He studied me for a moment, as if weighing that.
“You’ve been awake long?” he asked.
“A few minutes.”
“And?”
I hesitated, then answered honestly. “I was thinking.”
“That’s not unusual.”
“About you.”
That shifted something—subtle, but there.
His gaze sharpened just slightly. “That’s more interesting.”
I shifted onto my side, facing him fully now, the distance between us already minimal.
“Do you always sleep like that?” I asked.
“Like what?”
“Like nothing can get to you.”
His expression didn’t change much, but something in it stilled.
“I sleep,” he said.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I exhaled, but there was no frustration in it. Not this morning.
“Fine,” I said. “Be vague.”
“I’m consistent.”
“That’s one word for it.”
Something almost like amusement flickered through his eyes, brief but real.
I felt it, too—that small spark of lightness in the middle of all this quiet intensity. It made me want to close the distance again, to chase whatever this softer morning version of us might become before the day pulled us back into motion.
I shifted closer, sliding one leg over his hip until I was straddling him, the sheets pooling around us. His hands came to my thighs immediately, warm palms settling there—not gripping, just resting, like he was giving me the reins again.
“You’re awake now,” I murmured, leaning down until my hair curtained around us.
“Very.”
I kissed him slowly, not teasing like last night, but deliberate—lips brushing, parting, tasting the faint salt of sleep on his tongue. He kissed me back with the same measured hunger, one hand sliding up my back to cradle the nape of my neck, holding me exactly where he wanted me. No rush. No demand. Just deep, languid exploration that made heat coil low and lazy in my belly.
I broke the kiss to trail my mouth along his jaw, down the side of his throat, feeling the steady thrum of his pulse beneath my lips. When I nipped lightly at the spot where neck met shoulder, his fingers flexed against my skin, a low sound rumbling in his chest.
“You like that,” I said against his skin.
“I like you.”
