Eryx POV
I watched her, Rachael, the heat burning across her cheeks, the flush deepening until her skin glowed. A smirk crept over my face despite the tension coiling in my chest. For a moment, I forgot my own awkwardness. She had that effect on me, the power to make me want to drop every wall I’d built around myself.
“I’d like to lay down now… I feel worn out,” she murmured, her voice soft tinged with exhaustion and something I couldn’t name.
I nodded, silently agreeing. She slid herself onto the bed with deliberate care, her movements slow, almost tentative and I let her. I sat silently, careful not to crowd her and when she tugged the blanket over herself, I mirrored the motion, covering her from the chill lingering in the air. My eyes stayed on her, tracing every detail, the way her
