Page 114 of The Last Guardian

Zaidkiel went still. With all the slowness in the world, he turned to face me.

His gaze dragged along my bare skin, from my ankles to my thighs. His nostrils flared when he noticed the towel clutched to my skin, until he finally met my eyes. He held my gaze, my heart nearly dropping under the intensity of his eyes on mine.

“Don’t mistake silence for indifference, Princess,” he said, restraint echoing in his voice.

Stars, he had the power to awaken the wildest part of my soul and set it ablaze. A part that I thought long dead, a part only he could ever stir.

“Then what in the Hells am I supposed to mistake it for?” My voice trembled, breaking at the end.

Zaidkiel exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair, muscles taut as a bowstring. “I’m trying hard to stay away from you,” he whispered, his voice low and hard. “Not to know more than I need, not to share too much, not to spend too much time…” His eyes were locked on mine. I saw a battle in his gorgeous eyes.

I couldn’t look away from him. I never could. My mouth went dry just looking at him.

Neither of us moved a muscle.

Time passed, whether in seconds, minutes, or hours, but each time my eyes fell into his, I lost track of time.

Something shifted in the room. A pull stirred between us as our gazes locked, dragging us somewhere else entirely.

Then, a pulse.

Cold caressed my back as my body pressed against the wall. His fingers traced my curves and my skin as our faces hovered just inches apart.

His gaze never left mine.

Always on mine.

His fingers caressed my neck, one by one, then my collarbone, delicately tracing the center of my chest.

Yet, his mouth never met mine. Our breaths only mingled.

A spasm ran through my back when he cupped my breast through the towel. When I gasped, his lips parted. Zaidkiel knelt before me, keeping our eyes locked, his hand still on my breast, his mouth exploring my upper thigh. He gently grazed his nose on the peak of my body, burning at his touch. His eyes gleamed in the darkest green as his mouth brushed against my skin.

A metallic noise echoed once more, and all returned to normal.

I was still near the bath, Zaidkiel in front of me, but with a great distance between us. My hand was still clenching the towel that hid the middle of my body.

Stars.

What had just happened?

The things I had seen… they weren’t real—it was in my head. And with the look on Zaidkiel’s face—he had seen it too.

The ghost of his fingers on my skin still lingered, hot and demanding. How was it possible?

The door creaked open.

“What—” Nefeli’s voice stopped when she entered the bathroom, looking between her brother and me, with the most innocent look on her face. “By the Ten, I apologize for interrupting⁠—”

Zaidkiel growled at her and warned, “Don’t fucking start.”

A little silence fell between the three of us as Zaidkiel still looked at me with… I could call it astonishment. I squirmed, clenching the towel harder, and his hand flexed.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” I announced as I felt a flush on my cheeks, trying my best not to look at him. “Goodnight.”

I left without glancing back, not even once, before I reached my room. Only then did I finally breathe.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. And the worst part was that it wasn’t even because of the sort-of vision.