Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Aiden hummed, stroking Zain’s collarbones with his fingertips absentmindedly. “I do know our cultures are different. That’s why I don’t even blame you for being homophobic. I understand. I know it’s hard to overcome prejudice when it’s normalized in your culture.”
Zain narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have to butter me up anymore. I already agreed to let you go, so you can drop this soft-eyed, nice and understanding act.”
Aiden blinked before laughing. “You think I’m pretending to be nice?” He laughed again. “I’ll tell you a secret: you’ve seen me at my bitchiest and moodiest in my life. I’m not actually an angry person, Zain. I am nice. This fucked-up situation threw me off balance, but anyone who actually knows me would tell you that I’m one of the most easygoing, lighthearted, and nicest people they’ve met.”
Zain’s dark eyebrows drew together. “I’ve known you for nearly five months.”
“Yes, you have. But for the majority of that time we were either angry with each other or later fucking every time we weren’t too angry, and the rest of the time you thought I was trying to manipulate you by being my normal very nice, smiley self. The circumstances of our first meeting gave you a very skewed impression of me.” Aiden smiled. “So nope, I’m not pretending to be something I’m not. If you’re really letting me go, I’m not going to bitch and sulk anymore. It’s as simple as that.”
The look Zain shot him was almost baffled. “You can’t be serious. I still bought you like a thing. I treated you abominably. I tried to coerce you into being my brother’s sex pet. And you’re not holding a grudge? No one is that nice.”
Aiden shrugged with a laugh. “I am. You’re a high-handed asshole, but being angry at you for being a high-handed asshole is like being angry at the sun for being too bright.”
Zain gave him a look of consternation. “You’re not nice. You’re dumb.”
“Now that’s not a very nice thing to say,” Aiden said, pouting exaggeratedly. “I think I’ll take offense to that.” Aiden made a show of pulling away from Zain, but Zain didn’t let him.
“I didn’t say you could go,” Zain said, holding Aiden tightly.
“I thought I was a free person now,” Aiden said, trying hard not to smile but failing. “Or are you taking that back, Your Highness?”
Zain rolled them and, leaning down, glared at him, as if Aiden’s levity bothered him. “Stop smiling.”
Aiden smiled wider, looking into his dark eyes. “Sorry for not being a grump like you—”
Zain kissed him.
Aiden melted into the kiss, parting his lips eagerly and looping his arms around Zain’s strong neck, trying to tug him closer. God, it shouldn’t have been possible to want this much, when he’d had a spectacular orgasm just a short while ago. But he did. He wanted this man, wanted to crawl into his mouth, between his ribs, wanted to wrap around the heart within and know him from the inside out. Down to the marrow. Every molecule.
When they finally parted for breath, Aiden licked his wet, swollen lips and whispered, holding Zain’s gaze, “Round two?”
Zain nodded, though it seemed absentminded, his eyes not quite focused as they roamed over Aiden’s face. “I can’t wait to get rid of you,” he said.
“No,” Aiden said, pulling him so their foreheads pressed together. Fuck, he wanted to inhale the air Zain exhaled. It was probably weird. “I can’t wait to get rid of you.”
And then they were kissing, and nothing else mattered.
Chapter Fifteen
In the following weeks, nothing really changed—and yet, at the same time everything did.
Aiden’s days still started and ended with Zain; that hadn’t changed. They still didn’t seem capable of being in the same room without fucking like animals in mating season—that hadn’t changed, either.
But things felt different.
Now that he knew that Zain was working on getting him back home, something in Aiden finally relaxed. It was going to be okay. He was going to see his family soon. He was going to be a free person, not a possession of another man. This… this infatuation was still horrible and unhealthy as fuck, but now it had an expiration date.
So Aiden decided to stop feeling guilty for enjoying himself. He allowed himself to kiss and touch Zain whenever he wanted to—and he wanted it often. Probably too often. Even when they weren’t having sex.
“I don’t have time to fuck you,” Zain said that day, without looking away from the screen of his laptop.
Aiden laid his head on Zain’s shoulder and sighed dramatically.
“Get off my lap, Aiden.”
“But I’m not doing anything,” Aiden said, playing with the collar of Zain’s white tunic. He wasn’t wearing a thobe that day, and although being so dressed down looked a little unusual on him, he looked good enough to eat. Aiden could barely stop himself from covering his strong, tanned neck and jawline in kisses.