little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 11; falling slowly (part i)

Mornings were a little bittersweet in this little winter cabin of theirs these days.

The blinds in Mona and Niall's room were a bit crooked, so when morning came, the jagged rays of the sun fell over Niall's hair like a halo. The blond appeared to be glowing, and Mona couldn't help the sleepy smile that spread across her features at the sight of Niall peacefully snoozing away.

From the few days she'd been sharing a bed with Niall, Mona learned that he was quite the early riser. She always knew he was a morning person, but she was pretty sure that waking up every single day at five am on the dot was a little excessive. She figured that he never quite shook the habit of rising early because it was like clockwork, the way he jostled before untangling his arms from her still slumbering body, stretching and swinging his legs over to the edge of the bed and heading to the bathroom where he'd brush his teeth before making his way down to the kitchen to brew himself a cup of tea.

Mona sometimes wondered whether he was sleepwalking through it all, because when he'd finished up his tea he would wander back up the stairs and settle into the bed once again, throwing an arm around her as he pressed his chest to her back, leaving a kiss to her shoulder before falling asleep again.

It was an odd quirk of his that she found more endearing than annoying. She didn't know if he noticed that in the process of getting out of bed he'd end up waking her too, but she didn't find it necessary to let him know. Instead, she contented herself with watching him through sleepy eyes as he stretched his lean muscles on his way through the door, the freckles dotting his back rippling as he shrugged a t-shirt on. The only thing her sleep muddled brain would be able to register in those moments was how beautiful he was.

Now, with the sun rays streaking his soft hair, he looked radiant and stunning and Mona couldn't take her eyes off him. It was hard coming to terms with these new emotions surging through her, but it was especially difficult in the mornings and in moments like these, when the bed was full with their sprawled limbs and all she could think about was how awful it will be to wake up alone now that she knew the warmth of her sunshine boy so well. She wanted to wake up like this forever, and that was probably what had her chest seizing up every morning, because she knew that when they left this cabin, it would be over. She couldn't be his, because he deserved the world and she was worthless.

Her limbs ached, but that might have had more to do with what the two of them got up to the night before than the feelings that were weighing her down. That night on the hill had her mind telling her to keep her distance, and while deep down she knew that it would probably be best if they didn't share a room to avoid getting intimate, her heart and body just couldn't resist him.

There was something about the sparkle in his blue eyes and the brightness of his smile that had her caving into him, which was why when they were relaxing in bed late last night because they couldn't shake off the adrenaline that came with their trip to a nearby club that Harlow had found, she couldn't help the way they fell against one another in the bed like it was second nature, couldn't help the way her fingers tangled in his hair as he rested on her lap as they turned the TV on.

She especially couldn't help it when his fingers crept between her thighs, followed by his mouth, and he looked up at her with his eyes filled with mischief, couldn't help the way it progressed from him having her back arched against the blankets to him flipping her over until she was biting down on the pillows to keep from screaming at the sensations he had thrumming through her body with the rhythm of his hips. He had bitten down on her shoulder to muffle his own pleasured sounds and she could still feel the sting of his teeth now, could see the maroon mark on his collarbone she'd given him not even a few moments after they'd both come down from their highs.