"No. Been awake for a few minutes. Watching you sleep."
"That's not creepy at all," I tease.
His lips quirk. "Couldn't help it. You're beautiful when you sleep."
"I probably have bedhead and drool."
"Still beautiful." His hand slides up my spine, making me shiver. "How do you feel?"
"Good. Really good." I shift slightly, and a pleasant ache reminds me of exactly what we did last night. "A little sore, maybe."
His eyes darken with something possessive. "I wasn’t too rough, was I?"
"No. It was perfect. You were perfect."
He pulls me up so we're face to face, then kisses me slowly, thoroughly. When he pulls back, we're both breathing harder.
"What time is it?" I ask.
He glances at the window. "Early. Sun's barely up. We have time."
"Time for what?"
"Whatever you want." His hand cups my face, thumb stroking my cheekbone. "We have today. One more day before reality comes back. I want to make every second count."
Something in my chest tightens. "Me too."
We lie there for a while, just holding each other, and I try to memorize this moment. The weight of him beside me. The warmth of his skin. The way his fingers trace idle patterns on my back.
"I can hear you thinking," he murmurs.
"Just trying to remember everything. This weekend has been unexpected."
"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?"
"The best unexpected." I press a kiss to his chest. "I didn't think it would be like this."
His arms tighten around me. "Neither did I."
"What happens tomorrow?" I ask quietly. "When we go back?"
He's silent for a moment, his hand stilling on my back. "What do you want to happen?"
"I don't want this to end. I don't want to go back to my life and have this just be... a weekend. A charity obligation that we both enjoyed but then moved on from."
He rolls us so I'm beneath him, his weight pressing me into the mattress, his eyes boring into mine.
"Listen to me," he says, voice fierce. "This was never just a weekend for me. From the moment you bid on me, from the moment our eyes met across that pavilion, this became something more. And tomorrow, when we go back to Lovesbury, nothing changes except the location."
"Silas—"
"I'm not done." His thumb traces my lower lip. "I want to see you every day. I want to take you to dinner, to the movies, on walks through town. I want everyone to know you're with me. And if that's too much too soon, if I'm scaring you off, tell me now so I can dial it back. But I can't pretend this is casual. Not with you."
My eyes sting with sudden tears. "You're not scaring me off. I want all of that too. I just... I didn't know if you felt the same way."
"How could you not know?" He leans down and kisses me softly. "I'm not good with words, Iris. Never have been. But I thought I made it pretty clear last night exactly how I feel about you."
"Show me again," I whisper.
