Chapter 9 #2
“Zeph!”
I run after him, down the empty hall, but he’s so fast.
“Please! Zephyr, stop!”
He does as I ask, halting in his tracks before falling to his knees on the runner lining the stone floor. His back to me, his body bows forward and he catches himself with his palms on the fabric.
When I’m at his side, I drop down, too, wrap my arms around his broad shoulders until my fingertips barely touch.
“Please, don’t run from me,” I breathe. “I would never make you do or say something that would hurt you.”
One of his hands grips my elbow and he lets out a shuddering sigh. “I’m powerless when it comes to you.”
Shock makes me pull back, twist to look at his face. I consider him, press my lips between my teeth before saying, “I’d never abuse that power.”
He turns and looks at me, a small smile playing on his full lips that doesn’t reach his beautiful eyes. “I believe you.”
“Will you come back to my room? We don’t need to talk about anything you don’t want to.”
His nod precedes us rising to our feet and returning to my room, where I sit on the bed, hold my arms out to him.
When he surrenders himself to my embrace, I lie back and pull him down to meet me, his head tucked under my chin, his large body blanketing mine, the weight feeling delicious on top of me.
For a while, we simply cuddle, my fingers gently trailing through his blond hair as I hold him close, his warmth seeping into my bones and soothing me.
I hope that I’m returning the favor.
I don’t know how long we lay there in silence, our breathing and heartbeats syncing, but Zephyr eventually stirs, his head turns to one side, his ear on my chest as he speaks quietly. “They… experimented on me. Not just with my powers, but on me. Physically.”
I still, my breathing halts.
Zephyr…
“First, it was strange drugs and vigorous physical activity. Knowing what was in those syringes was well above my station, so I still don’t know what effect they had on me.
But once they forced me onto the operating table, I threatened to kill myself if they didn’t tell me what they were doing.
” He huffs out a humorless laugh. “I was Ness’ little pet project.
My life was the only leverage I had. It was Ness who told me their plan.
” His arms wrap around me tight and he pulls himself up my body, buries his face in the crook of my neck.
When he speaks again, his voice is hardly there. “They took my uterus.”
My gasp catches silently in my chest, screams halt in my throat. I wrap my arms around the back of his head and his upper back, pulling him to me like I want to meld our bodies, become one person. Take away his pain.
“I didn’t care,” he murmurs. “Not then. I didn’t think I’d ever escape.
And even if I did, I would never find someone to start a family with.
So, it didn’t matter.” The tip of his nose runs along the side of my neck, his lips following suit, sending shivers through my body in the wake of this horrible revelation.
Then, he rises to his knees, thighs arching over mine, and yanks his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. His pale skin ripples with lean muscle, hips jutting from the top of his jeans, abs crawling up his hairless torso and settling below defined pecs.
I’ve seen him without a shirt before, but his chest rises and falls fast now, his fists clenched at his sides as he peers down at me, locks of gold hair falling into his eyes.
“I was always attracted to both women and men,” he tells me. “But I never thought the woman I’d be bound to would be another Omega.”
I can’t stop my wince. Does my designation disappoint him?
His head shakes, probably reading my expression. “Don’t misunderstand, Nyx,” he says. “That you’re an Omega is a gift. Especially given…” he swallows his thought and doesn’t continue it. “But you being an Omega makes me wish things I never have before.”
My lips part and shut silently.
Then, he’s hovering over me, arms straight on either side of my shoulders, holding himself up in a plank on the mattress. Those lavender eyes roam over my face, and I’m breathless at his beauty, until a small, unbidden whine rises from my throat.
At the sound, his lilac and vanilla perfume blooms, meeting my autumn leaves on a rainy day. They meld in the air in the most fabulous way.
Eyes wide, I take a sharp inhale of our scents as my fingers fly to my lips.
What the…?
Something dark and dangerous flares in Zephyr’s eyes as he stares at me, motionless. Then he pulls his plump bottom lip between his teeth, that flare turning to a wicked glint to match his lopsided grin.
“Ahh,” he sings, eyes narrowing. One of his knees pushes between mine, then the other, before he spreads my thighs wide, drawing another gasp from me. His face gets closer and closer until our noses touch, and he inhales deeply with a groan.
His lips graze mine, and I’m frozen, powerless like he claimed to be in the hall, my body and mind begging… for what, I’m not entirely sure.
Until he breathes his next words, never breaking eye contact.
“Does my little electric Omega need to be fucked?”