The faint sound of paper, soft, rhythmic, like pages being turned with care, pulled Cassie from sleep.
For a brief, disoriented second, she expected the familiar give of the couch beneath her or the thin pillow she had fallen asleep on. Instead, she felt warmth. Solid warmth, and a steady rise and fall.
Her eyes fluttered open but she was not alone.
Cassie lay with her cheek pressed against something firm and reassuring, her ear resting over a slow, even heartbeat. The scent surrounding her was unmistakable, clean, masculine, faintly familiar in a way that made her chest tighten.
Franklin. Her breath caught as she slowly lifted her head, just enough to confirm what her body already knew.
He was reclined beneath her, shirtless, a book held loosely in one hand while the othe
