When I wake up, I can't begin to guess what time it is but sunlight is pouring into the room in a blinding, brilliant river. The gauzy white curtains over the window prove to be no obstacle.
The room has cooled down quite a bit and I find myself shivering when I sit up. Elizabeth is stretched out next to me, on her belly, completely naked and hugging the pillow to her chest like a child. She's so surreally beautiful, her face relaxed in her sleep, her dark eyelashes lowered and her eyebrows smooth. I pull a sheet over her, but she doesn't even stir.
I swing my feet off the bed, my toes curling when they hit the floor. My head doesn't feel the slightest bit heavy despite everything I've had to drink and the soreness between my legs is languorous. I stretch my arms over my head, crack my shoulders, forgetting to be self-conscious in my nakedness. Tiptoeing across the floor¸ I lean on the railing and look down into the suite.
