — actually laughed — and that was the mont he decided he was done sharing her attention.
The others were close enough to hear if sothing went wrong. Far enough away to know better than to interfere.
This was the perfect ti to do what he had been dreaming about doing for years now.
Psycho stepped in front of her without asking, caging her gently between himself and the tree. He didn’t touch her at first. He let the heat, the proximity, the way the jungle seed to lean in closer, do the work for him.
"You’re not too tired, are you?" he asked, his voice low. "Not even a little?"
"No," she replied easily. "I feel... awake."
"Good." His grin turned sharp. "Because I’ve been waiting a long ti to do this..."
She raised a brow. "For what?"
"For this," he said, and leaned in, capturing her lips in his own.
The kiss wasn’t gentle.
It wasn’t careful.
It scread all of his deepest, darkest secrets. The obsession he had with her since the mont he awoke in Alexei’s body. She tasted like chocolate, paradise, and sin all at once and he knew that he would never be able to be parted from her again.
She was it for him. Mind, body, and soul, he would submit to only her.
The kiss beca deeper, demanding, playful, and a little unhinged in the way only he could manage. He kissed her like he’d been holding back on purpose, like he’d finally been given permission to stop pretending he was civilized.
And she kissed him back just as hard.
Her fingers tangled in his shirt, dragging him closer, and he laughed into her mouth like he’d won sothing important. His hands found her hips, firm and possessive, thumbs digging in just enough to make her gasp.
"That’s it," he murmured against her lips. "There you are. Co and play with ... if you dare."
The jungle answered with a distant roar, sothing massive shifting deeper in the trees. Psycho didn’t even glance in that direction.
Neither did she.
He broke the kiss only long enough to drag his mouth down her jaw, teeth scraping lightly over skin already heated and damp. He lingered at her throat, breathing her in like he wanted the scent of her burned into his lungs.
"You know," he said softly, lips brushing her pulse, "I could have taken you earlier. Stolen you away while everyone was busy pretending they weren’t watching us."
"You didn’t," she pointed out.
He smiled against her skin. "I like when you choose . I love the way you look at like I matter."
That did sothing to her.
She reached for him again, fingers sliding under his jacket, feeling muscle and heat and the tension he always carried just beneath the surface. He hissed quietly, hands tightening at her waist like he’d lost track of his own strength for a second.
"Careful," he warned, though there was no real heat in it. "You keep touching like that and I’ll forget how to behave."
She leaned in, lips brushing his ear. "I didn’t ask you to behave. In fact, I think this is the perfect ti to misbehave. What about you?"
That was all it took.
Psycho lifted her without effort, turning and pinning her gently back against the tree trunk. The bark was rough, solid, grounding — a contrast to the heat and motion between them. His body fit against hers like it always had, like he’d morized her shape without ever aning to.
His mouth found hers again, slower this ti, deeper. He kissed her like he was mapping her reactions, cataloging every breath, every sound, every shift of her hips against him.
She wrapped her legs around him without thinking.
"Oh," he breathed, pulling back just enough to look at her properly. "That’s a dangerous choice."
"Everything about you is dangerous," she replied, fingers sliding into his hair and tugging just enough to make his eyes darken. "I survived worse."
He laughed softly, forehead resting against hers. "You really did."
His hands road, confident and familiar, tracing lines he already knew and discovering new ones he hadn’t been allowed to linger on before. The jungle seed to pulse around them, insects chirring louder, leaves rustling as if the world itself was politely pretending not to watch.
Psycho pressed his mouth to her neck again, slower now, deliberate. He kissed her like he was savoring sothing rare, like this mont was his and he knew it.
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