Angel in Repose

Elias, who had been lying there still as a corpse, shifted slightly. With a gentle touch, he carefully turned Callie to face him, his arms effortlessly encircling her in a warm embrace. In that moment, his heart swelled with an unfamiliar warmth, melting away the icy barriers he had built around himself. It was a vulnerability he had rarely experienced. A soft chuckle escaped Elias’s lips as he watched Callie sleep, her peaceful expression accentuated by the moonlight filtering through the curtains. He marvelled at the stark contrast between the men he had slept beside, all muscular and imposing, and the delicate girl in his arms. ‘You’re something else, aren’t you?’ Elias whispered, his voice filled with tenderness. ‘I never thought I’d find myself yearning for someone like you.’ As the night enveloped them in its tender embrace, Elias’s heart danced to a different rhythm. The walls he had built to protect himself began to crumble, replaced by an overwhelming desire to protect and che