Page 41 of Zain

Unable to sit still, he ate some food, then stared out the window. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the sleeping beauty beside him for more than a minute.

CHAPTER 13

“Ican goto Rami’s,” Zain said. “He won’t mind.”

Dana slid off her shoes, and her feet touched the black welcome mat inside her apartment. The warm scent of cinnamon from her diffuser still hung in the air even though she’d been gone days.

Home.

Fifteen hours ago, she’d thought she’d never make it. She’d half expected their plane to get shot down or for them to be arrested at their fuel stops, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She’d slept off and on, only waking once to eat.

It was 4:12 a.m. and Brick had just dropped them off at her place. Zain’s face had frozen when Brick had asked if he had somewhere to go. He’d cleared his throat and mumbled something about having an apartment at one time but not knowing if his family had kept it.

Twenty minutes ago, she hadn’t thought through her offer. Since it was the middle of thenight, it wasn’t ideal for him to wake his brother or mom, or go to a hotel. Now, they were alone. In her apartment. In the middle of the night. She toyed with her hands in front of her waist like an awkward teenager.

In her space was a hot Green Beret soldier turned CIA operative. He was too intimidating. Too invasive. And she was too tired to think of a single bad reason to get involved with him.

Yeeeah. She really shouldn’t make rash decisions after being in an explosion and traveling for fifteen hours. “Don’t be silly. Are you okay to take the couch?”

His eyes glowed in the dim light of the kitchen. His body was so large and formidable, yet she was already accustomed to how gentle his touch could be—how gentle he was with her.

His hands might’ve killed a thousand men, but that wasn’t this man. Not the one who’d kissed her last night, not the one who’d stopped a brutal terrorist from raping her, not the one who’d protected her in an explosion.

No, this man was very different.

She moved away from the gravitational pull that wanted to bind her body to his. Placing her bag on the counter, she went to the cupboard and took out two glasses then filled them with water. “I’m going to shower and go straight to bed if you don’t mind.”

He removed his shoes and walked into thekitchen, his steps slow, each one pulling a breath from her lungs. His earnest, scrutinizing gaze lingered on her face. “How’s your head?”

She’d popped more ibuprofen before getting off the plane. “Okay.”

“Any more nausea?”

“Zain,” she said, low and chastising. “I’m fine. Well, I mean, everything hurts. But I’m not going to die.” She sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve already.”

His thick lips twitched at the corners. Her fingers ached to drag themselves through the short bristles of his beard, to feel his slightly weathered skin on her palm. He was so big and demanding, yet in other ways subdued.

What was it about him? How could he be so calm and collected yet stir such a response in her?

He brought his thumb to her cheek, touching the bruise Rakesh had given her. “You were hurt more than I ever should’ve allowed.”

She pressed her fingers to his knuckles, holding his hand in place. She never wanted him to let go.

This was dangerous. He was dangerous. No,shewas...

“I put myself there. That’s not on you.” She gently withdrew his hand from her cheek. “I’m going to take that shower now. Help yourself to whatever you need. There’s pillows and blankets in the linen closet. I’ll be fast—please feel free toshower when I’m done.” Before he could respond, she stepped around him and made her way to the bathroom.

Shutting the door, she let out a ragged breath. She was in way over her head. But the shower and sleep would clear her mind, and tomorrow she could put this all behind her. Zain would reunite with his brother and mom, and he’d probably fade from her life as quickly as he’d appeared in it.

She twisted on the shower and undressed, then stepped under the scalding spray. In fifteen minutes, her teeth were brushed and she was clean, a towel tucked around her. In her haste to escape Zain, she’d forgotten to take clean clothes into the bathroom with her.

She looked toward the hamper and grimaced. Getting back into dirty clothes wasn’t an option. She quickly opened the bathroom door and scooted across the hall. Zain looked up from where he stood in the living room shaking out a blanket. He froze, his hot eyes on her.

“Night!” she squeaked. She made it to her bedroom and shut the door, her chest hammering with excitement. Heat swarmed between her legs and her nipples tightened.

God, she wanted him.

No, girl. You need sleep, not sex.

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