Sandy's POV
My eyelids fluttered open, heavy and reluctant. The room swam in and out of focus, shadows dancing at the edges of my vision. Everything felt wrong, displaced, like waking from a dream that clung too tightly to reality.
The surface beneath me was unexpectedly soft. My body protested every small movement, muscles screaming with a deep, bone-deep ache that spoke of trauma my mind wasn't ready to process.
I attempted to lift my hand, but it remained stubbornly immobile. That's when awareness crashed over me like a cold wave.
His scent surrounded me completely. Rich, masculine, intoxicating in its familiarity. Charles. The smell of him filled my lungs, made my heart race despite my weakened state.
My head turned with effort, and there he sat. Rigid as stone, his powerful frame coiled with tension. Those intense eyes hadn't moved from my face, watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle with awareness.
