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“They’re really that close? That they appear as one?” I asked through a tight throat.
“Yeah. It’s part of a constellation known as Cygnus the Swan.”
I finally looked away from the telescope and found that Heather was closer than I realized. She had to tilt her head back to look up at my face, and I traced her jawline with my thumb.
“So, what do you think?” she asked, breathless. “It’s magical, right?”
“Oh yeah, Starlight. It really is.”
“Starlight?”
I brushed my lips over hers in a barely-there kiss. “It suits you. I think I’ll call you that from now on.”
Her eyes shone with an emotion I wasn’t ready to name. “Do you want to see more?”
“Yes.” The truth was that I would be content to do just about anything with her.
God, I was so far out of my comfort zone with this woman. There was still a part of me that was freaked out by the way I felt about her, especially as the connection between us seemed to grow stronger, but for tonight, I was going to soak up every minute with her that I could. It felt too good to deny myself.
So, I stayed on the balcony with her as she showed me the rings of Saturn and nebulas and star clusters. She was right. It was all magical, but I wasn’t sure that feeling came from just the stars.
It was her. Whether I was ready to embrace everything between us or not, I could acknowledge that she was special. This time with her meant something to me.
That was why she was my Starlight.
After Heather showed me all the best things to see—according to her—we stood at the railing of the balcony, me behind her with my arms wrapped around her waist, and we looked at the stars in the sky without saying a word. There was nowhere else I’d rather be.
Chapter Eleven: Greyson
Iwoke up with a stiff neck.
That was what registered first, followed by the weight on top of my body. Opening my eyes, I looked down at my chest to see Heather curled up against me, her eyes closed and mouth open as she snored softly in her sleep.
Adorable.
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, I took a moment to enjoy the feeling of waking up with her like this.
We were on the couch together, which explained the pain in my neck. I couldn’t remember falling asleep last night, but it must have happened while we were watching a movie—Heather’s idea after our stargazing. I let her pick what we watched, pleasantly surprised when she chose an action movie. But as we settled in next to each other on the couch, my arm thrown over her shoulders and feet up on the coffee table, I was so relaxed, so comfortable…
That was the last thing I remembered. Glancing at the TV, I saw that it was still on, the movie’s title page on the screen, even though the morning sun shone through the glass door of the balcony.
“Heather.” I shook her shoulder gently. “Wake up, Starlight. It’s morning.”
Her snoring cut off with a snort that made me chuckle, and she opened her eyes, blinking up at me a few times before she seemed to recognize me.
“Greyson?”
I grinned. “That’s me. We fell asleep on the couch.”
She looked around and then lowered her head back to my chest with a sigh. “You’re warm.”
“You like sleeping on me, huh?”
“Hmm.”
I felt her body fully slacken against me, and I thought she might fall right back to sleep, but she surprised the hell out of me by trailing her hand down my stomach and slipping under the waistband of my shorts.
My breath left me in a sharp hiss as she wrapped her soft fingers around my morning erection, and she looked up at me with the sexiest smirk I’d ever seen.
