Page 92 of Wrecked By a Devil

I take his hand and he helps me off the sofa. “In that case, we’re having a hot bath.”

“Did you ever have a bath in your life?”

“What do you take me for?” He pretends to be offended. “Wait, are you calling me dirty?”

“Right now?” I study his body from head to toe, frowning at the smudges of dirt and blood on his pants and shirt. “You kinda are.”

He leads me into the large bathroom. There is a jacuzzi in the center. “Well, in that case, I guess you shouldn’t take a bath with me.”

“Wait,” I’m still struggling to process the large jacuzzi in front of me. I’ve never actually seen one in person.

“Yeah,” I nod, smiling. “Next time you need to be more specific so I can brace myself.”

“Hm,” he lets out an amused sound “If you want to back out, you still can.”

“Oh, I’m not backing out from a jacuzzi!”

“Good.” He turns from the jacuzzi to me. He gives me a playful look, but there is a lot more hidden behind it. His gaze heavy and full of emotions neither of us dares to name at loud.

I see the fear we both felt earlier tonight. The fear of losing each other. He might be great at hiding his feelings, but I’ve learned how to see through his mask.

Zeke hooks his finger on the hem of my shirt and takes it off in one elegant move, his eyes studying my skin to make sure I’m not hurt. Once my clothes are piled on the floor and he’s confirmed that there isn’t a single scratch on my body, a small smile spreads across his face.

“I’ll bring a bottle of wine,” he says. “And then I’ll join you.”

“Okay,” I nod, eager to get into the water.

It’s still hard to believe that Zeke has such an effect on me, knowing exactly what to say and what to do, to help me relax and feel better. While I still feel shaken up after everything that happened in the last two days, knowing that he’s by my side, protecting me and taking care of me, makes everything feel so much easier.

The water is warm against my skin as I sink into the large jacuzzi, relief washing over me as if the water is absorbing it. I lean back, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath when Zeke walks back in, carrying two glasses and a bottle of wine. I glance at him and notice that he got rid of his dirty clothes somewhere along the way

Zeke’s naked body is one of the things I will never be indifferent to, but even with the insane attraction I feel for him, tonight feels right just as it is and by the looks of it, Zeke is probably feeling the same way.

“I wish we could always be like this,” I let the words escape me as he joins me in the jacuzzi. I blush when his eyes meet mine. “I mean, together, safe and chilling. Not getting shot at and fighting crazy dudes!”

A warm laugh comes from Zeke. I’m reminded how he only lets his guard down like this with me.

“Me too,” He hands me my glass, his eyes never leaving mine. “To being alive and chilling.”

“To being alive and chilling,” I repeat as I take a sip of wine. It is exactly what I need in this moment and I close my eyes for a second, letting everything fall into place.

“Riley, I…” Zeke hesitates as he speaks and the sight of it is one of the most unusual things I’ve gotten to witness. He isn’t someone who struggles expressing their thoughts, mostly because he just doesn’t care if someone is going to take it the wrong way.

A shiver runs down my spine at the realization that whatever he’s trying to say must be something serious.

Is he going to dump me?

Maybe he feels like he has taken too much on, too fast. Or maybe he doesn’t want to create any potential danger for his business. Which, I am. The bad guys know he cares about me and they might try again to do what Devlin did tonight.

“How can you be so beautiful?” His eyes are beaming in the dim light and I realize how dumb I am to assume the worst when he’s been going above and beyond to make me feel comfortable. He reaches his hand, his thumb caressing my cheek.

“Did you hit your head?” I tease, leaning forward and pretending to look for signs of a concussion.

“I love you,” The words melt around my heart like honey in the sun. Or is it ice-cream in the sun? I can’t bring myself to think straight, my heart beating loud against my chest and my skin suddenly burning in the places where our bodies are touching.

“I love you, too.” As I say it, the weight gets lifted off my shoulders and I feel tears slide down my face.

The corner of Zeke’s mouth turns into a smile, as his hands cup my face and he leans forward to kiss me. My mind is going a hundred miles an hour, but as soon as his lips are on mine, soft, warm and desperate, I feel like I can breathe again. Like my world, my life, make sense again.