Chapter Six: Awake Together
758 Words
Freya could not sleep.
She lay on one side of the hotel bed, blankets tangled around her legs, heart pounding in a rhythm that refused to slow. Across the room, Zev’s door remained closed, but she knew he was awake. She could feel him through the wall, through the floor, through the very air that clung to her skin.
The bond pulsed quietly but insistently, a thread of heat tugging her attention toward him. She pressed her palms to her eyes and tried to breathe. It was impossible.
A knock at the door startled her, sharp against the quiet.
It was him.
She froze.
May I come in, he asked softly.
No, she whispered. I need distance.
His voice carried without the barrier. You do not need to resist. Not tonight.
Her pulse betrayed her. She swung the door open a c***k, enough to see him. His eyes glimmered in the soft light, dark and intense. His posture was careful. Respectful. Yet the pull was undeniable.
I will sit outside, he said. I will not cross the line.
She nodded, heart thundering. Fine.
Minutes passed like hours. The wind rattled the windows. Snow drifted silently past the city lights. Freya tried to read, tried to focus on her phone, tried anything to distract from the ache that burned through her chest. Every time she inhaled, she felt him. Every exhale carried him closer.
Finally, unable to stand it, she moved to the window, staring at the city below. The glow of streetlamps blurred into gold ribbons in the snow. Her body trembled with longing she refused to name.
The door opened quietly behind her. Zev stepped in, hands relaxed at his sides, presence heavy but controlled. He did not approach immediately. He did not need to. The air around him pressed against her skin, warming, demanding.
I should not be here, she said, voice tight.
I am here because you are awake, he said. Because the bond is awake. And because it will not allow you to suffer alone.
She whirled, fingers clenching. You do not understand.
I do, he said calmly. I know exactly what this means for you.
His gaze softened in a way that made her knees weak. The heat was no longer just in her chest. It had pooled low in her belly, spreading, relentless.
She took a step back, but her back met the wall. He had closed the distance without moving far, his presence a tidal force she could not resist.
This is insane, she whispered. I should not be feeling this. I should not be wanting…
Do you want me, he asked quietly.
The words pierced her. Yes, she wanted to scream, yes, she wanted to deny, yes, she wanted to fall into him without thought. Her body ached with need she could not hide.
I do, she admitted finally, voice trembling.
His eyes darkened with something that was not quite restraint. Not quite hunger. The line between the two blurred dangerously. He stepped closer, a hand lifting slowly, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. Her skin tingled under his touch.
I will not take more than you give, he said. I will wait.
She shook her head, breath catching. I cannot. I cannot wait.
His lips hovered near hers, close enough that the heat of his breath mingled with hers. Every nerve in her body burned. Every instinct screamed yes.
She closed the distance. Their lips met in a tentative press, slow at first, testing, tasting. Desire roared behind the restraint. She moaned softly into him, a sound she could not control, a sound that made him grow impossibly closer.
Hands slid along her waist, her arms wrapped around his neck. Every second stretched taut with need and hesitation, a delicious tension neither wanted to break but neither could resist.
The kiss deepened, fierce and slow, pulling heat and longing through every inch of her. Her body pressed fully against his. She could feel the steady pull of the bond now, strong, undeniable, claiming space that was hers and his alone.
They broke apart just slightly, foreheads resting together, breaths mingling.
You do not know what you have done, she whispered.
Neither do you, he said softly.
The room seemed smaller. The night stretched on endlessly. Outside, snow drifted down, silent witnesses to the awakening of something older, wilder, and utterly consuming.
Freya shivered, a mixture of cold and heat running through her. The bond was awake. Desire had spoken. And nothing could ever be the same.
- Writer
