Morning came slowly.
Not with light breaking the sky in a rush, but with a soft bleeding of gold through the trees, as if even the sun was careful not to disturb what had changed in the night.
Denise woke before she realized she had slept at all.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
She was warm.
Not from a fire.
Not from a blanket.
From Liam’s arm resting lightly around her waist.
It wasn’t tight.
It wasn’t claiming.
Just there.
Like he had stayed awake long enough to make sure she didn’t leave without realizing it.
Her breath caught slightly.
Carefully, she turned her head.
He was asleep.
Leaning against the stone wall behind them, head tilted slightly toward her, one arm still loosely around her as if he had fallen asleep mid-guard and never corrected it.
Denise stared at him.
