Dawn came too quickly.

Arianna woke slowly, her body aching in unfamiliar ways, wrapped in sheets that smelled like Duncan and pine and them together. For a moment, she let herself just exist in the warmth, in the rightness of waking up beside someone who'd chosen her as completely as she'd chosen him.

Then reality crashed back in.

She sat up carefully, not wanting to wake Duncan, who was still deeply asleep beside her. In sleep, he looked younger, less burdened—the harsh lines of responsibility smoothed away. His arm was thrown across her waist, possessive even in unconsciousness, and she could see the mark on his shoulder where she'd bitten...