"We can do this. We can get the darkness out of both of us for good."
She can see it, the moment he finally starts to believe her, that he can see that there is some hope.
"How?" he asks, fear still present in his eyes.
"By doing what I just did with you," she answers, "By going to those we love."
He nods slowly, so close to her that their noses bump and a small smile flickers across his face, "Aye. But first…"
He tilts his head just a fraction, knowing that she will do as she always has and meet him half way. She doesn't disappoint and they fall into their familiar rhythm, lips parting on breathy sighs and unrestrained whimpers. It feels different, he realises, as her hand snakes up his arm and around the back of his neck; there is magic crackling beneath his skin, burning in his fingertips, and it feels like the build to something incredible.
Their lips part for a moment, foreheads still touched together, and he takes the opportunity to ask, "Is it always so…" he bites his lip, contemplating the best way to describe the dizzy in love feeling he's experiencing.
She saves him the trouble though, nudging his nose with hers as she rocks her hips dangerously over his. "Every. Single. Time," she says, punctuating each word with a kiss to his face and sending currents of electricity into every pore of his being.
He wraps his hooked arm tighter around her, wanting to feel her closer, draw her in until there is nothing between them. He knows, in this moment, he will be insatiable when it comes to her. The darkness is a lure but Emma Swan is his vice.
She licks her lips and pulls herself up to meet his kiss again. It's wet and heated and she knows he can feel their combined magic and knows it must be driving him absolutely wild. It's always been there for her, always just burning on the edges of her pleasure, but here and now, it's at the forefront of everything between them, her hands wanting to touch every part of him, his whimpering moans echoing in her ears and sending jolts of electricity through her and into him.
The curve of his hook presses firmly at her back, sliding lower until she is sure he's going to try and lift her. But something tugs at the corners of her blissfully aroused haze and she knows she can't ignore it.
Pulling back with a smile, she allows herself one more second to just breathe him in before, "Alright. Enough distractions."
His smile matches hers and it's probably the hardest thing in the world to not use one of the trees around them to their advantage and just jump him. But she knows the importance of the path they must take, so she heeds her own advice and pulls away completely, already thinking of a time when they can explore that crackle and burn again.