Damien POV
Sunlight brushed against my face, warm and unfamiliar.
I stirred, eyes fluttering open as a soft yawn escaped me; content, unguarded. For a brief moment, my mind was blank.
Then clarity returned.
This wasn't my room.
And it wasn't my office.
My gaze shifted upward.
Rachel.
She was slumped awkwardly on the couch, her head tilted to the side, lips parted slightly as she slept. Her hair was a mess, strands falling into her face. One hand was still tangled in my hair, fingers moving faintly even in her sleep.
I stayed perfectly still.
I didn't want to move.
It had been years since I'd rested like this-since I'd felt this... safe. Grounded. Alive.
Not since my mother.
The memory came unbidden.
After my father's brutal training sessions-after the blood, the discipline, t
