Worse, a man in Zayne's position could hurt the United and the Followers just as much as he could help them.
If Zayne betrayed his mission to save her, he'd not only lose everything he'd worked for and all hope for the future, but he'd unleash untold damage upon the people they wanted to save most.
It was never that he didn't trust Kira to manage her heart.
Zayne didn't trust himself with her.
His coldness was desperation. Terror.
Did he know there was another reason he ran though? A reason he chose to marry a woman he liked but didn't love? Mellie had every right to feel insecure. That was clear now.
Whether Zayne could ever feel for Kira, given the chance, she'd never know. She'd never know if the care he'd shown her could grow that one kiss into something more. If there ever had been anything more.
After all he'd been through, he let one person into his heart, and she betrayed him for the brother who hated him.
Zayne was afraid of love. He didn't think he deserved it even if he wasn't. Probably thought he deserved for Nadia to shatter his heart.
Why had she done it? Could she truly not resist Luke?
Kira couldn't understand wanting both brothers. Their values were so different.
This left Zayne alone, because even if he overcame his fear, he believed the Phaedra would use his love against him.
Such a lonely life.
“You've tried so hard to stay away from me,” Kira said. “It never works. Maybe you need a new plan.”
The suggestion prickled her skin, her entire body sensitive and aching. Kira didn't know what to do. She'd never felt this way before.
It made her dizzy.
Zayne walked to her, his movement shifting the thickness between them like water, so she felt the ripples of his nearness. Felt him drawing closer until she couldn't breathe.
He reached a hand to her.
Her heart skipped when her fingers slid along his, and their palms smoothed together. When his strong hand closed around hers, and he pulled her to her feet, their bodies were inches apart. That draw too strong. That tension packed into too slim a space. Packed in so tight it would explode any second.
“It meant something to me.” Voice quiet, eyes unguarded, thumb pressing softly into the back of her hand. “I need to leave that behind. Let me.”
He withdrew from her, and it ripped the oxygen from her body.
Her hand sizzled.
She stretched her fingers, breathing in sharply at the surprise of his touch.
Then Kira closed her hand to capture the sensation, not ready to lose the feel of Zayne's skin.
His.
Not a stranger in a mask, but the man she knew.
A man forbidden to her.
Longing for him all these years didn't compare to seeing him but being unable to reach him. This hurt far worse.
When he placed his hand to the light switch, she hurried outside, afraid she may lose her mind in this small space with him.
The cool air relieved the heat in her cheeks but didn't reach what smoldered in her core. This was torture.
