Chapter 12 - Naia
In all the time I’ve known Zane, I’ve never seen him like this before.
I’ve never seen him so hungry or demanding, and I never thought the feeling of his lips against mine would ever make my defenses drop so easily.
But even while I kiss him back, my frustration encourages me more, pushing me to take as much as I can.
He has been nothing short of infuriating, and after being forced to stay in the same space with him for too long, it’s all breaking through the surface of my restraint.
Zane groans under his breath as I arch into his touch while he deepens the kiss, and he takes it as his chance to pull me closer.
Our scents mingle, but I focus on his and how it surrounds me, both familiar and somewhat new, given the time that has passed. It sends a thrill down my spine, and even if I should, I can’t bring myself to pull away.
“You piss me off so much when you don’t listen,” Zane mutters as he breaks the kiss to press his lips against my jaw, then down my neck. “We shouldn’t be doing this…But I don’t care.”
A soft, involuntary sound slips from me when his teeth graze my pulse, making me aware of every point of contact.
The heat moving between us, and the intensity behind the open-mouthed kisses he leaves behind, fan the flames rising inside me, and while I know this is the last thing I should be entertaining, I can’t help it.
His touch is more addicting than I care to admit, and if I don’t release this pent-up anger and energy, I might go insane.
“I don’t care either,” I mutter, allowing the resolve to settle in.
I can still hate him and want this…at least, that’s what I tell myself.
My fingers slide through his hair, eliciting a shiver from him, and without needing to be told, he tightens his arms around me and stands.
Instinctively, I wrap myself around him, finding his mouth with a kind of greed I don’t bother to hide. There’s no point now.
“Christ,” Zane mutters under his breath, carrying me through the space with sure steps until he nudges the bedroom door open and continues inside. “This is insane.”
But even as he says it, he places me down on the mattress and hovers over me with a glazed look.
“Maybe it is,” I mumble, taking his face in my hands and pulling him closer until our lips crash together again. We both try to suppress our satisfaction, but it’s no use as we growl into each other’s mouths. “But it doesn’t matter.”
He doesn’t argue as his mouth melds with mine and his hands grip me, bellying how much he’s straining. The moment I nip at his bottom lip, a full-body shudder moves through him.
“Damn, Naia,” he rasps, eyes dark with need.
Before I can be too pleased with myself, he’s kissing me harder and hotter as the years disappear, and his palms are sliding up my thighs while he presses closer.
Everything else fades the moment I feel him against me, hard and just as eager as me.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” Zane murmurs, more under his breath, like it wasn’t meant for my ears.
As if my mind has stopped working entirely, I can only focus on the way he cages me against the bed, stirring every temptation in me, regardless of how dangerous.
The moment his fingers brush beneath the hem of my shirt, toying with the waistband of the relaxed joggers I have on, everything in me comes to life.
A shaky breath escapes me as I grip his shoulders. “Don’t tease me.”
Something gleams in his eyes then, looking like satisfaction and raw need. He huffs a breath before lowering his mouth to my neck. “You always push your luck.”
I scoff, but any real fight dissolves in me the moment his fingers drift lower, finally putting pressure against my heat. My breath hitches, and I feel every slight spark he elicits. Immediately, I melt into it, needing more.
“Zane…”
“I know,” he murmurs, less teasing and a bit more serious now as he slowly feels me through the material. He almost perks up in a way, like the reality of what we’re doing has set in, but he isn’t willing to stop.
When a soft moan passes my lips, getting lost in the subtle friction, Zane grunts to himself and nips at my neck.
“You’re so ready for me, and all we did was kiss,” he says, fingers moving slowly against me through my panties, finding how turned on I am for him.
“Shut up,” I mutter, a little embarrassed now as I try to avert my gaze.
Before I can fully, he grabs my jaw in a deliberate, yet gentle hold and returns my eyes to his before murmuring against my lips, “Not even close.”
The urge to snap back at him rises, but his mouth smothers it immediately in a deep, demanding kiss. I moan into it without meaning to, and he almost preens from it, spurring me on with his touch.
Everything in me feels like it’s on fire, and all sense is completely gone now. All I can think about is him and the addictive things he’s making me feel.
Then, like something has switched on inside him, he breaks the kiss and withdraws his hand.
“Lift your hips,” Zane directs me, already reaching for the waistband of both my pants and underwear.
Without hesitation, I do, allowing him to guide the material down my legs while my heart pounds in anticipation.
My skin flushes as he undresses me quickly, like he’s barely holding out long enough not to lose his mind. The moment I’m exposed to him, he’s on me, kissing down my chest, my abdomen, then he settles between my thighs.
I barely have enough time to process it before he’s gripping both legs from underneath and lowering himself.
Caught between my thighs now, Zane gives in and presses his mouth to me, making me squirm immediately.
My breath hitches at the direct contact with nothing between us now, back arching instinctively from the flood of sensations that overwhelm me at once. One hand grips the sheets beneath me while the other finds his hair again, pulling faintly as he works me over.
