CHAPTER 218

ZION

I grip the backs of her thighs and lift her easily. 

She gasps and wraps her legs around my waist, her arms clinging to my shoulders. I carry her the short distance to the bed, never breaking contact, never taking my mouth off her skin.

She’s trembling. 

So am I.

I lower her to the mattress, slow and careful, like she’s the most fragile thing I’ve ever held. But inside, I’m burning.

Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper, laced with nerves.

“What if… someone hears us?”

I chuckle, dragging my mouth along the curve of her collarbone, savouring the way she shivers.

“I don’t really give a fuck.”

“Zion…” she breathes, like she’s trying to sound disapproving—but it only makes me want her more. 

The way she says my name… she doesn’t even realise how close I am to losing all control.

I pull back slightly, just enough to see her face, to watch her fall apart for me 

The corner of my mouth curled into a slow, wicked grin.

“Okay, fine,” I say, brushing a knuckle under her chin. 

“I’ll be quiet…”

My knuckle glides up the delicate line of her jaw, slow and teasing, like I’ve got all the time in the world to wreck her.

“…But it’s you I’m worried about.”

I dip in closer, my breath brushing her lips.
My voice drops, rough with heat.

“Because you’ll be screaming my name before you even know what hit you. Begging me to go deeper. Harder. To ruin you just the way you need... fuck, maybe even crying a little—because I won’t stop until you come undone all over me.”

Her breath stutters. 

Her eyes flutter shut for a second. And I don’t miss the way her thighs instinctively press together.

Fuck. She’s already halfway there—and I haven’t even started.

A blush blooms across her cheeks, the prettiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. 

She lets out a nervous little laugh, eyes darting down, then playfully swats at my arm.

“You’re so full of yourself.”

I catch her wrist easily, bringing her hand to my lips, holding her there like she’s mine.

“Maybe,” I whisper against her skin, letting her feel every word, 

“But it’s you who’ll be full of me soon.”

She lets out a tiny gasp, and her entire body goes still—eyes wide, lips parted, stunned. 

Then she flushes deeper, biting her bottom lip...

Fuck. 

She’s adorable.

So soft. 

So reactive.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Snowflake,” 

I whisper, watching the heat bloom in her cheeks. My fingers trace along her hip, slow, reverent, aching to touch all of her.

“And I’ve waited long enough.”

Tonight, she’s mine.

And I’ll make damn sure she never forgets it.

“Are you sure you still want this—want me?” 

I ask, my voice low, strained with the effort of keeping myself in check. 

Inside, I’m holding my breath, braced for impact—waiting for her to either break me apart or anchor me whole.

Her gaze doesn’t waver. 

She nods once, slow and certain, but that small motion isn’t enough. Not for what’s coming. 

Not for what I need to hear.

“Say it,” I murmur, stepping in closer, caging her in with the heat of my body. 

“Because once I touch you like that, there’s no stopping me. No turning back. I need to know you’re mine… completely.”

“Zion…” Her voice trembles with my name—like it costs her breath to say it.

My fingers trail up her arm, gentle, coaxing, but my eyes stay locked to hers. 

“I need to hear the words. All of them.”

She swallowed hard, eyes locked on mine like I was the only thing keeping her tethered.

“I want you,” she whispered. “All of you. I’m ready.”

Fuck.

A tremor ran down my spine. Every last shred of control I’d been clinging to nearly snapped in half.

I leaned in, pressing my forehead to hers, voice rough, low, and shaking with everything I was trying—failing—to hold back.

“A word of warning, Snowflake,” I growled, my lips brushing hers. 

“Once I start,” I breathed against her lips, my voice shaking with the force it took to stay still, “I won’t be able to stop. I need you to understand that, Winter.”

My hand cupped her face, but there was nothing soft about it—just trembling restraint.

“I can’t be gentle right now. I’ve waited too long, wanted you too fucking much. You’ve been under my skin, in my head, in my blood—and now that you’ve said yes…” I growled low in my throat. “There’s no going slow. No tenderness. I’m going to be rough, baby. I’m going to fuck you like I’ve dreamed of, like I’ve needed to, and I won’t stop until every inch of you screams that you’re mine.”

Her breath caught—sharp and shaky—but she didn’t move away. Didn’t hesitate.

“I don’t want gentle,” she whispered, voice almost breaking. “I want you. All of you. Even the parts you think I can’t handle.”

My eyes burned into hers, and I swore I could see my own madness reflected in that endless blue.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I said, barely holding on. “I’ll ruin you, Winter.”

“Then ruin me.”

My cock throbbed—hard and hungry. Those words in her shy, innocent voice? They undid me.

She gave the faintest smile that made my blood boil with need.

“That’s how you always are,” she murmured, eyes wide, honest. 

"Huh?"

“I figured you’d be…” she licked her lips, her cheeks flushed with heat,

“…rough. Wild. Hot. Like a storm I wouldn’t survive.”

I pressed my forehead to hers, swallowing a growl.

“No, baby,” I said darkly, my voice like gravel and smoke. 

“I’m not a storm,” I rasped, pressing my forehead to hers, my breath ragged. 

