Sophia woke up cradled in Julian’s arms. Strangely, the miserable, seemingly endless night still refused to end. It was the only moment she wished time would hurry forward, yet the entire universe appeared determined to work against her.

To be clear, they were not sharing some tender, intimate embrace. At this point, they were essentially strangers. This man had just rescued her from being assaulted by a random stranger and had brought her back to her house.

All she owed him was a simple expression of gratitude, or at least that was what her intoxicated and jumbled memories suggested.

But she had already thanked him, so they were even.

As...