Chapter 31
Tshabina
I slowly closed my eyes.
I allowed my body to surrender to the longing within me.
For a while, there was nothing but silence, the pounding of my heart, and the steady rhythm of water falling around us.
Every touch felt like a spark, every sound magnified.
His faint groans lingered in my ears. His scent enveloped me, sending warmth from the tips of my toes all the way through my body.
When I opened my eyes again, I found his gaze on me. It had shifted, glowing with heat and trembling, making it hard for me to breathe. His hand brushed my face, sweeping stray strands of hair away. With such a simple touch, it drew a shiver through me.
He smiled. The slight curve of his lips slowed my heart down. That smile anchored me and called me back to everything I had once felt safe in.
I couldn’t help but return it.
He leaned closer, his forehead resting gently against mine, closing the space between us. I trembled at its warmth, closing my eyes to hold the moment longer.
His lips brushed my forehead, and the tears I’d been holding back spilled over. I blew out a long breath, keeping my eyes shut to focus on sensing him. Because the way I felt with Zioh eased something inside me.
“I miss you…” His voice cracked, hoarse and raw.
A sob escaped me as his soft kisses trailed down over my closed eyes, my cheeks, and to my chin, lingering. Every time those soft lips met mine, I caught the faint shudder hidden within them.
The sweetness of our memories drifted through my mind. Those beautiful fragments flooded, making me unable to hide my laughter. Even with tears falling, mixing with the stream of water on my face, I laughed in front of him.
“Hmm, I miss that too…” Zioh’s own laughter broke through, tender, joining mine. The first I’d heard in ten years sounded achingly beautiful.
I opened my eyes to find his soft, warm smile meeting me, his laughter glowing around us.
I knew this man.
“I hope the way I see you in this moment…” His voice rumbled deep, and our eyelashes brushed together. “Last forever.”
He eased back, tilted my chin so I would meet his gaze. Our eyes locked, losing themselves in one another. Slowly, both his hands slid down to my waist.
His free hand guided mine onto his shoulder. Then, with his other hand still at my waist, he began to move, deliberate, leading me into motion with him.
I raised a questioning brow at him. But then I realized he asked me to follow the song’s rhythm, which pulsed between us.
I whispered. “Dance?”
Our movements were slow, our gazes unbroken. Zioh replied. “Just like we used to do,” the warmth in his voice was enough to steady me. “We can dance here, too.”
Water from the shower poured over us, soaking us to the skin. Yet I was lost in his eyes, as “Light” swayed us in a slow rhythm, guiding our bodies.
A shiver traced where his fingers rested, pulling a quiet sound from my lips. I leaned my head on his broad, solid chest as I let him hold my waist, guiding our movements. “Akh, what—” My startled cry broke into laughter as Zioh suddenly lifted me.
“Zioh—”
His hands gripped my waist, then slid down to hold my thighs, drawing me against him, and lifting me so my face leveled with his. “My Sophie...” His voice trembled. “You are my Sophie,” he whispered, clutching me tighter.
His arms locked around me, pressing our bodies closer, his strength enclosing me in a desperate embrace. He spun us in a slow turn, moving with the music, as though he wanted to keep me safe and warm within his hold.
There was so much I wanted to say, ask, but I held it back. Just for a while, because if I had to wake up, I didn’t want to ruin this dream.
I wished, for a few seconds, that the time would stop right here.
My hands clutched his shoulders, and though we had been laughing moments ago, we both fell silent, savoring this moment.
Drawn into his gaze, I moved my head closer, inch by inch, until my forehead met his. An aching need to feel him more consumed me. “You are…” I whispered, searching for his eyes—I smiled. “My Zioh too.”
I kept holding onto him, felt him more deeply, let only my eyes speak the truths I buried far within. Zioh kept leading us. Every breath he took brushed against my chin, pulling me closer to him like a magnet until the corner of our lips met in a soft brush.
Thump. Thump. Thump. That touch sent a shiver down my spine, my heart racing. Yet my body burned with heat, as though the shower water cascading over me were boiling.
“Hhh…” I breathed out, shaking.
Catching his deep gaze, he murmured, right over my lips.
“These lips, Tshabina.” His voice broke as his eyes fell to my mouth, drowning in it before he continued.
“I used to want to see it rise and bloom in its perfection.” He smiled.
“And you wear the same smile as Mum, and you—” He shook his head. His grip trembled on my thigh.
