Or come back to her and hope he was enough.
Michelle's arms stayed locked around Zeke's massive frame as the deep rumble in his chest changed. The mindless growl of a predator softened, the vibration shifting into something that rolled through his body like a faraway storm, matching the beat of her heart pressed against his back. She felt the moment he made the choice to pull back from the edge.
Muscles that had been rigid for hours loosened under her touch.
He turned his head, just enough for her to see the glow of his eyes. Not the burning red of a feral but a deep, luminous yellow that fixed on her with an intensity that made heat pool low in her belly. Her body answered his focused attention with a thrum of awareness that had nothing to do with the day's terror.
The sound in his chest became a purr and his massive hand came up to cover both of hers where they clasped over his torso. The black coating on his fingers melted away, pulling back into his skin like ink in water until only warm flesh remained.
"Michelle." Her name came out layered, his voice wrapped in something deeper that sent a tremor down her spine.
He shifted, turning within her embrace until they faced each other. She had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze, his body so much larger than it had been that morning. The yellow glow of his irises pulsed with his heartbeat, tracking every small movement she made. Her pulse quickened and her lips parted. He saw it all, she knew, his nostrils flaring as he caught her scent on the air.
"The ferals," she started, voice rough.
He placed a finger against her lips, the touch gentle despite everything. "Still there. Waiting." That strange dual quality filled his voice. "They won't approach. They know what I am."
"What are you?" The question escaped before she could stop it.
His hand moved from her lips to cup her jaw, thumb brushing across her cheekbone. "I am yours."
Well, fuck. That did things to her she didn't want to examine too closely.
After the kidnapping, the chase, the fear… she needed this. Needed him. Needed to feel alive and claimed by the man who'd become a monster to save her. She pushed up on her toes and crushed her mouth to his, hand sliding around the back of his neck to yank him down to her level.
He didn't hesitate. Arms banded around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his hips as he carried her deeper into the cave, away from the entrance where the darkness grew thick. The light from his eyes cast shifting yellow patterns on stone walls. Her back met the cave wall, and he kept one hand behind her head, cushioning her from rough rock while his mouth never left hers. His tongue swept inside to taste her with a confidence he hadn't possessed before.
His free hand slid down her side, finding the hem of her leather tunic. Fingers slipped beneath the fabric, tracing the curve of her waist with purpose. No fumbling or uncertainty… he knew how her skin tightened at his touch, felt how her breath caught when his thumb brushed the underside of her breast. When his hand moved higher to cup her through the thin fabric, his thumb found her nipple without searching.
She gasped, hips rocking against his. Through the layers of their clothes, she felt him hard and ready. Survival burned in her blood, and her body demanded celebration in the most primal way possible.
“Tell me what you want,” he demanded against her mouth.
"You know what I want." She nipped his lower lip.
A growl rumbled through his chest, vibrating through her entire body. He pulled back just enough to strip her tunic overhead, tossing it into the darkness. Cold air hit her skin for a heartbeat before his mouth found her throat… lips and teeth mapping the line of her neck.
She tilted her head back to give him access and felt him pause where her pulse hammered against her skin. He leaned in and bit down with just enough pressure to make her cry out and arch against him. His tongue soothed the spot right after, and she realized he knew how much force to use, felt her body's limits like they were his own.
"Not fragile." She managed the words while her hands roamed his bare chest, needing skin to skin contact. "Not with you."
Golden light from his eyes let her see his transformed torso. Still Zeke, but more—muscles thicker and denser, carved into something beyond what he’d been before. The armor had retreated completely beneath his skin, invisible now, but she knew it was there. She traced patterns across his chest, following the ridges of muscle, and felt him shudder under her touch.
"Everything." His voice came out rough. "Every touch is more now."
She filed that information away and traced another path along his ribs. His hips jerked forward, pressing his erection firm against her. The heat of him made promises through their remaining clothes.
"Off." She tugged at his belt. "Everything. Off. Now."
He complied fast enough to make her bite back a smile, then helped with her remaining clothes, his strength controlled even in his urgency. When the last barrier fell away, he lifted her again and carried her to where soft moss covered the cave floor. Lowering her with a gentleness that contradicted his raw power, he knelt beside her. Golden eyes moved over her body with a look that combined worship and hunger.
"You're hurt." His hand hovered over the dark cast on her leg.
"I'm alive." She reached for him. "We're alive. That's what matters."
He caught her hand and pressed it to his chest. "You matter."
Before she could respond, he moved over her. His lips found her breast, tongue circling before drawing her nipple into his mouth. The suction was perfect… no, better than that. Her back arched off the moss as her cry echoed in the small space. He repeated the motion and drew another cry while his hand moved to her other breast, fingers mirroring what his mouth was doing. He was mapping her responses, learning her body on a level no man ever had.
