The first ray of morning sun cut through the heavy curtains and fell into the room. The bed looked like a battlefield. Sheets were scattered on the floor, and Vikram and Riya were so tangled in each other’s naked bodies that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

Vikram’s eyes opened first. Riya’s head rested on his chest, one of her thighs locked tightly around his waist. The heat under the quilt and the thick scent of their bodies woke the animal inside him again, even this early in the morning. He leaned close to her ear and blew a deep, warm breath.