Jude didn't need her to explain.
He moved to the stone, dropped to his knees, and placed both hands against it. It was cool to the touch, smoother than it should have been, but it throbbed with warmth beneath the surface. He felt his breath hitch. The stone exhaled into him.
He opened his eyes - and saw them.
Not just the women. Them.
Visions. Memories. Futures.
Rose beneath the moonlight, her body arched in pleasure. Lucy laughing in the river. Emma curled in his arms by firelight. Zoey painting his chest with glowing ash. Layla whispering spells into his ear. Grace pressed against him, her mouth warm and insistent. Scarlet in the rain, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Stella riding him in the grass, crying his name. Natalie teaching him rhythms with her hips. Susan biting his lip. Sophie watching him from across the fire. And more. So much more. Lives they hadn't lived yet.
It was all here.
A promise.
A bond.
