Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 177

Consuming

My breath catches in my throat, and I whisper, "How?”

His jaw clenches, his throat working. "Because I would never step into a doctor's office, Or a hospital. Ever."

My eyes widen, remembering Nikki's comments when she was laying in the bathtub.

His voice is rough, weighed down by things I don't fully understand. "But I did. For you."

I blink, trying to process his words. "Why would you never step into a hospital?"

He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "Can we can we save that conversation for another day?"

Something in his voice makes me nod.

I don't push, even though I want to. He never pushes me when I'm trying to stay afloat in the memories of my own traumas.

Instead, I cup his face again, guiding him down to me as I press my lips to his. He stiffens for a second before melting into me, his hands gripping my waist.

He's so gentle, so careful.

The kiss deepens, and I pour everything into it, every unspoken feeling I've been terrified

to admit.

When I finally pull away, my eyes are glassy with unshed tears, my heart so full it feels like it might burst. I search his face, tracing the lines of worry, the fear that lingers even

now.

"I want to say something," I whisper, my fingers still brushing his skin.

He watches me intently, nodding slowly.

"I want to tell you something." I'm trembling, not knowing why it's so hard for me to

knowing how I'm even

look of absolute terror on his face is what finally

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"I love you too."

he doesn't know whether to hold on or let go. Then he starts shaking his

say that," he says, his voice cracking. "You don't have

a finger to his lips to silence him.

He trembles.

you feel like you

I've ever seen them. I repeat myself, letting my voice soften, letting it wrap around him like a blanket. "I love

his gaze, and I wait for it to fade, to dissolve into relief, into

understanding and realization that I mean the words that

But it doesn't.

still can't believe it and

hands, pressing his palms to my cheeks, letting him feel the

the soft hitch of

against my face. He's still shaking his head, but I see the cracks forming, the fight inside him warring with

I say again,

close for a brief second, and when

someone who's never been told they're worth

brushing my lips against his, whispering against his

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Consuming

in relief, his arms wrapping around my waist as he kisses me deeply. He starts off gentle at first and then he takes

steals the air from my lungs. It's not gentle, not careful. It's desperate

intense, all-consuming. And

my body pressing closer as warmth floods every inch of me. He groans softly against my

moan in response

instinctively wrapping around his waist. He carries me across the room, never breaking the kiss, never loosening his hold, like he can't stand the thought of

my back meets the soft mattress, and Zaid is over me, his weight braced on his forearms as his lips trail down my jaw, my neck, his breath hot and ragged. I gasp, my fingers digging

of the world on his shoulders. But this is