Page 9 of Pas de Trois
“I love you, too.” I kiss her once more, slow and wet and lovingly.
Gradually, I pull out and I hate it because it feels so right to be inside her. I roll slowly onto my side next to her and she turns with me, shrinking and curling against my chest. I wrap my arms around her and cherish the feeling of being able to hold her and keep her safe.
“I know hell is coming,” she says quietly, “but right now, I feel safe with you.” She sighs. “Why can’t we always feel this way?”
I run my hand down her side. “Someday we will.”
She kisses the center of my chest and it makes my heart skip a beat. “You are hope incarnate. I don’t know how you keep the faith.” Anya yawns through the final word.
I brush my hand down her hair before kissing the top of her head. “You need to sleep.”
“Shit.” She starts to sit up. “I need to talk to Nikolai. I need to know what’s going on; what we do when they come after us. I need to know that Lidia will be safe…Emma, too. We need so many answers from him and he’s—”
“Let me handle it.” I pull her back down beside me. “I want you to sleep. You need to sleep, Anya. I’ll get all of the answers from him.”
“I need to know everything.”
“And you will.”
She tilts her head up to look at me with those piercing blue eyes. “Ezra. It’s important.”
“I know it’s important. It’s critical. And I’ll get all the answers to all the questions. But we only have a couple of hours before we arrive, and I need you to sleep before then. I need you to get your strength back. Okay? I’m worried about you.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I shouldn’t have been so rough with you. Probably shouldn’t have fucked you at all.” I grin. “I just couldn’t help myself.”
She smiles at me. I see her desire to fight me flash across her eyes. But then she yawns again as she’s trying to give me her commanding stare and I can’t help but laugh. She does, too. I pull her closer, hugging her and kissing her forehead.
“So, are you gonna rest? Or are you gonna argue with another yawn that you’re not tired?” I joke.
She giggles and I feel the vibration of it against my chest, over my heart.
Fuck.
This woman is everything.
“Okay,” she concedes with a sigh. “I trust you.”
I lift her chin so she has to look up at me and I grin. “Say that again, baby. Slowly.”
“What? I trust you?” She bites her lip through a smile. “I trust you, Ezra.”
I groan. “Yes, that. That’s so hot.”
She makes a sexy face in good humor. “I. Trust. You.”
I lift my eyebrows. Though it was said humorously, it actually is kind of turning me on again.
“Shit. I’ve gotta get out of here before you make me hard again.”
She captures my lips, taking me off-guard with the passionate force behind her kiss as she pushes me onto my back and rolls on top of me. She pulls back and smiles, looking down at me, her eyes flickering across my features, taking in every inch of my face. She tilts her head regarding me. “I really do trust you.”
It’s a somber and precious moment when I catch her eyes. Our souls stare and our hearts beat in time. I know there’s hell all around us, but I can’t believe how lucky I am to be the man she loves. She kisses me again before I roll her back onto the bed and get up. I lift the covers for her and she crawls beneath. For the first time ever, I see peace in her features as she watches me dress. Anya deserves that peace, even if it’s only for a few hours. We’re safe here together on this plane…for now.
I put my pants back on and finally remove my shirt, leaving it behind on the bed as something for Anya to wear later. Then I leave her to sleep peacefully as I return to Nikolai in the main cabin.
Blood trickles from his side, soaking the side of the leather couch and pooling on the carpet beneath, staining it crimson. My heart thumps an extra beat when I notice his eyes are closed.
Fuck.
Did we miss our opportunity for answers and assurances because we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves?
