All I could manage was a small nod.
His fingers brushed the knot first—gentle, no rush—then he loosened the fabric bit by bit. Just like before.
One sliver of light.
Then another.
Then a third.
My lashes fluttered, the crimson glow of the room greeting me in slivers instead of all at once. When he pulled the blindfold away completely, he brushed my hair back from my forehead and pressed a kiss there.
Then another on my temple.
Another on my cheek.
A measured constellation of them draped over me like a shroud.
I melted into the pillow, eyes half-closed, breath slow.
Then I felt it—his hands sliding beneath the blanket. Gentle. Slow. Careful.
The lotion hit my skin cool and slick, stealing a tiny gasp from me. Damien’s palms moved in measured circles, tracing each bloom of heat with deliberate gentleness.
“That’s it. Let me take care of you.”
Another glide of lotion.
Another warm hand smoothing the heat from my skin.
Then a colder sensation.
He lifted the blanket just slightly, and something gentle and chilled settled across the most tender part of me—a padded compress. The relief was immediate. Like sinking into cold water after too much sun.
My eyelids fluttered again. An involuntary exhale escaped me—almost a whimper, almost a sigh.
Damien’s hand stroked the back of my thigh once, slow and reassuring. “It’s time to rest.”
And I did.
I let my head sink further into the pillow.
Let the coolness seep into my skin.
Let his warmth stay as close as the blanket.
***
A yawn unhinged my jaw. A deep sleepy pull of air.
I reached up to scrub at my face, feeling the familiar slide of Damien’s sheets beneath my touch. I ground my palm into my eyes, a kaleidoscope of colors dancing behind my lids.
Damien’s voice came from my left. “Good morning, sleepy head.”
He slid into focus as I forced myself awake. He was sitting beside me on the edge of the bed, one elbow braced on his knee, fingers loosely pressed to his lips. In his other hand, a glass of water.
On the nightstand, a bar of dark chocolate already broken into squares.
His expression shifted to something tender the second I surfaced.
