Fifteen minutes earlier...
Back inside the master bedroom, Aliana, who had been sleeping peacefully, finally stirred awake. Her light grey eyes were greeted by the dim natural light filtering into the room through the rain-streaked windows.
Blinking slowly, she shifted slightly to stretch, only to pause when she felt something heavy caging her body.
Very slowly, she turned her head over her shoulder only for her gaze to land on Gavriel's face. He was sleeping barely inches away from her.
Surprise flickered across her features as she realised it was the first time in her life she had ever seen him asleep.
Her gaze lingered on how calm and remarkably young he looked. A few strands of his dark hair had fallen loosely over his forehead, while his illegally long lashes rested against his cheeks.
'It should be a crime to look like this,' she mused absentmindedly.
When her eyes drifted down to her own body, colour once again began to rise in her cheeks.
