Luke’s kissing her neck, sweet slow tasting kisses as his hands move under her blouse and fumble with her bra. No, fumble is not enough of a word, more like-

“How do women wear these things every day?” he murmurs against Joss’s skin.

“Ever wonder why I wear sweatshirts a lot?”

Luke’s smart enough not to answer that question, just drops his hands to her hips and lets her finagle the misbehaving piece of lingerie herself.

“You could’ve torn it off me,” Joss mutters. “I’m pretty sure your wolf strength might be the only thing that could damage this one.”

He laughs, low resonant laugh that sends another wave of want straight to her core. They haven’t gotten this much alone time since the summer camp disaster, and that was almost a decade ago, and-

“Joss? Hey, Joss? You still with me?”

She snaps back to reality in a heartbeat. “Yeah. Just thinking about how long it’s been.”

“We don’t have to-”

“I know. But I want to. And you want to. And that’s enough.”

Luke responds by stripping off his t-shirt and throwing it aside. From her perch on her back with his knees straddling her thighs, Jocelyn gets a beautiful view of his muscles - not as defined as they once were, but damn good for his age and he definitely knows it. Someday, Joss thinks, someday - maybe the day after a full moon, when he’s too tired to be as giving as he usually is - someday she is going to kiss every inch of his body and find every place that makes him howl.

For now, however, for now it’s enough to let him unbutton her blouse and lean down and suck one of her nipples as he palms her breasts. It’s enough, almost, to make her feel beautiful.

She accidentally says that last bit, and he stills above her, worried. “We don’t have to do this,” he says again.

“You’re allowed to just say you don’t want to,” Joss shrugs. “This isn’t all about me.”

“I want you,” Luke murmurs, rocking his hips just a little and proving that his body and mind are agreed on that statement. “I just... you know how I am, babe.”

“I know. And most of the time I love it. But right now, maybe not do the overprotective thing?”

“I’ll try.”

“You can overcompensate when we cuddle after.”

With that, Joss gently shoves Luke back far enough that she can push her jeans and panties off her hips. It hits her that she ought to have more insecurities about her body - she’s on the bad side of forty, an abuse survivor, and has some really goddamn weird battle scars - and yet she’s completely comfortable. Because it’s LUKE, she thinks, and that’s enough reason. Because he’s seen her skin before, and maybe she weighs ten pounds more than she did last time but it’s not like either of them cares, and-

“May I touch you?”

“Please.”

Joss growls as one of his fingers slips between her folds, spreading her wetness around before stroking her clit. If this were a more normal encounter, she knows his tongue would be right down there alongside his hand, but instead he kisses her mouth to muffle what noises she makes. He’s gentle yet knowing, cautious enough not to push her too far at once but easily finding the right pressures and patterns to bring her to a solid edge.

“This good?” Luke asks, breathing against her skin again.

“Very,” she replies, and three good circles later, everything is suddenly very warm.

When she fully comes down, he’s similarly undressed and hovering above her. “Absolutely sure?”

“Yeah.”

The same quiet gentleness that Luke displays in everyday life is equally prominent in his style as a lover. His thrusts are slow, punctuated with kisses and wandering hands. This is a dance of equals, two people who know each other’s bodies as well as their own, and above all else, Joss feels present. Her hands wander too, head neck back ass up and down determined to touch as much of his skin as she can while she can. Their relationship may be out in the open now, but that doesn’t mean quiet moments are gonna become any more common, and it could be years before-

“What do you want me to do?” Luke asks. From his breathing alone, Joss can tell he’s close.

“In me is fine. Please.”

A few more thrusts and he collapses on top of her, a heavy comforting weight until he can be bothered to move. Her arms wrap around his waist as he shifts just slightly, separating their bodies and putting a little less pressure on her, and all Joss can feel is beautiful.

“We might as well be teenagers again,” she laughs. “First time we make love in ages and we do it during a picnic.”

“Are you okay?” Luke asks, less worried.