killer instinct - || h.s. ||

46

" only you know me the way you know me "

---

aurora astor.

My consciousness slowly fades back to me in the form of a simple caress across my cheekbone.

The light from his skylight above gradually filters to my retinas, signaling the wakefulness to my brain radiating in a pounding ache.

I mumbled out an ouch incoherently before perceiving a firm warmth against my skin, and I can only curl closer to it while burying my face against his smooth chest.

His cologne gives his identity away in the familiar environment, and I cling to the moment with my arm around his torso for as long as the universe allows me to.

His hand delicately runs down my back in a comforting stroke, and he gently wipes under my eyes to collect the remnants of the painful dreams I had last night.

I softly breathe deeply through my nose, melting into him further as I listen to his deep breathing at this hour with the steady thrum of his heart under me.

Managing to blink my eyes open, I squint over to find his ruggedly handsome, yet exhausted features fixated on me.

His warm, chocolate-colored curls fall in a mess over his forehead, his eyelids remain puffy to hide the fullness of my favorite hue of jade within them, and his plush, pink lips grace me with a fatigued smile as he just stares at me.

"Hey, baby," he rasps out, trailing his deep morning voice down my spine in addition to the collection of goosebumps littering my skin.

I can only blink at him with our legs tangled together under the warmth of his thick comforter over the two of us. He gently strokes my hair, raking it from my face squished against his skin.

I grumble softly at the piercing light blinding me from his skylight above, and he hoarsely chuckles while rubbing my temple with his thumb.

The rough pad of his thumb lulls my eyes shut again as he caresses the throbbing pain away from my skull with a soft hum vibrating from my chest.

I can hardly remember the words I rambled to him last night, I just know that he's the reason I'm even in a bed in the first place.

"Ace," he whispers again, and I simply hum into his skin.

"Shh," I mumble into his silk skin, and he chuckles when I curl closer to his undeniable warmth quelling the ache across my limbs. "Too early," I argue back as he continues to spread bliss across my back with his presence.

"Well, actually, it's nearly 3 in the afternoon," he counters, and my eyes snap open at the shocking time to find the amusement all over his daydream of a face.

"Liar," I mumble. He quirks an eyebrow in the form of a challenge while his thumb momentarily pauses its comforting circles to my temple.

His eyes flicker past me, and I huff as I peel my cheek from his chest to glance over my shoulder. His digital clock does in fact read the time he told me, and I audibly groan to the sound of his knowing chuckle as I roll back into him.

"Come on, Ace," he mumbles into my temple before placing a lingering kiss there.

He tugs back, and I find his lips pressed together with obvious amusement still flickering in the bits of green I can analyze in his puffy eyes. "How about this?" I offer in my morning voice still coating my syllables, and he hums as his dimple carves into his smooth cheek.