Botanicaust

Tula, ” he breathed against her ear. She mouthed his neck, tasting salt and flesh.
    “ Please, Levi. ” She nipped his ear, wrapped her feet around the backs of his knees.
    He sank into her and they moaned in unison. The entire length of his body pressed into hers. He kept enough weight on his elbows to keep from crushing her, but not allow one nanometer of space between them. With a slow draw, he pulled back and plunged again. Inside her, the tension welled upward, a wave preparing to crest, and she cried out for more.
    Levi latched onto her mouth, crushing her voice, continuing his drive. Their breaths became one, and she opened her eyes to find him staring into her face, the passion in his blue eyes a force not to be denied. His hands kneaded and stroked her sides and buttocks, slid under her to clench the back of her neck.
    Her head grew light as she wrapped her legs around him, straining him closer. When she came, he trembled, a shudder taking him the same moment a groan escaped his lips, vibrating against her neck and ear with a sensual timbre that resonated perfectly with the roar of her climax.
    They lay together, breathing, for an infinite amount of time. Their combined scent filled the room. He pressed his lips against her neck, not kissing, just touching, pushing so much love and energy into her soul that only happy tears expressed her heart. She didn ’ t know love could be like this. No drugs. Just pure and full and right.
    When he rolled onto his back, she wasn ’ t ready to break contact. She rolled to her side and lay her head on his chest. His heart thudded against her cheek as he wrapped both arms around her, her top leg resting on his thigh. Never before had she felt so whole and complete.
    She wanted this to last forever.

    Levi woke slowly, stretching beneath the blankets and then letting his body relax. His down mattress was softer than he remembered. He reached to the side in search of Josef, found a body, pulled it close. The waft of evergreen combined with the undeniable curve of a female hip jolted him fully awake. I ’ m not at home.
    Tula stretched, then snuggled into him, and his groin stirred.
    No , he thought, and shoved away. She didn ’ t wake, only whimpered, curling tighter into a fetal position. A soft song rose from her, and he propped himself on an elbow to catch the familiar tune. “ Jesus loves me, this I know — ”
    She was crying as she murmured the song, shivering in the throes of a dream. Levi trembled himself. How did she know that song? Grasping her upper arm, he rolled her onto her back. Her eyes shot open and she blinked, coming out of sleep, terror on her face.
    “ Where did you learn that song? ”
    “ What? ”
    “ Jesus Loves Me. ”
    She chewed her lip. “ I … don ’ t know. I was little girl. ”
    The quivering in his chest ceased, and his heart expanded. The name of Jesus on her lips was a sign. “ You are one of us. A Child of God. ”
    The tightness in his brow eased for what felt like the first time in weeks. He slipped a hand around her cheek to play with the fine hairs at the back of her neck. He would ask her to come with him. His quest for Josef paled when he thought Tula was in immediate danger. Waking, finding her safely next to him, all he wanted was to celebrate, to revel gratefully in her presence. They would not be separated again, no matter what. God meant for them to be together.
    He lay back down and pulled her against his chest. Her body fit his effortlessly, the co-mingling of their breaths like something divine. He inhaled deeply of her. She would help him get his request translated to the Fosselites. He would marry her, and hope his people could see her as he did. And if the Old Order would not accept her for the Child of God she was, he would take Josef and they would go form a life of their own. Perhaps cannibals like the ones who ’ d healed him would join them.
    His joy made him want to start his day, to live in happiness that he ’ d thought died with Sarah. He nuzzled Tula behind the ear and pushed the covers back. In response to his movement, faint light flickered on from tubes in the ceiling. Tula groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. Smiling at how cute she was, he rose and tucked the blanket firmly around her. Then he looked around the room.
    The only furniture consisted of the bed and a lone chair in one corner. On the floor next to the chair, the cattail bag he and Tula had carried across the desert