Chapter 20

That night, after Zain reintegrated his body, I could literally see electric coils slithering over his skin like those inside a plasma ball. Although grateful that his human vessel had remained sheltered in our room, I had seen the savage blows Darryl had given him, and the way he had tried to crush him.

“I am fine, my mate,” Zain said while discarding the clothes he’d previously donned before deciding to battle in his ethereal form. “Whatever damage I sustained, Darryl’s lifeforce has mended, and then some.”

Zain slipped out of his pants and dismissively tossed them to the ground. Since he hadn’t taken the time to put on any underwear after I’d called him for help in the Mist, he was now stark naked. The sight of his massive cock proudly erect as he prowled towards me with a predatory look had my core throbbing with anticipation. And yet, it wasn’t a shiver of excitement that coursed through me as I watched him approach.

“What is it, my love?” Zain asked as he closed in on me.

I instinctively backed away, but he continued his advance until my back met the wall, ending any further possibility of retreat. Zain invaded my personal space and leaned against the wall with his forearms on each side of my head, caging me. My pulse picked up, and my breathing became shallow from the growing fear and unease he was provoking in me. The excessive energy flowing through him had my skin erupting in goosebumps and my hair standing from all the static.

“Why do you fear me?” my man demanded in a dangerously low voice, almost menacing.

I shuddered, my palms finding their way to his chest as if to keep him at a distance, even though his face was already inches from mine.

“My… My brand hurts, and y-you don’t f-feel the same,” I stuttered.

How was I supposed to tell him that his ethereal aura that normally felt delightfully dangerous now had a slimy edge to it that reeked of Darryl? That it was both turning me off and freaking me out?

“It is normal,” Zain said in the same low voice that was definitely not giving me warm fuzzies. “I have absorbed a large amount of his lifeforce. His evil, malicious energy you feel will fade by morning. Undress, my love.”

The matter-of-fact way he said that, as if talking about the rain but in that creepy voice, was really making me want to get the fuck out of the room. I did not want to play naughty with him feeling that way.

I licked my lips nervously and forced myself to hold his gaze. “I don’t want to get naked with you right now. Not like this. Not when you… feel like him.”

There used to be a time when I would have simply given in for fear of upsetting my boyfriend, for fear he might get violent. But I’d buried that girl the day I’d buried Jared. I wasn’t going back to that. And I certainly didn’t want my intimate moments with the man I love soiled by the lingering presence of a monster.

I braced for how he would respond. To my shock, a satisfied smile stretched his lips. It still had that extremely dangerous edge he’d been sporting since leaving the training room, and yet it somehow soothed me.

“I’m not asking you to fuck, Naima,” he said with a predatory grin, deliberately needling me. “Although I’m always ready and willing… But I recall my woman saying she didn’t like going to bed with the filth of the day. Come shower with me. You can help me wash the stench of Darryl off me.”

Taken aback by the unexpected answer, I gaped at him for a second before smiling, relief washing over me.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I need that.”

Zain’s face softened ever so slightly, but not to the extent he normally used to. Something had changed in him. I wanted to believe this harder edge would fade with the slime of Darryl.

My man ended up doing most of the work undressing me. Despite a raging hard on that never abated, Zain was very clinical and gentle while doing so. He then led me to the shower where we mutually washed each other. Once again, it was tender and affectionate but in no way sexual.

When we finished, my man dried me then carried me to bed, both of us still naked—but then we always slept in our birthday suits. Zain turned off the light then, drawing me into his embrace, he kissed my forehead before closing his eyes.

Now that the fresh scent of soap had washed away some of Darryl’s presence, a part of me regretted that Zain hadn’t insisted. Yet, the minute I rested my head on his muscular chest, the exhaustion and high stress of the day crashed into me. I couldn’t even recall closing my eyes before sleep swept me away.

My man didn’t lure me into the Mist that night. I believed he, too, had needed a good night sleep to recover from his own ordeal and for his body to adjust to the insane amount of power that now bubbled within him.

I didn’t remember dreaming, only that my sleep had been extremely pleasant and rejuvenating. I emerged from my slumber to the plush lips of my man covering my face with soft kisses and his fingertips drawing fleeting patterns on my naked skin. My eyelids fluttered open, and my gaze rested on his gorgeous face. His green eyes bore into mine with an intensity that left me breathless. Zain still radiated with an incredible amount of power, but the stench of the Nightmare was gone.

His hand’s gentle caress along my arm and the curve of my shoulder became far less innocent. It slid down to my chest, fondling my right breast in a slow and sensual motion before flicking my nipple with his thumb. It then continued its journey south, the touch of his fingertips so light on my skin it almost tickled. They paused at my outie navel, teasing it before giving it a gentle pinch. I inhaled sharply, my lips parting and my breathing shortening as my mate’s hand slipped further down.

