14
Vulpes
I felt the warmth of his hand before I saw it, a gentle pressure against my cheek that pulled me from the depths of sleep. For a moment, I lingered in the haze of dreams, the sensation of his touch oddly comforting. But as consciousness took hold, the vulnerability of my position crashed over me like a wave, and my eyes snapped open, wide with a terror that gripped my heart and clawed at my throat.
"What are you doing?" I gasped, the words thick and clumsy as they tumbled from my lips. My pulse hammered in my ears, a frantic beat that seemed to echo through the room. I searched for an escape, a way out, anything that could serve as a shield between his presence and my suddenly too-aware self. I slid back, away from him, the sheets tangling around my limbs in my haste.
"Shh,"
