Laila
I was asleep until I felt the mattress dip, followed by strong arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me against a hot, rock-hard chest. I exhaled, tension leaving my body as I relaxed into the embrace. James was here. Relief bloomed in my chest. It wasn’t easy falling asleep alone in this strange new room, inside an unfamiliar packhouse.
After spending hours in the library flipping through random book covers and indulging in a few chapters, I’d come back restless. That’s when I did something I’d been putting off for too long—I called my sister. I told her about my new living situation and how protective James was being. When I admitted we were together now, she screamed with excitement, though her joy was laced with concern. She thought I’d joined some kind of sect. And honestl
