Page 54 of Zayrik

But I didn’t.

Because we both knew it.

Knew this thing between us was stronger than either of us had planned.

So instead, I turned away. Pretended to focus on the supplies again. Pretended I couldn’t feel the ghost of his touch on my skin. Pretended I could still breathe in this room without tasting him on my lips.

Behind me, I heard his footsteps retreat. Deliberate.

He was giving me space.

For now.

But I knew the truth.

We were on borrowed time.

And the next time we touched?

The next time he looked at me like that?

I wouldn’t have the strength to pull away.

Wouldn’t want to.

The thought should have terrified me more than it did.

Instead, I felt like I wanted to give in.

Like I’d found something worth the risk.

18

Zayrik

I COULD HAVE WALKEDaway. Respected the walls she kept so carefully in place. The ones I could see crumbling every time she looked at me, every time she tried to convince herself this wasn’t happening.

But I wasn’t built for restraint.

Not with her.

Not when every fiber of my being recognized something in her that called to me.

Not after that kiss. Not after the way she looked at me like she was begging me not to stay. And desperately hoping I would. Like she was torn between running away and finally letting herself fall.

She thought she could bury herself in supply lockers and silence and pretend she hadn’t lit a fire between us I couldn’t put out. Pretend the air didn’t crackle with electricity every time we got too close.

She was wrong.

We both were.

I stalked the corridor back to storage, the low hum of the ship nothing compared to the pounding of my pulse. My mating marks itched beneath my skin, responding to her proximity before I even saw her.

She was still there.

Still in the same position, back to me, shoulders tense. But I caught the slight tremor in her hands, the way her breath hitched when she sensed me.

“I gave you space,” I said, voice low. Controlled. Barely. Every word feeling like it might break whatever fragile thing was building between us.

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