I carefully lifted Viel’s hand from my waist so I could slip out of bed without waking him. I had been awake for more than an hour, yet I still hadn’t found the courage to leave his side. I needed to prepare breakfast, Xeldon had school today.
“Hmmm… don’t leave,” Viel murmured sleepily, his voice low and heavy.
“Xeldon is going to school,” I whispered.
“He’ll be fine. The maid will help him… stay. Hold me.”
I inhaled slowly and wrapped my arms around him again. The moment my body touched his, my heart began to race, as if it remembered everything before my mind did.
My breath caught when his hand began to move, slipping beneath the thin fabric of my dress. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the warmth spreading through me, fighting the weakness I felt whenever he touched me.
But Viel
