Hopefully.
“That’s the trick of the place,” Ziros says. “You can’t tell a second from a century. Yet it still drags just as long.”
“It couldn’t have beenthatlong. Right? My apartment is still here, after all.”
“Probably five minutes,” he says, glancing at the clock on your microwave. “Give or take.”
Relief washes over you. And disbelief. “That’s all?”
It felt like an eternity.
If five minutes were that painful, how did he survive so manyyearstrapped inside the nothing-void of that prison?
You stare at his back as he turns to your fridge, pulling out a half-empty bottle of juice. He’s strong. Even through his shirt, you can see the outline of his muscles as he leans over.
Everything in the void felt so heavy. Just existing was a workout.
Maybethat’show he got so damn ripped.
Or he was bored in there. Not much else to do, after all.
Maybe it was both.
“Catch,” he says, chucking you the jug of juice. “Drink it all. And then we’ll find you something to eat.”
Why is he being so nice? Before, he seemed annoyed to be stuck with you.
Maybe it’s just that he doesn’t want to die. If you die, so does he.
Sure. That’s totally all it is.
Ziros is definitelynotbecoming attached to you, whether he wants to admit it or not.
14
The Hot Guy Steals Your Name
Ziros (AKA Mysterious Hot Guy)
—A Little Bit Earlier—
I was just messing around. I never intended to actually kiss her.
I sure as hell didn’t expect her to kissme.
She really must be trying to seduce me.
Her magic sizzles through my lips as she presses her mouth to mine, gazing at me with sparkling, confident eyes.
What a strange little human.
I can’t help but smirk as I kiss her back. She thinks she can catch me off-guard?
Then she’s got another thing coming.
This is a battle she’ll never win.
I weave my fingers into her hair, pulling her harder against me as I part her lips with my tongue, lifting her into the air as she wraps her legs around my waist.
