The gentle touch of Svemakuu's lips on her neck sent shivers down Estingai's spine. She smiled, biting her lip, and pulled him closer, breathing in deep. He smelled of pepper and thyme, colored with the faint hint of sweat that neither of them could ever seem to fully banish living as they did. Estingai didn't care if he'd just stripped out of his armor after a day in the sun, as long as she could touch him, taste him, breathe him in. With her clearnodes brightened just a bit, Estingai's husband filled her head like puff of violetsage, seeping into every part of her.

His lips brushed a spot that made her gasp and giggle, pressing herself more firmly against the hard planes of his body. Then he nipped at her earlobe, and she laughed, pulling back.

"Can't you two be quiet?" Koruuksi called from the room he shared with Uuchantuu on the other side of their suite. “It's bad enough we know what you're doing right now. You don't need to let us know when Svemakuu's doing so poorly you have to laugh at him."

Estingai rolled her eyes as she caught some soft laughter from Uuchantuu. Svemakuu just laughed and kissed her again. Estingai shivered, moaning into his mouth as she deepened the kiss and clutched at his chest. His hands roved over her body, tracing her curves and the lines of her muscles, raising goosebumps even under the sheets, making her shiver and threatening noises that would make Koruuksi yell at them again.

Estingai didn’t care. She needed this. Just touching him, feeling his skin against hers. Every moment with him was precious, especially like this. Their clothing and armor lay folded on their trunks and hung on their stands in the corner, just in case they needed to rush out of bed.

Nipping at her husband's lower lip, Estingai raised a hand to his cheek and lowered the other to the small of his muscular back, pressing his hips against hers. Svemakuu grinned, nipping back and deepening the kiss further.

Just as Svemakuu brought her desire from playful flames licking at the air to a blaze that warmed her entire body, he broke the kiss, pulling back to gaze at her, eyes curious.

Estingai bit her lip, then looked away.

"You're worried."

Estingai sighed, then shivered, eyes fluttering shut for a moment as he cupped her cheek, tilting her face back up so he could meet her eyes. His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke.

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"Why?"

Estingai hesitated, glancing down at her husband's lips. She wanted to kiss him again, to lose herself in him until her worries didn't matter anymore, but knew he wouldn't let her get away with that.

"What if it doesn't work? Raima is so insistent on how it needs to work. How we have this perfect chance now that Bonde is out of the picture. What if—?"

Estingai took a deep breath, glancing over toward the curtain and Koruuksi and Uuchantuu's room beyond, then back at her husband. She ran her hands down his chest, digging her fingers into the muscle.

"What if Koruuksi gave so much of himself for nothing? You know how much that's affected him."

Svemakuu frowned, nodding as he glanced past her toward the curtain.

"He's been sleeping around more than usual," Estingai added. "And she doesn't say anything, but I know it wears on Uuchantuu. She doesn't like sleeping in there by herself."

"None of us like sleeping alone,” Svemakuu said, eyes distant.

Estingai rested her head against his chest, and he raised a hand to stroke her hair. Estingai smiled as his fingers sent shivers through her body.

"Koruuksi will be okay, though," he said. "He just has to work it out for himself. Seeking companionship isn't the worst way to deal with things like that, and it's not like Koruuksi leads any of them on."

"I guess you're right."

"It's not like he punched Raima in the eye or something like Mom did with Phantom."

Estingai snorted. "She's not as much of an asshole as he was."

She nuzzled deeper into his embrace then, focusing on the points where their bodies touched, how incredible it felt.

When he kissed her hair, her stomach fluttered.

"Even if we don't get everyone to agree," he said, "that isn't the end of things, and it doesn't mean Koruuksi had to put himself through weeks of hell for nothing. We'll find a way out of this life, and I won't let his and everyone else's pain be for nothing."

He's so certain. It isn't a question of if we'll succeed, just how.

She gazed up at him.

"I love you."

He smiled, then cupped her cheek again and brought her lips to his.

Estingai kissed him, reveling in his taste, hungry for more.

He didn't need to say it back. The way his silver-gold eyes danced when he smiled at her, the tenderness of his touch, the way he would hold her so close at night, even when his antlers made it less comfortable for him—all that and so much more that he did every day showed her his love.

"You know," he said, breaking the kiss just enough to brush his lips against hers, "we should probably try and make the most of the night. I have a feeling that no matter how things go tomorrow, Raima is going to work us to the bone after."

Estingai threw back her head, rolling her eyes. "Ugh; you're right."

She sighed, then met Svemakuu's gaze again and smiled, biting her lip.

Before he could do anything, Estingai reached up and grabbed the base of his antler, pulling him into a—