Page 29 of Laila Manning
“I kill people for a living.” He warned in that deep, dominant voice. “I make people beg for death as I torture them. I steal from them. I take everything they have to give in this world and then I take more.” My body shivered from the intensity of his stare as he spoke. “I’m not a normal man, and I’m not looking for normal.”
I opened my mouth to retort his claim, fighting for control of the situation when everything else inside of me wanted to just roll over and give in to what he was offering. It was all too good to be true.
Before I could reply, though, he covered my lips with the tip of his thumb. “No.” He stated, “No more excuses. No more trying to convince me to change my mind. I want you.” He stepped forward until our bodies were flushed together, and the panic and anxiety that normally came with physical touch didn’t surface. My skin flared to life against his with something else. “Decide right now if this is something you want. If it’s not, I’ll leave you alone. I need to know if I’m pressuring you into something you don’t even want.”
“I want it.” The words rushed out as I licked my lips, softly brushing the tip of my tongue against his thumb still pressed against my bottom lip. “I want you, Zeke,” I admitted, feeling braver than I ever had before. “I’ve never physically wanted another man in my life.”
He growled, cracking his neck as if he were fighting for restraint. But I had none. He’d undone me, leaving me raw and exposed for this.
“Kiss me,” I whispered, feeling like my heart was going to explode out of my chest at any moment, and not wanting to die before I knew what it felt like to be kissed by Zeke Evans.
“Gladly.” He rasped as he lowered his face to mine. “Fucking gladly.”
The second his warm lips pressed against mine, I melted and exploded into thin air, all at the same time. He was dominant and assertive with his kiss, just like I knew he would be. But he did it without making me feel like he was the one in control. He did it in a way that made me feel like he was leading me.
Guiding me.
Towards bliss.
Because, God, I saw stars with every brush of his skin against mine. I cried against him, whimpering a pathetic and needy sound of pure longing I would have been embarrassed by if not for the responding vibration through his chest. He licked my lips and tilted my head to theside, deepening the contact until I clung to his shoulders for support in fear of falling on my ass completely.
“You are perfection.” He whispered, nibbling on my bottom lip as he slid his free hand around my waist and anchored me to him further. “Do you understand how fucking perfect you are?”
“It’s you,” I whispered, tentatively biting his lip in response, and drawing another animalistic growl from his chest. “It’s this.”
“You’re right.” He responded. “This. Us. That’s perfection.”
“Zeke.” I moaned, sliding my hands over his shoulders to the back of his neck, desperate to be even closer to him, even though I had no idea what I was doing. I was acting on instinct and longing, trusting him to lead me.
A loud chirping noise cut off anything he was going to say as he pulled his ringing cell phone from his pocket, glancing briefly at the screen before placing it against his ear. “Yeah.” He barked.
I slid my hands from the back of his neck and tried to step back to put space between us, but his grip on my waist tightened and he glared down at me with a serious look. I watched his face as he stared at me, listening to someone on the other end of the line before he replied, “Make Jed do it.” He stated and then clenched his teeth as a reply barked back. “Fine.” He sighed. “Give me ten minutes.”
He didn’t wait for a reply but ended the call and slid it into his pocket, keeping those deep blue eyes locked on me the entire time. “You have to go,” I stated, trying to make the rejection in my heart disappear. It wasn’t like he wanted to go; I knew that. I’d heard him.
“Yeah.” He replied, “Ryker needs me.” I sank to my heels, nodding my head, but he once again didn’t allow me to back up. “This conversation isn’t over, Laila.”
A snort slipped through my lips, and I covered my mouth in embarrassment as he smirked down at me. “I didn’t think this was a conversation anymore.”
“I disagree.” He swallowed, flicking his eyes down to my lips before bringing them back to my stare. “You communicate with me in ways that you don’t even realize.” He lowered his face to mine, hovering against my mouth. “Your lips speak volumes, even when words don’t pass them.” He kissed me, and I melted into his touch again, feeling no anxiety or fear rising inside of me like usual. “Your body begs for things you’re too afraid to ask for vocally.” He kissed my cheek and then down to my ear, where he whispered. “We don’t need words to communicate, do we?”
“No,” I whispered, biting my bottom lip as the tip of his tongue traced the shell of my ear. “We don’t.”
“Then, like I said,” He pulled back and looked down at me again, “We’ll continue this conversation at a later time.” He kissed me chastely once more before sliding his hands off my body and backing up towards his door.
“Okay,” I said breathlessly, sagging against my doorframe.
“Go inside, Laila.” He commanded, “Or I’ll be too tempted to disobey Ryker for the first time in my life.”
I smirked and stepped backward into my apartment. “Go be a good boy, Zeke,” I said bravely before quickly shutting my door and locking it with a giggle as a predatory growl escaped his mouth.
I ran to my bed and threw myself down in the center of it, using my pillow to muffle my gleeful giggle as excitement coursed through my body.
When was the last time I was excited about something?
When was the last time I giggled?
The brisk morning air cooled my overheated skin as I pushed through the door from the barracks to the lush yard behind it. I took a deep breath and forced my body to be still for the first time since I tore out that journal entry for Zeke at three am this morning.
