Page 132 of Offside Angel

“I don’t have a swimsuit.”

He unbuttons his pants and drops them, along with his boxers, to his ankles. My mouth goes dry. It wouldn’t matter if that pool was swimming with piranhas—I’d get in right now if he asked me to.

“You won’t need one.” His voice is a desperate rumble as he reaches around me to open the door, gently guiding me backwards onto the balcony.

Steam is rising off of the surface of the water. The air bites into my exposed skin, but Zane leads me into the warm water and I sink happily below the surface.

The traffic sounds seem so far away. Even the city lights are fuzzy through the frosted privacy glass around the balcony.

“It feels like we’re in our own world up here,” I whisper.

“Because we are.” Zane kisses my neck and my jaw. His lips whisper over my skin like a secret. “Nothing else matters right now except for you and me.”

Questions sprout on the tip of my tongue. Do you know where Dante is? Is Evan monitoring the house tonight? What security protocols are in place?

But Zane seems to know what I’m thinking and he sets to work making sure I’m thoroughly distracted.

He corners me against the edge of the pool and works a hand between our bodies. He strokes one finger over me, dragging toe-curling friction against exactly where I want him.

“My one truth today is that I want to pretend we’re two normal people on a normal honeymoon.” His finger slips inside of me, stealing my breath away. “I want you to feel safe.”

“I always feel safe with you.”

Because of the security system and the bodyguards, yes, but also when we’re under the blankets in our bed and he’s crawling over me. When the shower door opens and he steps under the spray with me. When I wake up crying from a dream and he tucks a strong arm around my waist.

I trust Zane on a level I’ve never trusted another person in my life—with my past and my present, my heart and my soul.

“You know what I mean.”

I know what he means, but he doesn’t know what I mean.

“I do, but you—” He adds a second finger, and my head rolls back. The thoughts in my brain scatter.

He bites my lower lip, tugging on it while he fucks me with his fingers. “I love the way you look when I’m inside of you.”

Suddenly, the water almost seems too hot. My body is on fire.

I fumble around between us until I can wrap my hand around his length. He hisses. “I’m so fucking hard, Mira. Have been since the party. Since before we even got to the party.” He laughs. “I didn’t even want to be there. The entire time, I was thinking about you.”

Maybe we’re supposed to take this slow, but every word out of his mouth zips through my veins. I’m vibrating, and I need him right now.

I think I say that out loud, but I’m not sure. All I know is Zane slides his fingers out of me and immediately fills me again. His hips press into me, and we both moan with how good it feels.

He wraps an arm around my lower back to protect me from the rough edge of the pool even as he’s driving into me, panting against my mouth between sloppy kisses.

And I realize how much I don’t want to know another version of Zane.

I don’t want to wish away any single thing from his life that made him the person he is, that brought him to me.

His fingers dig into my ass as his hips snap against mine again and again. “Mira,” he breathes. “God, I could come right now. Fuck.”

“Me, too.” And I could. But I’m not sure… “Wait, wait.” I press a hand to his chest. “Wait a second.”

Zane stops immediately, but his neck is red. I can see his pulse thundering in his throat. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Never. I just… I think I want everything else to still matter.”

He frowns, his chest heaving. “What?”

---