I awoke hours later to see the dawn streaking across the retreating night sky. I made to escape from the snug security of Jules sleeping body.
"Where are you going?"
"I thought you were still sleeping." I peeled my skin carefully from the wicker seat. Jules ran his fingers lightly over the indentations left in my buttocks.
"It's like trying to sleep on a rack."
"Perhaps you should go back to bed."
"Are you coming too?" He rubbed his eyebrow with the heel of his hand and he too peeled himself from the lounger.
"No. I'm going for a walk."
"What is it with you and walking at dawn?"
"It's peaceful. I like to greet the day before anyone else does."
"But only when you're on holiday?"
"That's right."
He stumbled back to bed, lying on his back and throwing his arms up above his head. I dressed quietly. Admiring the line of his body under the crisp white sheet.
The sharp peak of his hip bone.
The plateau of his belly.
The rise of his ribcage and the dark hair which resided on his chest. It drew me to him, like a moth to a flame. I was incapable of walking past his bare chest without touching him.
I nuzzled my face into the comforting hair, breathing in his scent. He moaned.
"Thought you were going for a walk."
"You know I can't resist you."