SHADE
Avery lay tangled against me, her cheek pressed to my chest, her fingers tracing lazy, invisible shapes on my skin. My heart still hadn’t settled—neither had my breathing—but I didn’t care.
I wanted to stay here forever. With her. In this moment.
“I want to be right here forever,” I murmured, my voice low and husky, roughened from the way I’d moaned her name into the crook of her neck. I pressed a kiss to her hair. “But unfortunately…”
“I know,” she mumbled, snuggling closer like she’d rather sink into the mattress and vanish from the world than move another inch. “Stupid life.”
I chuckled, the sound vibrating through both of us. Her body fit so perfectly into mine, like she was carved for me, like we had always been heading to this. “You’re dangerous when you’re half-asleep and
