Reclaimed By My Ex-husband

They both froze, startled.

Zara instinctively pressed herself into Nathaniel's chest, trying to shrink away, making herself as small as she could, her face buried against him.

Nathaniel quickly shifted onto his side, wrapping her tightly in his arms and shielding her bare form with his body. Turning his head, he caught sight of Zane standing at the doorway, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Zane?" He tugged the blanket higher over them quickly. "What's wrong? Why are you here?"

"I need Mommy," Zane murmured, his voice trembling, as though he was about to cry. "I had a nightmare. It's horrible. I want to sleep with Mommy."

Nathaniel looked down at Zara, who still clung to him, not even raising her head. "Mommy isn't feeling well. Go back to your room. I'll come to you."

"But I want Mommy."

"Zane, be good," Nathaniel said firmly. "Go back. I'll be there soon."

Zane turned and scurried back toward his room.

Only then did Zara lift her head and glare at him. Fury sharpened her tone. "This is all your fault. How humiliating. And now you have even raised your voice at the boy. Go comfort him right now."

She shoved against his chest in frustration.

Nathaniel met her glare with calm amusement. Slowly, his lips curved into a teasing smile. Her flushed face, brimming with anger, only enticed him more, tempting him to continue what had been interrupted. Yet, he knew he needed to put Zane to sleep first.

"I'll be back soon. Wait for me." He brushed a quick kiss over her lips, then slid out of bed and strode toward Zane's room.

Zara yanked the blanket over her face, her cheeks burning hot. Her lips were still throbbing from Nathaniel's intense kisses. "This is so embarrassing," she muttered under her breath, mortified.

The thought that Zane might have caught a glimpse of her naked form made her want to vanish into thin air. How could she face him now? What excuse would she give if he asked what she had been doing?

"Ugh…" She clutched the blanket tighter, on the verge of tears of shame. "Why does Nathaniel always forget to lock the door?" she grumbled in frustration.

The faint buzz of her phone cut through the silence. She glanced at the screen and saw Bree's name flashing. In an instant, she recalled she hadn't informed her friend that she had already left the hotel.

Guilt pricked her. Bree was probably worried sick.

She quickly swiped to answer.

"Where on earth are you? You disappeared after going to the restroom." Bree's anxious voice snapped through the line. "We searched the whole hotel for you. I even called, but you didn't pick up. What's going on? Tell me you are alright."

Zara winced. Leaving without a word had been careless. "I'm so sorry, Bree," she said at once regretfully. "I really worried you. I… I came back home."

"Thank God you are safe," Bree sighed in relief, though her voice still carried reproach. "But seriously, you should have at least told me that you were leaving. Why would you vanish without saying anything?"

"I…" Zara faltered, searching for words. "I was drunk and could hardly walk straight. I didn't want to trouble you and Ryan. And then… I happened to run into Shay Walsh outside the restroom."

"What? You ran into… Shay Walsh?" Bree practically shouted.

"Yes. He offered me a ride," Zara admitted, her voice dropping to a murmur. "I didn't know how to refuse. So I left with him."

"Oh, that's so thoughtful of him," Bree gushed, her earlier irritation dissolving. "He really is a gentleman. Zara, do you even realize? You seem to catch his eye. The man who never shows up in public went out of his way to congratulate you that night, and now he personally made sure you got home safely. I swear, he likes you."

"What are you even saying? Don't be ridiculous," Zara retorted, rolling her eyes at the suggestion.

"I mean it," Bree insisted. "He is clearly smitten with you. Otherwise, why bother giving you a ride? He could have ignored you. Zara, if you ever think of leaving Nathaniel, you should give Shay a chance. Honestly, I think he would make a better husband than Nathaniel."

"I'm hanging up now." Zara cut the call abruptly, not waiting for Bree's reply. Yet her words echoed in her head long after.

"Dating Shay? What nonsense…" she muttered, shaking her head. Sliding out of bed, she went into the closet, slipped into her nightdress, and then crawled back under the blanket.

Inside Zane's room…

Nathaniel coaxed Zane into sleep, yet his own mind refused to rest. Zara lingered in him like a breath he couldn't release. The taste of her lips, tinged with the smell of wine, still burned on his mouth, refusing to fade.

His skin prickled with the memory of her warmth, her silken skin brushing against his senses as though she had left her imprint on his very soul, tormenting him with sensations he couldn't shake.

His hands ached with the urge to trace her again, to feel that warmth against his palm, to draw her closer until nothing stood between them. Desire and frustration tangled inside him, leaving him restless, raw, and hungry for her.

When he made sure Zane had fallen asleep, he slowly slipped out of the room and went into the master bedroom with hope and anticipation in his heart. But Zara had already dozed off, her face serene and unbothered, her breathing steady.

Something inside him twisted.

She was no longer naked. She had put on her nightdress, her chest moving up and down in a slow rhythm.

For some time, he stood at the edge of the bed, drinking her in. The softness of her lips invited him in, tempting him to claim them.

"You really know how to torment me," he whispered under his breath.

Zara was his undoing. She riled him in ways no one else ever could, igniting a fire that scorched his patience, making him reckless, dragging out every raw, unrefined piece of him he never knew existed.

It wasn't a simple desire; it was a hunger threaded with frustration and sharp craving with pain. She drove him mad, yet in the same breath, she drew him back in, luring him closer until resistance left him. Around her, control dissolved, leaving him wild, restless, and dangerously alive.

He ran a hand over his face, as if he could wipe away the ache lodged beneath his skin, but the hunger only deepened. An amused smile spread across his lips as he shook his head.

"Leave it," he mumbled. "Next time."

He climbed onto the bed slowly and slid beneath the blanket. Drawing closer, he pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder and murmured, "Good night, sweetheart."

Holding Zara close to his chest, he closed his eyes. Within moments, his breathing began to even out as he drifted toward sleep.