I woke up slowly, as if my mind floated to the surface before the rest of me did. My body felt… incredible.
Light.
Rested.
As if I'd slept for a century and the universe finally decided to give me one decent thing.
Then I registered the warmth.
Soft warmth.
Pressed right up against me.
I opened my eyes.
And froze.
My arms were wrapped around Belle. Fully wrapped around her, one over her waist, one under her shoulders. And my legs… yeah, tangled with hers like we were some kind of emotionally-starved pretzel.
But that wasn't even the shocking part.
One of her hands rested in my hair. The other was...
Inside my shirt.
I could even see the imaginary smoke coming out of my head.
I stared at her hand for a good three seconds before the rest of me caught up.
…What.
What was going on.
Was I still dreaming??
I shifted the smallest amount, just enough to test the sensation. Nope.
It was real.
Too real.
