Page 33 of Taeja

“Life doesn’t go how we expect.”

Taeja thought of the rift between her parents and how she got caught in the middle of it. She sighed while nodding. “I get what you mean.”

The words Zain said next surprised her. Any other person would’ve probably told her, ‘No, Taeja, you’re not fucked up.’ But not Zain. He never sugar-coated anything.

“What’s fucked up about you?” he asked.

She looked away from his icy stare, unable to look at him despite it not coming off as judgmental. Even if they weren’thaving a who’s-the-more-fucked-up-person competition, she wouldn’t be able to bear his stare for long. Every shared glance made her hair stand on end. Zain always seemed to look past her top layer and right into the depths of her core.

Her gaze fixed on a ten-pound weight on the nearby rack. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said before meeting his gaze. “Can we talk about something else? I don’t want to spend all our time talking about sad things. I know you’ll stop talking to me soon, and I want to make the most of it.”

Zain scoffed at the latter half, then stood. “I’m going to shower.” He walked toward the door.

She got off the floor and trailed behind him. “I’m coming with you.” She didn’t care if she’d already taken a shower this morning. The thought of being naked in a small space with Zain excited her.

“No.”

Taeja pouted, taking long strides to catch up with him. “Please? I can hold your dick while you wash it.”

“No, Taeja.” He stopped walking to look at her. “You want me to fuck you, and that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not?”

“I want you to beg for it.”

“Right now? If you want me to get down on my knees, I will.”

Zain’s brows creased. “I forgot how you are. You’re different from anyone we’ve been with,” he muttered the last part, but Taeja heard it.

“In a good way?” she asked hesitantly. She hoped he wouldn’t say the opposite. Her dad always said she was a disappointment, and she hoped her guys wouldn’t see her as one so soon.

A small smirk crept onto Zain’s face. “Yes,” he said, easing her worry to the point she felt the weight lift off her shoulders.

Taeja smiled shyly as his brows knitted. “What?”

He continued to stare for a few more seconds, making Taeja hold her tongue. She both hated and loved it when he stared at her this intently. It felt like he was discovering things about her that even she didn’t know about herself.

“Nothing,” he said finally, walking away. “You can shower with me.”

Taeja smiled, more excitement filling her veins. Zain led her to a bathroom in the nearby bedroom. She was out of her clothes as soon as he closed the door behind himself.

Turning around, Zain’s eyes widened upon seeing the state she was in.

Taeja was hot beneath his gaze. She couldn’t ignore these tingles, even if she wanted to. Shyness erupted in her, and she moved her hand to her chest, covering her full breasts.

Zain raised a brow as his eyes slowly dragged up to hers. Then, he took slow, calculating steps until he stopped before her. They were so close that if she leaned forward by even an inch, they’d touch.

Zain curled his calloused fingers around her wrists. His grip tightened around her soft skin as he moved her arms from her chest and brought them to her sides. “Taeja,” came his raspy voice. “Don’t hide from me. You’re the closest thing I’ve seen to perfect.”

Her brows furrowed as she looked up at him. “The closest?”

“No one’s perfect, but if they were, I think it’d be you.”

Her heart picked up its pace. The words rolling off his tongue sounded poetic, so genuine. He thought she was the definition of perfect? She was overwhelmed but didn’t know how to express it. The only thing she could do was smile as his words replayed over and over in her head.

“Fuck, don’t cry. I’ll go get Damon—”

Laughter bubbled from her throat. “I’m not crying.”

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