Page 141 of The Last Guardian

“Yes?” The low rasp of his voice stirred something wild in me, dragging me toward him until my body met the hard line of his.

His breath brushed my skin, warm and unsteady, and an overwhelming need ran down my spine, my bones, my veins, my core.

The space between us was nothing more than a whisper, heavy with the tension we’d fought for days.

Heavy with every glance. Every generous smile. Every precious laugh.

Heavy with every secret. Every dark thought. Every light hope.

I saw it in his beautiful eyes—the question, the temptation, the want. The same thing I fought not to feel every time I saw him walk into a room.

And I knew I had to step back. Say something to break the silence and hesitation between us. To break this flickering spell that had hypnotized us from the first time my eyes fell on him.

Yet I didn’t.

As his burning eyes consumed me, I leaned against his warmth, and I crushed my lips against his.

THE WORLD STILLED, holding its breath, chasing everything away. Even my heart, raging in my ears, was silenced, leaving only his pull—us.

My hand, which had been resting on his jaw a few moments before, had traveled down his chest, where his heart was drumming like a storm about to burst, resonating in rhythm with mine. It was the only proof that Zaid was indeed still breathing and here. In this room. With me.

Apart from his heart beating hard against my palm, where the invisible mark of his lips persisted after his soft kiss of last night, Zaid didn’t move.

And for a moment, I thought I imagined every little stolen glance and every flirty smile he’d give me as I slowly stepped away from him. The sound of my lips parting from his mouth echoed in the silence of the room, melting with the crackle of the fire.

With what little strength I had left, I slowly raised my gaze to his beautiful face, tracing his muscular jaw, his beautiful, full lips, his thin nose—his nostrils flared from heavy breathing—his high cheekbones, his smooth, perfect skin, before finally resting my gaze on his.

And damn all the gods, the stars, and embers of this world and the next for that.

Zaid’s eyes burned into mine, his pupils wide, so large they almost drove the emerald from his irises.

The way he looked at me, as if I were the only thing in the world that made sense, was worth looking at, as if I were the last shimmering sliver of moonlight just before it disappeared into the dawn.

An answer to a question unspoken.

His hand found my face, stroking each finger at the base of my chin, running over the skin just below my mouth. His thumb grazed my upper lip, drawing that line like a brush as if he could imprint the sensation on his soul.

Our gazes merged, searching for that answer together, as he slowly lowered his face to mine. Until everything collapsed, and his lips met mine again.

Our breaths caught; our bodies stilled against each other, as if even air wasn’t enough to breathe. Only this. The kiss. Us.

As if he were the very thing capable of making my blood pump, the thing I needed to breathe—to wake the darkest chambers of my soul.

His hand, already on my face, moved down to the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him.

Our lips parted for each other, melting as our breaths caught, drinking in the kiss, fueling something deep inside me for more.

More, more, more, more.

I needed more of him.

All of him.

My hand found the back of his neck, brushing his hair. His other hand grabbed me around the waist. His fingers tightened, gripping me through the leather, as if I would escape this world if he didn’t hold me.

His taste drove me crazy, forcing me to hold him close as his tongue flicked against mine, devouring me whole in slow, deliberate motions.

Closer.