Page 77 of Just a Bit Captivated

“Hemisses me, huh? But Zainie is a girl.” Aiden laughed at his disgruntled look. “I thought you’d have gotten rid of my cat by now. You always hated it. Why didn’t you?”

“It’s yours,” Zain said.

Aiden’s throat closed up. He couldn’t help himself: he kissed him quickly, adoringly.“Tell me you love me,” he whispered, despising himself for his neediness but unable to stop.

Zain’s breath was warm against his lips, his hands warm and firm on his back.“Greedy little thing,” he said, nibbling on Aiden’s bottom lip. “Isn’t it enough that I can’t stop thinking of you?”

Aiden grinned. “More. Tell me more.”

“You’re the only person I want to touch. The only person I want to come home to.” Zain bit down on Aiden’s lip viciously, making him grunt in half-pain, half-pleasure.“Sometimes I still can’t believe what you turned me into, but”—a short, greedy kiss—“but you feel like you were made for me. Only me.”

Aiden’s body was melting, his heart was melting, he felt almost high on happiness. He was irrationally afraid to wake up and find out it was just a dream.“You feel like you were made for me, too,” he whispered as Zain kissed his neck.His eyes were stinging. “I missed you so much.”

Zain squeezed him so hard it almost hurt. “Yes,” he said, sucking a hickey into his neck.“So much,habibi. Say yes to me.”

“To what?” Aiden gasped out, his head spinning and his knees weak.

“To us,” Zain said.“To being mine.”

Aiden tugged at his hair, forcing Zain to lift his head from his neck.“Will you be mine, too?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Zain said, his dark eyes soft and heated.“I already am.”

Grinning helplessly, Aiden kissed him, and kissed him, andkissedhim, blind with need, arching and squirming against him, needing more. He wanted to climb Zain’s body like a cat, and dig his way somehow deeper into him.

Someone cleared their throat. Loudly.

With great reluctance, Aiden wrenched his mouth away and turned in the circle of Zain’s arms.

His entire family was staring at them with varying degrees of dismay.

But Aiden felt so happy he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Mom, Dad,” he said, intertwining his fingers with Zain’s.“I know you aren’t happy about this, but I love him. I hope you can accept it one day.”

His mother’s lips were pressed together. She sighed. “I’ve already accepted it, sweetheart. But doeshelove you? That’s the part that worries me.”

Aiden swallowed. For all the lovely things Zain had said, he hadn’t used the word love once.

But before he could say anything, Zain squeezed his hand and stepped in front of Aiden. “I don’t think it’s any of your business,” he said, his voice cold again. “But if you must know, I do. I wouldn’t be tolerating being questioned by his nosy parents like a child if I didn’t.”

Pressing his face between Zain’s shoulder-blades, Aiden broke into hysterical laughter.“God, you really are awful at this,” he said through his giggles. “Worst love confession ever!”

But he couldn’t stop grinning.Zain loved him! Loved him loved him loved him!

Turning to him, Zain stared at his laughing face for a moment, his expression strange.

“What?” Aiden managed, still chuckling.

“I need to be alone with you,” Zain said, his voice rough.

Aiden swallowed, losing himself in his dark brown eyes. God, he couldn’t stand the distance between them anymore.

He darted forward and kissed Zain quickly—just a short one, to tide them over—before turning to his parents and grinning bashfully.“You can chew me out later. We’ll be in my room! Talking.” And he tugged Zain upstairs.

Eloise snorted and muttered,“Talking? Right.”But she was smiling, and so was Jordan. Aiden’s parents… they didn’t look very happy, but Aiden knew they’d come around eventually. It was going to be all right. They’d accept Zain when they saw how happy he made Aiden.

But truth be told, Aiden didn’t care if the entire world didn’t accept their relationship. As long as Zain was his—truly his—nothing else mattered.

---