Page 55 of Zeke

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Zeke

Kira follows me through the door of the farmhouse. She’s been here before, but this is the first time she’s here with the intention of staying. I go to Rebel, who looks confused, and hand him the card from the flowers.

“Give this to Eli when he gets home,” I tell him.

He nods and pockets it. I guide Kira up the stairs to my room, which I thankfully cleaned not too long ago, so it doesn’t look like some kind of creature has been nesting there. Instead, it looks like a normal man’s room—kind of sparse but with a few personal touches. For me, those are mostly in the form of shot glasses on my dresser from places I’ve been over the years. I always buy one in a new city, or even in a city I’ve been to but am visiting.

I set Kira’s bags down on the bed and turn to look at her.

She only just decided to choose me, and we’ve had some pretty intense moments, but I have a bad habit of taking things way too fast. Hell, most of the time I have entire relationships that don’t last more than a couple of hours. But I want things to be different with Kira. I care about her, and I don’t want her to feel pressured or rushed. I know what I have to do here, no matter what I want.

“You can sleep in here,” I tell her. “I’m going to take the couch for now, until we can figure out what to do about making you safe at home again.”

She sits on the bed and simply looks at me, her eyes swimming with tears that won’t fall. I turn to give her some privacy, but then she reaches out and grabs me by the arm.

“Wait,” she says, then gives a single, choking sob. “Don’t go.”

I look back at her, and she tugs at my arm, pulling me toward the bed.

“Are you sure?” I want more than anything to stay with her but know she’s vulnerable.

“Yes,” she says, tugging at me again. “Zeke, I’m scared. I don’t want to be alone. Please stay with me.”

It’s hard for me to argue when she’s so desperate for the company. I can’t pretend I don’t want to stay here either way, so I sit down on the bed beside her. I’m barely there for a second when she throws her arms around me and sobs into my chest.

I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly against me, whispering into her hair that she’s safe and kissing her head, then her cheeks. Before I know it, she tilts her head up to me and our lips collide.

Her hands go to the back of my neck, holding me to her as I put my hands on her waist and lean her back onto the bed. One of her legs is between mine, but the other hitches up along my hip. Suddenly, her fingertips dig into my shoulders with need.

I need her, too—badly. My lips devour hers, and my tongue slips into her mouth, dancing as I gently suck on her tongue. She’s just as greedy, her teeth grazing my lips and biting down from time to time, claiming them as her own.

They belong to her in a way they have never belonged to anyone else—even me.

Her hands go to my waist, pulling me closer to her, and mine go to her hair, then trail down her sides until my thumbs are grazing her tits.

And then I pull away.

She looks startled and wipes her mouth shyly. “I’m sorry,” she says. “Did I… did I do something wrong?”

“No.” It takes every fiber of my being to resist taking her right then and there. “No, baby, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Her eyes light up when I call herbaby, and she seems to relax.

“Then what is it?” she asks.

“Nothing you did,” I assure her. “Nothing at all. It’s just… If we do this tonight, with everything that’s happened, I’d never know if it’s because you want me or because you are vulnerable and I’m taking advantage of that. I don’t want to be that guy—not with you.”

She seems thoughtful for a moment, but then nods. “But… we don’t have to stop kissing, right?” she asks.

I smile and bend down to her ear. “No, we do not,” I whisper.

We spend the next hour in a state of bliss, simply exploring each other’s bodies with our hands and tasting each other’s kisses. Eventually, we need to calm down before we take things too far. I gather her in my arms and hold her to me until she falls asleep, breathing slowly and evenly, calm for the first time all night despite what she’d been through.

Once I’m sure she’s asleep, I slip out and back down the stairs, where I run into Eli, Brawler, and Justice sitting around the fireplace, having some beers. The sun finally went down, and it’s dark outside.

I see Eli studying the card, and he glances up at me as I walk in.

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