When Julian finally stirred, rolling onto his side to face her, Sophia smiled up at him.  

“That felt amazing,” she murmured, reaching up to sweep a stray lock of hair from his forehead.

The next morning, Sophia woke to the solid warmth of Julian’s body molded against hers. His arm lay draped possessively across her waist, rising and falling with the slow rhythm of his breathing. 

For a moment she simply basked in the closeness, her mind still hazy with the vivid memories of the night before. A faint blush heated her cheeks as the images flooded back: the way he had claimed her again and again, relentless and starving,...