Page 142 of The Last Guardian

I needed him closer.

I slipped my other hand around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. My back touched the wall by the fireplace.

Driven by the kiss, our teeth clashed. The sound of our lips meeting fervently echoed through the room as Zaid lifted me, my feet leaving the floor to gravitate around him.

One of his hands held the back of my thigh, the other on my face, kissing me as I squeezed my legs behind him, holding him tighter.

I gasped as he pinned me to the spot, feeling him everywhere.

A moan escaped my mouth, provoking a groan from him against my lips, as he pressed harder against my core with his own. I moaned again, which he inhaled with his mouth.

“Fuck,” Zaid murmured against my lips, pulling them away from mine. His forehead rested against mine for a moment.

My eyes remained closed, and only our warmth melted together.

The sound of our heavy, unsteady breaths resonated in my ears, thrummed beneath my skin.

We stayed like that for a moment, forehead to forehead, panting in each other’s arms, grasping, clinging to each other. I opened my eyes to find Zaid motionless, his eyes closed.

I ran my fingers through his hair, and he leaned into my touch, opening his eyes to scrutinize mine intensely.

I felt so exposed by his gaze, as if he wanted to worship every part of me, just by looking at me. Zaid tilted his face, tasting my lips once more, but less hungrily.

It was slow, as if he could spend the rest of his life devouring me. His hand brushed my neck, sending electric waves through me at the mere touch of his skin against mine. The sensuality, the slowness of his tongue, his lips, his hands on me.

Stars save me. I could have burst into flames.

Until his lips parted from mine and my eyes found him again. The expression crossing his eyes as he pressed his forehead against mine again broke me into pieces.

Despair.

No.

No.

“We can’t do this,” Zaid murmured against my lips, brushing his nose against mine.

His thumb brushed my face, my heart clenching as he released his grip, my face falling against his chest as he pulled away from me with a shaky breath.

The heat—gone.

Zaid stepped back, his feet dragging him away from me, his hands clenching at his sides.

“I—” My words disappeared in my throat, clenching, fighting the feeling that was spreading inside me. I managed to say softly, “Why?”

Zaid closed his eyes, fighting something inside him as if the Seven Hells were attacking him from within. “I can’t—” He shook his head, searching for the right words.

My heart clenched at his words. The ghost of his mouth still lingered on my swollen lips.

“I can’t risk…” Zaid opened his eyes, fighting whatever he was about to say. “I can’t be selfish. It’s just… It’s not—” Zaid grated through his teeth, passing his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

My lips parted, but every word disappeared from my mind, and my tongue wouldn’t budge.

Zaidkiel’s eyes bored into mine, his fists clenching so hard at his sides they went white. Fighting the same need I felt—the need to reach for the other and never let go.

Why did it feel wrong to be apart from him?

Zaid frowned as he opened his mouth to say something, then decided otherwise, closing his lips once more. I looked away from him, at everything but him.