The study stayed locked for a long time after the distance collapsed.

Elena remained half-sitting on the edge of the desk with Marcus still close, his hands resting on her bare waist, the thick heat of him inside her from the failed attempt still warm and present. The lower marks under his palms ached in a deep, claimed way that already felt different from the dull fading ache of the day and a half they had spent apart. Soft gray light came through the half-drawn curtains. Neither of them moved to turn on a lamp.

The tears came without warning.

One minute Elena was breathing against his shoulder, the relief...