Soft morning light slipped through the gap in Lauren’s curtains and stretched across the bed.

She woke slowly, wrapped in warmth. Her cheek rested against something firm, one arm lay across a narrow waist, and her right leg had somehow become tangled with someone else’s beneath the blanket. For several sleepy seconds, she could not understand why her pillow was breathing. Then she heard the steady heartbeat beneath her ear and remembered that Luke was beside her.

The previous night returned piece by piece.

She remembered the ruined café, the hospital, and the long series of examinations they had endured after discovering that their Powerforge abilities had followed them into the real world. Luke had promised to follow her if she decided to become a hero, and his stunned expression when he learned she was forty-eight had remained far too amusing.

Most of all, Lauren remembered asking him to sleep beside her because she could not bear the thought of waking up alone after nearly losing him. Luke had agreed, and now she was practically sprawled across him.

Her head rested on his chest, her breasts pressed against his side, and one thick thigh lay over his legs. At some point during the night, his arm had slipped around her back. His hand now rested near her waist, holding her in a loose, protective embrace.

Lauren stayed where she was and listened to his heartbeat fill the quiet room. That simple sound brought her more comfort than she wanted to admit.

She had grown used to waking up alone. After her daughters moved to Canada, most mornings began with an empty bedroom and the distant hum of the refrigerator. She would remain beneath the blankets for a few minutes, listening to the silence before forcing herself out of bed to prepare the café.

This morning, someone warm was breathing beside her, and that same young man had thrown himself between her and an awakened criminal without hesitating.

He really was her hero.

A soft smile touched Lauren’s lips as she carefully lifted her head and looked at him. Luke’s eyes were closed, but something about his expression made her suspicious. His breathing seemed too controlled, and the muscles around his mouth remained slightly tense.

He might still have been asleep, though the careful rhythm of his breathing made her suspect he was pretending. Lauren studied him more closely.

Luke looked younger while resting. The caution and stubbornness he carried throughout the day had faded from his face, leaving him peaceful and almost innocent. Several bruises remained near his temple and cheek, though the hospital treatment had already removed most of the swelling.

Her gaze drifted lower.

The blanket had slipped to his waist during the night, exposing the plain shirt stretched across his chest. Lauren’s hand rested over his stomach, close enough to feel every slow breath. She had become much bolder in her sleep than she had intended.

Then she noticed something firm pressing against her thigh beneath the blanket.

Lauren went still when she realized what it was. There was no mistaking Luke’s painfully hard cock inside his pants, trapped between her leg and his body. Even the smallest movement of her thigh made the rigid length shift against her, and her innocent morning smile slowly turned playful.

He was either awake now or had been recently.

Redness had already begun spreading across his cheeks despite his closed eyes, confirming her suspicion and almost making her feel sorry for him. She wanted to tease him immediately, but curiosity held her back.

How long had he been awake? Had he opened his eyes and found her lying across him? Had he tried to move her, or had he stayed trapped beneath her while his erection grew harder?

More importantly, how had he looked at her while he believed she was asleep?

Her desire to know sharpened. Pressure gathered behind Lauren’s eyes, and violet mist spread through her blue irises as the bedroom faded from view.

A vision of the recent past formed around her, showing the same room several minutes earlier from somewhere near the side of the bed. The morning light had been weaker then, leaving most of the furniture hidden in soft shadows.

Luke lay awake on his back with his face already bright red.

Lauren had been curled against him in almost the same position, though her head rested slightly higher on his chest. Her black hair spilled over his shoulder and across the pillow, with several loose strands lying against her lips.

Luke stared at her without looking frightened or uncomfortable. Instead, he appeared completely captivated.

His gaze moved over her sleeping face and lingered on the small mole beside her lips. Whenever Lauren shifted, his body tightened, almost as though he feared that breathing too loudly might wake her.

At one point, a strand of hair slid across her nose. Luke hesitated for several seconds before slowly raising one hand, then brushed the strand aside with barely more than the tips of his fingers.

Lauren’s sleeping face relaxed beneath his touch, and a small smile appeared on Luke’s lips. It was uncertain, almost shy, but the open affection behind it warmed her chest.

Then the sleeping Lauren moved.

She released a quiet sound, tightened her arm around his waist, and pressed herself closer without waking. Her breasts flattened against his side while her thigh slid farther across his legs.

Luke’s smile vanished as his entire body stiffened. His eyes dropped toward the heavy curves pressed against him before darting away, and he looked like he had caught himself doing something wrong even though Lauren continued sleeping peacefully.

He tried to focus on the ceiling, but he lasted less than five seconds before looking at her again.

This time, his gaze traveled lower. The neckline of her nightgown had shifted enough to expose the upper swell of one breast, and his throat moved as he swallowed.

Beneath the blanket, the front of his pants began to rise.

Luke noticed immediately, and panic crossed his face. He looked down at his erection, then back at Lauren, before attempting to shift his hips without disturbing her. The movement only caused her thigh to slide more firmly over him.

His eyes widened as Lauren’s sleeping body reacted by snuggling closer, trapping his cock beneath the warm weight of her leg.

Luke gripped the bedsheet with one hand while his erection strained against his pants until the shape became painfully obvious beneath the blanket. He looked completely helpless. His soft features and inexperience made him sweet and adorable, but the hard cock trapped beneath her thigh added something much less innocent to the scene.

The contrast affected Lauren far more than it should have.

Her sweet mama’s boy could grow into a proper young Adonis, and the thought made her press her thighs together before she realized what she was doing.

Inside the vision, Luke finally gave up on trying to move. He remained beneath her, staring at her face while his erection continued troubling him.

After several minutes, he whispered so quietly that the sleeping Lauren could not possibly have heard him.

"You’re beautiful."

The vision disappeared, and Lauren returned to the present with a sharp breath. Violet mist still drifted through her eyes, and she remained pressed against Luke, though she was now much more aware of the hardness beneath her thigh. Heat had gathered between her own legs, making her nightgown suddenly feel much thinner than it had the night before.

Luke opened one eye.

The moment he saw the purple mist in her gaze, his expression fell.

"Did you..." His voice came out rough with sleep, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Did you look into the past?"