Lynn hummed as heat pooled low in her gut, goading her on. Still she couldn’t stop analyzing what was happening. Every one of Dani’s movements was noted and logged, along with every move she made herself. Every sound, every reaction, every emotion. Analyze, analyze, analyze. She groaned and rolled Dani onto her back, settling half on top of her, then hissed as pain seared through her injured arm. Dammit! She needed to get her weight off that arm and onto the other—which meant covering Dani’s body with her own. So she did.
Dani gripped her hips and pushed into her body, rolling against it with a deep moan. They barely broke apart in their kisses, but whenever they did, Dani pushed back up to connect them again, apparently not content to be a passive participant anymore.
Lynn pressed her thigh between Dani’s legs and was rewarded with a sound that was a mixture between a hiss and a moan. It quieted her mind for a few seconds. As soon as the thoughts came rolling back, she rolled her hips again.
Dani’s nails dug into her skin. “L-Ly—”
Lynn interrupted her with another kiss. She cupped the side of her neck and lightly scraped her skin.
Dani moaned and stopped trying to talk. Instead, she bucked up against Lynn’s thigh and pulled her down onto hers.
Now Lynn understood the hiss and moan combination; the sound tore from her own throat the second pleasure buzzed through her. She chased the feeling with another kiss, another buck of her hips, another roll of her body with muscles that fought every movement. She didn’t care how tired or sore she was; her mind was going quiet, and Dani was urging her on.
The covers had fallen off. Cool air hit her overheating skin as Dani let go of her hips to pull her shirt up as far as it would go without Lynn shifting. Her hands roamed and examined the evidence of burns, cuts, bites, and the remnants of a whole slew of accidents.
Lynn shivered. The constant rolling of their hips created waves of pleasure that increased in power every time Dani’s thigh pushed against her throbbing sex. But something else was building too: a counterwave Lynn couldn’t name but that swelled until it drowned out everything else. She whimpered against Dani’s lips.
Dani’s hands slid up to her shoulder blades and guided her down into a hug.
Lynn buried her face against the crook of Dani’s neck.
“Shhhh.” Dani stroked the back of her head. “I-It’s okay.” She was breathless, her voice deep, but her tone was soothing.
It was only then Lynn realized she was crying. Oh shit! How long have I— She hurriedly pushed up, but Dani trapped her by the back of her neck.
“Don’t. S-Stay.” She ran her nails gently over the skin of Lynn’s neck, causing the small hairs there to stand on end.
Lynn’s body buzzed with need, shook with sobs, and she gave in to the need to be held. She wasn’t even sure what she was letting out, but now that the dams had been breached, there was no stopping the flood. She sagged onto Dani’s body and let her wrap her arms and a leg around her as she cried herself empty. It took an embarrassingly long time. Whenever she thought she was done, she remembered her dad, felt some sort of pain or ache that reminded her of how fucked up her life was, or Dani did something such as kiss her shoulder or massage the back of her neck, setting her off again. Finally, not even Dani’s kindness could coax more tears out of her; she was spent.
“Wow.” Dani gathered Lynn’s hair and guided it aside so she could trace the shell of her ear. “Better?”
Lynn did feel much lighter, as if she were floating, but she was also embarrassed beyond anything, and she had a skull-splitting headache. Better was not an accurate description. She really wanted to pull away, but it would take too much energy, so she buried her face deeper against the crook of Dani’s neck.
Dani stroked her hair and rested her cheek against the side of her head. She shifted lightly to get comfortable. “Better?” Dani wanted an answer—deserved an answer.
“Dunno.” She sniffed as watery snot threatened to drip from her nose, onto Dani’s neck. “S-Sorry.”
Dani hummed and kissed the shell of her ear—seemingly the only skin within reach. “You did the same for me, and you were cool about it. It’s good you let it out.”
Lynn frowned, but gathering enough energy to object was a struggle. “About what h-happened. The crying too, but… us.”
Dani was silent for a few seconds. “What exactly are you sorry about?”
The insecurity that snuck into her tone gave Lynn the strength to move. She settled onto her side, still mostly covering Dani, and lifted her head. Her headache dizzied her. She squinted until the pain faded enough to focus again. “Not that it happened,” she said softly.
Dani looked at her, then reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of her fingers, either to brush away tears or simply to touch; Lynn couldn’t tell. She held her gaze.
“That… that I have no idea what I’m doing. That it stopped. That—”
Dani kissed her again, softly this time. No tongue, just a press of lips.
Lynn relaxed instantly and leaned into the touch just enough to show she was a willing participant.
When Dani pulled away, she met her eyes.
“I know this is hard,” Dani said.
“This?” Lynn swallowed. Her arm trembled as she put weight on it to hold herself up.
“Being open.” Dani continued to examine her. “You haven’t done that for a long time.”
Lynn took a shuddering breath and looked away. Her cheeks burned even hotter than before.
Dani gently guided her head back until Lynn was forced to meet her eyes again in the near dark.
Whatever was hidden in the depths of Dani’s eyes, Lynn couldn’t decipher. She wanted to avert her gaze, but Dani’s fingers on her cheek held her in place.
Dani smiled.
Lynn smiled back. Group by group, her muscles relaxed. She exhaled, and her gaze dipped down to Dani’s lips. She kissed them softly.
Dani smiled into the touch and ran her fingertips along her jaw. “Better?”
“Yes.” Not anywhere near good, but better; her fears and confusion still filled her stomach, making her a little nauseous, but she was calm again. And tired.
“Good. Then let’s sleep. We’ll need our energy tomorrow.”
The words were sobering. Tomorrow they would be pulling a cart with a body down a road that was hard to traverse under the best of circumstances, all the while running the risk of getting pounced on by every predator in the area. Lynn wrapped her arm around Dani’s waist and pulled her in protectively as she pressed their foreheads together. “This is exactly what I didn’t want to have happen.”
“What?”
Lynn leaned into Dani’s warm hand on her cheek. “To worry about losing you now that we’re reaching the part where we’ll likely get killed.”
Dani shook her head. “We’re not going to die.”
“Liar.” Lynn was only partly joking.
“I’m not. You’re an expert in surviving out here, and I am a good hunter. We’ve already proven we can work together and survive things that should have killed us. I’m not going to let you die, and you’re not going to let me die either, so that’s settled.” Dani sounded so confident.
Lynn wanted to believe her. She really did, but the odds were not in their favor.
“Stop worrying. Come on.” Dani shifted until Lynn could spoon her from behind.
Lynn molded herself to Dani’s body, staying as close as she could. She also pulled the blankets back up. They had switched places; Dani was on the outside now, Lynn up against the wall.
With great effort, she pushed up one more time to pull her weapons over to this side of the bedding, right above her head, then settled again.