One hundred and fifty

Nicholas's POV:

The next morning, I woke up when the sunlight touched my face. I deliberately left the drapes open last night, wanting to get an early start on the day. Light works better than any alarm with me, and it was far less disruptive to Talia, who was sleeping draped across my chest.

For a few minutes, I just lay there, luxuriating in the feel of her warm skin pressed against mine, in the soft exhalations of her breath and the way her long lashes lie like dark crescents on her cheeks. I had never wanted to sleep with a woman before her, had never understood the appeal of having another person in your bed for anything but fucking. It was only when I acquired my captive that I learned the simple pleasure of drifting off to sleep while holding her sleek little body . . . of feeling her next to me throughout the night.