Scarred ✔️

15 | scarred concerns

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Chapter Fifteen

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My breathing is heavy by the time Zach sits on his side of the bed. The air is hot and electric. So, before my mind goes on overdrive, I put the diary aside and slide inside the covers until I am laying on the bed.

Looking at Zach's very amused face and that mischievous glint in his eyes one last time, I face the opposite side and shut my eyes.

We aren't going to do anything. I should be relieved! Why wasn't I?

He turns off the lights and I hear him shuffling around. We stay like that for some time. After a few minutes, his soft snores fill the room.

An hour of twisting and turning and sleep seems to have completely left me. Grumbling under my breath, I turn to face Zach who is snoring lightly.

He sure was tired.

The lights are closed but the moonlight from the small gap between the blinds falls directly on his face and I don't think I have seen more striking face than his before.

He shifts a little, coming a tad bit close to me so that the moonlight was no longer falling on his face, before mumbling something incoherent under his breath and snoring again.

Cute.

I suddenly feel thirsty so I get out of the covers and tiptoe to the windows to adjust the blinds. Smiling to myself, I slowly walk outside the room and shut the door behind me softly.

I walk through the hallways feeling a bit spooked. The fact that only two people are in this huge mansion makes me a bit too jumpy. The maids left after serving dinner.

I pour myself a glass of water and sip it while looking outside the kitchen window. The garden looked magnificent under the moonlight and I felt like I was living in a palace.

I wash the glass and put it on the table. My eyes fall on the chocolate syrup on the cupboard and I remember the time I tried to get it and it fell over my head.

But I loved chocolate more than anything and now that I had seen it, I wanted it.

Standing on my tiptoes, I try to get it but thanks to my short stature, I am unable to reach it.

I freeze when I feel a presence behind me but relax when familiar smell reaches my nostril. Too concentrated on the chocolate syrup, I hadn't heard Zach enter the kitchen.

My heart rate picks up when he places one of his hand on my hip and the other on the chocolate syrup before passing it to me.

I dare to turn around and face him. I gulp when I see his bed hair and those sleepy eyes.

"You seem to love chocolate syrup."

His gruff sleepy voice makes my knees weak. My voice is stuck on my throat and I nod in reply. He looks like he is reliving a memory and his eyes visibly darken.

I think of pushing him away when I realize the distance between us but I don't do it for two reasons. Firstly, because I love how I am feeling and secondly, because he didn't take it well last time and decided to become coldhearted.

I open the lid and pour some directly on my mouth. I moan at the taste, unable to control myself. Come on, it's so good, how can you not?  Then I pass him the syrup. His jaws are clenched and he looks in pain, I don't understand why.

He takes it harshly before doing the same. I find myself licking my lips when he gulps it down and looks at me with that primal look.

Without warning, his hands squeeze my hips and his mouth crash down on mine.

I close my eyes and taste chocolate on his lips. I kiss him back hesitantly, my brain doesn't function properly by the way he sucks on my lips.

However, his lips feel hot. Like, literally. I wrap my hands around his neck and he deepens the kiss. His neck, too, is hot. His warm hand slides to my bare thigh. I pull back and I see hurt flash in his beautiful eyes.

I shake my head to let him know it is not what he thinks. My heart clenches when his hand that was on my hips falls. I stand on my tiptoes and give him a small peck on his lips, it really isn't what he is thinking.

I put my palm over his forehead and I can see him being surprised. I was right, he has a fever.

"Aren't you c-cold?" I dare to ask, in concern.

"Nope, I had my little bed warmer with me." I would have felt bad by his words but the soft smile in his lips makes me smile too.

The smile is wiped off my face when he shivers lightly. He doesn't even have a shirt on. This man.

"You have a f-fever, Z-Zach. Let's get you some cl-clothes," I tell him with a frown before dragging him back to his room. He lets me drag him and sit him on the bed. He looks like he is enjoying this, whatever it is. Maybe it is my concern for him?

I find a fluffy black sweater in his closet. I give it to him and he pulls it over his head, covering his well-toned body from my sight.

I didn't just say it.

"Where is the thermometer?"

Zach tells me the first aid box is in the bathroom and I get it for him.

"Do you want me to cook you something? Chicken soup? It'll help you."

"Ella," Zach groans, "it's midnight. Just come to bed and sleep. I'll be okay."

"Let me take care of you, I am your w-wife after all," I pass him a wink to lift the situation a little. In reality, I just feel the need to repay his kindness. No one would act this sweet to someone who had broken their heart earlier.

"Ella," Zach warns. "Come, sleep. We have to go to work, tomorrow."

"You're not going to work in this c-condition," I raise my voice a little and he sneezes on cue. I look at him smugly. "It's your c-company, you don't 'have' to g-go," I add.

"Fine. Come to bed."

"Please, Zach. I w-want to do this, okay?"

Zach sighs, a sign showing he gave up. I help him with the covers and walk outside, shutting the door behind me softly. I wasn't going to get sleep anyway, might as well do something productive.

Within an hour, I am done with the chicken soup. I taste it and hum in approval. Cooking was one of the things I loved. I place the bowl in a tray.

I walk to Zach's room with a strange content feeling in my heart. I haven't felt like this in a long time. The other strange thing is how I don't feel scared to talk to him.

However, once I open the door, the tray almost slips from my hand when my eyes fall on the blue diary on Zach's hand. He is reading my diary.

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unedited.

[ Next chapter in Zach's point of view ]