The Nightmare (The Mist #2) - Regine Abel Page 0,76
to you, Naima,” Zain said in a broken voice. “I cannot make you happy. You no longer want what I was made to offer, and I am too weak to accomplish what you need from me. I cannot beat Darryl. He is ten times more powerful than Tobin was, and I barely survived that. Each passing day, he grows stronger while I stagnate. Unless I can freely hunt humans, I will never catch up to him. And you will never allow it. Even with all the training in the world, I will at best weaken him. In the end, he will still obliterate me. I have nothing to offer you, Naima. You are my life, my sole reason to exist. But what is my life worth if I am of no use to you?”
“You think I’m going to leave you!” I whispered, flabbergasted.
“Aren’t you?” he said with a painful resignation.
“No, I’m not,” I said with conviction before cupping his face in my hands. “That is not how relationships work. I didn’t agree to be your woman in exchange for you saving my people. My affection is not for sale. I’m not a whore.”
Zain recoiled in shock and horror, realizing what his fears involuntarily implied.
“Naima, I never meant—”
“I know,” I interrupted, pressing my thumbs to his lips. “I know you didn’t mean it that way. But that’s exactly what it implies when you think that my feelings for you are merely linked to your ability to kill monsters. So, you need to stop thinking that. Yes, I am beyond grateful that you are able to help us, but that’s not the reason I consented to be your woman. It was your arguments in the Mist that convinced me.”
I scooted closer to him on the couch and slowly traced his noble features with my fingertips.
“The superficial part of me may be drooling over that drop dead gorgeous, godly body of yours, but it’s the predator in you that turned me on. I love the sense of danger around you. As much as it unnerves me, it tickles me in all the right places to see that evil smile of yours. The malicious glimmer in your eyes when you are thinking of all the atrocious things you would do to those you consider prey turns me upside down. I’ve always wanted a wickedly bad boy. You make me feel weak and vulnerable every time you look at me with that hungry, feral expression. And when you hold my neck and squeeze, I feel faint and like my heart is going to beat out of my chest, because I know you could snap it like a twig without breaking a sweat. And yet, I fucking love every single one of those things because I know you will never harm me or perform those acts except in order to protect me.”
Letting go of his face, I slipped my hands in his. Mine looked so small and fragile in comparison.
“I have searched my entire life for a man who would make me feel alive, who would give me the thrill and the adrenaline rush that I seek while also keeping me safe,” I continued, my eyes flicking between his. “Someone who I can trust with my heart and soul, and who would never betray me. Like you said, you are not my Nightmare, Zain. You are my Darkest Desire. With you, I can be who I want to be without shame and without fear. This is why I belong to you, and why you belong to me. Darryl, the Fourth Division, and the rest of the world have nothing to do with us. The one thing that would make me leave you is you betraying my trust by hurting me for your own pleasure.”
“That will never happen,” Zain said with a slight trembling in his voice.
“I know. So, unless you find some other fucked up way to drive me away, then it looks like you’re going to be stuck with me, forever,” I said with a quivering in my own voice.
He stared at me with a look of such wonder, you’d think an angel had appeared before him.
“My mate,” Zain whispered before drawing me into his embrace and capturing my lips in a kiss filled with such tenderness and devotion, I just melted against him.
My lips parted, surrendering to his tongue’s imperious demand for access. I loved the dominant and possessive way in which Zain kissed and touched me. The greed and impatience of his hands