LOGINShe turned over. The other side of the bed was empty, but the sheet was still warm. Sunlight came through a gap in the curtains and lay across the pillows in a long gold bar. By the angle of it, the morning was almost gone.She found one of his shirts on the chair, pulled it on, and followed the smell down the hall.He was in the kitchen in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt, barefoot, with his back to her. He was cracking eggs into a bowl one-handed, the way she'd seen him do it once before, in what felt like another life. His hair was damp from a shower. A plate of toast sat on the island next to two mugs."You're up," he said without turning."How did you know?""You walk like you're apologizing to the floor." He glanced over his shoulder, and the corner of his mouth moved. "Sit. Eat."She sat. The stool was cold under her bare thighs, and she shifted and felt the soreness and blushed."Did you sleep?" she asked."Some.""Some like an hour?""Some like enough." He slid a plate in
After a long while, Damien shifted. He rolled them gently onto their sides and slipped out of her, and she winced and made a small, sleepy sound of protest."Sorry," he murmured."It's okay." She nestled against him, her forehead tucked under his chin. "I'm just so tired.""I know."He reached down and pulled the sheet up over them both. She felt the warm weight of his hand settle on her back, stroking slowly up and down her spine, and she let her eyes fall closed.For a while there was only that: the stroke of his palm, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the faint sound of a city beginning to wake."How was Germany?" she asked drowsily.His hand paused, only for a moment."Handled," he said."That's all?""That's all." He kissed her hair. "It was boring. I'd rather tell you about it later."She hummed, accepting it. She was too tired to push, and too happy. Something in the back of her mind registered that his answer had been smooth. Too smooth, maybe. But she was warm and sated
The pace built. It built until her arms gave out and she folded down onto her elbows, her cheek against the mattress, her back arched and her hips lifted high, and he followed her down, driving into her at a steeper angle that struck something deep inside her and lit up every nerve she owned."Oh," she cried. "Oh, there, right there, don't...don't....""I've got it.""It's too much....""I know." He leaned over her, his chest pressed to her back, his mouth at her ear, his hips never stopping. "I can feel you tightening. I can feel every inch of you. Do you know how wet you are? You're so wet it's running down your thighs."She whimpered, helpless, and felt his answering groan vibrate against her skin."You're mine," he said into her ear. "Say it.""I'm yours.""Whose?""Yours," she sobbed. "Only yours.""Again.""Yours, Damien, I'm yours, I've always...."He reached around her, found her clit with his fingers, and rubbed it in slow, firm circles in time with his thrusts.She came apar
"I can feel you." His voice cracked. "You're squeezing me, Lyra. Tight, so tight. Let go for me.""I....Damien....""I've got you. Let go."She shattered.Her whole body went rigid beneath him, then convulsed. She came with a long, keening cry, her walls clamping down on his cock in hard, rhythmic pulses, her heels digging into the small of his back, her nails scoring his skin. He fought to hold on. He buried his face in her neck and held perfectly still inside her, shaking, riding out the squeeze and flutter of her climax, until she finally sagged back against the sheets, panting and spent.He lifted his head slowly.Her eyes were closed. Her hair was plastered to her damp forehead. Her lips were parted on a soft, shaky exhale, and there was the faintest smile on her face, drowsy and wondering and utterly undone.He was still hard inside her. Still throbbing.He wasn't nearly done."Lyra," he murmured.She opened her eyes."You've had two," he said, quiet and low and dark. "I haven't
She kissed him hungrily, tasting herself on his lips, and he groaned into her mouth. Her fingers pushed under his collar, fumbled at the buttons, then gave up and simply dragged him closer."You're early," she said against his lips."A day.""You didn't tell me.""I wanted to see your face.""My face?""When you woke up." He kissed the corner of her mouth. "I wanted to see you"She laughed, a soft, breathless sound, and something moved in her eyes that was so naked and so glad that his throat tightened."I missed you so much," she said. "It was ridiculous. I kept looking at my phone.""I know. I saw it .""You saw it?" She asked."You fell asleep with it in your hand." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I put it away."Her gaze flickered, for just an instant, something unreadable crossing it, and then it was gone. She tugged at his shirt again."Take that off," she said. "Now. Please."He pushed himself back onto his knees and did as he was told.The shirt came off in one pul
He wrapped his lips around her clit and drew it gently into his mouth.She arched off the bed.A thin, startled sound broke out of her throat, and her hand shot out and found his hair, fingers tangling in it, not pulling away but holding on. He felt her whole body go taut and then shiver, as the last layers of sleep burned off her in a rush."Damien?" Her voice was thick and rough, drenched in disbelief. "Damien, is that....""Go back to sleep," he murmured against her. His breath ghosted across pussy, and she shuddered. "I've got you.""I'm not...." She gasped as he flicked his tongue across the tight bundle of nerves. "Oh. Oh, God. I'm not asleep, I'm....you're here....""I'm here.""I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow." Her fingers tightened in his hair. "I thought.....""So did I." He lifted his head just long enough to look up at her along the length of her body, his mouth shining, his eyes black in the lamplight. "Do you want me to stop?"She stared down at him. Her ch
Lyra set her phone down with shaking hands and stood up.Her legs felt weak, her body hypersensitive. Every movement of fabric against her skin made her gasp.She walked to the full-length mirror in her room and looked at herself.Her hair was disheveled from the flight and the stress. Her face was
Lyra stared at her phone screen, her heart still racing from the encounter in the hallway.DarkVeil: Welcome home, little one. Did you miss me?Her fingers trembled as she typed back.LyraNight: How did you know I got to New York? I didn't tell you I was flying home.The three dots appeared immedia
"The Mercers. They were good people. Are good people." Karla's eyes filled with fresh tears. "They passed away six months ago. Car accident. That's when I did the DNA test. I had no one left and I just... I needed to know if there was anyone out there who shared my blood."Isabelle made a soft soun
Lyra's fingers trembled as she typed, the blue glow of her phone the only light in her darkened bedroom.LyraNight: I thought about him again today. God, I'm so fucked up.She held her breath, waiting. The three dots appeared almost immediately....her anonymous stranger always responded, no matter







