The first threads of dawn crept through the curtains, washing the room in a pale gold that softened every edge. The scent of the night still lingered… sweat, sex, and something unmistakably theirs, woven into the sheets, into the very air.
Jayden stirred first. His body ached in ways both new and satisfying, muscles languid and heavy. He turned slightly, the fabric brushing against his bare skin, and there she was.
Penelope.
Curled against him, her face turned toward his chest, hair a tousled halo spilling across the pillow. She looked nothing like the untouchable, dazzling woman everyone feared. Her lips were parted in sleep, cheeks faintly flushed, lashes resting against skin kissed by moonlight hours before. Vulnerable. Beautiful. Real.
Jayden just… stared. His chest tightened in a way that had nothing to do with lust. This wasn't just attraction, wasn't just the aftermath of passion.. it was something deeper, something that terrified him more than any beast he'd ever faced.
