Chapter 43 : Waking Up

Amelia stretched and yawned, ready to be awake for the day. Through barely open eyes, she tried to guess what time it was. The sun had fully risen, so it was mid-morning at the earliest. She stifled another yawn, rolling over to cuddle deeper in against the chest rising and falling smoothly next to her.

"Morning, sunshine," Julian's deep voice rumbled through his chest.

Amelia looked up at him, the devilish grin on his face both a relief and a temptation.

"Good morning. You're not who I was expecting to see," she mused, burrowing deeper under the covers and against him.

"Nathan got up to take his watch shift a couple of hours ago. I was about to get up and trade out with him again when I noticed you were stirring. Thought I'd wait and see how long it took you to get up," Julian teased.

"How charming," Amelia dismissed. She didn't want to move. She felt sluggish and heavy, and Julian's body heat was too alluring. She just wanted to hide from the world right here for a while.