Consciousness returned to me slowly, like surfacing from the depths of the most peaceful dream I'd ever experienced. The first thing I became aware of was warmth—not just the comfortable temperature of Rose's room, but the specific, intimate warmth of another person pressed against my side.
Rose.
The memories of the previous night flooded back in a rush of emotion and sensation that made my heart race all over again. Her eighteenth birthday, the celebration, the moment we had finally been alone together, and everything that had followed. The way she had looked at me with such trust and love, the softness of her skin, the whispered words of devotion that had made the entire world fade away until there was nothing but us.
