I blink as the light streams through the window.
The beam hits me full force, too hot.
✧ I grumble low, trying to turn over, but the sheet slips through my fingers.
I feel a movement beside me—subtle.
✧ Before I can fully open my eyes, a shadow blocks the light.
A hand rests on my face, shielding it, the gesture soft… almost protective.
✧ The touch is light, unexpectedly so.
I open my eyes slowly.
✧ “Good morning, little one.”
✧ His hand slides, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
I shrink back, uncomfortable.
✧ Sleeping next to another man felt strange—in the same way it was, inexplicably, comfortable.
We hadn’t touched the night before, though I’d felt his gaze burning into me in the dark.
✧ I could pretend this situation was simple, but it wasn’t.
This bed wasn’t mine.
