Sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains, slicing across the rumpled sheets. Sophia woke up first, her body pleasantly sore in places she hadn’t felt in months. Marcus was still asleep beside her, one arm thrown across the pillow, the sheet barely covering his hips. In the daylight he looked even better—strong lines, a few faded tattoos on his shoulder she hadn’t noticed last night. She watched him breathe for a minute, then slipped out of bed. The bathroom mirror showed exactly what she expected: smudged mascara, bed hair, a faint hickey starting to bloom just below her collarbone. She splashed water on her face, brushed her teeth with a finger and some hotel toothpaste, and tried not to overthink it. One-night stand. That’s all it was supposed to be. When she came back out, Marcus was awake, propped up on one elbow, watching her with that same half-lidded look from the night before. “Morning,” he said, voice gravelly from sleep. “Morning.” She hesitated by the edge of
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