She watched him for a moment, unable—and unwilling—to look away.
His lashes lifted.
“Good morning,” he murmured, voice low with sleep.
She smiled. “Good morning.”
He studied her as though memorising her anew. His thumb brushed her cheekbone, slow and wondering. “You look different.”
“How so?”
“Peaceful,” he said. “As though something has settled inside you.”
A pause. A shift in his gaze. “As though you’re happy.”
“I am.” Her voice came out soft, honest. “Are you?”
He leaned in, kissing her once—unhurried, certain. “Yes,” he said against her lips. “More than I’ve been in years. Perhaps ever.”
She laughed quietly, brushing her fingers through his hair. “You’re being sentimental.”
“I reserve the right,” he said, kissing her again—this time deeper, slower. “Particularly when I wake with my wife in my arms after… last night.”
Colour warmed her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “Does it feel strange? Waking together like this?”
“No,” he said simply. “It feels right.”
Another kiss—a lingering one. “And I intend for it to continue feeling right. Repeatedly.”
His mouth curved in a wicked half-smile. “We have a great deal left to discover.”
Her breath hitched as he shifted, trailing kisses along her jaw, then lower, following the path her pulse fluttered beneath his lips. His hand slid to her waist, drawing her closer as he began to explore her with the same reverent hunger that had undone her the night before.
“Elias…” she whispered, fingers curling in his hair.
“Let me,” he murmured against her skin. “We barely began.”
He was lowering himself, slow and purposeful, when—
A sharp knock rattled the door.
Celine froze.
Elias went very still.
“My lady?” came Sally’s voice, carefully neutral. “I have your morning tea. And there’s a letter that arrived by special messenger. From your mother.”
Celine closed her eyes briefly.Of course.
“My lady… shall I come in?” Sally added—very gently, as if treading upon uncertain ground.
Elias met Celine’s gaze. She nodded once.
“Enter,” she called, trying to sound composed.
The door opened.
Sally stepped inside—and stopped dead.
