Arlari's POVThe room was quiet when I opened my eyes, the blanket warm over my bare skin.For a second, I didn’t remember where I was. Then I felt him behind me. One arm draped over my waist, heavy but not trapping, his breathing was steady against the back of my neck.Severiano never slept deeply, his world demands he stays alert.Everything that happened earlier replayed in my head. The heat, the way he tried to hold back, the way I didn’t let him. The way he lost control for a moment.When I shifted slightly, his arm tightened.“Don’t,” he muttered, voice thick with sleep.“I’m not going anywhere.”He didn’t respond, but his grip loosened just enough for me to breathe easier.It was almost dawn, and I hadn’t really slept, my mind wouldn’t let me. His knuckles.When I’d asked about them, he’d brushed it off. “Work.” Just that. But I knew him too well, I was familiar with his world, and what ‘work’ meant.Work, in his world, usually meant blood.I turned slowly, carefully, so I was
Last Updated : 2026-02-18 Read more