though I shouldn’t.” His warm breath stroked my chin.
I swayed toward him, my skin trembling under his touch. Not a good sign. What I should have done for both our safety was stomp on his foot and demand he get out. My heart and body overrode my rational mind. “What are we going to do about it?” I asked.
His head dipped and our lips met. My shirt slipped through my grasp, falling to the floor as my mind clicked off. What did I need clothes for? All the closer I could get to his mind-blowing abs.
Our chests touched, and suddenly I was kissing him as if we were going to become one soul. I no longer cared if he answered the question, only that he was making me feel all the feels. Oh God, I sank into his lips, tasting the increasing seduction that sparked raptly.
His fingers pressed against my back, pulling me closer to him and changing angles. I was lost. Floating in a space where sensation overruled, blurring the mind and enchanting the body. I surrendered to the sensations he drew inside me, giving myself absolutely to his lips conquering mine.
The softly lit bedroom transformed. Gray shadows silvered at the edges with moonlight. Every tender touch, each deep kiss reached my singing soul. I could only imagine he felt the same. His arms wrapped around me, cool and comforting—a herald of safety. I drew in a death breath, letting the dark scent of him surround me.
“We can’t do this, Piper,” he whispered, grazing his lips along my throat, lacing conviction.
“Yes, we can,” I muttered, covering my mouth with his in another kiss. “If you stop kissing me, so help me, Zane, I’ll assassinate you.” I scraped my teeth over his lower lip, in case he got any ideas, but his willpower surpassed mine.
He pulled back slightly, and I could see a war waging behind his eyes. It only took seconds to realize it was a battle neither of us would win. A range of emotions surged through me. Frustration. Shame. Need. Guilt. Anger. Yet overpowering them all was the fear he would let me go.
Zane straightened, coming to his full height. A muscle popped out at his jaw as he tried to gain control of his emotions. That made two of us. As long as we were touching, it became increasingly difficult. His hands dropped from my waist and he looked away, dragging his fingers through his hair. “This can never happen again. I can’t—”
Regret eeked inside me. As much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t. I understood, but it didn’t stop the swell of anger. I had to take all this hurt out on someone. “You’ve said that before.” Practically every time we’d kissed. It was getting old.
“I know. And I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, and if we keep doing this, it will only cause you more pain.”
I hit him with a dirty look. “This connection between us sucks. I didn’t ask for this.”
“It’s not something that can be turned off, Piper.” He picked up my shirt from the ground and tossed it to me. “You should put this on.”
I caught the shirt and roughly pulled it over my head. “Whatever. We’ll pretend this never happened. I’m going to blame it on the aftereffects of Rose’s death. Obviously, I’m not in the right state of mind.” My hands became animated. “In fact, you should stop showing up in my room whenever you get an itch.”
His brows pulled together. “Look, I’m not saying we can’t be friends, because we’re going to be family whether we like it or not. And I made a vow of duty. No matter what, I’ll be in your life.”
The vow.
I’d almost forgotten about that. The sworn bond that allowed him to sense when I was in danger. How many different ways could Zane and I intertwine our lives? All but the one I actually wanted.
“And what if I don’t want you in my life? What if it’s too hard?” I started to turn around, but before I could take a step, he was in front of me. I swore he did that to get under my skin.
Zane’s eyes flashed. “You’re a terrible
I swayed toward him, my skin trembling under his touch. Not a good sign. What I should have done for both our safety was stomp on his foot and demand he get out. My heart and body overrode my rational mind. “What are we going to do about it?” I asked.
His head dipped and our lips met. My shirt slipped through my grasp, falling to the floor as my mind clicked off. What did I need clothes for? All the closer I could get to his mind-blowing abs.
Our chests touched, and suddenly I was kissing him as if we were going to become one soul. I no longer cared if he answered the question, only that he was making me feel all the feels. Oh God, I sank into his lips, tasting the increasing seduction that sparked raptly.
His fingers pressed against my back, pulling me closer to him and changing angles. I was lost. Floating in a space where sensation overruled, blurring the mind and enchanting the body. I surrendered to the sensations he drew inside me, giving myself absolutely to his lips conquering mine.
The softly lit bedroom transformed. Gray shadows silvered at the edges with moonlight. Every tender touch, each deep kiss reached my singing soul. I could only imagine he felt the same. His arms wrapped around me, cool and comforting—a herald of safety. I drew in a death breath, letting the dark scent of him surround me.
“We can’t do this, Piper,” he whispered, grazing his lips along my throat, lacing conviction.
“Yes, we can,” I muttered, covering my mouth with his in another kiss. “If you stop kissing me, so help me, Zane, I’ll assassinate you.” I scraped my teeth over his lower lip, in case he got any ideas, but his willpower surpassed mine.
He pulled back slightly, and I could see a war waging behind his eyes. It only took seconds to realize it was a battle neither of us would win. A range of emotions surged through me. Frustration. Shame. Need. Guilt. Anger. Yet overpowering them all was the fear he would let me go.
Zane straightened, coming to his full height. A muscle popped out at his jaw as he tried to gain control of his emotions. That made two of us. As long as we were touching, it became increasingly difficult. His hands dropped from my waist and he looked away, dragging his fingers through his hair. “This can never happen again. I can’t—”
Regret eeked inside me. As much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t. I understood, but it didn’t stop the swell of anger. I had to take all this hurt out on someone. “You’ve said that before.” Practically every time we’d kissed. It was getting old.
“I know. And I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, and if we keep doing this, it will only cause you more pain.”
I hit him with a dirty look. “This connection between us sucks. I didn’t ask for this.”
“It’s not something that can be turned off, Piper.” He picked up my shirt from the ground and tossed it to me. “You should put this on.”
I caught the shirt and roughly pulled it over my head. “Whatever. We’ll pretend this never happened. I’m going to blame it on the aftereffects of Rose’s death. Obviously, I’m not in the right state of mind.” My hands became animated. “In fact, you should stop showing up in my room whenever you get an itch.”
His brows pulled together. “Look, I’m not saying we can’t be friends, because we’re going to be family whether we like it or not. And I made a vow of duty. No matter what, I’ll be in your life.”
The vow.
I’d almost forgotten about that. The sworn bond that allowed him to sense when I was in danger. How many different ways could Zane and I intertwine our lives? All but the one I actually wanted.
“And what if I don’t want you in my life? What if it’s too hard?” I started to turn around, but before I could take a step, he was in front of me. I swore he did that to get under my skin.
Zane’s eyes flashed. “You’re a terrible
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