CIARA’S POV

The first thing I felt was warmth. Not just the heat radiating from Darragh's chest beneath my cheek, but the golden light of dawn that painted patterns across his skin through the window. I could have stayed there forever, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, feeling completely safe for the first time in either of my lifetimes.

His arm tightened around me, and I knew he was awake too. Neither of us spoke. We just lay there in the quiet morning light, skin against skin ...