Chapter 192. Be Mine

June POV

The first thing I feel is the breeze.

Soft, salty and cool against my skin, then the sound of the sea — slow, patient waves brushing against the shore like nothing in the world is in a hurry anymore.

When I open my eyes, light spills across everything in gold and pale pink. The sun is just beginning to rise, low and gentle, not burning yet. It paints the water like melted glass.

I’m lying on a beach bed beside my villa.

For a second I panic — hospital, blood, fear — but then I turn my head.

Hermes is there, sitting on the sand beside me, barefoot, one arm resting on the edge of the bed like he’s been guarding me all night. His hair is a little messy from the wind, his eyes fixed on the horizon, but the moment I move, he looks down at me.

I’m not hooked to anything. No machines. No IVs. Just the ocean, the morning, and him.

“How long have I been out?” I murmur, my voice rough from sleep.

“Not long,” he says softly.