Page 34 of Zeke
She nodded, but the shaking hadn’t stopped. If anything, being close to him made it worse… her body torn between the need for warmth and the awareness of his presence. The scent of his skin wrapped around her like smoke, salt, and something wild that made her pulse spike.
The wind howled again, and she felt another degree vanish from the air.
Zeke’s jaw tightened as he watched her shiver. “This isn’t working.”
Before she could protest, he pulled her against his chest. Heat blazed where they touched, his skin burning hot through the thin leather. She gasped at the contact and her hands instinctively flattened against his arms over her stomach.
“Just until you stop shaking,” he said, voice rough.
She tilted her head back to look at him. This close, she saw every detail of his face… the sharp line of his jaw, the fullness of his lower lip, the way his pupils had dilated until only a ring of pale yellow remained. His breathing was unsteady, his hands careful where they rested on her back.
Need coiled tight in her belly as she registered the hunger in his gaze. Raw need that he was fighting to control… he wanted her, but he was holding back. Treating her like something fragile that might break.
Well, fuck that.
“Your hands are freezing,” she whispered, reaching up to cover them with hers.
He started to pull away, but she held on, trapping his fingers between her palms. His skin was cold, but underneath she felt the steady thrum of his pulse, the barely leashed strength in his bones.
“Let me warm them.”
Turning in his arms, she brought his hands to her mouth and breathed warm air across his knuckles. He went rigid against her, a sharp intake of breath the only sound he made. The restraint thrumming through his body made her bold, reckless. She pressed his fingers against her throat where her pulse raced.
“Michelle.” Her name came out like a warning, his voice dropping to gravel.
His hands were warming under her touch, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she guided them lower, pressing his palms against her collarbone where the leather tunic left her skin bare. His eyes blazed as he felt her racing heartbeat, the warmth from her skin.
“Michelle... you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said, but he didn’t pull away. His thumbs traced along her collarbones, and she felt the tremor in his hands.
“I know exactly what I’m doing.” The words were steady, sure. “And I need this. I need to feel something other than afraid.”
His eyes darkened at her confession, the yellow burning with intensity. She felt the change as his breathing dropped shallow.
Sliding her hands up his chest, she mapped the ridges of muscle, the old scars that told stories of violence survived. He was so warm, his skin like a furnace against her palms. When she reached his shoulders, she felt him shudder.
“You’re not afraid of me,” he said. Not a question, but wonder colored his voice.
“I should be.” Her fingers traced the line of his throat, feeling his heartbeat jump under her touch. “You could break me without thinking twice.”
“I would never?—”
“I know.” She pressed closer, until every line of her body was flush against his. “That’s what makes you dangerous. Not your strength. The way you make me feel.”
He growled, his hands tightening on her waist and his eyes locked on her face, as if searching for something.
“Touch me,” she whispered against his throat, tasting salt on his skin. “Please... I need—” Her voice broke. “I need to feel alive.”
The words broke his control. His hands slid up from her waist, and he cupped her face. His thumbs traced her cheekbones with gentle pressure.
“You’re so draanthing beautiful,” he said, voice raw with want.
Then his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding and right. She melted against him as he kissed her like he was dying of thirst. He tasted like coffee and something uniquely him that made her head spin.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, his hands moved to her shoulders and found the bone toggles of her tunic. But then he hesitated.
“Tell me to stop,” he said against her lips.
Instead, she reached up and worked the first toggle free herself. His eyes went molten as leather parted, revealing the pale skin beneath.
