Chapter 82: Close

~ ZEV ~

Holding Sasha in the moonlight, inhaling her scent, soaking up her warmth, Zev's mind quieted in a way it hadn't in years. The worries and pressures of events, his fears for the coming days, even his hopes… everything sank to a tiny buzz in the back of his mind, a gnat to be ignored.

She was here. And she was holding onto him like she was afraid he would disappear. Stroking her hair, trailing his hands down her back, he shifted so they were pressed together from her knees to point where he'd tucked her head under his chin.

But the longer they stood that way, the more aware of her he became—his skin prickling, pebbling at the slightest shift between them just from breathing. He felt her on every inch of him, and his body woke up under her hands.