Chapter 125: Afterglow

I'd never had a night like that before. The glow around us never faded, and it was as if the Light had built us a cocoon, a tiny space without any intruder. We whispered, we loved, we cried out and shook in each other's arms. 

I didn't want it to stop. But at some point, our caresses slowed, our words faded. I curled into Chase's chest like a child and he enveloped me in his arms. We slept.

***** 

I wake with sunlight on my face. The window here doesn't have curtains and looks out over the houses and hills. We've moved in our sleep. I have my back to Chase, his heavy arm is curled over my stomach, and my arm over his, our fingers entwined. 

I've never been much of a cuddler, but it's as if his body is an extension of my own. It doesn't feel too hot or intrusive. It feels like…we are one.

I blink, bleary eyed from lack of sleep. Chase's breath is still low and steady, so I don't want to move and wake him. 

I realize I'm smiling.