Page 16 of Breakaway
I lift higher on my toes, nuzzling against his neck. "I want to walk on the beach. Just ten minutes and we can leave."
Zill's arm wraps me tighter to him, tucking me against his body as his lips find the crown of my head. It's a quick gesture, one I'm pretending is for my comfort and not for the cameras that I'm sure are capturing this whole thing.
"Ten minutes," he relents, his hold on me softening enough that I can pull away from him. His shadows, which I didn'trealize could make themselves more solid, wrap around my waist and allow me approximately six inches of distance from Zill before I'm stopped as though a rope is tied around my torso.
I turn to face him, my eyes wide, a smile splitting my lips into what I'm sure could almost be an unhinged smile. "That's not very fair."
Zill tilts his head to the side, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "Who said anything about fair?"
Once he's not looking at the paparazzi, his demeanor softens, but he still looks more on edge than I want him to. It makes sense that he'd be on edge, especially if he were my security or just an overly protective boyfriend.
He steps up to me again, arm banding back around my hip, but his shadows stay squeezed tight around my midsection, almost like a security blanket. Some of them drift downward, but they move in an almost cyclical way of being around me, falling, drifting right back up.
I need to ask Zill how they do that so I don't look so surprised when they do something. If we've been together for any length of time, especially if I'm pretending to be bonded to him, I should know a lot more about him and his species than I do. I'll have to remedy that.
"I'm thinking we walk down by the water, and then kiss," I tell Zill as the wind blows some of my hair into my face. I don't see his reaction as I push it back.
"You're the lead," he reminds me, his voice gentle.
My sandals sink into the sand a little as we walk further along the coast. I take us at more of an angle, wanting to know just how much of my lead he's willing to take. He doesn't say anything about not making a beeline for the water. Doesn't even complain when we walk further down enough that I can't even see the transport anymore.
There are people on the beach, ones just here to have a fun family outing or friends lying out on towels together. It's nice just to be out and about, and with Zill at my side, I feel safe enough to pretend that there's no one with cameras following us or recording us. I can pretend we're just two normal people.
"It's a nice day," I say, closing my eyes and turning my face to the sun, feeling its warmth against me. When I open them again, Zill is looking at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "What?"
He shakes his head, that little smile he's constantly suppressing threatening to make an appearance. "Nothing, just we can stay out for longer than ten minutes, Reese."
"I don't want to make you uncomfortable," I tell him.
His smile dims slightly. "I'm not uncomfortable. And even if I were, I'm here for your safety, not to hinder what you want to do."
"What if I wanted to spend hours out here?" I ask, wondering how much he's willing to put up with.
He leans closer to me, his blue eyes glowing something fierce even in the brightness of the day. "How many times do I need to tell you that I would do anything for you?" His voice is teasing, but our footsteps slow, his face still close to mine, and this time, there's no stopping the pull I feel toward him.
I stand on my tiptoes, eyes closing once again, and this time I do feel his lips against mine. It's a short, soft brush of his lips against mine, a hint of mint from when he was chewing on gum earlier. I whimper as he begins to withdraw, and before I can think better of it, I wrap my arms around his neck, holding him closer to me, and bringing our lips together again.
He falters for the briefest moment, but then his lips soften for me, parting, and I deepen the kiss. His fingers are at the nape of my neck. The next moment, his arm that's banded around my waist tugs me up against his body.
We're too lost in one another, that much is clear. The kiss goes on for so long that I can already hear how excited Mauve is going to be with the material we're giving the paparazzi to work with.
I wish I could care about any of that, but I can't because all that matters in this moment is how right it feels when my lips are locked with Zill's, how good it feels to be pressed against his body, where he's hard against me like... Wait? I pull back from him slightly, confusion pulling my brows together.
"What's wrong?" Zill asks, his eyes brighter than I've seen them, his lips pink and swollen, his hair mussed from where I've tugged it out of its neat little bun.
"You're–" I'm cut off telling him he's hard by a loud whistling that has Zill's shadows shooting up around me like a curtain, just like they did at the restaurant.
"You say what's on your mind and I will make you regret it," Zill says, any hint of the man I know, the one who shares my apartment with me and is always pink-cheeked, is gone. Replacing him is a voice to match the man who snarls and scowls at anyone near me. I swat at the shadows around me, but they all weave themselves back together as soon as my fingers pass through them.
"Rude," I mumble under my breath, reaching through them to where I'm pretty sure Zill is standing. My hand finds his arm, and I squeeze it.
"One second, love," he says, his voice soft before the hardness returns, "Go back to your friends, and if any of them try what you just did, I'll tell your girlfriend where you were last weekend because it wasn't with your parents."
And now I'm extremely upset that I don't get to witness all of this happening. With as much reality television I watch, Zill should know I would love this kind of drama. He's also going tofind out that he's going to make good on that threat, whether this guy and his friends bother us again or not.
It's not for a couple more minutes before the shadows fall, and then they're scampering right back up my body, clinging around my waist like they were before. This time their presence feels even heavier, almost like they're all trying to touch me. I really need to learn more about them. There are about fifty questions I have, all of them seeming like the most important, until I look up and see the pinched expression on Zill's face.
"What?" I ask, my eyes darting around the beach as if there's danger around or something else that would make him look so upset.
