“Zane?” I say, my voice steadier than I feel.
“Yes.” He doesn’t move. “Stay where you are.”
The command lands differently than it ever has through the cameras. There’s tension in his voice tonight. Something tight and restrained beneath the calm. It sends a slow shiver down my spine.
Is he…mad at me?
“Why?” I ask, though my feet remain planted.
“Whose apartment were you in this evening?” he says. “Who were you with?”
He’s curious. Good.
“My boss,” I say after a moment. “He’s going out of town. I’m house-sitting.”
Silence stretches between us.
I take a step forward without thinking. I still can’t see his face, but I can smell him now…warm, familiar, unmistakably male. The scent settles into me, and my body reacts instantly, heat blooming low in my stomach.
“I was working,” I add quietly.
The light goes out and the darkness closes in, thick and charged with an unmistakable tension.
I hear him stand. His footsteps are unhurried as he approaches, and my breathing grows shallow in response. He stops close enough that I can feel his presence before he touches me.
Then his fingers brush my cheek.
The contact is soft, the reality of it hits me hard.
He’s real…
He’s here. Right in front of me.
Without thinking, I lift my hands and press them to his chest. He feels solid. Warm. Alive…
His breathing is as uneven as mine. He trails his fingertips over my jaw and down my neck, as if he’s memorizing the angles of my face.
“Zane,” I whisper almost breathlessly, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. “Kiss me. Please.”
I need to be sure this isn’t some kind of dream…
Without a word, he wraps an arm around my waist and presses my body against his. Then he lowers his head, his lips brushing slightly over mine. My lips fall open with a shaky breath, and Zane steals that moment to seal his mouth over mine.
The kiss is slow, deliberate, nothing rushed or rough about it. The kind of kiss that feels earned, like restraint finallyloosening its grip—the kind that makes the knees go weak. If Zane wasn’t holding me so steadily, I’d probably be a puddle on the floor.
Suddenly, he lifts me in his arms without breaking the kiss. Before I can wrap my head around what’s happening, he’s carrying me down the hall, straight to my bedroom.
I’m more impressed than surprised that he knows his way around my house in the dark.
Maybe I’m more twisted than I’d like to admit…
He lets me down gently, and for a moment we both stand there in the darkness, breathing hard.
I still can’t believe he’s here, right in front of me…close enough for me to touch…to kiss.
“My little mouse,” he whispers, his fingers brushing my jaw. He caresses my face slowly, almost like he’s learning the curves and angles.
He tilts my head slightly to the side, and before I know it, claims my mouth with searing possession, tasting me with slow, deep licks. His passion and hunger explode across my senses, and I whimper, my hands tangling in his shirt. His answering groan vibrates through me, tightening my nipples and sending goose bumps racing across my skin.
