“What are you doing?” she asked in that sleepy voice I loved so much. It made my mouth curl up on one side as I stared down at the open sketchbook in my lap. My legs were resting high on the balcony railings of our hotel room. To my right were the prettiest of blues and greens from the ocean. To my left was the prettiest of women the Earth had ever seen. I knew which way I wanted to look, but sometimes staring at so much beauty before breakfast made me feel drunk.

I pretended to ignore her, squinting as I dragged my wrist back and forth over the pages to shade in the areas of the face I’d drawn.

A few seconds passed before I heard her throw her head back on the pillow and huff in annoyance.

It made that lip curl of mine rise even higher.

“Not again, Marcus Anderson.”

I didn’t have to see her to know what she was doing. Her fingers would be pushed into the hair, the heels of her hands resting on her forehead as she stared up at the ceiling and tried her best to suppress her smile.

It was a pointless effort on her behalf, but she did it most mornings, anyway. Smiling was what we did now. We couldn’t help it. In just a few months, everything we thought we’d known had been tipped on its head and we’d discovered something new. Where the world once seemed daunting, a little tilted too far to one side and slippery, now it had changed. The world and all its corners were flat, adventurous, and exciting. Peaceful, yet wild. Life was exactly as it was always meant to be.

“Did you make my nose look smaller this time?”

“Shh,” I hissed quietly.

My eyes focused on the image coming to life in front of me, but my heart was already trying to escape my chest like an excited puppy that had just been offered a treat it couldn’t get to. My mind was buzzing with all the memories of the night before, flickering with bright lights and fond images of the faces she’d made, the sounds she’d whispered in my ear, and the throbbing of her touches upon my skin. I huffed out a small laugh as I let the pencil drift towards her nose on the page. I tilted my head to one side, pretending to concentrate much harder than I really had to. She was my favourite thing to sketch. Bringing her to life with my fingers was natural. Calming. Effortless.

“Did you make my boobs look bigger?” There was a smirk to her voice now—resignation mixed with delight that made her sound content. “Maybe lift my arse cheeks a bit?”

“You’re already perfect,” I muttered quietly.

I was counting down in my head, waiting for her to make her next move. It happened the same way most mornings. She’d sleep in, while I’d wake early, enjoying the weight of her in my arms, bathing in the sound of her breaths falling freely from her slightly parted lips. Eventually, I’d slip out from beneath her and she’d grumble, mid-dream. The ocean would call to me from our hotel room—its whispers quietly pressing against the glass doors, forcing me to go to the balcony. Then I’d sit out in the Italian morning air, losing myself to the magic of art that had now weaved its way back into my life. There I’d enjoy my two favourite sounds meeting in the middle: Danni’s breaths and the ocean waves.

It was the only time of day I enjoyed being selfish, mainly because no one else knew about it and no one suffered on my behalf. It was fucking beautiful.

Danni’s next move came right on cue. I’d counted down to number ten in my head, and I was just about to drop to nine when I heard the rustling of the duvet being flung away from her.

Eight. She exhaled slowly.

Seven. Her feet hit the floor.

Six. She stretched and moaned. Oh, shit, that seductive little moan.

Five. She began to walk around the bed.

Four. She winced ever so slightly as the bright, early morning sunlight attacked her sleepy, unadjusted eyes.

Three. She stepped out onto the balcony.

Two. She moved behind the chair I was sitting in.

One. My favourite part: The first moment of contact since dragging myself away from her. Her hands would slide over my shoulders before slipping down my chest. Then she fell against me and whispered in my ear...

“What a gorgeous morning to tell you I love you.”

Zero. Heavenly sigh.

Minus one, and my previously controlled smile would be pushed into submission as my shit-eating grin took over, and everything else—heart, mind, dick—all jumped around like they were Julie Fucking Andrews on the top of that sodding mountain. Hill. Whatever it was.

“Morning.” I leaned into her cheek as she pressed kisses over my face, down my neck, before her teeth gently sank into my shoulder.

Apparently that was one of her favourite parts of my body. My shoulders. The times I’d lay in bed, staring up at her as she straddled me and ran her hands over them repeatedly, lost in the dance of her own fingers as they travelled across my chest, then up and down my arms and back again. It was a miracle I didn’t have bruises around my cheeks. They permanently ached from all the smiling we’d done since I decided to join her on her rise to success.

I hadn’t had to sell my apartment. Sammy had snatched it off me the second she heard I wanted to follow Danni wherever she went. Her promise to pay her rent on time every month was adorable.

“I swear I’ll look after the place, Marcus. I’ll set up a direct debit from my bank to yours. I have the money. I’ll never let you down. I’ll be a good tenant. I’ll even decorate if you want me to. I just need some space. I need a place of my own.”

She needed somewhere to take Cameron where Mum and Dad wouldn’t hear his warrior cries of victory when he nailed her to the wall. That’s what she meant. I didn’t say it to her, though. Mainly because she was my little sister and thinking about her having any kind of sex was not only weird but also really fucking gross. And who the hell was I to say that kind of thing to her, anyway? Sammy was a fully-grown adult now. I, more than anyone, understood that need for freedom and personal space. I’d been there myself.

Not now, though.

Now I wanted to be crowded by the woman currently dragging her nails up and down my arms.

“Did you have breakfast without me?” she whispered quietly.

