When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the silence. Not the heavy kind that weighed on you like a punishment, but a gentle quiet that soothed every nerve in my body. My cheek rested against the solid warmth of Roman’s chest, and the rise and fall of his breathing was like the lull of waves. For a moment, I simply lay there, my eyelids still heavy, soaking it in.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had slept like that… deep, dreamless and unbroken. No tossing. No waking up with my ...