Chapter 57

Chapter Fifty-Seven

ZANE

In one of Grey's lectures, we read a poem called ‘ Fire' . I barely passed the quiz for that assignment, but I do remember the three last lines of the poem.

Our eyes met in the blazing sun

Fire burned, lightning flashed

Time ceased

I get it now.

How the poet felt when he wrote that. What he saw.

The fire.

The lightning.

Time… broken.

Because right now, everything in the world is fading out except for Grey's presence.

Looking at her—my favorite person in my favorite place—I wish I was a different kind of artist. Wish I could paint a picture or snap a photo that would do her justice.

I'm mesmerized by the way the sunset glows on her skin, turning her into a goddess of light. The way the breeze makes her curls dance. The way her lips tip up as if she expected me. As if she'd been waiting for me to show.

"I'm not going to ask how you found me," Grey says softly.

"I'm not going to ask why you didn't call."

One shoulder lifts in a tired shrug. "I'm surprised I remembered how to get here."

"I'm surprised you got here before me." I stand behind her.

Her eyes meet mine, tired and tortured. "Zane."

"I know."

"You, your dad, and Finn , he's… it's all..."

"I know." My heart wobbles like a snare stand without it's legs. I slip an arm around her, suddenly fearful when—all my life, I feared nothing. "You shouldn't sit on the edge."

That brings out a tiny smile to her dark lips. "Seriously?"

"What if you fall?" I worry.

"What if I sit here and prove that I'm not afraid of falling?" Her eyes, fired up with determination, search mine. "What if I sit here and show you I'm not afraid of falling with you?"

My gaze snaps up to hers. I know what she's saying, but it's not enough to distract me from the very real threat of her slipping off the cliff.

"You're too valuable to me, tiger. You're too precious to fall. This stupid cliff can have me, but it can't have you. So step away from the edge, please before I have a heart attack."

Grey smiles. "Zane Cross is actually afraid of something?"

"Laugh all you want, but ‘safe' is starting to feel really sexy to me."

She allows me to help her stand. I lead her closer to my motorbike, far from the edge. There's a blanket in my storage under the seat, stashed there from when I'd planned to take Grey for a picnic.

I kneel on the blanket first to make sure there aren't any pointy rocks that'll hurt Grey when she sits down. As I'm patting around, she laughs.

"What's so funny?" I ask, leading her to sit beside me.

"You."

"Me?"

"I was exhausted when I got here. I mean, a bone-deep, mind-numbing exhaustion. But it's like you gave me all your energy and now I could run a mile."

"You want to go for a run?" I slide my gaze down the length of her body to her heels. They're black and sexy, wrapping around her ankles the way I want her legs wrapped around my waist.

She makes a face. "I meant that figuratively."

I know, but the more I tease her, the less tired she seems.

"Go ahead. Take more of my energy." I wave my arms like I'm gathering up the wind. "Is that enough?"

She leans over and frames my face with her small hands. My heart drums against my chest as her sweet scent envelops me. I'd missed the smell of her while she was gone. I even went hunting for the sweatshirt that she wore and threw a fit when I found out Martina washed it.

"I know what you're doing," she says.

"What am I doing?"

"You're trying to make me smile."

"Is it working?"

She looks at me, a solemn expression on her face.

"I guess not?—"

Her lips brush mine, cutting off my words. Her eyes flutter shut and they stay shut even when she pulls back. Our breaths mingle as the sun takes its last breath and sends brilliant colors surging across the sky.

"Thank you," she tells me.

"For what?"

"Being more obsessed with my happiness than I am."

All the breath in my body leaves. Grey just put her heart in my hands, and the weight of it takes me by surprise.

I'm not an emotional guy, but tears are springing to my eyes. I kiss her softly before she sees that she made me cry.

Her lips move against mine, soft and pliable. I angle her head to dial up the intensity and feel a stirring in my lower stomach.

The kiss is perfect.

She is perfect.

Caressing tenderly, I slide one hand down her neck and with the other I trail her spine. Lowering her until she's flat on the blanket, I look down at her. Neither of us move as we take each other in.

Damn, I love this woman. I could get lost in the little details of her face. Like the endless chocolate pools of her eyes, the honey rings right outside of her irises, the little moles that make a heart-shape on her cheek.

Grey gives me a mischievous little look and I know I'm in trouble.

"What are you thinking?" she asks.

"That you're beautiful."

"So are you."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Your eyes are terrifyingly blue."

I smile. "You're making this difficult, Grey."

"What?"

"I told myself to take things slow, to not overwhelm you," I admit.

She blinks heavily.

"But I can't do it. I barely survived without you." I brush the scar on her forehead. "I thought I would die."

She laughs.

"I'm serious."

"I know. I like that you're dramatic."

