Chapter 27

Alina POV

The first thing I felt when I woke up wasn't sunlight,it was warmth. I blinked my eyes open.

Dante’s chest rose and fell beneath my cheek, steady, grounding, the kind of rhythm that could lull me back into sleep if I let it. His arm was slung loosely around my waist, heavy with exhaustion, but not crushing,just holding, just keeping me where he wanted me.

For a moment, I didn’t move. I let myself linger, my fingers brushing lightly against his shirt, listening to the way his heartbeat thudded beneath skin and fabric. It was faster than sleep should allow. Maybe he wasn’t fully under either....