Aldor's Eye - Part I

Chapter X - The Way

Din had never slept so deeply. When he woke at a small hour, he felt for an instant like he'd just been born. As if he'd never known anything. But sleep gradually fell away, and he started to know things again. He knew there was a warm, soft body draped over his. He knew her sleeping thoughts. Mostly, he knew he wanted her until the day he died. Maybe until the end of time.

Her breath whispered across his bare chest, and he opened his eyes to watch her, sleeping soundly in his arms. Her pale auburn hair fell chaotically across her cheek and scattered over his arm. Half her naked body lay draped over half of his, tucked into his arm with her free hand tumbling over his shoulder. He greedily followed the magnificent slopes and rises with his eyes, tingling everywhere her body came into contact with his. Her skin so pale and fine against his dark, coarse flesh. The contrast was beautiful.

He started to shift, but his legs were trapped under her thigh, and the sole of one small foot remained anchored to the side of his calf. Surrounded in her. Covered in her scent. Encased in her gorgeous ribbons of soft steam. She shifted closer to him in her sleep, sensing his feelings unconsciously as the softness between her legs pressed into the point of his hip. Still wet and swollen from last night. He bit back a groan, remembering the ecstasy of burying himself in her. He could drown inside her. He'd lost all sense of his past and future there, knowing only that this body was meant for his. This heart, this mind, this strength. All his. The spirit she gave to him while they basked in rapture. His and his alone. Nothing will take her from me.

She murmured and moved subtly against him, coming slightly closer to waking as the softness pressed a wet, sweet kiss to the thin skin stretched over the blade of his hip. He let a tight sigh escape his throat, trying not to wake her as shockwaves rocked his body. He lightly brushed her hair out of her face, loving this contrast as he trailed his rough fingertips across her smooth cheek. Her sleeping thoughts were elegant and flowing, flashing through sensory data her mind absorbed while her consciousness overlaid it, playing scenes from last night. From her imagination and her memory. Their contrasting flesh tangled in silken ribbons and golden bands. She knew only these fleeting pictures, and that she was safe and comfortable in his arms. She saw his face, inhaled his skin. He sent his feelings through the simmering wave of molten warmth he wrapped around her, and she started to know how much she loved the rumble rising between her legs.

The same rumble echoed through his blood and brain, and prodded him to wake her. Bury himself again. And again. Again. As much as possible until the dawn broke through the skylight. But she slept too peacefully and he couldn't bring himself to wake her. He needed nothing more than to keep her there in his arms, sleeping peacefully and flashing through her senses, safe and fulfilled.

But he couldn't resist touching her. He'd become fixated on this beautiful contrast he'd discovered. He didn't know why he loved it so much, he just knew he loved it passionately. It seemed these two tones of flesh were made to come together. To become one. He pulled her gently closer, wrapping his arms tighter around her. His own movement in his periphery reminded him of the mirror, and he turned his head to see it filled with this incredible contrast. His own desert-darkened body golden in the glow of her cool, pale moonlight.

He sighed shakily, understanding suddenly just how much he loved her. The sight of her draped over the man he recognized as Din Djarin stirred something so deep in his soul, it led him into forgotten caverns far below the surface. Caverns that had seen no light or movement for decades. He was amazed to find them filled with warmth and activity. He shuddered and gathered her closer as the glow in this chest spilled into the vast network of refurbished caverns. He wanted to bring her inside to show her around. He could hide her there if he ever needed to. He would keep her safe and comfortable in the hidden chambers of his soul until whatever darkness passed. Because nothing will take her from me.