Jem woke, blinking rapidly, and his vision slowly came into focus. Tessa was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out the window to the dark dawn of a sun just beginning to rise. She was breathing slowly, her shoulders rising and falling to a steady beat. The blankets were draped around her waist, but otherwise she was bare, and the nakedness of her exposed back sent shivers down Jem's spine.
He smiled and leaned forward, kissing the back Tessa's neck. She quaked beneath him under his touch and she tilted her head back, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes were half-closed in pleasure, and then she laughed. "Morning, Jian," she murmured. Jem's chest flooded with warmth; he loved the sound of his name - his real name - on her tongue.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked, and turned behind him, reaching for the button-up shirt she had flung aside last night. He draped it around Tessa's shoulders, and she gave him a look that said a thousand things he knew and a million he would never understand. Then a funny smile split her face apart, and Jem couldn't help but think, I love her.