Everything felt quiet now. Still. As if the storm had passed and all that was left was this—her in my bed, her heat sinking into me, my heart slowing with hers.
The world could burn tomorrow.
But tonight, she was here.
And that was enough.
My body was cocoonedin a foreign kind of heat—steady, grounding, and undeniably intimate. It was safe, a quiet assurance that I wasn’t alone, that I didn’t have to bear every burden by myself.
As my senses roused, I became acutely aware of the weight draped across my waist. An arm. His arm.
Oh. Mon. Dieu.
Chills that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room rippled through me as Callum’s stubble scraped the sensitive spots on my neck before he nipped my pulse point with his teeth. I gasped, arching back into him, my nipples hardening beneath soft fabric I didn’t recognize. He groaned, the vibrations sending another wave of sensations through me.
Dreaming. I had to be dreaming.
“Callum,” I whimpered, and his fingers flexed against my stomach. It wasn’t just the feel of his touch or the warmth of hisbody—it was what it meant. That he saw me, held me, even when I wasn’t sure I could hold myself together. And I decided to let myself lean into it.
His pinky finger dipped below the waistband of my panties, and wetness pooled between my thighs in anticipation.
Wait—wasI dreaming?
I inhaled deeply, willing myself to focus around the raw desire coursing through me.
My eyes fluttered open, and the soft, golden light streaming through the curtains painted the room in a serene glow. Callum’s room. Callum’s bed. Callum’s arm.
I’d willingly come into his bed last night.
I was wearing his shirt—the fabric I hadn’t recognized.
I was horny because last night I’d wanted him to fuck me but was on too much of a power trip to let it happen. But the way he ate my pussy as though it were his last meal? Ugh.So fucking good. I couldn’t believe I’d never had an orgasm from oral before him.
Yeah, this was most definitelynota dream.
Holy shit.
I couldn’t stop from rolling my hips back into him, where, sure enough, I could feel his dick pressing against my ass. His hand pressed harder, holding me in place against him, and my stomach tumbled.
“Jesus fucking Christ, woman. Stay. Still,” he growled, his morning voice gravelly and so delicious that more desire unfurled, stoking a fire so hot inside that I was certain one small movement would snap what little control I had around him.
I should be panicking, questioning what I’d been thinking when I pulled him into the shower last night like some sinful, silk-gloved siren. It hadn’t been aggressive—it had been powerful. Intentional. And I didn’t regret a second of it.
But the answer was easy as towhyI was here, why I hadn’t let myself walk away. It was the quiet desperation, the hollow ache of loneliness, and the instinctive pull toward him. Because even in the silence, even when it hurt—he was a balm I didn’t know I needed. And somehow, he made the overwhelming weight I carried feel lighter.
Still, this was… a lot.
This was dangerous territory, crossing a line I’d sworn to keep intact. What would happen now? What would people say if they found out? If Luminis knew… if the media knew… My stomach twisted. I’d clawed my way into this world, earned my place against impossible odds. The last thing I could afford was to further risk my reputation—or worse, my heart.
And yet, here I was, horny and in his arms, so why not take the bull by the horns?
Honestly, after yesterday, I wasn’t sure anything could keep me from him now.
“You’re the one snuggling me, Fraser,” I whispered. “And it doesn’t feel like you mind.”
A low, groggy groan rumbled from behind me, tinged with amusement. “I am trying desperately to be a good friend.”
I laughed despite myself, the sound breaking the tension. “A good friend? Is that what this is?”
