not exactly news, Dare." His face dipped, his nose brushing a teasing line down the side of my neck that made my nipples tighten painfully and my body sway into his.
I swallowed, fighting for some brain power. "I thought you didn't like the look in my eyes when we're together." Oh wow. If there was any question whether I was attracted to Zed, the raw sex and longing in my voice would have sealed the deal.
He straightened up enough to meet my eyes as one of his hands cupped the back of my neck and his thumb tilted my chin up. "I don’t," he agreed. "But you know what I hate more?"
I had a fair idea, yes. But for the sake of flirty banter, I played the game. "What?"
"I hate not being able to touch you." The pain in his eyes was almost enough to make me crumple. But it wasn't as simple as just my own stubborn bullheadedness holding me back. It was all my shitty, toxic baggage.
So I forced a lighter tone as I replied. "You're touching me right now, Zed."
My attempt at a joke fell flat as his gaze hardened. "Not the way I want to touch you, Dare. Not the way I've been... Fuck. Not the way I've been literally dreaming about for goddamn years."
I bit the inside of my cheek, totally at war with myself on what to do next. But even as strictly disciplined as I kept my emotions, my tongue was one thing I couldn't seem to control around Zed. Not when he looked at me the way he was.
"So show me," I told him in a low whisper. "Show me how you really want to touch me, Zed."
He drew a shuddering breath, his eyes flashing with uncertainty like he was questioning whether he'd imagined that request.
So I said it again, despite the fear gnawing at my stomach. "Show me, Zed, or quit your fucking moping."
That snapped something in him. One second we were standing in the middle of the room, and the next I was against the wall with the light switch digging into my bare back. Zed kissed me with savage intensity, his thrusting tongue parting my lips and destroying my soul. I melted under his touch, my body curving into his like we were magnetized, and heat flushed through my lips as his hands explored my body.
He paused when his fingers brushed over my inner thigh, though, like he was second-guessing how far my challenge really extended.
In a desperate effort to run from the nightmares in my mind, I tilted my hips, encouraging him, as I bit his lower lip a fraction harder than playful.
Zed groaned, and his fingers slid inside me with startling ease. Really, though, I shouldn't have been so surprised. Zed had been getting my panties wet a long damn time before I’d even admitted I was crushing on him.
"Holy fuck," he breathed against my kisses. "Dare..." He pumped his hand, fucking me with his thick fingers as I quivered and squirmed, my arms banded around his neck.
I kept kissing him, trying with all my strength to keep myself here, in the moment. With Zed and no one else. But the sound of something breaking downstairs made me flinch a hundred times harder than I ever would have normally, and Zed froze.
Then he peeled my hands away from his neck and gripped my face between his palms, forcing me to meet his eyes.
I swallowed back the frustration and fear, knowing and hating the fact that he could see it all. He could see how not okay I was... how fucked up I still was. And how deeply intertwined he was with those awful memories and emotions.
After a long, tense moment, he kissed me ever so gently on the lips, then stepped away.
"I'll go see what Lucas broke," he said in a rough, pained voice. Then he left the room without another glance, and I slid down the wall until my butt hit the carpet.
I'd fucked up. Again. This time I might have even pushed things too damn far to recover from, and I had no one to blame but myself. So I only allowed myself a hot second to wallow in self-pity before pulling my shield back around myself.
When I pushed back to my feet and went in search of clothes, I wore my Hades identity like a forcefield. Nothing and no one could penetrate it. Not unless I let them. So the solution seemed simple: just