Page 42 of My Brutal Alpha

"I don't know the right answer, but I do know that I don't want to break it this time."

Her brows pinched slightly in surprise, caught off-guard by my words. She blinked back at me as many different thoughts moved through her eyes. "You don't?"

Not needing to think about it, I shook my head. "I don't. I put us through enough pain before, and...it feels wrong to deny the bond. You might not want it, but I do."

"No," Zoe said suddenly, catching us both by surprise. She looked away for a moment with a faint shade of pink in her cheeks before meeting my gaze again. "I...I do want it."

I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those words from her, and I certainly didn't anticipate the wash of relief that moved through me.

After taking a moment to breathe, I brought my hands up to cradle her cheeks as I looked down at her. With resolve in my chest, I managed a faint yet determined smile.

"Then there's no need to break it," I murmured, gently stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. "We can figure out the rest later, but we'll forget about the ruse and just focus on us for now. On what we really are."

Zoe's eyes softened and never left mine. "And your parents?"

"It doesn't matter what they want from me—they won't get it. My mate is right here. Right in front of me."

I couldn't resist the vulnerable look written in her features. She looked so soft and docile, and it stirred the want and longing inside me.

With a delicate warmth blanketing my heart then, I leaned forward until not an inch of space remained between our lips, and I kissed her firmly with all my intentions.

By then, with our mouths reunited and melding softly with our acceptance, our feelings were too real to ignore, and neither of us could deny it.

Chapter 20 - Zoe

Ezra’s hands were on me before I knew it, and without needing to think twice, I leaned into the kiss as he hoisted me into his arms.

I didn’t care where he was taking me or what he was planning—not while my heart was so full of pure admiration and desire for him. Instead, my arms wrapped around the back of his neck while he moved us together, and I focused on kissing him back harder.

He muffled a groan into the kiss as I swiped the tip of my tongue against his lower lip, and without needing to deliberate, he parted his lips, immediately meeting my tongue with a matching fervor.

Our tongues melded hotly together, making a pleasant haze fill my head.

Even while he kept up with my eager kiss, Ezra dropped onto the couch with me in his arms before he adjusted me to straddle him properly.

I moaned as our bodies pressed together, far too needy to want to stop as our mouths moved together with unbridled passion.

Ezra’s hands slid beneath the hem of my shirt and moved to my back, exploring my skin and urging me closer. The desperation in his touch and the way his lips moved against mine made my head spin, helping me to get lost in those addictive sensations.

Unable to wait, I gripped his shirt in return and eased the fabric up, forced to break the kiss long enough to toss it aside. During that moment of brief separation, I caught the hungrygleam in his eyes, and I had a feeling my gaze was much the same.

Something about seeing it in him sent a thrill through my body, and I couldn’t deny how it made me feel even hotter.

At once, he reached for my top and discarded it next to his own, eager hands exploring my curves and sliding up my waist as he greedily felt every inch that he could before reaching for my bra clasp. He unhooked it quickly and, without wasting a moment, pulled the fabric down my arms before dropping it to the side.

Ezra’s almost predatory gaze swept over my half-naked body before he moved his hands higher and pulled me closer.

A breathless moan fell past my lips the moment he cupped my breasts in a greedy, overflowing handful, and he leaned in to place those hot kisses against my skin. His tongue swiped against a nipple while he preoccupied the other with his thumb, tracing gentle circles against it.

Eyes closing, I tipped my head to the side and soaked in the static pleasure coursing through me from his ministrations, savoring the attention he dedicated to each side while squeezing my flesh.

The way he worshipped my body made any possible inhibitions I might’ve had to slip away at once, and I could only think about the raw, intoxicating bliss he was so focused on giving me.

The constant drip of sensations made me want more and more, as though I would never get enough. It made my body ache, sending a warmth between my legs that could only be fully satisfied with Ezra’s help.

With my senses heightened while my body was after every possible touch and drop of bliss he could offer me, I was craving friction. I needed it as if my life depended on it.

Unable to hold back, I rolled my hips into his, making our breath catch at the same time as that rush of pleasure hit us both. It coursed through my body and made me shiver, immediately causing a dependency.