Chapter 95

• The sky outside remained cloaked in shadows, the first blush of sunlight still hidden behind the horizon. Restless, I stirred beneath the sheets, my body restless with anticipation for the day ahead. Sleep had long since abandoned me, chased away by the gnawing unease I couldn’t quite shake.
• I turned over, eyes drawn to Lucas as he lay beside me, his breathing deep and even. In the dim light, his face looked peaceful, almost boyish—his lashes long and dark against his cheek, his lips slightly parted. I watched, fascinated, as his eyes flickered behind closed lids. He was dreaming. Something in me softened at the sight.
• Lifting a hand, I traced a slow, delicate line across his lips, committing the curve of them to memory. His nose twitched at the contact, and then his eyes blinked open, their blue depths finding mine. For a moment, neither of us said anything. I half-expected him to tease me, to call me out for staring, but he didn’t. Instead, he drank me in quietly, gaze sweeping across my face with a kind of reverence that stole my breath.