Dakota barely had time to lift her head before he leaned down over her, one hand bracing beside her hip, the other brushing damp strands from her face.
"Don't go anywhere," he murmured, voice softened to a register reserved for her alone, low and velvet-rough. "Don't do anything either. Just sleep. Rest."
He kissed her forehead. Then one cheek. Then the other. Small, unhurried touches that felt absurdly tender after the way he had just claimed her, slow and reverent, as if sealing the morning's chaos with something gentler. Dakota made a weak sound of protest beneath the blankets, half laugh, half accusation. "Savage… savage…"
Her voice came out hoarse, wrecked from cries and surrender.
Kade's mouth almost curved into a smile, rare, fleeting, and devastating when it appeared. "Mm?"
"Insatiable savage animal," she muttered, shifting slightly and immediately wincing at the sweet ache between her thighs. "My body feels dismantled."
