The late afternoon sun slanted through the half-open blinds of your quiet home, casting golden streaks across the living room floor. You were curled up on the couch, flipping through a book you’d been meaning to finish. The distant hum of the neighborhood outside a gentle backdrop to your relaxation.

Your phone buzzed against the coffee table, vibrating with a notification. You set your book aside, stretching slightly before reaching for it. A small, private smile tugged at your lips when you saw your husband’s name flash across the screen. He’d texted you earlier to let you know he was heading to the gym—something about needing to blow off steam after a long day.

You tapped the message, expecting a simple "On my way home soon" or maybe even a cheeky "What’s for dinner?"—but what loaded on your screen made your breath hitch.

It was a picture.

A very unexpected picture.

Cillian, standing in what was clearly the gym’s locker room, the dim fluorescent lighting casting sharp shadows across his damp skin. His chest rose and fell with the remnants of exertion, his defined muscles glistening with sweat, veins prominent along his hands and arms from the intensity of his workout. His workout shirt was half-pulled up, abs taut beneath, and his expression—dark, intense, hungry—was directed straight at the camera. Straight at you.

The caption beneath was simple, but it sent a slow, delicious shiver down your spine:

Missed you today.

You swallowed, your fingers tightening around your phone as you stared. Cillian never sent photos like this. He was private, reserved, the kind of man who showed affection in quiet gestures rather than bold displays. Which meant this? This was deliberate. This was calculated.

Before you could even think of how to respond, another message popped up.

You gonna say something, love?

A challenge. A tease.

Your thumbs hovered over the keyboard, heart pounding as you tried—and failed—to think of something witty, something smooth. But all that came to mind was the way his lips would quirk in that smug, knowing way when he realized he’d rendered you speechless.

God, you were in trouble.