Prologue:

The first thing she felt was the warmth.

She felt the sheets, tangled around her legs and between her feet, cutting her body in two halves where the edge of the blanket ran across her lower back.

She felt the rays of sunshine dancing over the bare skin along her spine, tickling and teasing. She kept her eyes closed, sensed the more compact warmth of her hair that covered her neck and shoulders.

She was aware of her hands under the white pillow just as much as she was conscious of the smooth and soft fabric under her cheek. She turned on her side, lightly lifting her knees to her chest, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that she was naked.

And then it took all her willpower not to rip her eyes open, jump out of the bed and grab her clothes like some sort of saving anchor.

What the hell happened?

She felt the prickling in her throat and down her stomach as if she'd drunken the adrenaline that was now surging through her veins.

She breathed in and paused, slightly panicked when his scent hit her nose. A mix of cigarettes and citrons even though she knew he didn't smoke. None of them did.

Something like regret crawled up her fingers, her calves, her throat and centred itself in the lump in her throat she'd gotten to know so well in the past few months.

What have I done?

Something different, something warm suddenly touched the sensitive skin on her back, danced like the sunlight before with the slight difference that it was no light touching her but skin on skin and bones against bones.

And the goosebumps it aroused were as real as the hand on her back, drawing patterns.