Chapter 12

• The next morning, when Noémi woke to the gentle rays of the sun caressing her skin, she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and sat up, stretching her arms.
• Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead the moment her gaze landed on Ajax—fast asleep on the couch that was far too small for his tall frame. A throw pillow was shoved under his head, while his torso was curled slightly against the freezing temperature of the room. He was still dressed in the same clothes she had seen him in the previous night, and with the way his eyes remained shut—soft breaths escaping his lips—it was clear he was deep in sleep.
• After he had left the room last night, she hadn’t been able to fall asleep for a long while. But when she finally did, she was out like a light. She wondered what time he had returned. She wondered how long he had been awake.