Page 106 of Mine Again

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Iwake to soft light filtering through gauzy curtains and the sound of water somewhere close.

For a moment, I don’t move. I blink a few times, willing my heavy lashes to open fully.

My head is thick, like I’ve slept too long. I rub my face with both hands as if that alone could erase the dream I can’t quite remember but can still feel in my chest.

I’m toasty warm, the sheets soft and luxurious against my bare skin.

Bare skin?

A slow, creeping awareness builds.

Oh God, did I…?

I shift beneath the covers, and the fabric brushes over sensitive skin.

No straps. No lace. No silk.

I’m naked.

A flush rises in my cheeks, heat prickling along my scalp.

I lift one corner of the sheet just to be sure. Bare skin meets morning air, and I let the sheet fall again with a gasp.

Then I move.

A small shift of my hips. And yes, it’s there…

The ache.

Low and deep and unmistakable. Not soreness exactly, but a tender, pulsing echo left behind by being taken. Slowly. Thoroughly.

A wave of heat curls through me, followed by something sharper.

It was real. I had sex with Sebastian last night. It wasn’t a dream.

Fragments come back in flashes. Hands. Mouth. Weight. Breath against my neck. Lips between my legs.

A moan. My moan.

A name—

No.

My eyes, which I hadn’t even realized had closed, snap open.

Oh God.

My breath stalls. A sharp inhale, too fast, not enough.

I had sex with Sebastian. My husband.

And the entire time, I imagined he was someone else.

Mortification shoots through me. I groan and throw an arm over my eyes. If I could sink into the mattress and disappear, I would.

Did I sayhisname? Out loud?

The question slams into me, and my heart stutters.

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