My breath stills in my chest as awareness sharpens.Vann.
At some point in the night, he must’ve moved closer. His form is curled near mine. My skin prickles.
Of course, he needed to sleep at some point.
I knew that—I’d told him to lie with me on the bed.
It made sense. We’d slept near each other before. But I didn’t expect his arm to drape around my waist.
Cautiously, I shift just enough to turn my head yet not to disturb the delicate balance between us. I’ve never seen him truly rest, only sit still in his unnerving way. His silver hair has fallen out of his braidand spilled over his face, strands ghosting over the sharp cut of his cheekbone, over lips that part slightly with each steady exhale.
But his skin is cold.
Strange.
He’d touched me a lot lately. My face. My hands. The small of my back. My ankle.
Somehow, I hadn’t noticed how his body felt, how the cold lingers beneath his skin like frost that never melts. I shiver.
If I couldn’t see him breathing, I’d worry he was dead. But then his hand flexes before pressing against the soft curve protecting my lower belly.
The action moves my ass right into his lap, and my core clenches.
Oh,I think.Oh… yes.
He’s holding such a particular spot, the space right above where I would carry a child.
My mind swims, but I don’t move away. I don’twantto.
He had been so kind last night. There was something about talking to him that made me feel better. Safe. And… beautiful?
I didn’t think he would ever be affected by a human. But he likes my freckles and my hair.
I study him, my gaze trailing over the way his shoulders rise and fall. He looks different like this. Less like a warrior or an unyielding force, and more like…
My fingers twitch against his hand. The back of his palm heats, and he nuzzles closer, pressing his nose to my throat. The sensitive skin tingles, and my mouth goes dry.
I don’t know if I had ever been held so tightly—definitely not since the night I lost my daughter. Before then, I used to luxuriate in moments like this. Being caged in until I was trapped.
I liked abandon. Loved the way my skin tingled with the roughness.
It had been a decade since the sad night. So much of my soul had changed and healed in that time.
While I wasn’t ready to say I liked being bound again, I definitelylike this.
But a part of me wonders if it is because of time, or the man behind me. He holds my trust like it is a precious thing.
My eyes flutter closed as his breath tickles over my neck and collarbone. More heat pools between my legs.
His words from last night play in my memory.“You have walked far enough beneath heavy skies, let your step, for once, fall upon something soft.”
This is more than soft.
This is… peaceful. Something about beautiful words and firm, possessive hands ignite my skin. I was hot next to him. And a slickness accompanies the ache deep in my cunt.
Many of the men I had been attracted to were because of their friendliness or their handsome features. Safety was important to me.
Vann provided that… but there was something else. An intellectual side to him I had never experienced with another partner.
