Chapter 57: Comfort
Noelle’s body hummed with a quiet, lingering satisfaction, the weight of their earlier passion still heavy in the air. As he lay there, wrapped in the warmth of the bed and the scent of Thorne’s lingering pheromones, he found himself unable to look away from the man beside him.
Thorne’s face, softened in the afterglow, was a stark contrast to the commanding presence he held in public. His sharp features seemed gentler now, the lines of tension usually carved into his brow smoothed away. His blond hair, still damp from sweat, clung messily to his forehead, framing him in an almost ethereal light. Noelle’s chest tightened at the sight. He looked younger, almost innocent in the quiet stillness of the room, a far cry from the fearsome general everyone else knew. But to Noelle, he was always more than that.
"You’ve been staring too long, my star," Thorne’s voice broke through Noelle’s thoughts, rough and teasing. That simple phrase, my star, sent a familiar warmth rushing through Noelle’s body, igniting something deep within him. It was possessive, yet tender, a reminder that Thorne saw him as something precious—something that belonged to him. The way the alpha always claimed him so easily with those words never failed to set Noelle’s pulse racing.
"I missed you," Noelle admitted, his voice soft, vulnerable in a way he rarely allowed himself to be. His gaze remained steady on Thorne, taking in the way the alpha’s blue eyes softened further at his words. Those eyes—cold and calculating to others—held nothing but warmth when they looked at Noelle, and it was in moments like this that he felt truly seen.
Thorne’s smile widened slightly, his blue eyes twinkling with an affection that seemed to reach deep into Noelle’s soul. "I missed you too." His words were followed by a gentle kiss to Noelle’s forehead, the touch light but filled with a tenderness that stole the breath from Noelle’s lungs. Thorne’s lips brushed Noelle’s own next, a soft, lingering peck that felt as intimate as any of the more heated kisses they’d shared earlier. This wasn’t about lust anymore. This was about something deeper, something that transcended the physical.
Noelle’s body relaxed further, his exhaustion creeping in as he nestled closer to Thorne, the warmth of the alpha’s body comforting against his own. His hand rested against Thorne’s chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath his fingertips, a rhythm that grounded him in the present. Bone-deep tiredness settled over him, but it wasn’t unpleasant—it was a kind of peaceful fatigue, one that came from knowing he was safe, that he was loved.
Thorne shifted beside him, his strong arm wrapping around Noelle’s waist, pulling him closer until their bodies were flush against one another. Noelle breathed in the scent of him, warm and musky, the familiarity of it lulling him toward sleep. But even in his drowsy state, he could still feel the electric hum of their connection, the way their souls seemed to intertwine in moments like this.
As Noelle’s eyelids grew heavier, he felt Thorne’s fingers tracing lazy patterns along his back, the touch featherlight and soothing. He could hear the deep, even breaths of the alpha, the rise and fall of his chest steady and comforting.
As Noelle drifted deeper into sleep, his body nestled securely in Thorne’s embrace, the world around him faded into a serene dreamscape. He found himself sitting on the edge of a cliff, the expanse of the sky stretching endlessly before him, a gentle breeze caressing his skin. The air was fresh and cool, carrying with it the scent of pine and earth from the forest behind him, mingling with the faint hint of salt from the sea far below.