a's

e to st

d the scent-clean, masculine, unfamiliar-tol

asn't

led in slow, un

t slightly, an

orne lay

ed with the memory. The weight of instinct. The imprint of a bond ne

th his head. His chest rose and fell in a rhythm that was almost too calm. Like

differen

usually slicked back and perfect, had come undone. Black waves falling over his forehead, slightly flattened where the pillow had pr

none of that so

e sheets rustle. Her skin prickled with a faint ache, heat blooming low across her

's aft

on her neck, would be tender. It pulsed faintly. Like a bruise pressed

ly. Not even

en

draped over the back of a nearby chair, wrinkled but intact. Her clutch sat beneath it, slig

look in t

dn't h

ild, eyes glassy with something between fear and shame.

silk clung awkwardly now, the zipper stiff. Her han

d her, Cass

mething low. B

wo

ta

a f

voice he used in boardrooms. Not the distant one from press calls or staff videos. This was diffe

didn'

didn't

, breath held tight in her throat. She grabbed her shoes, stuffe

the bed, a flash of go

't feel

hear

scrollwork-slid into the folds of the linen, just inche

gotten in

righ

the sun still trapped beneath the city skyline, her arms wrapped arou

hoed louder

the glass-distorted by streetlight and motion, barely recogn

d, just fo

ck at her like a quest

ave yo

re yo

ked awa

e looked a

bling beneath her feet-Lyra had vanished into the crowd. Just anothe

t she

rifying second when she hadn't been herself. When her b

he sound of his

rst of

h, in that one unguarded m