Chapter 34 Shifting Shadows

• Ariana woke slowly to the soft morning light filtering through the sheer curtains, painting the room in delicate strokes of pale gold. The faint scent of sandalwood and cedar still hung in the air, a quiet, lingering reminder of Damien’s presence beside her. It was strange how a scent could anchor a memory so tightly how it could wrap around her senses and make the world outside the room feel distant, almost unreal.
• She lay still for a moment, savoring the warmth that spread beneath the thin blanket. Her body remembered everything from the night before, the gentle brush of his fingers tracing the line of her jaw, the way his hands held her as if she might disappear if he loosened his grip, and the slow, breathless moments when words weren’t necessary, and all that mattered was the heat between them.
• Damien’s steady breathing was a calm rhythm next to her, a quiet counterpoint to the storm that had torn through her life in recent weeks. For once, the tension that had tightened her muscles for so long seemed to loosen, and the ache that had nestled deep inside her chest ebbed away, replaced by something softer…something fragile but hopeful.