“I’m the fucking wildfire that’ll burn through your soul and brand you mine.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, her lips parting, cheeks flushed. 

Her fingers curled lightly around my wrist—barely a touch, but it grounded me.

Then she whispered, voice soft, trembling but sure,

“Then let me burn.”

Fuck. She had no idea what she was doing to me.

Or maybe she did.

Maybe she was figuring out just how deep she’d carved herself into me.

I stared at her like I could memorise every inch—those flushed cheeks, the soft curve of her lips, the way her chest rose and fell like her lungs couldn’t keep up with her racing heart.

Good.

Let her fall apart.

Because I was already coming undone for her.

“Careful,” I warned darkly, stepping closer, cupping her jaw with rough fingers. 

“You say things like that, and I’ll forget how delicate you are. I’ll forget everything but the need to bury myself inside you until you can’t think.”

She didn’t flinch. She leaned into my touch like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

And then, her voice broke the silence—breathy, trembling, but sure.

“Then forget,” she whispered.

“I don’t want soft. I don’t want you holding back. I want all of it. All of you.”

My breath caught—my heart slammed against my ribs.

God help me.

She was about to find out what it felt like to be completely, utterly owned.

My heart pounds against my ribs as her fingers curl into my shirt and she rises up, brushing her lips over mine in the lightest kiss.

But that single touch?

It’s a match dropped in gasoline.

And I’m done pretending I can hold back.

Slowly. 

Completely. 

I kiss her back, hard and lingering, my hands roaming her body, memorising every curve, every line. 

I pull back just enough to look down at her, my eyes searching hers for any hint of doubt, any flicker of fear. But all I see is a mirror of my own desire, a reflection of the need that’s consuming us both.

My hand drifts lower, to the warm space between her thighs, and she gasps, her body tensing just slightly as my fingers graze the delicate skin of her pussy. 

I pause—not to tease, but to watch her, to feel her, to memorise the exact second she begins to fall apart for me.

As my fingers slide through her folds—slow, deliberate—I can feel her heat, her wetness, her readiness. 

It’s a sensation that sends a shockwave through my body, a mix of primal need and tender care. 

Her mouth parts on a silent moan, her eyes fluttering closed as she surrenders to the sensation.

Fuck, she's so soft. 

So wet. 

So ready for me. 

The feeling of her, the way her body responds to my touch, is intoxicating. It’s a connection that goes beyond the physical, a bond that’s being forged in the heat of our desire.

I trace a featherlight circle over her clit, watching her breath stutter, her body arch the tiniest bit into my hand, seeking more. Her hips roll gently, a silent plea for pressure, for release. 

God, she’s so responsive. 

So damn perfect. 

I can feel the tension building in her, the way her body coils tighter with each touch, each kiss. 

It’s a sensation that’s both thrilling and terrifying, knowing that I’m the one who’s bringing her to this edge, who’s making her feel this way.

Her hands find my shoulders, her fingers digging into my skin, holding on as if I’m her anchor in this storm of sensation. 

I can feel the tension in her fingers, the way they grip me, the way they pull me closer. 

It’s a feeling that’s both grounding and exhilarating, knowing that she needs me as much as I need her.

I lean in, my lips capturing hers in a kiss that’s both tender and fierce, my tongue exploring her mouth with a hunger that matches the need pulsing between her thighs. 

I can taste her desire, can feel it in the way her body melds against mine, in the way her hands roam my back, pulling me closer.

This? 

This is just the beginning. 

The start of something that will consume us both, body and soul. And I’m ready to burn in the flames of her passion, to drown in the depths of her need. 

Because in this moment, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here, with her, lost in the heat of our desire.

Her head tipped back, lips parted, chest rising in ragged, shallow breaths. 

I watched, utterly transfixed, as her hips rolled against my hand—desperate and shameless, like her body couldn’t take one more second without being touched. 

She was unravelling beneath me, inch by inch. And fuck, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

She was so damn sensitive. So open. Every little moan, every twitch of her thighs, every shiver against my fingers—I drank it in like oxygen.

She was going to come for me. I could feel it.

And I wanted to taste every fucking second of it.

I gripped her thighs and pushed them wider, baring her completely. 

My mouth dropped to that perfect, glistening centre—and the second my tongue touched her, I lost what little control I had left.

She tasted like sin.

Sweet, hot, soaked through and made just for me. I licked deep, slow at first, savouring it. 

Then faster, rougher, letting my hunger take over. 

I kissed and sucked her like I’d die if I didn’t. Like she was the only thing that could save me. 

And fuck, maybe she was.

She cried out—high, breathless, wrecked.

My name tore from her lips like a plea. 

Or a prayer.

That was it.

Her whole body arched up, thighs trembling around my head, fingers twisting in the sheets as she came hard and fast. 

I held her down, devouring every last wave of it, refusing to let her go until she was shaking from it—ruined and mine.

I looked up.

And holy fuck.

She was wrecked. 

Chest heaving. Lips parted. Eyes glassy with pleasure.

Mine.

And I’d never be the same again.