Chapter 153.1 - Sleep here tonight

"You're really unfair, you know that?" 

Irina froze, her lips still brushing against his neck as a sound she hadn't expected reached her ears. 

A chuckle. 

It was low at first, soft, like the faintest ripple across calm waters, but it grew richer, resonating from his chest as though it came from somewhere deep and untouched. The warmth of it rolled over her, and for a moment, she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. 

Astron chuckled. 

Her mind reeled. She had seen him smile before—once under the moonlight, a quiet, subtle thing that had stolen her breath. And again, more recently, with this new, sharper face of his, a fleeting moment that had unsettled her in ways she still couldn't name. But a chuckle? 

Never. Not once.