Mortal Plane.
Chapter 13
Naima
I stood in front of my mirror, repeating positive affirmations to give myself the courage to go out and face Zain. The vivid images of the previous night kept replaying in a loop in my head. I could almost feel his hands on me again, the heat of his body, his hard length wrecking me as I begged for more.
I pressed my palms to my burning cheeks, mortified. Worse still, shame burned in my gut as every inch of me ached for more. I didn’t know that I could keep my hands to myself when I next saw him, especially since he would undoubtedly stake his claim the minute we met.
I’d been so stupid. Even now, as I tried to remind myself what arguments had convinced me to give in to my deepest and darkest desires, they now sounded hollow. I allowed myself to be convinced because I wanted to be, because of my unhealthy attraction to everything that was bad for me.
My intercom buzzed for the second time, startling me. Zain had good reasons to be impatient. Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the sink and forced myself to leave my room. On my way to Zain’s quarters, I passed a few agents who greeted me as they headed towards whatever duty called them. There was nothing different about their behavior, and yet, every stare felt like a condemnation, like everyone knew what sinful activity I had indulged in and was still craving.
So much for my immortal soul.
I found Zain sitting at the edge of his bed. His back stiff, his palms resting on his lap, he stared ahead with the stoicism of the Sphinx. He examined my features and my demeanor. The absence of any emotion or indication as to how he currently felt rivaled the most professional poker face. And yet, with a certainty I couldn’t explain, I knew beyond any doubt that Zain was seething inside.
“Good morning, Zain,” I said, proud that my voice came out friendly, revealing nothing of my inner turmoil.
“Naima,” he replied as sole greeting.
“Sorry for being late. I’m afraid I slept in,” I said sheepishly, hoping he’d attribute the trembling that had seeped into my voice to embarrassment and not fear.
“Understandable,” he replied on the same neutral note. “You’ve had a rather… eventful night.”
My face heated at the way he said eventful. Right this instant, I couldn’t be happier for my darker complexion that hid my blushing cheeks.
“Indeed,” I replied, nonetheless grateful by his discreet choice of words to describe what we both knew he was referring to. “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” he said, rising to his feet. “But I would appreciate you showing me the functioning of the electric razor again. I believe I may have started damaging it.”
“Of course,” I said, eager to get busy with anything that would end the awkwardness.
I made a beeline for the bathroom. However, as I reached for the drawer, my hand froze, a dark suspicion finally piercing through my foggy mind. My head jerked towards Zain, and my stomach dropped at the sight of the angry, hard expression on his face as he closed the bathroom door behind him. I straightened and opened my mouth to say… I didn’t even know what. But a frightened gasp escaped me instead as, moving with lightning speed, Zain pushed me against the wall. With one hand, he held both of my wrists pinned above my head while his hard body pressed against mine kept me trapped.
His free hand held my nape in a vise, forcing me to look up at him. Chest pounding, my breathing coming in quick, short bursts due to fear and—to my shame—sinful excitement, I stared at him with wary eyes.
“So, we’re back to the denial game, are we?” Zain snarled. “Do you regret what happened between us last night? Do you?”
I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, words failing me. I shouldn’t have slept with him. Not so soon, and definitely not before I knew him better or where the hell this whole Squad thing was headed. And yet, it would be a lie to say I regretted the most amazing night of my life.
“You can’t, because there is nothing to regret,” Zain hissed. “Your body knows we are meant to be. Your subconscious begged me for more, even as I was sending you back to sleep. Why are we back to this? I may not be able to read your mind in the Mortal Plane, but even now I