the taste of sa

nyway, sharp and clean, like air pulled straight off the water. It clung to the back of he

istant doors opened and closed. A housekeeping cart rattled faintly somewhere down the

already beat

" she murmured, sta

ened boundaries that usually held firm. She sat up slowly, swinging her legs over the side of the be

Neutra

up neatly, the way they alwa

re

cipa

without

t-the lingering afte

in the

necessary. She watched herself in the mirror, studying her own reflecti

even know

r. Hadn't touched her.

er body reac

ire trip. Breakfast with friends helped-familiar laughter, shared plans for the day, the comfortable rhy

to. Nodded at the right moments

rself she'd

t noticing what

ce enco

sing g

or otherwise-o

tween sessions. The outdoor terrace overlooking the water where sun

th

sed harder than

n, irritation

yed her m

dn't invent meaning where none existed. She trusted

forgot about him-something inside her tightene

she thoug

to place with un

avoid

de no sense-and ma

ad known

ce alwa

n tracks. Different meal times. Not out of fear-out of calc

ua

t fading. It w

en them pulled taut, vibrating just beneath

pon

hen she was distracted. When she tried t

the dange

eady adjust

ze fixed on the horizon where the sun bled slowly into the water. The sky burned g

n when he sen

t nee

breath-contained, tense, unmistakable. If he looked at

e di

move, shoulders tight, control held with the kind

take," he mutt

didn'

the dream fo

ark and endless, the rhythm of the waves steady and deliberate. The sky was neither day nor night-washed in

asn't

at before s

ht and immediate-lighting every nerve in her body as if some

between them charged with something that made the air f

clea

she said, though he

ression unreadable but i

nto her bones, deep and steady i

e man from

es

n trying to

eliberate. Then, quietly, "I wa

and disbelieving. "Congr

crossed his face bef

ngerous in its clarity. Lena felt it snap into alignment, li

stag

hand closing around her wrist-ste

tact de

uldn't parse-height, darkness, the unmistakable

caught. "Wh

gh to anchor her. "Someone w

ars flared and scattered as

heart hammering, sheets

hand reaching out, fingers still half-curle

ed to speak to

as no longe

had woken b

fully aw