Before she could react, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he buried his face against her stomach and closed his eyes.
“You’re crushing me,” she complained immediately, pushing at his shoulders.
Elias only tightened his hold slightly.
“I haven’t slept properly in days,” he muttered tiredly against her stomach. “I missed you so much.”
His voice was low and exhausted, lacking its usual sharpness.
Amara could feel his warm breaths through the thin fabric of her clothes as he slowly relaxed against her body.
She stiffened immediately.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said coldly, trying to push him away again. “Let go of me. I’m not sleeping with you.”
Elias didn’t even bother responding.
Instead, when she tried to move again, he tightened his arms around her waist possessively and refused to let her go.
A second later, she heard him mumble sleepily, “Stop moving around. I need sleep.”
His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled her even closer.
“It’s been so long since I slept properly,” he muttered. “Keep quiet.”
Amara glared down at him in frustration and tried pushing him again, but he barely reacted.
Then suddenly, she noticed the steady rhythm of his breathing.
Her movements slowly stopped.
Within minutes, Elias had already fallen deeply asleep.
Amara stared at him in shock.
Dark circles sat beneath his closed eyes, and for the first time in days, the tension on his face had finally disappeared.
She carefully tried to pull herself away from him.
But the moment she moved, Elias instinctively dragged her down onto the bed with him.
Amara let out a startled sound as he rolled slightly and buried his face against her neck instead, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other trapped her against his chest.
His lips brushed lightly against the side of her neck as he unconsciously held her closer in his sleep.
Amara stiffened completely.
“Unbelievable…” she muttered under her breath.
But no matter how much she tried, he refused to loosen his hold even in his sleep.
In the end, she had no choice but to stay there stiffly in his arms.
At some point during the night, exhaustion finally pulled her into sleep too.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains, spilling across the bed in soft gold.
Amara stirred first.
