It was perfect.Shewas perfect.
We stayed tangled together, her blue hair spread over my chest, neither of us rushing to move.
The thought crept in quietly, without panic or resistance.
I didn’t want this moment to end.
Chapter 5
Zoey
I layin Liam’s arms, fully spent, and deeply annoyed.
Not about the arms. Those were fine. No, I was annoyed about the realization that slammed into me. I’d just had the best sex of my life—by a wide margin.
I shifted, intending to put space between us, and instead ended up closer. His arm tightened at my back immediately. I looked down at my naked body tucked into him, looking so relaxed and cooperative, and felt personally betrayed.
Fucking traitor.
As I slid my hand over his warm, excessively muscled chest, my brain attempted one last objection, then fully disengaged from the conversation.
He washot.
Also—and this part felt objectively worse—he wascalm. Not sleepy calm.Settledcalm. The kind that made tension feel unnecessary in hindsight. Like his body was actively working to regulate my nervous system.
He brushed his thumb along my shoulder, and my muscles loosened without consulting me.
I didn’t appreciate how easily my body cooperated with him.
“Do you need anything?” he asked.
I ran through the usual list. Water. Food. An exit plan. A personality reset. None of it applied.
“No,” I said. “I need you to not move.”
There was a pause, then he adjusted his arm, anchoring me where I was. He let himself somehow relax even more into the mattress. The sound he made was low and satisfied. Content.
It was the worst possible outcome, and to my extreme irritation, I felt satisfied and content too.
I tucked my head under his chin and pressed a kiss to his chest. My body settled immediately. My shoulders dropped. My spine relaxed. Every muscle that usually stayed half braced went quiet without asking permission.
He tipped his head down and kissed my hair, then my forehead.
My nervous system responded by fully clocking out.
Exhaling slowly, I sank closer, my leg sliding over his without thought, my hand flattening against his chest like it belonged there. I would have crawled into his skin if it were physically possible.
Jesus Christ.
Easy whore.
The insult lacked conviction. My body didn’t care. It stayed warm and pliant and deeply pleased with its choices.
“This is dangerous,” I muttered.
He sounded amused. “You’re safe with me.”
I didn’t argue. We stayed there, pressed together, his warm, steady hand on my back. Mine stayed on his chest.