A faint tremor shook his eyes as he spoke, followed by a hard, heavy swallow. My mind stalled. With no words to offer, I simply let him finish.
“And I remember,” he breathed, finding my eyes again. “I never forgot how it tasted, not even after ten years, baby.” His voice cracked, sending fresh tears spilling down my cheeks.
I would never forget that night either.
“Not allowed to take it off.” “No. Not allowed to take it off.”
Our first kiss.
I couldn’t look away. His eyes darkened again, sinking to my lips, and then he parted his own.
Our foreheads brushed, and our lips found each other. The kiss began soft and careful, as though to soothe and heal one another. Gently, Zioh lowered me until my feet touched the wet floor, never breaking the bond of our lips.
His free hand slid to my nape, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss.
The kiss brimmed with his long breath, his lips shaking the same as his hands on me.
The movement was slow, and he broke it only to meet my lips again with a tender brush, lingering there until the sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.
Kissing my teeth and sliding his tongue in, he explored my mouth, tasting. Soft snarls escaped us both, groans and sighs tangled, our kiss turning more devouring.
His strong body urged me back until I collided with the cold wall behind. It clashed with everything I was feeling. The kiss grew hotter, almost ravenous, with the shower pouring above us, intoxicating everything.
I pushed him for air, but he begged. “Please… please, baby, I need you.”
In a rush, his lips seized mine again. His hands roamed, careful at first, waiting for my reaction. When all I gave him were whimpers and gasps, he grew bolder.
His fingers tugged at my bathrobe belt, hurriedly pulling it loose. It fell away, leaving me only in the short towel I’d had earlier. Thump Thump Thump. His mouth trailed to my neck, kissing, sucking, and dragging moans out of me. “Zi…”
My breath grew ragged, especially as his fingers brushed more freely over my skin.
“My beautiful goddess...” he rasped against me. His touch sparked fire through me. I nearly buckled, but Zioh caught my waist quickly, steadying me.
A dry laugh came out of his mouth against my neck. “Hold on tight,” he whispered. His hot breath searing, and he guided my arms to wrap around his neck.
His lips brushed my cheek, trailing down, lower to my collarbone. “You taste so sweet, baby,” he kissed again. “I’m the only one blessed to feel this, right?”
The warmth of his lips made my stomach fill with fluttering butterflies. My breathing grew heavier as he whispered, “How do you do that?” I could only whimper, tugging at his hair. “How can you have me under your spell?”
His husky voice poured like a song in my ear. “Because I’ll build a bridge from hell to heaven to come back to you.”
Our breaths blended with the hot steam, dampening the walls around us. His low voice spoke again. This time, each word was weighted. “Don’t break your spell, baby.” He lifted my hand and placed a kiss upon it. “Let me be your only victim.”
I bit my lip as his lips brushed my skin again. The pleasure coursed through me, electricity tensing my muscles from my toes to my head. My cries grew louder as Zioh’s kisses sank further. “Zioh…”
“Shh,” he soothed when I shuddered. His gaze lingered long, tracing the curve of my shoulder. He looked at me through wide eyes, brimming with sparkle. “My beautiful olive.” His hand swept over my skin, caressing it, chasing away the remaining droplets.
His dark brown eyes locked onto mine. “I can’t get enough of you,” he panted, “even now.”
His affection washed over me like alcohol, leaving me intoxicated. “Zioh…” I gasped as he stroked my neck, his mouth seizing mine again.
Instinctively, my hands clutched at him, holding on tight while the fire of his mouth made me tremble. My entire body shuddered with the sensation. When he finally severed the link between us, I slumped, leaning into the steady warmth of his chest.
With soft movement, he turned my head to the side and pressed a kiss to my shoulder, which he hadn’t touched before, and slowly moved up to my neck.
My breath hitched, and a breathy sound left my mouth, revealing how much I liked the tingling sensation his lips sent through me.
Then, his lips lingered behind my ear, and I called him. “Zi…”
“Yes, baby?”
I turned my head, meeting his eyes, searching for certainty. “I feel… strange.”
“I know…”
He kissed me again, deeper, then he pulled away and whispered against my ear. “I know, baby, it’s all right.” His breath grazed my neck, and I melted against him. “I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry.”
His body started to shake, and without hesitation, I pulled him into a tight embrace.
All the heat I’d felt before gathered in my heart and eyes.
I pressed a kiss to his chest, and Zioh hugged me back.
His hand trembled as he held me close, drawing a long breath from my hair, and kissing it again and again.