Our tongues lose patience, reaching for a taste with a flick, then a twist and twine around each other. Our arms find their way to an embrace, chest to chest. I feel his heart beating against me and the fierce demand of his erection.

Bending, I do what I promised myself I would, kissing his chest and below, cherishing the arrow of darkness and where it leads, feeling its heat through the fabric. On my knees before him, I pull down the waistband, release it, and look up at him as he threads his fingers in my hair.

His cock tastes of sweat and something sharp that’s him. Every inch of it gets the loving attention of my tongue. The world may be big and confusing, but here and now, there’s nothing else. Just me and this man. I’ve never tasted anything as sweet as the drop of salt I suck off his tip. When I take him in my mouth, his groan is music. This is all the beauty and pleasure I need. It will fortify me against the agony of the coming weeks. I will have experienced something both grounded in reality and transcendent in love.

You will be free.

The words meet his cock at the back of my throat and stay there.

My love. You will be free.

The thought makes me so happy I lose myself. The buzz of pleasure filling my core spreads to a tingle in my arms and legs.

“Oh, God.” His prayer is no more than a breath before he pushes me away, gasping.

He pulls me up gently, then gathers two fistfuls of pink fabric, lifting the nightgown over my head. He steps back, gaze consuming me—without my cotton underwear—for a moment before lifting me and sitting on the cot with me in his lap, facing him. He leans back and pulls me forward, maneuvering his face between my legs.

His mouth is soft and warm. I give him room to breathe, but he pulls me down hard over him, groaning when I put my weight on his face. He’s forcing me to take control.

Free, free, you will be free.

My hips slide over his face, using his mouth for the pleasure running through my veins. I run my hard nub over his tongue, jerking to my rhythm, until I’m overtaken with the darkness of heaven, tightening over him, mouth locked open in a mute cry that calls out in my mind.

Dario, Dario, Dario.

When it’s too much, I pull away with a hah. The sound of it makes me freeze.

I look down at him, face slicked, eyes on fire. He takes me by the back of my neck and draws me into a kiss. I taste myself on his tongue. It’s the flavor of happiness and hope.