Page 81 of Her Ruin

He raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I’m not leaving,” he said firmly.

I felt a rush of heat, a mix of anger, and something perilously close to acceptance. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Zayn, this isn’t?—”

He kissed me, and the protest died on my lips as I readily kissed him back. There was no hesitation on either part. It began as a delicate caress, the softness of his lips contrasting with what I was used to. But it quickly deepened into the same passion as the night before, and I shivered with eager anticipation.

Every nerve in my body awakened as the kiss unfolded. Zayn was tender but insistent, and the deep kiss made my toes curl with delight and longing. My arms hooked around his neck, and my fingers dug in his hair as he walked me backwards. My spine hit the wall, and his hand caught the back of my head before it connected with a thump. He kissed his way down my body, effortlessly stripping my jammies from me. Our passion was insatiable, and when he lifted one leg over his shoulder and put his mouth on me, my moan of appreciation only spurred him on. When I cried out and clenched around his fingers, I wasn’t ready for him to stop; no, I was desperate for him to continue. When he pushed into me, sinking deep, holding me up against the wall, and started to fuck me not five feet from my main door, I knew I had completely surrendered.

We clashed and fought for control with our tongues, teeth, and bodies. But when we tumbled into my bed, breathless and still reaching for each other, I no longer cared what this was.

When we were both too exhausted and utterly spent, I realized that, no matter how much I tried to deny it, Zayn had already burrowed too deep under my skin and become woven into my thoughts.

Nothing was certain except one thing…I only wanted more.

CHAPTER23

ISLA

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since I opened my door to Zayn that second night.

Twothrillingweeks. I fought the smile as I fought the yawn. Thrilling? Maybe.Exhausting?Definitely.

I giggled—good god, who was I?He was also thrilling, I thought with a smile. I was going to makemyselfpuke with how completelynauseatingI was being.

The war between Zayn and I was over. Describing it aswarmight be dramatic. The openbattleof words, power plays, and bitter confrontations had settled into a fragile, unspoken truce. Instead, when the sun dipped low and Gracemont’s pulse flickered to life, our secret meetings were our escape; we found a way to be together without pretense and out of the public eye.

It was an unspoken rule. No one knew about us. Well…Rye did even though I hardly saw him, but it was clear Zayn wasn’t hidingmefrom his best friend.

I, on the other hand, hadn’t mentioned anything to Julian. In fact, Julian thought I was at an event this evening when, in reality, I was in a quiet lounge of Elixir. Zayn had pulled me into this place a few nights ago, and it was only him and me with no intrusions. It was tucked away from the main floor, above the VIP level, a haven where only he and I ventured.

I heard footsteps before I saw him. I turned and watched him enter the room, his eyes half hidden in the soft lighting. He was in his signature black with a calm and unreadable expression, but the intensity of his gaze already had my pulse racing with anticipation.

“Is,” he said quietly as I met him halfway across the floor. “Have you been here long?”

I shook my head, and for a long moment, we simply looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between us. There was no need for grand declarations or small talk.

Zayn looked down at me, one arm already slipping around my waist. “Are you enjoying sneaking in here?” he murmured, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I am,” he said as his nose trailed over my jawline. “I can’t seem to stay away from you.”

Already savoring the way he touched me, I pressed my palms flat against his chest. “I can see that,” I teased. “Here we are again.” I’d given up the fight pretty quickly, but pretending I didn’t want him was fooling no one. Not even me.

I thought giving into his pull meant surrendering a piece of myself, but it hadn’t.

He took nothing that I was not willing to give. I gave a lot. I knew that, but so did he.

Zayn’s thumb traced my lip, and I noticed his cuff was wet. I reached up without thinking. “You’re wet?” Whatever quip I had been going to follow up with died on my tongue as I stared at the red stain on my fingers. “Yours?” I asked, swallowing carefully. “Or theirs?”

Zayn stepped back, a thin frown creasing his forehead. “Theirs,” he grumbled. “Bar staff dropped a bottle of vodka.” His eyes flashed with bitterness. “A veryexpensivebottle of vodka,” he grumbled. He started calmly taking the shirt off, revealing tight abs and a broad chest.

“Vodka?” I would not be the woman who was reduced to one-word syllables when she saw a thirst trap.

“Yes.” Laughter danced in his eyes as he watched me trynotto watch him. “We sell it in the club, top-shelf stuff too. They couldn’t reach, and instead of asking for help, they tried anyway, and it came down with one almighty crash.” He was grinning as he tossed the shirt onto a chair beside him. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear the crash up here.”

“Um, no.” I felt like a jerk. I just assumed he’d been involved in some form of violence. “No crashes.”

He reached out, his hand brushing against my wrist as if to anchor me. “Still too stubborn to let go of who I was in high school, eh, Is?”

He didn’t seem upset or disappointed about my reaction, butIwas. I had jumped to conclusions. “I don’t mean to.” It was a whispered confession but a confession nonetheless.

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