Novel's POV

The world returned to me in slow, hazy waves of heat. I woke not to the sound of an alarm, but to the sensation of wet, lingering kisses being traced across the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. I had no idea what time it was; the room was bathed in the soft, dewy glow of early morning.

“Hmm,” I moaned softly, my fingers tangling in the sheets.

I realized I was no longer on the cold floor. At some point during the night, he had carried me to the bed. Alexei, or perhaps it was still Ace, hovered over me, his molten-gold eyes dark with a hunger...