Zayn’s lips crashed into hers, desperate and hungry like years of restraint had finally snapped. She whimpered against his mouth, her hands sliding up his chest, feeling the hard lines of muscle beneath his t-shirt.

  “God, Kay…” he groaned, pulling her fully into his lap, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other gripping her hip like he couldn’t believe this was real.

  Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, the blanket forgotten on the floor. His lips moved to her neck, hot and open-mouthed kisses trailing down the soft skin that had once been off-limits. Now? It was his to taste.

  “I shouldn’t want this,” he rasped, his voice rough in her ear, “but I do. I want you so bad, it’s driving me f***ing insane.”

  Kay arched into him, breathless, nails digging into his shoulder blades. “Then stop pretending.”

  That did it.

  He stood in one fluid motion, carrying her against his chest. She gasped, clutching his shirt, heart pounding so loud she swore he could hear it. He walked them straight to the guest room—his temporary room—shutting the door with his foot

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  The second they hit the bed, it was chaos. Tongues, teeth, hands—everywhere. His shirt came off first. She paused to look at him, chest heaving, sweat glistening on that chiseled body she used to secretly peek at by the beach.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, breathing hard.

  “Because… you’re beautiful,” she whispered, palms flat against his abs.

  Zayn growled low in his throat, flipping her onto her back and settling between her legs. “No one’s ever going to touch you again after this. You hear me?”

  Her lips trembled. “Okay.”

  His kisses grew slower then, deeper. He worshipped every inch of her—her soft curves, her cinnamon skin, the stretch marks on her thighs. She felt seen, wanted, desired in a way no one ever made her feel.

  She wasn't his type.

  But tonight, she was everything.

  He positioned himself between her thighs, his body a perfect blend of power and reverence. “I’ll never hurt you,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “But I won’t hold back either."

  Then, with a slow, deep thrust, he claimed her—not just her body, but her soul.

  She gasped, legs wrapping around his waist, as he moved inside her with a rhythm that was primal and reverent all at once. Every stroke, every kiss, every whispered word branded her his. Their hearts pounded in sync, their breaths tangled, and in that moment, time itself seemed to still.

  Her body trembled beneath his as they both shattered, lost in the heat, in the magic, in each other.

  Afterward, they lay tangled in silence, his fingers stroking her hip, her cheek pressed against his chest

  Kay whispered, “What happens now?”

  Zayn didn’t answer right away.

  Because for the first time… he had no idea.