AND THEN I FOUND YOU » Daryl Dixon

31. UNSETTLING BEAUTY

The early morning sun had just breached the distant treetops, its brightness beaming onto the funeral home like a stage light, almost as if it knew there was something special happening inside that was worth a spotlight of attention. Golden rays shone into the living room through the singular window that wasn't obstructed by wooden planks, bathing the room in a warm glow.

Light penetrated through the delicate skin of Jasmin's eyelids, transforming the darkness that usually accompanied sleep into a warm honey-like amber. Not only did it wake her up from a peaceful sleep, but its uncomfortable heat also roused a sensation of her eyeballs being burnt to crisps.

Disturbed by the intense light, she absentmindedly rolled her body over to face the opposite direction, wanting nothing more than to drift back into oblivion. Instead, her fatigued senses immediately perked up, drawn back to reality as she inhaled a rich musky scent that permeated the air.

With the return of her sense of smell, her other perceptive abilities followed suit. Her body was encompassed by a pressure neither uncomfortable nor unpleasant; it was rather like the epitome of protection. It was pushed up against her torso but also draped across her waist and pressed on her back. The weight was heavy, warm, and anchored down her entangled legs.

As willpower flooded her body, Jasmin's eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking away the heaviness of sleep. Expecting to see the couch's backrest, she was surprised when her face was met with something quite different—Daryl's hard chest. Considering her semi-conscious state, she was left a little jarred as to believing whether or not this moment was real, but the rise and fall of his chest and soft snores escaping his mouth proved its legitimacy.

She wasn't sure which seemed more impossible: that she had fallen asleep in his arms, or that she had managed to remain asleep the entire night.

Well, not the entire night.

Upon first waking up, she was puzzled by how they came to be spooning on the couch, but then her memory resurfaced, and it all came flooding back. She remembered her semi-breakdown, the gory nightmare, and those haunting blue eyes that caused an unexpected burst of intense fear. It was disconcerting how her subconscious mind could twist something she admired into pure bone-chilling terror.

Fortunately, the real deal didn't have the same effect. Daryl was quick to offer his solace during her distress, but even so, that didn't stop her from reprimanding herself for having to be cradled to sleep like a frightened child. During the moment, neither of them seemed to care; now that her clarity was regained, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment.

Jasmin tilted her head upward to catch a glimpse of Daryl in his rarest state—sleeping. His usually tanned skin was painted a golden hue due to the sunlight that was shining directly onto his face, though he didn't seem to mind. Tousled strands of dark brown hair were scattered across his forehead, curtaining his closed eyes from the direct light.

Both of their faces had been mere inches apart many times before, but she was never granted the opportunity of admiring him from this close before. She noted the sharp, angular lines beneath his high cheekbones, so sure that in another lifetime he could have been a model. Her gaze ran across his jaw, scanning over the salt-and-pepper scruff of his chin and around his soft, parted lips. His shut eyes sat atop the deep bags which were riddled with stress and sleep, though they just added to his perplexing beauty. He had two moles that rested near the corner of his lips, which, in a strange way, made him much more distinct than anyone around him.

Every aspect of him reflected the definition of magnetising attractiveness, and if he had just realised the greatness of it, he could have the entire world at his feet. She saw it and look at where that got her.