The others were quick to notice and come to Jove's aid. Ryan was the first one off his snowmobile, rushing over with a level of energy that did little to soothe Jove's aching skull.
"Jesus Christ!" shouted Ryan. "I am so sorry! I didn't mention the crevasses. There's also a… release form thing I'm supposed to have you sign, and helmets to wear, but I figured since you're friends and family of the director, it wouldn't be, um… Please don't sue me."
Aster pulled up on her snowmobile next, fumbling her sunglasses off with thick gloves. "What happened?"
"Nothing!" shouted Ryan. "Ms. Hathaway, please don't let your boyfriend sue me! I don't have any money! The research operation doesn't, either."
Aster blinked, but didn't break character. "Are you alright, darling?"
She walked over to Jove and surprised him with an affectionate touch on the shoulder followed by a kiss on the cheek. It was just her cold and somewhat dry lips against his skin, but it still sent a strange thrill through him. The next instant, as she pulled back and they made eye contact, made Jove intensely aware of how much that little kiss had added to the odd tension between them.
"I just took a small knock to the head, otherwise I'm fine," he said. "I did lose one of my gloves, though. I think that's the more pressing issue."
"I got it!" Ryan, ever helpful, had already sprinted off to recover the lost article of outer wear.
Jove stuffed his fingers, which were worryingly red from the cold back into the glove. Eve had finely deigned to climb off her snowmobile and investigate the hold up.
"Were you riding blind?" she asked. "I mean that literally. Did you have your eyes closed, or something?"
"For your information, I didn't see the crevasse until the last second." He was in no mood to argue with Eve and let out a long sigh.
"Your snowmobile isn't rideable anymore," said Ryan. "You'll have to double up with someone for the rest of the way to Termina."
Jove winced and felt his frustration finally catch up with him. Not only would he have to explain what'd happened to his mother when they arrived, but he'd be arriving in the most demeaning way possible. He wondered if he might find a spot in the baggage sled instead, but it seemed like it was already at full capacity.
"There's room on the back of mine," said Aster. She climbed back onto her snowmobile with a slow, interesting movement and patted the seat behind her. "I don't mind. Extra body, extra warmth."
Eve scowled and shook her head at them. Ryan let out a nervous laugh.
"I doubt anyone would mind getting to climb on behind Aster Hathaway," he said.
Jove shot him a look, not having to feign his growing annoyance at the young man's weird obsession with his aunt.
"Sorry!" said Ryan. "I just mean… no guy, especially her boyfriend, would ever, um… pass up that opportunity. Yeah, I'll shut up now."
Jove made sure he had all of his personal effects in his pockets and then climbed onto the snowmobile behind Aster. It was a tight fit, and his only option was to inch forward until he was pressed right up against her back.
"Is this alright?" he asked. "I could always be up front if you wanted."
He had to wrap his arms around her waist and was immediately aware of how intimate the posture was. Even through her thick winter jacket, he could feel the lower edge of her breasts against his forearm. His legs were also grazing hers, touching in a way that felt a little dangerous despite being no more than incidental contact of bodies.
"I like this position better," said Aster, in a low whisper. "Besides, I've only just started playing with my new toy."
She revved the snowmobile's engine, which sent an interesting vibration through both the machine and Jove's body. Ryan let out a nervous laugh from their right side.
"Just… go slow, okay?" said the young research assistant. "We don't want any more accidents. It's going to be another hour or two, at least, until we get to Termina."
They set off immediately, this time traveling in a single file line to avoid further mishaps. Jove's sense of disappointment over having to ride tandem slowly shifted into a more conflicted mixture of emotions.
He and Aster were bundled up about as thickly in outwear as a man and a woman could possibly be. He shouldn't have been as aware of her as he was, but he could feel each breath she took, smell her perfume against the otherwise dry and scentless Antarctic air.
He felt his excitement growing as the first few minutes of the journey ticked by even as he tried to stay calm and focus on his breathing. The fact that he knew they'd be locked together for another hour or more to come was like a curse hanging over him.
If he got an erection, would she be able to feel it? He was pretty sure she would at least be able to feel something, though she might not know what it was. She'd have at least an hour to ponder what it was. Jove tried biting his tongue. He'd heard somewhere that pain could sometimes stifle the body's arousal.
The movement of the snowmobile itself didn't do him any favors. The snow had cracks and divots, sending little vibrations through the machine that had her bumping and occasionally bouncing in front of him. He squeezed her tight each time, the motion putting them even closer into contact with one another.
It was inevitable, despite his best efforts. Jove felt his cock pass through that first stage of arousal, the one defined more by a sensation of awareness and potential, into the second stage, the half-inflated air mattress level of excitement. His snow pants were thick and warm — there was a chance she still couldn't feel it. God, he hoped she couldn't feel it.
Ryan waved an arm and the snowmobiles slowed to a stop. They were in the middle of nowhere, a wide-open expanse of white with an eerily clear view in all directions. Jove would have felt the opposite of claustrophobia if his aunt's unbelievably gorgeous body hadn't been stealing his full attention.
"We're more than halfway there!" Ryan took a sip from a water bottle, flipping it at an odd angle to contend with what must have been an ice blockage.
"You're awfully quiet back there, darling?" whispered Aster.
"Just enjoying the ride." He leaned in for his own whisper, only realizing how his breath must feel against her neck as she stiffened slightly in his arms.
"It's definitely something." She made an odd, sighing noise. "This place has a mind of its own."
She patted his leg, his thigh, and Jove nearly groaned at the way her touch excited him. It was something more than the sensation — he was so bundled up he shouldn't have been able to feel much at all. It was the context, the situation, and knowing that his reactions were because of that only seemed to deepen his inexplicable arousal.
Aster suddenly cleared her throat and stood up on the snowmobile as Ryan and Eve were getting ready to set off again. The posture put her butt right in his face. She did a little stretch, arching her back, and then slowly sank down.
Jove couldn't resist sliding forward to put himself in direct contact with her as she went through the motions of wiggling her butt to get comfortable again. His cock sprinted the last distance to full hardness. He knew she could feel it now, though maybe she thought it was his phone or… something shaped like an erection he just happened to be carrying in his pocket.
"Ready for round two?" he whispered.
"I certainly am."
Aster shifted back against him in an interesting way, and Jove couldn't resist hugging forward into her, almost thrusting. His mind was so fogged over with lust that he couldn't think straight, didn't want to think straight.
Every little bump and bounce of the snowmobile seemed like a lewd and sexual event. Jove went beyond simply being aroused to the point of hardness. He had to fight down a growing sense of pleasure that threatened to push him up to the edge, maybe even over it.
It wasn't funny anymore. His humor and annoyance had been entirely replaced by a disquieting mix of arousal and guilt. This was his mother's sister, someone he should view as… well, family. Jove was all but humping himself against her every time the snowmobile hit a big enough bump.
He wanted to do unforgiveable, shameful things to her. It was like his rational mind didn't get a vote about whether it was a good idea. He was hard and his cock had come to the same conclusion as all the disgusting tabloids and social media sycophants and every red-blooded male tuning in each week for Rose's latest shower scene in Rose of Redding.
She was an incredibly fuckable woman in her prime.
They hit a big bump and this time, Jove's grip on her and the way he tried to snap their bodies together was as much to keep her on the snowmobile as it was out of horniness. She came down right on his crotch, on his erection, and immediately tensed.
"Whoops." She wiggled her butt from side to side and then shifted forward into her normal spot. "Big one. Almost caught me off guard."
"I got you." He gave her a nice squeeze with his arms. "You're safe."
"I wonder about that," she whispered.