When she stirred, he cursed under his breath, groping in the dark for something to cover her. The only thing he found was one of Gabriel’s spare shirts, crumpled in his bag.
He shoved it at her, gruff: “For my sanity, if nothing else.”
She laughed, slipping it over her head. The hem swallowed her thighs.
“Better?”
“Not even close.”
He dragged a pillow between them, like that pitiful barrier could cage the storm in his blood. Her smile in the dark told him she knew exactly what he was doing. She snuggled into him anyway, tracing idle circles over his ribs, lashes low. A faint grin tugged at his mouth, unbidden.
“You’re smiling,” she murmured, almost accusing, though her voice was soft as her touch. “What is it?”
He raised a brow.
“Besides you climbing into my bed against every scrap of reason?”
Her lips curved, brushing the corner of his mouth.
“Yes. Besides that.”
He tucked his arm behind his head, eyes catching the glow of the orbs above.
“Just… all I learned about you today. All you and your father have been through. Your journey here. Your middle name.”
He turned his head to look at her.
“Aleksandra,” he echoed. “That’s beautiful.”
Color rose in her cheeks. “And yours?”
He gave a small, reluctant huff. “Judah.”
She smiled.
“Viktor Judah,” she whispered. “That’s beautiful, too.”
“Common,” he muttered, the word dragging out like it tasted bitter.
“Every backcountry boy’s got a Judah in his line. My father said it would give me roots.” He shifted, voice roughening. “I never minded the roots. Only the way men like to bind you to them—as if you’re not allowed to choose where you’ll grow.”
She tucked closer, pressing her cheek against his skin.
“Strong,” she murmured, like it was a secret meant only for him.
He let the quiet linger, then asked, softer, “When were you born?”
Her smile curved against his chest.
“I’ll be twenty-two soon. On the summer solstice—the longest day of the year.”
He gave a quiet laugh.
“You won’t believe this… but I was born on the winter solstice.”
Her brows lifted, a grin tugging at her lips.
“So I’m the hottest day, and you’re the coldest night?”
