CHAPTER 212

**ZION**

I let the phone fall onto the bed like it had burned me. My lungs dragged in air like drowning, but it wasn’t helping. 

My chest felt tight, my blood too loud, and my body still throbbed with everything she’d just given me—and everything we didn’t get to finish.

I pressed my forehead to hers, harder than I should’ve, but I needed something real to hold on to. 

Something warm. 

Steady. 

Mine.

*Winter*.

Still beneath me, still trembling from everything we’d almost done. Breath shallow, skin flushed, lips parted from the way I’d just had my mouth on her.

Her skin burned through my fingertips, her scent thick in my lungs, her breath brushing my lips like a fucking drug I couldn’t stop chasing.

Fuck, she’d almost come undone for me—and I hadn’t even gotten to wreck her properly yet.

Fuck.

The timing was a sick, cosmic joke.

I was still hard. Painfully hard. 

My jeans stretched tight around me like a goddamn prison, and my skin still tingled from her touch—her soft moan still echoing in my head like a fucking drug. 

We’d been right there. 

Right on the edge of something I’d craved for years. 

Something I needed like air in my lungs and blood in my veins.

And then that message.

That fucking message.

I clenched my jaw, trying to reel myself back from the edge, to drag my thoughts away from the feel of her thighs wrapped around my hips and focus. 

But it was impossible. 

She was still right beneath me, eyes wide and searching mine, her chest rising with each shaky breath, and every damn part of me still wanted her.

Still wanted to claim her.

But now—now I couldn’t.

Because whoever that bastard was, they’d found a new way to fuck with us. 

To fuck with her.

I didn’t even know what the message said yet. 

Didn’t need to. 

Just the sound of Claire’s voice on the phone had told me everything.

This one was worse.

Darker. 

More threatening. 

The calm before a storm that was already brewing.

“Zion,” Winter whispered, her arms curling around my shoulders, pulling me back from the edge.

“What do you think it said?” she asked quietly, her breath brushing my jaw. 

I exhaled sharply, forehead still pressed to hers, eyes squeezed shut.

“I don’t know,” I muttered, voice raw.

“Fuck… I don’t know....”

My chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths. 

“We should go check…” she began, but her voice faltered, the words caught in her throat like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see it.

“Just—give me a minute,” I said, voice scraping low in my throat.

“One fucking minute before I have to let go of you and deal with whatever sick shit is waiting on that screen…” I growled.

My hands fisted in the sheets on either side of her head, trying to anchor myself. I was still hard—aching—because we’d been so close. Too damn close to something I wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“…Because if I stand up right now,” I bit out, voice thick with restraint, 

“My friends are gonna get a full display of just how fucking hard I am—and I’m pretty sure flashing my hard-on isn’t the kind of group message we want to send tonight."

Her lips parted in shock—maybe even a smile—but I didn’t let her speak. 

I shifted just enough to press my mouth to her jaw, then her temple, needing to touch her even if I couldn’t finish what we’d started.

“Fuck, Snowflake,” I whispered. 

“I’m so hard, I could probably put a nail through the goddamn door with my cock.”

She let out a breathy laugh—shaky, nervous—and it only made the fire in my chest burn hotter.

“But that message...” 

I hissed, locking eyes with her, my hands balling into fists like I needed to hold onto something solid.

“What the fuck did he write that’s got our friends all freaked out? I haven’t even read it yet, but I can feel it—something’s different this time. When I find him, Winter… I swear he’s going to regret ever thinking he could mess with us.”

Because the bastard didn’t just interrupt what I wanted.

He threatened her.

And that meant he’d already signed his fucking death sentence.

Once I had my hands on whoever was doing this? I had no clue what I’d do—but it wouldn’t be pretty. It’d be something they’d never forget.

Winter’s arms tightened around me, her voice barely more than a whisper, trembling with fear.

“We should... I mean, we need to see what he wrote...”

I swallowed hard, trying to slow my racing heart and quiet the chaos. 

“Just...just give me a minute,” I rasped, voice rough with everything I wasn’t saying. 

“Or my friends will get a full show of just how big I can be.”

Her breath hitched at my words, and I almost laughed—

“God, Zion… you’re impossible.”

Even in the chaos, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Damn right I’m impossible.”

I pulled her closer, my voice low and rough.

"Gotta keep things interesting, right?”

Winter let out a soft sigh and began to shift beneath me, as if she was about to sit up—to break the moment—and I cut her off sharp.

My hand slammed down hard on her shoulder, pinning her to the mattress.

