Chapter 45

♠ SYLVARA ♠

The next morning,

The world was soft around me, still blurred at the edges. My limbs felt like they’d sunk into the mattress, too heavy to move, too content to care. I stretched gently and felt the deep, delicious ache in my thighs, a slow reminder of everything we did before sleep claimed us.

My skin was warm and sticky with the faint sheen of sweat, cooling now in the early light. We did it nonstop, even after the bath. There was a tangle of sheets twisted around one ankle and the ghost of his touch still resting on my hips. My chest rose with a long, slow breath, and I realized how deep my body sank into rest, not just sleep, but something fuller. Like being emptied and filled at the same time.

Between my legs, there was a tender throb, not pain, but softness. A pulse that said, “You gave yourself fully last night.” Every movement felt deliberate, slow. I turned my face toward him. He was still beside me, peaceful, barely breathing. His scent clung to the pillows, to m