Page 189 of Celestial Combat

“I can’t do this.”

“Kali.” A little firmer. Closer.

“No,” I said, standing up. “I can’t be around you right now.”

I turned and walked away. My knees barely held me as I crossed the plush carpeting to the bedroom at the back of the jet. My hand shook as I reached for the handle, but I didn’t stop.

I stepped inside, heart pounding, skin burning with emotion I didn’t know how to name, and shut the door.

Locked it.

The click echoed louder than the engines.

I woke up to the low, steady hum of the jet engines – soft and distant. The bedroom was dark, almost pitch black, shadows layered over shadows. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.

Then I felt it.

An arm wrapping around me. Heavy. Big. Strong. Familiar. Warm.

“Zane–” I breathed, voice raspy from sleep. My pulse jumped.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, his body shifted closer, and his arm slipped beneath me – wedging under the mattress and lifting me just slightly so he could thread his arm under my body, his forearm pushing my breasts up.

“Zane,” I said again, sharper this time. But he didn’t respond.

I brought my hands up, nails digging into the unyielding muscle of his forearm. I clawed at him, panic flaring through my chest, but his hold didn’t budge. It was like trying break a steel bar.

Still, he said nothing. Just laid there behind me like it was the most natural thing in the world, pulling me closer still and burring his face into my hair.

His other arm snaked around my waist. Slowly. Deliberately. I felt the warmth of his palm press flat against my lower stomach, fingers splayed, possessive. He pulled me back into him – into the cage of his arms, into the heat of his body…

And I could feel every part of him. Solid and unapologetic.

I laid there, frozen, breath caught in my throat, as the weight of him settled over me like a second skin.

And the scariest part was… I didn’t pull away.

“You pointed a gun at my brother,” I whispered, my voice raw in the darkness. “You promised me it would never come to that–”

“It wasn’t loaded.”

I froze.

The words settled between us like ash in the air – quiet but heavy.

Zane’s voice was low, steady. “It was never loaded. I love you, baby. I would never do that to you.”

I sighed with relief, though still didn’t turn around.

“And Trevor?” I asked.

A pause.

“I knew you’d never forgive me.”

My chest tightened. “Is that the only reason?”