p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa awoke in Jem's arms, her body void of clothing. The two were swathed in a single white sheet; the rest of the blankets had been kicked to the ground during the activities of last class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James noticed Tessa's fluttering eyelids. He pressed a finger to her nose until her eyes opened wide and she /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Jem," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse, which made her giggle. "James."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Saying his name- his emfull/em name- brought black a flood of memories. Drunken giggles and his nimble hand on her back, leading her up to his room. A smear of silver hair and 'I love you's and sweat mixing with other class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Theresa," Jem said with a joking tone in his words. Tessa grinned and pressed her lips to his. Jem giggled against her mouth. He gripped the sheet cotton sheet tight and pulled it over class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa opened her eyes and just stared. Jem looked so healthy in the pale white cotton light; she couldn't tell if he had dark circles or an angular jaw or a pallid complexion. He was just Jem, just her James. She closed her eyes again and savored the /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"When they pulled away, Jem pulled her closer to /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I hope you don't feel that I spoiled our love after last night, Tessa," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her tangled mess of brown hair. "I know we aren't married yet. But…" Jem's eyes gazed away from Tessa. They looked for something /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""But emwhat/em, James?" she /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""But I don't know if I will be alive long enough to consummate a marriage to you, Tessa, my darling."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She shook her head /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You can't think like that, James. You can't… you have to keep your head high, my love." She reached her hand out and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. "You have to think of the future- of a emhappy /emfuture. One where we're together always. Here, at the Institute, or even in Shanghai-"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"She broke off as Jem fell into a fit of coughing. Tessa watched him with wide eyes until it faded; the fit had shook his body to the core. There was blood on his hands that he had covered his mouth with. He looked down at his hands, an air of sadness coming over him. Jem's face /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Oh," he whispered. His voice was but a mere croak. "Tessa, I- I'm sorry. You know it, deep down, but you long for something I cannot give you."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James climbed from the bed, making his way to the basin of water on the nightstand by the door. Tessa watched his back as he walked, the way his muscles contracted and retracted in his back when he coughed again. She wrapped herself in the blanket and /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I know it consciously, James. I'm not denying the fact that you're dying. I'm not that naive. I only wish for you to stop dwelling on it!"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James turned around to face her. His hands were dripping a watery, diluted mix of blood and class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Stop dwelling on it? I'm emdying/em, Tessa!" he cried. Tessa nodded, her brown hair shaking wildly around her /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I know you're dying, James. But you know it to be true, stressing over it makes you emeven sicker/em!"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem pushed past her, trying to get to the emyin fen /embox on his nightstand. Tessa gripped his arm and pulled her close to /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""The Jem I was with last night, the one I made love to," she whispered softly, almost seductively. "He wasn't worried or afraid of what might happen down the road. And he was emhappy/em."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem, without a second thought, gripped her waist through the sheet. The white cotton soaked up the watery blood on his hands, but neither of them cared. Tessa dropped the sheet to the /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Standing naked in front of Jem in the broad daylight made her feel rich. Rich in attention and power. He looked at her like she was the moon in the night sky, like she was a statue carved from gold. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes travelled the length of her /br /span/p
p class="p1""Tessa." She looked up to him, her eyes searching his face as a small smile crept onto her lips. "emTessa/em."br /br /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, their hips pressing against each other. Tessa took a sharp breath in and buried her head in Jem's /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I love you," she whispered, trailing her hands up and down his back. "I love you, I love you, I love-"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem took a faulty step forwards to regain his balance, but it sent the both of them tumbling to the ground. They landed on the discarded sheet, a tangle of sweaty limbs and heavy class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa looked deep into Jem's eyes. She lowered her face onto his slowly, reveling in how sweet it was to kiss him like this. Slow and passionate, yet gingerly. When Tessa kissed him, her world exploded. Jem tasted like copper, but she didn't mind it. All that mattered was his grip on her hips as she moved to straddle him, trying not to break their /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Jem," she breathed. "James, please."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem chuckled. He removed one of his hands from her hip to brush her hair away from her face. His smile was /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""emPlease /emwhat?" he queried. Tess ran her hands over his /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Please emme/em," she whispered hoarsely. Jem lifted his head up to meet her lips. His hands covered her breasts, cupped the side of her face and her backside. Every time he touched her, she would inhale sharply and close her eyes in class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"There had been time, she remembered, when he refused to touch her like this. emHow sad a time that was/em, Tessa thought. She smirked as Jem slowly pressed into her, but her smirk was quickly replaced by a brief expression of pain. Tessa was emsore/em, but as Jem kept going, she found she didn't realize it. Instead, she hunched over, gripping his shoulders with her hands, her hips shifting back and /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""James," she gasped. "James. Jem. emI love you/em."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem smiled, though it was more of a grimace. He reached up behind Tessa's neck and pulled her down closer so that her ear was near his mouth. Tessa could hear his heavy breathing. This close to him, she could smell him; he smelled like the tangy metallic scent of emyin fen/em and the sourness of sweat. Or perhaps the sweat was coming from her. She couldn't tell. Everything they were was mixed, /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Tessa," he groaned. His hand slipped from her neck back to her hips. He shifted her hips up and down ever so slightly, low moans coming from the back of his throat. "You are my everything. emWo ai ni/em."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa's heart skipped a beat; her breath caught in her throat and she didn't release it until he had pressed their skin close together and finished. She stayed straddled atop of him, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""James Carstairs," she whispered. Tessa's voice was scratchy when she spoke. "You are my everything as well."