Chapter 60: Beautiful Morning
Sunlight crept slowly across the bedroom, warming the sheets and casting a soft, golden glow over tangled limbs. Ella stirred first, blinking her eyes open against the invading light, her senses still foggy with sleep.
The first thing she noticed was warmth.
The second thing she noticed was Nicholas.
He was sprawled beside her, one arm tucked under his head, the other wrapped securely around her waist, holding her like she was something he didn’t intend to let go of anytime soon. His bare chest rose and fell steadily, the slow rhythm of his breathing brushing warmly against her temple. Somehow during the night, she’d ended up half draped over him, her legs tangled with his, one hand resting against the smooth, solid plane of his stomach.
Ella lay there for a moment, just breathing him in—soap, heat, and something entirely him. It felt reckless, indulgent, to stay pressed up against him like this, but she didn’t move. Didn’t want to.
And then, as if sensing her awake, Nicholas shifted slightly, his grip on her tightening the barest fraction.
"Staring at me, wife?" he murmured, his voice deliciously rough with sleep, the faintest smile curling at the edges of his mouth.
"Maybe," she whispered, unable to help the answering smile tugging at her lips.
His lashes lifted lazily, those gray-blue eyes locking onto hers with a sleepy, molten intensity that made her insides coil. "You know it’s dangerous to look at me like that first thing in the morning."
"Oh, really?" she teased softly, her fingers curling against his abdomen, tracing the faint trail of hair leading below the blanket. "Dangerous how?"
His smile deepened, still lazy but sharper now, like a blade hidden beneath silk. "Makes me want to ruin you all over again."