Page 30 of Zain

She tensed but didn’t open her eyes. “Mm-hmm.”

“I want you to stay away from him. Stick by me until we get to the US.”

“Okay,” she breathed.

“I mean it. Brick’s blinded by his friend’s generosity. I see through it. We’re walking into a trap, and I don’t want you on the wrong side of this.”

The racing of her heart reached a dangerous level, her senses jumbled with fear and arousal. She couldn’t land on rational thought.

He tipped his head back an inch, and his face hovered above hers. His stare bore into her eyes, watchful, concerned... protective. Heat emanated from his chest. Even more powerful was the desire in his eyes. Scalding. His dark eyelashes rimmed the golden embers imprinting on her soul.

Some of the fear left her body—the one thing Zain had proven over and over was that he’d protect her. He’d get them out if it cost him his life, and it was both exhilarating and terrifyingbeing surrounded with such a force of masculinity.

“Understood” was all she could manage.

His gaze drifted to her lips. “One more thing for good measure.” He touched his mouth to hers and electricity shot to her toes. Pressure pulsed through her body, so forceful it rattled her knees.

His tongue glided between her teeth but only for a fraction of a second. He pulled away and his arms fell.

She swayed forward, wanting his warmth and desperate to read his expression, but he’d already locked it down as he moved toward the door.

“I’ll be back in half an hour. I’ve got a call to make.” He disappeared into the hall.

She brought her fingertips to her lips, and an ache channeled through her. Getting involved with Zain was all kinds of wrong. Dangerous even.

But she was already in over her head.

CHAPTER 10

Zain paced theroom. Speaking with Maxine had only intensified his stress. She wanted intel and fast—not that he could blame her. The quicker they could get a team to immobilize Jabar, the better, but there was only so much shit he’d collected. Plus, it was almost impossible to put his mind in work mode when his brain had one fucking function: Dana.

He’d kissed her. Christ.Stupidwas too weak a word to describe his actions. But goddammit, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. For the last three years he’d lived on adrenaline, in survival mode and lonely. Having that familiar ground ripped out from under his feet was as foreign to him as hearing his real name.

The moment he’d laid eyes on her, Dana had shaken him. And she continued to knock him on his ass with every doe-eyed look and every touch of her small, fine-boned hands.

He couldn’t get enough.

Pulling her into his arms last night had been the right thing to do. He’d needed everyone to know she was off-limits and that if anyone hurt her, they’d have to face him.

But he shouldn’t have kissed her. Doing so had only invoked more desire, more need to explore her mouth and body. More, more, more.

And he couldn’t have more. He was too unhinged to be with someone like her. Dana was smart, beautiful, and probably as dependable as a lucky penny. He’d just spent part of his life killing and living under an alias in the most dangerous part of the world. Not only were his senses blunted—he also didn’t trust himself.

He hadn’t had sex since he left the United States. Celibacy wasn’t for the faint of heart. Many of Jaysh’s men frequented brothels, but Zain never partook. Not when so many women were in the brothels because of trafficking. He’d have no part in that.

And he hadn’t been able to meet anyone legitimately. His position was much too dangerous. But Dana...

Hell, she brought out a primitive, basic need he’d kept buried for so long. Looking at her made him want to touch her. Touching her made him want to see more of her. Kissing her made him want to undress her.

Just breathing the same air as Dana put him on a slippery slope. He had three years’ worth of pent-up sexual energy. Not to mention he’d closed himself off from humanity. He could hurt her without realizing it. Unlikely, but he’d probably need to jack off ten times before he dared to lose himself in her. Because once he got started, he wouldn’t want to stop.

Dana needed to leave his head. Besides, she probably thought he was some kind of blood-hungry barbarian, given all the men he’d killed yesterday.

But the way her soft lips had parted and she’d leaned into his embrace said otherwise. Hunger rumbled through his nerve endings. Fuck, he needed to keep Dana at a distance for her own damn good, at least until he could wrap his head around the drastic change in his atmosphere. He was too eager, too hotheaded, and way too fucking horny to get involved with her.

But keeping away from her wasn’t an option. Matter of fact, separating himself from her right now would only endanger her further. So he’d have to learn some self-control really fucking quickly.

Tucking his phone into his bag, he fought a rush of irritation. Maxine had responded to his call exactly how he’d expected. Even so, her cold, callous attitude made bitterness chew through him.

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