"You're not sleepy anymore?" he asked. His voice was lower now, rougher, a question that was not quite a question.
Bella's hand stilled for a moment, then continued its slow path, this time more deliberate. Her fingers traced the line of his collarbone, then drifted down over his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart beneath her palm.
"I am tired," she whispered into the darkness. Her voice was soft, sleepy at the edges, but something warmer flickered beneath it. "But not sleepy anymore."
His hand caught hers mid-motion, stilling her wandering fingers against his chest. The warmth of his grip was gentle but firm, stopping her just as her touch was beginning to ignite something deeper.
He turned his head toward her, and even in the dim light filtering through the curtains, she could see the shift in his gray eyes, the way they darkened, the way they focused entirely on her.
