Bound to You

When Eliza woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find Zack still laying beside her on the mattress, his body covered only up to his waist with the sheet. It was the first time she’d really had an opportunity to look at him in great detail, so she took it and looked at him.

Tattoos covered most of his skin, colorful designs splashed on his pale white skin, contrasting beautifully. The tendons of his muscles flexed every so often as he would shift in his sleep; he sure didn’t sleep like the dead, for a vampire. Eliza then let her gaze drift to his face, for the first time really studying what he looked like. She’d known he was amazingly handsome, but now that she looked at him up close, Eliza realized that he was drop-dead gorgeous. His dark hair was shaggy on his head, stylishly messy against his skull. His eyes, which she knew to be a unique shade of green that she’d never seen before, were closed, letting Eliza see the softness of his features. He looked so different from the man she was used to seeing him be. In his sleep, Zack looked more like an angel than a vampire.

“Are you done checking me out now so I can go to the bathroom?” His voice interrupted her thoughts, causing a blush to take over her skin and avert her gaze away from him.

“I wasn’t checking you out.” She told him, trying to keep her tone even. “And why are you asking me? Aren’t you the captor here?”

Zack chuckled, and shifted on the mattress, the blanket falling a few inches off of his hips, exposing the tops of his silky black boxers. Eliza felt her gaze drifting lower almost automatically. A trail of soft downy hair blazed down his lower abdomen, leading into the folds of his boxers. Eliza’s tongue darted out over her lips quickly as she briefly thought about what lay beneath the small piece of fabric before she switched her train of thought, not wanting Zack to hear them. Apparently, he already had.

“If you’re not checking me out, then you’re coming on to me.” He told her, his voice husky with the last remainder of sleep, the crust still in the corners of his eyes. He pulled her body closer to his, and Eliza’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt their chests touch against one another.

“I’m…I’m not coming on to you.” Eliza coughed, putting her hands gently against his biceps as she tried to push herself away from him. She found that whenever he was touching her, it was incredibly difficult for her to keep her mind away from the proverbial gutter; a fact that she didn’t want to let Zack in on.

“So which is it, then?” He murmured quietly, his lips now breathing a ghost of air on her ear, causing shivers to travel down her spine involuntarily. Zack felt her shudder against him, and smirked, his lips now against her cheek.

“Neither.” Eliza insisted. There was no way in hell she was going to give in to him. He could have everything else, but she refused to give away her pride. It was all she had left now, and she wouldn’t let him take it without a fight.

“Oh?” He asked her, his voice joking as he moved the fingers of one hand up the tank top, tracing patterns on the bare skin of her back. He managed to illicit a small moan out of her, and leaned up so that she could clearly see his face. Instead of the cocky, arrogant smirk Eliza expected to see splashed across his face, she saw instead a look of smoldering lust that promised them both things that she’d only ever imagined could exist between a man and woman.

Without another word from either one of them, Zack lowered his mouth against Eliza’s, moving slowly with her instead of ambushing her with the lust she knew he possessed.

Oh, my God, this feels so right, Eliza heard the voice in the back of her mind saying. She realized now that she couldn’t argue with herself.

For some reason, this did feel right; more right than it ever had with anyone else before. The sheets on the bed rustled lightly as Zack moved, his body now covering hers on the bed as he positioned his legs between her knees, spreading them wider. He pinned both of her hands above her bed to the soft, overstuffed pillows with one hand before leaning his face down to hers, so close that she could feel his hot breath ghosting across her nose, the moisture of his mouth hot against her lips.

“Now.” He smirked. “Were you checking me out or coming on to me? Answer carefully; what you say completely determines our next course of action,”

“I was ch—“ She started, unable to stop herself. She felt herself giving in; she was going to tell him; give up her pride, the only thing she had left to her name. Just as the words were about to spill out of her mouth, however, there was a sharp knock on the door before it swung open, exposing a man covered in just as many tattoos as Zack, dark hair, and chocolate brown eyes that did nothing for Eliza compared to Zack’s.

“What is it, Gates?” Zack asked, his voice clearly angry as he pulled himself off of Eliza and covered her with the sheet, even though she was still fully dressed. Eliza felt a bolt of jealousy exploding off of him and, not knowing what else she could do, placed a hand gently on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He seemed to calm down a little bit at her touch, and the man smirked at them.

“Well, I’m sorry to interrupt the love fest, but he’s here.” He told Zack, their eyes meeting in understanding. “He says he has plans for negotiations, if we’re willing to listen. Are we?”

“Tell him to rot in hell.” Zack told him, his voice a snarl. “And while you’re at it, tell him if he ever shows up here again, I’ll personally see to it that he dies a painful death.”