Mara
I woke up reaching for him and hit cold sheets instead.
My hand stilled halfway across the mattress, fingers curling around nothing, and my stomach dropped like I’d missed a step in the dark. For one sharp second, panic flared. Stupid, reflexive, the kind that comes from being left too many times.
Then I heard water running.
The shower.
I exhaled slowly, heart still hammering like it hadn’t gotten the memo yet.
The room smelled like him. Soap. Leather. Heat. And me. The air felt used, heavy with what we hadn’t undone when we finally stopped last night. The sheets were twisted, one pillow on the floor, my clothes scattered like evidence.
Fuck!.
This wasn’t a one-night blur I could pretend didn’t matter.
I sat up, pulling the sheet around myself, skin still warm, still sensitiv
