I woke to warmth. The kind that seeps into your bones, that makes you forget the rest of the world exists.
Matteo’s chest was against my back, solid and warm, his breath steady against my neck. His arm was draped lazily over my waist, his fingers tracing idle patterns against my skin.
For a moment, I didn’t move. I just let myself feel it—the impossible comfort of being in his arms, the quiet that only came after a storm.
“You’re awake,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.
I smiled, eyes still closed. “You were drawing circles on my hip. Hard to stay asleep with that.”
He chuckled, the sound low and sinful, and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Maybe I wanted to wake you.”
I rolled onto my back, meeting his eyes. They were softer now, stripped of all the control and darkness he wore i
