The morning began with the smell of rain and the faint hum of thunder over the city. Aria stood by the window, her hand resting on the cold glass as drops slid down like tears from the sky. Luca was still asleep, sprawled across the bed with a calmness she hadn't seen in months. He looked human this way, less the Don, more the man. The man she'd fallen for against all reason.
Her heart tugged at the memory of how things used to be, the fire, the chaos, the way his voice could command both fear and desire in the same breath. But those were fragments now, scattered pieces of a puzzle neither of them could completely solve. He remembered flashes: the scent of her hair, the feel of her laughter, the way her eyes used to challenge him. But the timeline was gone. What remained was instinct.
Behind her, his voice broke the silence. "You've been awake for hours."
Aria turned. Luca's eyes were half-lidded, that soft steel-gray gaze following her movements. "You were dreaming," she said.
