The morning light didn’t rush in. It filtered through the tall glass walls in soft, reluctant layers, as if even the sun understood this new territory required caution.
I woke first, or maybe I had never fully slept. My body still hummed with the memory of him—skin warm against cool sheets, the faint ache between my thighs a quiet reminder that last night hadn’t been a calculated risk. It had been a choice. Repeated. Deepened.
Shawn lay beside me, one arm draped loosely over my waist, his breathing steady and deep. In sleep, the sharp edges of his control softened just enough to make my chest tighten. He looked almost peaceful. Almost human. The man who had dominated a boardroom with a single glance now rested beside me without armor.
I studied the lines of his face, the faint shadow of