I pant quietly, pinned in place by his hands, all the while he uses his lips and tongue to caress me with such sure movements that I can’t think straight.
Heat goes straight to my core, and I roll my hips without meaning to, but Zane only groans against me and dives deeper like he can’t get enough.
He clouds my mind, feeling me and searching for every reaction that he seems to chase, working harder each time I moan for him. Focusing on my clit, his fingers return to me, and with care, he slowly eases them inside me.
A full-body shudder hits me at the added sensation, and I writhe, unable to escape the barrage of pleasure he gives me, as if he already knows exactly what I need.
Cursing under his breath at the way I respond, he focuses, committing himself fully to making me feel a way I never have before.
Without any warning, that familiar build-up of energy in my gut pulses before it releases, and stars blur behind my eyes as I hit the precipice, clenching around his fingers with a shudder that tears through me, leaving me dazed and panting.
Zane groans when I fall apart for him, slowing his pace while he coasts me through it until I start to calm down again. Only then does he pull back, leaving small kisses in his wake that feel far too tender after everything.
When I catch my breath enough to regain my bearings, I look up at him, still a bit dazed, but even hungrier than before. We stare at each other for a beat, then he’s on me again, mouth devouring mine.
Fully surrendering to the heat and built-up tension, we reach for what remains of each other’s clothes, pulling and pushing until we’re bare and so close to losing our minds.
Despite the undertone of frustration that has gotten us to this point, Zane hesitates just long enough to murmur against the corner of my mouth. “Are you sure?”
Maybe I should be second-guessing it, but after what I just felt, and with the need burning inside me still, I don’t.
“Yes,” I tell him without hesitation, pulling him closer and apparently surprising him enough to darken his gaze.
Satisfied with the answer, Zane kisses me again and props my thigh up before settling between my legs fully.
The weight of his need against me nearly sets off every instinct in me, screaming for more and demanding to take what I want. But I don’t have to…not when he’s barely holding back.
Guiding himself, his breath falters while he grips my hip with the opposite hand and finally gives in.
Zane’s head tips down when he pushes forward, sinking inside me with a grunt.
A soft gasp slips from my lips as the feeling sends bolts of sensations scattering through me, slowly stretched to accommodate him.
“Fuck, Naia,” he mumbles as a groan tears from his chest, and he falters just enough to tell me how intense it feels for him, too.
Not a single word forms on my tongue while I get used to the feeling, feeling almost electrified now as my breath slowly picks up along with my pulse.
Straining, Zane pulls back and thrusts again, testing with deeper movements that make me grip his back now, clinging to him while his free hand tangles in my hair.
“Is this what you wanted?” Zane asks, voice gruff while he gradually picks up the pace, expression both furious and deeply affected, like he can’t decide which one to focus on.
I arch without meaning to, succumbing to every feeling and drop of pleasure that consumes me now. My moans and panted breaths leave me with not a single care for how this looks for me or what this means. Dazed, I nod. “Yes…”
“Then take it,” he utters, nipping at my neck before focusing on his movements, allowing the more gentle care from him to ease once he knows I can handle it. “Take all of me.”
The more he moves, building a steady rhythm that has me grabbing at him and writhing, all pretense of strength and anger melt away from me, and I lose myself in how incredible it all feels.
I can’t even tell how much time has passed with so much focus on the way our breaths synchronize and how we hold each other so desperately, more like this is the only time we’ll ever indulge.
“You feel so good,” Zane utters, more like a confession that makes me shiver.
His rhythm wavers, and his fingers dig into my hip while he chases the feelings.
Something in me doesn’t want to admit how close I am because of him, but I can’t bring myself to fall back on my pride again. Instead, I dig my nails into his back and move with him, too eager to slow down.
Zane grunts, face pressing against my neck now. As our panting and moaning tangle together, one of his hands drops between our bodies, and his fingers rub circles against my clit.
The added stimulation makes my back arch, pressing me as tightly to him as possible. Like sparks against dry tinder, the friction spreads more heat through me, making my head spin.
The coil in my gut pulls so tight and so quickly that I have no chance to focus on how it feels. Instead, it all comes crashing down on me at once, and I’m tensing all over again as heat floods my system.
“Zane—” I barely manage to get out, overcome by an intense wash of concentrated warmth and light.
That foreign feeling collides with my chest as he holds me close, body thrumming with mine. I feel him everywhere, and I hear the choked grunt that leaves him as he presses me deeply into the bed.
It’s more like I’ve blacked out as all that remains is the weight of him above me, the pounding of my heart, and the dizzying afterglow.
Gradually, my awareness returns, and I hear our uneven breathing mingling in the otherwise silent room.
A profoundly satisfied sensation settles inside me, now dazed from it all. But as I catch my breath, that weird feeling doesn’t go away.
Instead, it sits in my chest like it’s been there all this time, pulsing and almost alive somehow.
Worst of all, I can feel Zane through it. Like his heart is connected to mine now, I’m far too aware of him.
As that thought sinks in, it’s enough to make me go stock still and question what the hell I just did.