“Don’t,” 

I breathed out, voice rough and low, edged with something raw and urgent.

“Not yet. Stay right there.”

Her brow furrowed, as she looked up at me, all flushed skin and parted lips. 

The sight of her like that—under me, waiting, wanting—sent a surge of heat racing down my spine.

I dipped my head and crushed my mouth to hers.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet.

It was furious. 

Possessive. 

Hungry.

A kiss that tasted like frustration, obsession, and all the things I couldn’t say without fucking ruining her. 

My tongue slid against hers, exploring every inch, claiming her. She moaned softly into my mouth, arching up instinctively. 

Fuck, it took everything I had not to pin her down and lose myself completely. I kissed her like it was the last time I’d ever get to—like if I stopped now, I’d never touch her again.

Her hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, deeper. I felt her heartbeat against my chest, wild and fast, syncing with my own.

She managed to whisper my name

—“Zion...”—

I stopped.

But the craving didn’t fade. 

I dragged my lips down to her neck, breathing her in deep, refusing to let go. Her scent was a damn drug—vanilla with something only hers—and I could feel her pulse spike beneath my mouth. 

It took everything not to bite down.

“Fuck,” I hissed, dragging my hand down my face like I could scrub the need out of my skin. 

“Fucking fuck, Snowflake.”

Winter pulled back just enough, her voice a fragile, breathy whisper.

"Messagee remember?”

Her words hung heavy between us—a cruel reminder that the world outside still existed, even if none of it mattered when I was with her.

Fuck.

I closed my eyes, pretending to steady myself. 

Yeah, right.

I stood slowly, reaching down and grabbing her wrist before she could recover, yanking her to her feet like I couldn’t bear to leave her behind even for a second.

“You make me crazy,” 

I muttered under my breath. 

“I was one second away from having you, and now we’re hunting some sick bastard who wants to scare you out of your own skin.”

I didn’t look back as I pulled her toward the hallway, jaw clenched, vision narrowed to a razor’s edge.

But in my head?

That kiss was still burning.

And so was the fury building in my chest.

Whoever sent that message was about to learn exactly how far I’d go for her.

And just how dangerous it was to interrupt me when I was about to make love to the only girl I’ve ever wanted.

...

Winter walked beside me, her bare feet barely making a sound against the hardwood floor. 

Her fingers tightened around mine, but her voice dropped even lower, trembling with guilt.

“I feel terrible,” she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper. 

“Because of me… everyone’s still awake when they should be sleeping.....”

“Even you,” she said quietly, voice heavy with guilt. 

“You’re tense, on edge… all because of me.”

She swallowed hard,

“I’m such a mess, Zion. I’ve wrecked what should’ve been a perfect night... You’d be better off walking away now, before it gets any worse.”

I stopped and spun her around, pressing her hard against the wall. 

Her back hit the cold surface, and her eyes flickered up to mine—wide, uncertain.

"What the fuck Snowflake! You really think I’d just walk away now?" 

I stepped closer, pressing into her. 

“Listen to me. Listen very carefully,” I said, my breath hot against her face.

“You’re not a mess. You’re mine. And I don’t give a damn how messy this gets—I’m not going anywhere.”

I crashed one hand against the wall beside her head, the other locking tight around her waist, dragging her flush against me. 

My grip was unyielding—possessive—as I leaned in, so close our foreheads nearly touched, my voice a low growl. 

“Fuck, Snowflake, how could you even say that?”

Her eyes dropped, like she wanted to disappear, but that only made my blood boil harder—not at her, but at the voice inside her head telling her she’s not worth it.

“When things are good, I’ll be there. When things go to shit? I’ll be there faster than you can blink.”

She started to speak, but I slammed a finger over her lips before she could get a word out.

“Don’t you dare talk like that again. Ever. Those friends waiting up? They don’t do it out of pity—they care. And me? I told you. I fucking love you.”

She murmured something small, guilty, barely a breath.

I tightened my grip just a little.

I crushed my lips to hers—hard, possessive, claiming—because I wanted her, and no darkness could stop that.

Her hands pressed hard against my chest, fingers digging in, and when that low moan slipped from her lips, I damn near lost it. 

She was already pinned against the wall, and all I wanted was to claim her then and there—no more waiting, no more holding back.

But fuck.

There was still a stalker to deal with.

But I would have her.

Snowflake in the elevator.

Snowflake in the kitchen.

Snowflake in the pool.

Snowflake everywhere I could think of.

That was the plan.

But first? 

The bastard sending those messages had to go.

And I wasn’t waiting anymore.