Page 88 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

Zayn and I shared a quiet dinner together. It was nice to just be with him, knowing there was no deal hanging over our heads. I was no longer indebted to him or forced to stay. We were together because we wanted to be.

After we cleaned up and put the dishes away, he took me upstairs. I stood by the sink counter as he turned on the taps for the deep bath and poured bubble bath liquid into the running water. He came over to me, making me raise my arms up so he could undress me. When I was bare, he spun me around and took a band from the counter I’d left there. With such gentle care, he gathered up my curls, piling them on the top of my head and tying them up so they wouldn’t get wet. He leant down and placed a kiss on my shoulder, brushing his hands down my arms.

“You’re perfect,” he murmured. “Every inch of you.”

I could see in his eyes as he stared at me through the mirror, his appreciation of my body. The way his hands stroked my curves. No one had ever made me feel more at ease with myself. At least now we knew each other intimately. There was no need to cover up. No need to hide away the thickness of my thighs or any other part of me. Zayn looked at me as if I was precious. As if I was a goddess he wanted to worship.

I didn’t need him to make me feel beautiful or to fuel my self-worth. It merely made me happy knowing he wanted me the way I was. There was no expectation to change a single thing.

I spun on my heel, wanting to look at his face for real. The softness of his expression as I gripped his shirt and tugged him closer had my heart twisting in my chest. Words formed on the tip of my tongue. Ones I knew I couldn’t say. Not when he’d warned me things wouldn’t be easy for us. Not when I knew he meant his father and the demands placed on him by the man he was beholden to. He didn’t need to tell me. I already understood.

I shoved those thoughts away and kissed him instead. I didn’t want to ruin our evening with the future. No, we needed the here and now.

I think I’m in love with you, Zayn. And I’m scared that even though you’re mine, I might not get forever with you.

Did I want that? Wasn’t it too soon to imagine sharing a life with him?

I didn’t care if he didn’t want marriage or children. Those things didn’t seem important when he was all I desired. If I could just have Zayn, I would be happy, content and fulfilled.

He stroked my cheek when I released him before turning away to check the bath. He flipped off the taps and undressed, leaving our clothes in a pile on the floor. Taking my hand, he helped me into the warm water. I sank into the bubbles, watching him get in the other end and sit up against the tub. It was a freestanding bath with the taps in the middle so we could comfortably sit at each end.

He laid his arms across the back of the bath, watching me sink under the water until only my head was visible. The way he smiled gave me butterflies. There was such contentment in his expression as if giving into his wants when it came to me had settled something inside him.

“Do you want to see your father?”

I stiffened at the mention of Dad.

“Yes… and no.”

“Because of Justin?”

I nodded, raising slightly out of the water and wrapping my arms around my body.

“I don’t think Derek lied when he told me Justin wanted Dad dead. It will hurt him, knowing his own brother betrayed him.”

“He betrayed you too.”

I nodded, looking down at the bubbles settled on top of the water.

“I’m not sorry I killed him, but I’m not particularly keen on doing it again. Taking someone’s life, I mean.”

Zayn dipped his hands into the water and took hold of one of my feet. I let out a little groan when he massaged the instep with his thumbs.

“You don’t need to kill. You have me.”

I looked at him then, dropping my arms from my chest and leaning back against the tub.

“Do you often get your hands dirty like that?”

“No, generally I have people to do it for me.” His dark eyes turned serious. “I take threats against you personally, Tink, and when it’s personal, I deal with it myself.”

I swallowed. He didn’t need to elaborate. I understood all too well. If someone hurt or threatened me, Zayn would deliver justice first-hand. It probably shouldn’t make me find him more attractive. He might be a stone-cold killer with no remorse for taking lives, but it didn’t matter. When he was with me, caring for me, fucking me until I couldn’t take it any longer, Zayn was full of emotion. I wanted to bask in it. In him.

“If I wanted to see Dad, would you let me go?”

The deal was off, so there wasn’t anything keeping me from seeing my father. Well, apart from me not wanting to tell him the truth. I didn’t need Zayn’s permission, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could go without asking him.

He placed my foot back down and picked up the other one, proceeding to massage it.

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