CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: RELEASE II*

Serai sat curled on the couch, her eyes fixed on the glowing screen.

The television displayed a bright animated ocean scene, something Eva had shown her earlier.

She had grown oddly attached to the moving colours and musical patterns, even if the language still escaped her.

But then the volume rose.

Not just gradually, sharply, enough to make her flinch.

She turned her head, scanning the room. The remote lay on the coffee table. She glanced at her hands. Empty.

Still, the sound continued to rise.

She reached for the remote, her fingers hesitant. When she pressed the volume down button, nothing happened. Again. Still nothing.

Her gaze narrowed.

Something wasn’t right.

A jingle blared from the speakers: "Baby dolphin, doo doo doo doo doo doo—"

Serai blinked, confused by the rhythmic nonsense. "Baybi dohfenn... uhuh?" she echoed, trying to mimic it.

"Baby dolphin, doo doo doo doo doo doo—"

It repeated. Louder.

Her ear twitched. A faint pressure pushed against her senses, something she couldn’t quite explain. A subtle, rhythmic pulse beneath the sound.

A signal?

She stood, slowly, stepping toward the TV like it was breathing.

The screen flickered, just for a second, then returned to the cartoon ocean scene. But Serai’s expression changed.

Her head tilted, eyes narrowing as her posture shifted.

Her illusion shimmered for a moment, faltering under her emotional spike.

She whispered something in her native tongue. A single word Zin didn’t translate.

Then she turned her head sharply toward the hallway, toward Jace’s room.

She wasn’t smiling anymore.

.

.

.

.

Eva’s lips were insistent, her fingers knotting in his hair as Jace finally, finally, yanked the oversized shirt up and over her head. It landed somewhere on the floor, forgotten.

Her breasts were bare, exposed to the dim light and his hungry gaze. Not the largest, but not small either, just enough to fill his hands, her nipples already taut.

He remembered them, her, from that first drunken night. The memory had lingered in his muscles, his skin, like a ghost he’d tried to outrun.

But now she was real. Warm.

Jace kissed her harder, swallowing her gasp as he lifted her effortlessly, her legs locking around his waist.

She was lighter than he expected, but the way her body pressed against him, the heat of her, made his blood roar in his ears.

He laid her down on the bed, his own shirt discarded in one sharp motion.

Eva arched beneath him, her fingers skimming down his chest, tracing the lines of his abdomen before hooking into the waistband of his pants.

"Are you sure?" he murmured against her lips, his voice rough. A last thread of restraint.

Eva’s answer was a challenge, her nails digging into his hips. "Take me."

His pants hit the floor, his erection straining against his underwear.

But Eva was still half-dressed, that infuriatingly long skirt tangled around her thighs. She reached for it, but Jace caught the hem first, and ripped.

The fabric tore with a sharp sound.

Eva’s eyes widened. "Jace—"

He silenced her with a kiss, his tongue sliding against hers. "Sshhh."

Beneath the ruined skirt, her panties were damp, the thin fabric clinging to her. He dragged a thumb over the wetness, and Eva shuddered, her thighs tensing.

Jace hooked his fingers into the sides of Eva’s panties, peeling them down her thighs with deliberate slowness.

She lifted her hips to help, her breath hitching as the fabric slipped past her knees, then her calves, until they joined the pile of discarded clothes on the floor.

Her flower was bare before him, puffy, soft, and glistening. A neat patch of hair, just a whisper of dark curls above her slit, but otherwise smooth.

"Fuck."

He remembered the first time, how she’d been in control, how he’d fumbled under her guidance. But tonight, he wasn’t following.

Jace lowered himself between her legs, his hands spreading her thighs wider as he pressed a kiss just above her mound.

Eva twitched, her stomach tensing, but he didn’t rush.

He kissed lower, tracing the crease where her thigh met her sex, teasing until her hips lifted in silent demand.

Only then did he drag the flat of his tongue up her slit, slow, savoring the taste of her.

Eva gasped, her fingers knotting in his hair. At first, she pushed his head back, as if the sensation was too much.

But as he circled her clit with his tongue, her protest melted into a moan, her grip shifting, pulling him deeper.

Jace grinned against her, lapping at her folds, drinking in the way her body arched for him. Her thighs trembled, her breaths turning ragged.

"Jace—" Her voice was a plea, a warning, a demand.

He answered by sliding two fingers inside her, curling them just right as his mouth returned to her clit.

Eva cried out.

Jace didn’t rush. He wanted to savor her every gasp, every twitch, every desperate roll of her hips.

His tongue dragged another slow, wet stripe up her slit, and Eva’s thighs tensed, her fingers tightening in his hair.

"Fuck," she breathed, her voice already ragged.

He hummed against her, the vibration making her jerk, and then he swirled his tongue around her clit in slow, deliberate circles. She was so responsive, her body arching, her breaths coming in short, shaky bursts.

But he wasn’t done yet.

He slid a finger into her, just one, curling it slightly as he pressed deep. Eva’s back arched off the bed, a choked moan spilling from her lips.

"Jace—oh, shit—"

He added a second finger, stretching her, working them in and out in a steady rhythm while his mouth never left her clit.

He sucked gently, then flicked his tongue over the sensitive bud, alternating pressure until her hips were rocking against his face, chasing her pleasure.

Her moans grew louder, more desperate. One of her hands fisted the sheets while the other pushed his head down harder, as if she couldn’t decide whether to pull him away or grind against him forever.

"Don’t stop—fuck—don’t you dare stop," she panted, her thighs trembling around his head.

Jace had no intention of stopping. He curled his fingers inside her, pressing against that sweet spot, and her entire body jerked.

"There—right there—" she gasped, her voice breaking.

He sucked her clit between his lips, fingers pumping deeper, faster.

And then she shattered.

Her back arched, her thighs clamped around his head, and a broken cry tore from her throat as she came, her pussy clenching around his fingers in tight, pulsing waves.

Jace didn’t let up, drawing out her orgasm until she was twitching, overstimulated, her breaths coming in shaky gasps.

When she finally collapsed back onto the bed, boneless and panting, he pulled back just enough to admire the sight, her flushed skin, her parted lips, her glistening, swollen folds.

"Fuck," she whispered, dragging a hand over her face.

Jace smirked, licking his lips. "Yeah."

Eva’s eyes flicked down to his cock, hard and straining in his underwear, before meeting his gaze again.

"Now," she demanded, her voice still breathless, "fuck me."