----
Rhea kissed his jaw, then his neck, slow enough that John's spine tightened and his hands gripped the edge of the bed as if he needed something solid to hold while the world blurred.
John whispered her name again, helplessly.
Rhea's lips brushed his ear. "Good," she murmured, as if praise was something she gave sparingly.
They kept going, deeper into heat, deeper into want, until the last pieces of cloth were already half-removed, sliding away like excuses.
The air in the room felt thick, charged with a tension that had been building since that first forbidden kiss. As the last of their clothes pooled on the floor, the golden lantern light clung to the curves of Rhea's body and the lean muscle of John's. They were completely exposed now, the vulnerability of their nakedness only fueling the desperation of their hunger.
