SERAPHINA’S POV
I was really beginning to hate mornings.
For a long moment, I didn’t open my eyes, desperate to cling to the warmth cocooning us for a while longer.
I was aware of Kieran before anything else—his arm heavy around my waist, his breath warm against the back of my neck, the steady, grounding presence of him pressed along the length of my body.
The sheets were tangled low around us, the air still carrying the faint heat and scent of everything we had shared hours before. For once, my mind wasn’t racing ahead to the next problem, the next threat, the next decision waiting for me.
It was quiet.
Peaceful.
Dangerously easy to stay.
I shifted, and his hold tightened instinctively, a low, half-asleep sound rumbling in his chest.
“Don’t,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep. “It’s too early for the world to start demanding things.”
A soft huff of laughter slipped out of me. “If only the world cared.”
