“With a clan that hates us, with that getting even worse if any of your men are killed trying to rescue my father?”
“Shhh.” He pressed his lips to her temple and squeezed her gently. “My men aren’t fools, Liz. They rescued me. We’ll make our move when Carreon least expects it. As far as my people hating you and your father, you’re wrong. They detest Carreon and his men for what they’ve done. You and your father have never been a part of that. My people are reasonable, Liz. You know that. You’ve seen them. Have any of them threatened you? Has even one of them said an unkind word? Except for Kele,” he added quickly.
Liz pressed her face into his shoulder, sighing at the sweet scent of his freshly laundered tee. “No.”
“That’s who they are,” he said. “Good people.”
As honorable as him. He made the thought of being here sound so wonderful, so doable Liz was almost convinced.
Almost.
A thought nagged. “Have you seen our future in your visions, Zeke? Did they tell you everything was going to be all right?”
His body tensed. It was just a bit, but enough for her to notice. “Have they showed how you and Jacob would fight overme or how that’s going to end?”
“It’s already ended. You’re mine. I’ll accept no other outcome.”
“Zeke, you can’t—”
He did, stopping her from offering another protest, slanting his mouth over hers, defeating her best intentions.
She whimpered at how good he tasted, better than Liz recalled. His promise to rescue her father was more than she’d ever expected, if it worked out. If it didn’t… His people would hate him for bringing any of them to harm. Her father would still be Carreon’s prisoner or worse, he’d be dead. She stiffened at the thought.
Zeke pulled his mouth free and cupped her face in his hands. “Everything’s going to be all right, I promise you. I’ll make it that way. My visions haven’t shown any of my people being harmed. The only thing I’ve seen is Carreon hurting you. I won’t allow that to happen by bringing you back. You’re staying here, and so will your father so I can protect you both.”
He directed her to sit on the mattress, offering her a glass of milk. Liz put it and the tray aside, not needing food or drink. She had to have him.
Together, they fell to the bed, pulling off each other’s clothes, their haste adding to the excitement. At last, he was on top of her, his cock sinking deep inside, his hands wrapped around her wrists, keeping her his willing prisoner.
For a long moment, they regarded each other, and then Zeke smiled. It was luminous, softening his rough features, making him seem so very young and happy. “Say you’re mine,” he whispered.
“You know I am. You’ve known from the beginning.” She sighed at his mouth brushing hers. Her lips moved against his with her promise. “I’ll never belong to another man.”
Within the day, she’d likely be dead.
She’d burned the sandalwood incense he liked so much. The blankets on her bed were replicas of the ones on his.
Kele had taken great pains to make her room similar to Jacob’s so that when he moved from there to here, it wouldn’t be so trying. The transition would be normal then required because he adored her.
He stood in front of her door, the tension in his body telling Kele he wanted to run. He refused to look at her, staring at the floor instead. She’d removed her tee. Naked to the waist, she stood before him, prepared to give him her body, heart, and soul.
Jacob didn’t want it. It wasn’t that he’d said as much, but for the first time, she saw his embarrassment for her. His pity.
Pain radiated from Kele’s belly to her chest, making it difficult to breathe. “Do you love her?” she asked.
Jacob flinched as though he hadn’t expected her to speak or to say what she had. Like a nervous child about to see the school principal, he shifted from foot to foot.
“You don’t love me,” she accused, forcing herself to say what she saw on his face. What she’d never be able to accept. “So do you love her?”
Kele had overheard Zeke saying he did, accusing Jacob of wanting Liz only because of that.
“I—” He stopped and rolled his shoulders, trying to relax.
“Tell me,” she ordered. “Say that you love her. Say that you want an enemy woman more than me. That I’m nothing to you. That I make you sick. That you can’t even stand to look at me or be in the same room as—”
“Dammit, stop it. That’s not true.” He rubbed his palms on his thighs. “I never said I wanted to settle down with anyone, all right? We’re friends, Kele. We’ll always be friends. You know I’d do anything for you.”
Except give her his heart and fidelity.