The next morning...
Julian woke before the alarm.
Not because he needed to — he wasn’t going into the office today — but because something warm and soft was pressed against him, and his body had learned to wake gently when Kya was in his arms.
He blinked slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains. Kya was curled against his chest, her hair spilling across his shoulder, her breath warm against his skin. One of her hands rested lightly over his heart, her fingers curled as if she’d fallen asleep holding onto him.
Julian didn’t move.
He didn’t want to.
He just watched her for a moment — the way her lashes brushed her cheeks, the faint crease between her brows that always softened when she slept, the way she instinctively leaned into him even