Zain’s green eyes darkened, and his pupils dilated in that way they always did whenever he was aroused. But there was something different this time that I couldn’t put into words. His gaze still locked with mine had me hypnotized. I shivered as two of his fingers gently traced the seam of my sex. The familiar heat of desire blossomed in the pit of my stomach.

“Do you love me, Naima?” Zain asked in an almost whispered voice.

“Yes,” I said with sincerity.

“Do you wish to spend the rest of your mortal life here with me, and afterwards eternity in the Mist by my side?” he asked.

My heart skipped a beat at the realization of where this was headed. I licked my lips nervously. The delicious torment of his full hand now rubbing my sex in a possessive fashion made it hard to concentrate.

“Yes, Zain, I do.”

He examined my features as if he was seeking confirmation that I truly meant it. I held his gaze unflinchingly. That night in the Mist when we had first made love, I had already known this would be for the long haul. The past few weeks had only confirmed it.

“Bind me to this world,” Zain whispered. Although he said it as a statement, it was a request. Despite its extreme subtlety, the underlying pleading tone was undeniable.

“Are you sure?” I asked, my eyes flicking between his.

It would slightly lessen some of his power, and with each passing day, he would increasingly become human, unless he continued to refresh his ethereal essence by spending a maximum amount of time in his realm during the three days of the Mist. It would also allow us to have children should we so choose at some point in the future.

“I am certain,” Zain said with a conviction that erased any hesitation I still felt.

I didn’t speak and merely lifted my head to kiss his lips. Zain’s response was immediate, commanding and possessive. My mate’s ability to go from zero to one thousand in a split second always turned me on. I gladly yielded to his dominance, my lips parting to welcome his invading tongue, and my legs as well to accommodate his venturing hand.

Zain slipped two fingers inside of me while his thumb rubbed my clit. I moaned against his mouth, and my own fingers found their way through the silky strands of his dark-brown hair. Breaking the kiss, my man’s mouth roamed over my face and along my jawline. It stopped for a brief moment by my right ear to suck on my earlobe. Zain nibbled at that sensitive spot just at the side of my neck near my nape, before pursuing his exploration. My man made love to my body with his hands and his mouth, before his expert tongue took over the exquisite torment to which his fingers had subjected my clit.

This time, however, Zain stopped just as I was about to topple over. I stared at him in disbelief as he straightened to climb on top of me. My words died in my throat at the feral look of lust on his face.

“You will come on my cock,” Zain commanded in a voice so filled with desire it sounded like a growl.

My man pushed himself inside of me, visibly struggling to keep himself under control. Even with us going at it like rabbits, he was still a tight fit and required some care when first penetrating me. Legs spread wide, I placed my hands on his ass, my nails digging into the round and firm globes, spurring him on. I would welcome a bit of extra pain just to have him deep within me, filling the void that ached for him.

The look of pure bliss on my man’s face when he finally was fully sheathed nearly undid me. Zain was an extremely sensual male. After all this time, his human body and nerve endings still remained very sensitive to the slightest touch or sensation. This was our first time without any barriers between us, and it was wrecking him.

The intensity of his pleasure seeping through our connection, radiated from the brand on my chest and throughout my body. Compounded by the feel of his thick cock filling me to the brim and stretching me to the fullest, each stroke fanned the flame raging inside me.

In no time, my man had me on the edge. Sensing my impending climax, Zain slightly shifted his thrusts and struck my sweet spot with deadly precision. I threw my head back and cried out as my orgasm slammed into me. I clawed at my man’s back, overwhelmed by the intensity of our combined pleasure. But that only seemed to trigger him.

Zain lifted one of my legs over his shoulder and pounded into me, the blunted tip of his cock zeroing in on my sweet spot with each movement. I thought my spine would split open from the violence of the third orgasm that ripped through me. This time, Zain roared my name in unison with my own cry of ecstasy. He slammed himself home. Buried deep within me, my lover held my hips in a bruising hold while his human seed and ethereal essence shot out inside of me. It felt like a river of liquid lava had been poured into my womb, setting me ablaze from within.

My man’s ethereal essence seeped into every tissue, every organ, sending electric sparks throughout my body as he bound himself to me. A maelstrom of pleasure-pain engulfed me, my fourth climax building up even as I still glided on the wings of the third one.

My body writhing beneath his sensual assault, my skin slick with sweat, and my nerves ending on fire, I lost count of how many times my man made me climb the highest peaks of ecstasy and filled me with his essence.

By the time he took mercy on me, I was a trembling puddle of bliss.

“We are bound for eternity, my mate,” Zain said, gathering me in his arms.

With my throat too sore from screaming so much, I didn’t verbally respond but tightened my hold around him with a possessiveness that spoke volumes.

And on my chest, the burning tingle of my brand, expanding to its final form, marked us as bound for life.