I woke up to something warm pressing against my stomach.
At first, in that hazy half-dream space, I thought it was Duchess using me as a mattress again. But Duchess doesn't have knees digging into my ribs… or hair falling down the sides of my face… or a voice saying my name like she already knows I'm pretending to be asleep.
"Kai," Val whispered.
I kept still. Maybe if I didn't move, she'd let me—
A sharp pinch on my nose.
I shot up with a muffled, "Ow—Val!"
She burst into laughter, still sitting on my hips like she'd claimed territory. "You didn't wake up, so I had to use advanced tactics."
"That was not a tactic. That was an attack."
"Mm. Precision attack." She wiggled her eyebrows. "And effective. My target is awake."
She looked far too pleased with herself. Her hair was loose and messy, her eyes bright like she'd been awake for hours, and she was wearing one of my shirts — which was honestly one the many unfair advantages in this marriage.
