Cassius lay sprawled across his ridiculously oversized bed, a sea of silken sheets and plush pillows stretching out around him.
He turned to his left, expecting to find a warm body, perhaps Aisha curled into a ball like a kitten, or Skadi spread out like a starfish taking up far more space than her frame should allow.
Instead, his arm met only empty sheets and a cold, silk-covered mattress.
He turned right, anticipating Julie's familiar weight, or maybe Maria's protective arm draped over his chest even in sleep.
Again, nothing but a fluffy pillow that smelled faintly of lavender—Portia's doing, no doubt.
She insisted on scenting everything with calming aromatics.
A slow smile touched Cassius's lips.
It was strange, this emptiness. Normally, his bed was a battlefield of limbs and blankets,
Some nights he'd wake with a foot in his face, an elbow in his ribs, or a particularly enthusiastic tail wrapped around his leg.
