Seraphina's Point Of View
Draven lowered me onto the massive bed with remarkable gentleness for a man of his stature. His arms, corded with restrained strength, moved with a careful precision that seemed at odds with the raw power I'd witnessed in him only hours before. It struck me, even through my exhaustion, how strange it was to feel so safe in the hands of someone so obviously dangerous.
Perhaps it was the sheer contrast that unsettled me most… the knowledge of what those hands could do warring with the tenderness of how they cradled me now. The dark silk sheets were cool against my bare skin, a stark, comforting contrast to the heat radiating off his body.
He leaned down, his shadow falling over me, and pressed a firm, lingering kiss right to the center of my forehead. The gesture felt oddly tender, almost reverent, as though I were something fragile he'd fought hard to protect and didn't quite trust himself to release.