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James noticed Tessa's fluttering eyelids. He pressed a finger to her nose until her eyes opened wide and she /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Jem," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse, which made her giggle. "James."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Saying his name- his emfull/em name- brought black a flood of memories. Drunken giggles and his nimble hand on her back, leading her up to his room. A smear of silver hair and 'I love you's and sweat mixing with other class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Theresa," Jem said with a joking tone in his words. Tessa grinned and pressed her lips to his. Jem giggled against her mouth. He gripped the sheet cotton sheet tight and pulled it over class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa opened her eyes and just stared. Jem looked so healthy in the pale white cotton light; she couldn't tell if he had dark circles or an angular jaw or a pallid complexion. He was just Jem, just her James. She closed her eyes again and savored the /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"When they pulled away, Jem pulled her closer to /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I hope you don't feel that I spoiled our love after last night, Tessa," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her tangled mess of brown hair. "I know we aren't married yet. But…" Jem's eyes gazed away from Tessa. They looked for something /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""But emwhat/em, James?" she /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""But I don't know if I will be alive long enough to consummate a marriage to you, Tessa, my darling."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She shook her head /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You can't think like that, James. You can't… you have to keep your head high, my love." She reached her hand out and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. "You have to think of the future- of a emhappy /emfuture. One where we're together always. Here, at the Institute, or even in Shanghai-"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"She broke off as Jem fell into a fit of coughing. Tessa watched him with wide eyes until it faded; the fit had shook his body to the core. There was blood on his hands that he had covered his mouth with. He looked down at his hands, an air of sadness coming over him. Jem's face /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Oh," he whispered. His voice was but a mere croak. "Tessa, I- I'm sorry. You know it, deep down, but you long for something I cannot give you."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James climbed from the bed, making his way to the basin of water on the nightstand by the door. Tessa watched his back as he walked, the way his muscles contracted and retracted in his back when he coughed again. She wrapped herself in the blanket and /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I know it consciously, James. I'm not denying the fact that you're dying. I'm not that naive. I only wish for you to stop dwelling on it!"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"James turned around to face her. His hands were dripping a watery, diluted mix of blood and class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Stop dwelling on it? I'm emdying/em, Tessa!" he cried. Tessa nodded, her brown hair shaking wildly around her /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I know you're dying, James. But you know it to be true, stressing over it makes you emeven sicker/em!"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem pushed past her, trying to get to the emyin fen /embox on his nightstand. Tessa gripped his arm and pulled her close to /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""The Jem I was with last night, the one I made love to," she whispered softly, almost seductively. "He wasn't worried or afraid of what might happen down the road. And he was emhappy/em."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem, without a second thought, gripped her waist through the sheet. The white cotton soaked up the watery blood on his hands, but neither of them cared. Tessa dropped the sheet to the /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Standing naked in front of Jem in the broad daylight made her feel rich. Rich in attention and power. He looked at her like she was the moon in the night sky, like she was a statue carved from gold. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes travelled the length of her /br /span/p
p class="p1""Tessa." She looked up to him, her eyes searching his face as a small smile crept onto her lips. "emTessa/em."br /br /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, their hips pressing against each other. Tessa took a sharp breath in and buried her head in Jem's /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I love you," she whispered, trailing her hands up and down his back. "I love you, I love you, I love-"br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem took a faulty step forwards to regain his balance, but it sent the both of them tumbling to the ground. They landed on the discarded sheet, a tangle of sweaty limbs and heavy class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa looked deep into Jem's eyes. She lowered her face onto his slowly, reveling in how sweet it was to kiss him like this. Slow and passionate, yet gingerly. When Tessa kissed him, her world exploded. Jem tasted like copper, but she didn't mind it. All that mattered was his grip on her hips as she moved to straddle him, trying not to break their /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Jem," she breathed. "James, please."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem chuckled. He removed one of his hands from her hip to brush her hair away from her face. His smile was /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""emPlease /emwhat?" he queried. Tess ran her hands over his /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Please emme/em," she whispered hoarsely. Jem lifted his head up to meet her lips. His hands covered her breasts, cupped the side of her face and her backside. Every time he touched her, she would inhale sharply and close her eyes in class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"There had been time, she remembered, when he refused to touch her like this. emHow sad a time that was/em, Tessa thought. She smirked as Jem slowly pressed into her, but her smirk was quickly replaced by a brief expression of pain. Tessa was emsore/em, but as Jem kept going, she found she didn't realize it. Instead, she hunched over, gripping his shoulders with her hands, her hips shifting back and /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""James," she gasped. "James. Jem. emI love you/em."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Jem smiled, though it was more of a grimace. He reached up behind Tessa's neck and pulled her down closer so that her ear was near his mouth. Tessa could hear his heavy breathing. This close to him, she could smell him; he smelled like the tangy metallic scent of emyin fen/em and the sourness of sweat. Or perhaps the sweat was coming from her. She couldn't tell. Everything they were was mixed, /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Tessa," he groaned. His hand slipped from her neck back to her hips. He shifted her hips up and down ever so slightly, low moans coming from the back of his throat. "You are my everything. emWo ai ni/em."br /br /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Tessa's heart skipped a beat; her breath caught in her throat and she didn't release it until he had pressed their skin close together and finished. She stayed straddled atop of him, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her class="Apple-converted-space" br /br /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""James Carstairs," she whispered. Tessa's voice was scratchy when she spoke. "You are my everything as well."/span/p