“How can I have breakfast without you when you are my breakfast?”

Her smile grew against my skin. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’m talking about the stuff that can go in our mouths.”

Danni’s hands froze on my arms.

I tilted my head back so I could look into her eyes.

“Don’t say it...” she said in a breath.

“You know I’m about to make a really rude joke, don’t you?”

“Yep. I walked straight into that one.”

“You make it too easy for me.”

“Want me to make it harder?” She raised a brow and leaned farther over so her lips were hovering over mine.

“Now who’s being the filthy one?”

“I’ve been around you too long. You’re rubbing off on me.”

I quickly threw my book and pencil down on the balcony floor before I spun her around until she was in front of me, squealing in feigned protest before I lowered her onto my lap. Her legs dangled over my hips and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I shuffled beneath her, letting my hands fall to the top of her arse as I looked up at her sleepy fuck-me eyes.

“I prefer you rubbing on me.” I smirked.

“You know… I think I do, too.”

“Do you think we’ll ever get to the stage where we’re not always thinking about sex?” I asked her, watching as the small breeze of Sorrento blew the finer strands of her bedhead over her shoulders.

“I hope not.” She smiled, flashing all her beautiful white teeth. “We have really great sex.”

“Just great?” I scowled.

“Meh.” She shrugged. “It’s okay.”

I pinched her arse cheeks hard, earning a gasp and a yelp from her before she slapped my shoulders and settled back down again.

“Try again.” I growled.

“Fine. It’s phenomenal sex. It’s sex that should never end. Sex that would make the rest of the world jealous if they knew about it.”

“Hmm,” I moaned deep in the back of my throat, circling beneath her. “Better.”

“Have I stroked your ego enough now?” She grinned.

“There’s always room for more stroking, baby.”

Her head fell back, exposing her neck as she let her laughter pour free. Her chest bounced, her hair tickled my thighs, and her arse rubbed against me in all the right ways. Fuck, I was a lucky bastard. She was stunning. Not just pretty or beautiful. Stunning didn’t actually seem enough. Danni Marston was otherworldly. Nothing about her looked unnatural or plastic. She was earthly, natural… a miracle. She was something made from the imagination of the gods. Every man’s daydream wrapped up in sun-kissed skin and finished off with dazzling blue eyes and pink lips that enticed you into ruin.

I couldn’t believe she was mine, but she was never away from me now.

Her stomach rumbled again, making her bite down on her bottom lip and she lowered her head back down and stared at me.

“How can you be hungry? You ate like a Trojan last night.” My hands slid up and down the small of her back. “Where do you put it all?”

“I burn off a lot of calories. There’s this hot guy, you see. He keeps me well exercised.”

“Hot guy, you say?”

“The hottest.”

“Interesting.”

“He’s everything: Intelligent, witty, kind… smokin’.”

“Equipped?”

“Oh…” She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “And skilled with his tools.”

“I hate him already.”

“Well, I happen to love him, so watch your mouth.” She leaned down to press her lips to mine, and I instantly closed my eyes. I loved the way her kisses made me feel. Every one meant the start of something new. I never knew if they would lead to declarations of happiness or headboard-banging, wild monkey sex.

That’s what Danni did with everything she touched. She gave it her all. Nothing was ever done halfway. If she loved you, you knew about it. It made her too good to be true.

If this whole time with her had been one big dream, I hoped to God I never woke up.

Her noisy stomach broke the silence again. I pulled free from her kiss and looked into her eyes.

“Order breakfast before I end up shouting at your tummy for being an inconsiderate arsehole and interrupting me when I’m getting a boner from my girl’s kisses.”

She pushed her hands through my hair and released a small laugh. “You want anything?”

“Surprise me.”

“You say that every morning.”

“And every morning you surprise me.”

“I’ll run out of ideas soon, Marcus.”

“Then I’ll just have to end up eating you again, won’t I?” I winked at her as the small blush that was reserved for me crept into her cheeks.

“I suddenly think I’ll have run out of ideas by tomorrow.”

The final growl had us both looking down at her stomach as she leaned back. “But not today,” I told her. “There’s a beast in there, and it sounds like it’s trying to break free. Let’s feed it before it starts singing. If it sounds anything like you, we’re in trouble.”

“Hey! I like singing.”

“And you do it so… well…”

Her eyes rose to mine, peering up from under her long, thick lashes, holding my gaze for a second before we both burst out laughing.

As soon as she hopped off me and went to order room service, I missed her. I missed her even though she was right there in my line of sight. Some days it felt like she would disappear as soon as I stopped touching her. I knew what happiness was. I’d been happy my whole life, for the most part, despite the odd battles that had gone on with my heart and my mind at times. But no one had ever told me what true happiness felt like. No one told me how it could be the most exhilarating yet goddamn terrifying experience all at once. It was how I imagined it felt to sky dive. While you’re up in the air, it’s the most blissful and thrilling moment of your life. Yet somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re worried about the landing. You’re worried whether it’ll be smooth or bumpy. You wonder if you’ll remain intact or whether something will break.

It was funny with Danni.

Because even though I did sometimes wonder about breaking again, for her, it seemed like a fair price to pay.

This new life of mine was like something from a movie, and for once, I was the leading guy. I was in control. And I had the most amazing woman in the world beside me.

Nothing could go wrong.