Aurora's POV
The first thing I felt was the silence. It was heavy, ringing in my ears like the aftermath of an explosion.
I tried to move, but my body felt like it belonged to someone else—heavy, aching, and thrumming with a lingering, ghostly heat. My wrists were cold. I blinked, my vision blurry as I realized the silk scarf was gone, and the blindfold that had kept me in the dark for hours was nowhere to be seen.
I was under my duvet, tucked in as if I were a child, but the soreness between my thighs and the sharp sting on my shoulder told a much more carnal story.
"Raymond?" I whispered. My voice was a shredded wreck, barely audible in the morning light filtering through the curtains.
No answer.
I sat up slowly, a hiss of pain escaping my lips as the friction of the sheets brushed against my sensitive skin. The apartment was empty. The air was cold, devoid of the scent of leather and that dark, intoxicating musk that had filled my lungs all night.
He was gone.
