She decided she could rest a while longer.Just a few more minutes.Then she'd slip away before he woke and realized what they'd done.
Lulled by the warmth and the steady rhythm of his breathing, Bella's eyes drifted closed.
And she slept.
***
BOYD WOKE TO THE DELICIOUSscent of a woman.
Soft skin and lavender.Clean linen and something uniquely feminine that made his body tighten with want.
He was dreaming again.He had to be.
In his dream, Bella lay across his chest, her body warm and pliant against his, her hair spilling over his shoulder like silk.His arms were wrapped around her, holding her close, and she fit against him so perfectly it made his chest ache.
Boyd smiled in his sleep, tightening his arms around her, savoring the dream.
Then his eyes opened.
He realized with a jolt of pure terror that it wasn't a dream.
Bella, his wife, the woman he'd sworn he wouldn't touch, was draped across him like a blanket.One of her legs was thrown over his thighs.Her hand rested over his heart.Her face was tucked into the curve of his neck, her breath warm against his skin.
And his body, damn it, his treacherous body, was responding with ardor to every soft curve pressed against him.He was hard as a pike.
Two things hit Boyd simultaneously: pure joy at waking with Bella in his arms, and pure terror at what this meant.Boyd knew he should move.Should extract himself before she woke and they had to acknowledge this.Should put distance between them before he did something foolish.
Like never let her go.
But for just a moment he allowed himself to hold her.To breathe her in.To feel the weight of her in his arms and pretend that this was real.
Then, reluctantly, carefully, Boyd began to slide away from her.The movement pained him in ways that made his heart ache.
Bella murmured something in her sleep, reaching for him as he moved away, and Boyd had to grit his teeth against the urge to pull her back.
Eventually he stood beside the bed, staring down at her in the pre-dawn light.She looked peaceful.Beautiful.
His.
Boyd rubbed at the sudden, sharp pain in his chest and forced himself to turn away.
He washed and dressed quickly and quietly, then slipped from the room before he could do something unforgivable.Like climb back into that bed, kiss her awake and show her exactly what she did to him.
The inn's courtyard was cold and grey in the early morning light, but Boyd welcomed it.He needed the chill to clear his head.Needed distance from Bella and the feeling of longing she awakened in him.
***
