Chapter 30: Steady to the Shore — Part 8

Paige admires herself in a hand mirror, momentarily considers ChoCho’s question. “Because Paige has needs, and Paige has love, and Paige needs to be loved.” Paige says suddenly. Close to a minute passes, Paige fiddling with her mirror, until ChoCho hears it snap shut, and it is put away. “We will be getting on that ship soon. We will, the four of us, be sharing quarters, and there will not be a forest to go hide in when we need to be alone. There are boundaries that may be crossed. We need to know each other now, so there are no surprises later.”

ChoCho has done his best to think ahead of the curve, but he had never thought about what the four would do on a ship built for function, with little opportunity for privacy. The rain lulls him to sleep, the worry of the future pushed away. Paige is warm in his arms, ChoCho feels safe, at peace with the world. The thunder grows distant, the rain recedes, but it isn’t until the next morning that ChoCho and Paige wake and pack up camp, heading home to shower and help load the ship. Very soon, Jynx will take her needs from him, will want his body and his words. He does not know what he will tell her, only that he will answer whatever she asks. He hopes that should he say anything out of line, in this one instance, in regards to Jynx and Jynx alone, Paige will forgive him.

Paige and ChoCho return early into the morning of the next day, still damp from sleeping in an otherwise dry tent. After packing away supplies and sharing a shower, in which Kevin does not emerge, the two finally part ways with a hug. Paige joins Heath in the kitchen, where she is teased for being late. Paige, too embarrassed to take the teasing stoically, flushes red, stammers an apology, and begins the arduous task of cleaning dishes from the breakfast she missed.

With the distraction of Paige in the kitchen, and his body and mind in need of new focus, ChoCho finds himself alone in the bedroom, sitting at his desk, using the same small brass clamp lamp that had originally been used by George while working on blueprints for the house to light a page that is at the moment void of lines and words. Jynx is absent upon his arrival, though he doesn’t know how he’s going to react to her when he does see her. His mind is distracted by the play of sunlight on the red walls, by the clutter of the room, by anything and every thought rushing through his mind.

Perhaps Jynx has anticipated ChoCho’s state, perhaps it’s a matter of quiet pride, but she is alone when she enters the bedroom. She pushes in the locking pin, ensuring her moment with ChoCho will be uninterrupted. He turns at the sound of the door closing, twitches tensely in response to the click of the retaining bar, knowing he is both safe from intrusion and a prisoner of Jynx and her needs. He feels his blood run cold as Jynx approaches him, her face utterly calm. Though he has just showered, he knows she will want him, and he wonders what marks, both visible and transient, she will sense on him. He can imagine her catching the scent of Paige on his skin, and fears her reaction.

Jynx slowly and methodically undresses him, working kisses and nibbles into her actions. She undoes the belt and clasps that will let his skirt fall away. Her fingers tuck in under his underwear, and she yanks down quickly, ChoCho lets his knees tuck in so they will fall to his ankles. Jynx steps on them, pulling his shirt over his head. Soon he is standing with his back to the desk, his dark skin covered in goose bumps, his eyes locked with hers, hair still damp, heart racing, mind empty. Though he is tired and sore from yesterday’s endeavors, whatever Jynx needs of him, he will provide.

Jynx is abrupt with ChoCho, gripping him tightly almost the point of pain, causing him to bite his lower lip in anticipation as her soft skin, pressured by the bones beneath, causes him to tighten and swell. She is firm in her needs, and when his body is primed, she puts her hand to his head and guides him slowly to the bed, straddling his hips, and settling down onto him in what has become her favorite way with ChoCho. There is no condom to dull the sensitive union. There will be nothing to limit the chemical ecstasy that is ChoCho merging with her. She comes hard, her hands clutched into ChoCho’s hair on either side of his head. She moans with each explosive climax, and then feels the pulse and warmth that is ChoCho’s release.