Converging Desires, Unsettling Shadows

I floated between consciousness and blissful darkness, my body nestled against Jaxon's solid warmth. The fever that had gripped me earlier seemed to be fading, replaced by a different kind of heat—one that pulsed through my veins with increasing urgency.

His arms tightened around me as I shifted against him. The movement sparked tiny jolts of pleasure wherever our skin touched. I was still naked, wrapped only in his embrace and a thin blanket.

"Better?" Jaxon's deep voice rumbled through his chest and into mine.

I tilted my face up to look at him. His dark eyes were intense but somehow softer than I'd ever seen them. The usual sharp edges of his expression had smoothed into something that looked almost like concern.