Page 78 of Zayrik

Zayrik did.

He saw all the broken, sharp-edged pieces.

And stayed.

I didn’t know how to explain what that did to a girl like me.

Didn’t have the language for the ache that bloomed in my chest.

So, I did the only thing Icoulddo.

I stepped forward.

A low, instinctive rumble from him resonated deep within me.

Because he didn’t reach for me like I was fragile.

He waited.

Helet me choose.

I reached for him.

Fingers skimmed his jaw, feeling the roughness there. The restraint.

Gods, he was holding back. Forme.

“I don’t know how to do this,” I whispered again. “But I want to try.”

Zayrik’s hand covered mine. “Then let me show you.”

He kissed me like I was a prayer he didn’t expect to be answered.

Slow. Intimate. Deep.

Not like a thief.

Not like a mission.

Like a woman worthcherishing.

Clothes fell away, but not in urgency. Each layer shed like armor.

His hands moved with reverence, every brush of skin asking if I was still with him.

I was.

When I stood bare in front of him, he didn’t pounce.

He lifted me.

Just... lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing.

Cradled me like something precious.

I clung to his shoulders, throat tight as he carried me across the small space.

He laid me gently on the bed, and the way he looked at me...gods,it shattered something tender inside me.

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