Page 28 of Zinnia and the Zombie
His golden skin brightened where her hands touched him, the glow spreading outward like ripples in water. The practical concerns of security drones and survival seemed to recede, replaced by a more immediate, visceral awareness.
“I shouldn’t have pulled away last night,” she said softly. “I was scared.”
It seemed absurd now. No matter how overpowering this connection between them, it wasn’t something to fear. It was something rare and precious.
“And now?” His voice was deeper than usual, vibrating through her chest where it was pressed against his.
“Now I’m thinking life’s too short for fear.” She slid her hands up to his shoulders, feeling the strong contours beneath her fingers. “Especially on alien planets with killer security drones.”
A smile touched his lips—one of those rare, transformative expressions that changed his entire face. “A sound assessment, my Zinnia.”
His hand came up to cup her cheek, his touch achingly gentle. The golden glow intensified where their skin met, a visible manifestation of the energy that flowed between them, and she could see the question in his eyes.
Yes.
She leaned into his touch in breathless anticipation.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Adrenaline still coursed through Jaxx’s body, heightening his senses and setting his skin ablaze with golden light. His breathing came quick and shallow as he pressed Zinnia deeper into the alcove, his body forming a protective barrier between her and any potential threat. He had been foolish to assume that danger would come from a living source—he would not make that mistake again.
But the danger had passed. There was only silence beyond their shared breathing.
He looked down at her, still caged between his arms. She wasn’t shrinking away or trembling with fear as he might have expected. Instead, her eyes were wide and dark, pupils dilated as they held his gaze. A fine tremor ran through her body where it pressed against his—not from fear, but from something else entirely.
The universe seemed to contract around them, narrowing to this single point of connection. His heightened senses registered every detail—the rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat, the slight parting of her lips, the flush spreading acrossher cheeks. And her scent… By the Ancestors, her scent. The sweet musk of arousal filled his head, triggering responses that had nothing to do with protection or duty.
Something shifted in her expression—a softening, an openness that called to him. He lifted his hand, gently cupping her face. His thumb stroked across her cheekbone, asking the question he couldn’t voice.
She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed for the briefest moment before reopening, darkened with unmistakable desire.
It was enough.
He lowered his head, capturing her lips with his. A jolt of sensation shot through him and she gasped, her lips parting as he deepened the kiss. He groaned at the first taste of her, his tongue tangling with hers. Her hands curled around his neck, her fingers burying themselves in his hair, drawing him closer.
Pleasure surged through him, hot and wild. He kissed her hungrily, losing himself in the taste of her, the feel of her, the sounds she made. His body throbbed, heat coiling in his core as need overwhelmed him.
A soft sound escaped her throat as her arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer, and the last of his restraint shattered. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past her lips to taste her fully. Her response was immediate and eager, matching his intensity with her own.
His hands moved from the wall to her body, tracing the curve of her waist, the flare of her hips. The contact, even through her clothing, sent jolts of pleasure through his system. His bodythrummed with energy, his skin glowing increasingly bright where they touched.
He lifted her against the wall, gripping her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist. The new position brought their bodies into perfect alignment. Even through the layers of fabric between them, he could feel the heat of her core against him, stoking his desire to fever pitch.
His mouth left hers to trace a path along her jaw, down the delicate column of her throat. Her head fell back against the wall, granting him better access as his lips and tongue explored the sensitive skin there. One hand moved higher, pushing beneath her shirt to find bare skin, then higher still until his palm cupped the soft weight of her breast.
She gasped and he started to pull away, but she arched into his touch. He reclaimed her mouth, swallowing her moans as his thumb brushed across her nipple. There was still a layer of fabric between them but he hesitated, remembering her reaction the previous night. She made an impatient sound and this time she yanked the fabric aside. They both groaned as his hand closed over the bare, heated skin of her breast, her hard little nipple throbbing against his palm. He plucked lightly at the tight peak, drawing another gasp from her lips.
“Please,” she whispered against his mouth, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “I want to feel you.”
He pushed her higher against the wall and closed his mouth over the stiff peak, just as he had done the night before, but this time she urged him on. He’d never realized that such an act could be so pleasurable but he couldn’t get enough of her, of the taste of her skin, of her soft cries, of the way her body responded to his touch.
His teeth grazed the pebbled bud and she moaned, her hips bucking against his. The contact sent a bolt of heat straight to his mating organ and it threatened to break free, pushing against his lamellae. She gave a startled cry, then rocked frantically against the thick bulge. His hips pressed forward instinctively, pinning her more firmly against the wall. The pressure drew a cry from her throat—not pain, but pure, unfiltered pleasure. A rush of liquid heat bathed his lamellae as she quivered helplessly in his arms.
The sensation cut through the haze of desire clouding his mind. Reality reasserted itself in fragments—they were standing in an exposed alcove in a half-collapsed building on an unknown planet. The security drone’s presence suggested other systems might still be active. They weren’t safe here.
With a monumental effort, he gentled his touch, moving from her breast to her mouth and kissing her softly as they both struggled to regain control of their breathing.
“We need to find somewhere safer,” he said roughly. “This area is too exposed.”