"Dramatic? That doesn't sound like a compliment."

"Expressive, then."

"Better."

Her smile slowly fades as she runs her fingers through my hair. It feels amazing.

"I missed you too," she admits.

My hand glides down her ribcage. I know her body like the back of my hand and something's different.

"Why do you feel so thin? Were you eating? Are you hungry?"

"Zane." Her tone and expression are serious. "Finn told me everything. About the boxes. Making a deal with the yakuza. Working with your dad. All for me. Skipping a few meals does not compare to what you did. If anyone needs to be worried right now, it's not you."

"What I did is nothing." I shrug.

"Nothing? Forget how dangerous it is to work with the yakuza. I know how much you hate your dad . "

"I'd be dad's underling for the rest of my life if I had to."

She gives me a stunned look.

And I take it personally.

Rolling on top of her, I press both hands on either side of her head. She immediately elevates her hips and rubs her body against me, sending white-hot flames straight to my pants. I seize the access she's granting me, pushing back so deeply that a low groan tears out of my throat.

"Zane," she whispers, scrubbing her hands down my chest.

I capture one of her hands and kiss it. "I need you to understand something, tiger. You are everything to me. I'd do anything you tell me to. I'd go anywhere you send me. I'd burn the world for you if you only gave the command."

She looks away.

I grip her chin firmly and turn her face back to me. "You don't believe me?"

She doesn't answer.

"Say it," I growl.

Her breath hitches and she presses her soft hands into my back, pulling my hips down to hers. The friction almost kills me.

Lifting her head, she sucks at my lips. My instincts kick in and I part her mouth, sliding my tongue against hers and feeling the heat of desire snap through my veins. It's like an inferno. Like we made our bed in the depths of a volcano.

Damn, she's going to be the death of me.

With all my strength, I disengage my lips from hers. "Tiger."

She slides her hands up the breadth of my back to wrap around my neck. Letting her luscious bottom lip bounce against mine, she breathes, "Yes?"

My body spasms at her soft, sultry tone.

All I want to do is plunge inside her, but this is now a battle of wills. And I hate losing.

Taking my time, I slip my hand under her shirt and find the spot I know will make her gasp. When she releases that little whimper I love, my entire world tilts to the side and my body demands I take her immediately.

I let out a growl that has her trembling instead.

Slowing my caress, I stare into her eyes. "Say. The. Words."

"I… I can't." She digs her fingers into my neck.

Roughly, I push her shirt up and drag my mouth over her. Then I unzip her pants and yank them down to her ankles. Sliding my hands up her thighs, I demand, "Why not?"

She whimpers as I rub circles on her trembling skin.

"Grey."

She touches my hand, staring into my eyes with a promise. "Because it's too one-sided." She gives me a look that's both brave and terrified. Determined and insistent. "I'll go where you go. I'll do what you do. If the world needs to burn, we burn it together."

I stop and look at her.

She looks back at me, a wrinkle between her eyebrows. "I'll burn the world for you too, Zane. That's what I've decided."

This woman has me completely under her spell, and I can't hold back when I fall into her. Our clothes flutter away, flapping in the air like flocks of birds flying home for the night.

I toss her shoes and hear one rattle off the mountain. But Grey doesn't mourn the loss because her groans of pleasure soon make their own journey off the edge of the cliff.

Her fingernails dig into my skin, urging me on. Then her fingers tug at the hair at the back of my neck, driving a deep, gravelly moan of appreciation from me.

We're so different, her and I.

Even the way we collide.

Grey's touch burns.

Mine destroys.

Her tongue dances.

Mine plunders.

And yet, we fit so perfectly, as if we were made for each other.

All around us, the shadows grow long. Where there was light, now there's a deep, consuming night. The stars twinkle overhead and the black sky spreads over the vastness of the valley.

As the shadows shift, I discover a whole new world in the darkness the light left behind.

Grey's body hums for me, receptive to every drag of my tongue, every sweep of my fingers, every press of my teeth.

She is decadent, a luscious oasis that unfurls layer by layer.

I take my time.

No need to rush.

And yet she begs, thrashes her hips, meets every thrust.

She's on the brink fast and I keep her there, reacquainting myself with all her perfect, sensitive spots until I decide she's had enough of the torture.

Covered in sweat and shaking, Grey screams my name until the sky, the clouds, and the barren sand all know whom she belongs to.

And I don't stop.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

I brand it into her with every kiss, every touch, every incendiary pulse.

"I love you," I say, my voice thick with desire as I feel her winding up.

She gurgles out something I'm sure means the same and then I kiss her, tasting her release and diving right under the currents with her.

The wind rushing through the trees applaud.

The moon is our spotlight.

Forbidden or not, our fates are written in the stars.

Grace Elizabeth Jamieson is now and forever mine.