Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Adeline
The trip to the airport is long and filled with awkward silence.
Worry starts to seep into me. I hate flying; I prefer land.
At least you have a chance of survival in a crash on land.
In the air, not so much. I keep my eyes glued to the window, but every now and then, I turn back to catch them both staring openly, not fazed at all by my catching them.
The air suddenly becomes thicker, and I find it harder to breathe.
My stomach fills with dread at having to spend the next two days with these impossible men.
Cyrus gets out first when the limo stops, and I follow behind him, sliding across the seat and climbing out.
I feel a hand touch my side as Eli tugs me beside him, his hand on my hip.
I jump, stepping away, only to be pulled back to his side.
Cyrus watches my startled face before his eyes dart to where Eli’s hand has been.
He nods before walking off, only to find they are using a private jet.
My heart is hammering in my chest. I hate flying, hate heights, and now I am about to step into a metal cylinder and live my worst nightmare.
I’ve avoided planes like the plague; I would rather spend days on a train or bus than get on one.
Stopping at the stairs leading up to it, I freeze, my feet not wanting to move as if they have become rooted to the spot.
My breathing becomes uneasy as I peer up at the machine that will take us in the air.
I gulp, feeling on the verge of throwing up or passing out as I break out into a cold sweat.
Eli stops, looking at me before realizing I am visibly trembling at the thought of getting on the bloody thing.
“You don’t like flying?” he asks, and Cyrus stops on the steps, looking down at me.
Eli’s hand moves to my lower back, pushing me gently, but I am frozen.
Completely petrified as I start to hyperventilate.
Turning around, I try to make a run for it when I feel Eli’s arm wrap around my waist, tugging me against him.
The heat from his chest seeps into my back.
“You will be fine. Just breathe before you pass out,” he says below my ear.
I swallow, remaining still before turning back toward the stairs, his arm still around my waist.
“Will she walk, or do I have to come get her?” Cyrus says, amusement visible on his perfectly sculpted face at my fear. I know it’s irrational, I know that planes are supposed to be safe, but this is one fear I have never been able to let go of.
Eli grabs my hand, placing it on the railing, his chest pressed tightly against my back, his hand on my stomach while I stand shaking, tears threatening to spill when I feel his hand move higher, his fingers trailing along my sides.
“That’s it, Addie. Breathe. You are fine.”
Eli’s husky voice next to my ear makes me relax slightly. His breath fanning my neck sends goosebumps all over my body. I move, taking the first step before finding my feet and continuing up the stairs, only stopping when I reach Cyrus, who is still on the steps.
Looking up at him, his hand moves to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing my cheekbone.
“You will be fine. If we crash, your death will be quick,” he says, and my heart starts pounding so hard I can feel it pulsating in my ears.
“You fucking jerk, Cyrus,” Eli snaps at him as I start panicking, trying to turn around and get back off.
Eli is blocking me as I smack into his chest, and I start panicking, tears flowing down my cheeks.
“Was that fucking necessary?” Eli snaps at Cyrus, whom I can hear laughing. Eli grabs me, not letting me past him, his hands rubbing my back.
“Let me off. I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go,” I shriek, panic taking over me, my breathing becoming faster and faster as my heart pumps erratically in my chest. My vision becomes tunneled as everything gets darker before I eventually faint, darkness taking over all my senses as I feel my body go limp in his arms and my eyes roll into the back of my head.
* * *
As I wake up, my limbs feel heavy. Extremely heavy.
I can’t move them at all. My eyes snap open to see Eli sitting across from me, reading a newspaper.
Calmly flicking through the pages, warmth seeps into me, and I feel a hand on my thigh under my skirt, my head resting against a firm chest. Cyrus’s manly scent fills my nostrils, and I become aware that I am sitting on his lap, his fingers drawing circles on the inside of my thigh.
My heart stops in panic as I try to move, only managing to wriggle slightly. I feel like my limbs have been weighed down, my mind foggy on the events leading to this yet also clear to my surroundings.
Eli’s eyes suddenly snap to me, and he puts down his newspaper, placing it beside him and leaning forward before Cyrus moves his hand, cupping my cheek as he makes me look up at him. His caramel-colored eyes are watching me as I find my voice.
“Why can’t I move?” I ask, my words slurred.
“Don’t freak out, but we have sedated you. You will get feeling back by the time we land,” he says, his thumb brushing my cheek.
My heart starts hammering in my chest at his words. Sedated me? My eyes dart to the circular band-aid on my hand.
“Calm down. We won’t hurt you, Addie. Just go back to sleep,” Eli says, looking at Cyrus.
“How is she awake already?” he questions, and I feel Cyrus shrug before Eli pulls a little red bag from underneath Cyrus’s seat.
He unzips it, and I notice more syringes filled with a clear liquid. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my wrists and ankles pulsating underneath my skin, hear it in my ears. Who the fuck carries around sedatives besides serial killers and fucking lunatics?
“Please, don’t,” I cry, my lip quivering when I watch him pull one out. I feel a tear slip down my cheek. Never have I felt so vulnerable. They could literally do as they pleased with me, and I would be powerless to stop them.
Cyrus moves, my eyes snapping to him. He runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip, making my lips part.
“We didn’t do it to hurt you, just to stop you from panicking. If you calm down, we won’t have to,” he says, his breath fanning my lips.
His smell calms me slightly, and I feel my pulse start to slow, my eyes feeling heavy, but I refuse to let them close, scared they might inject me with whatever the hell they used to make me this way.
Eli places it back in the bag before zipping it up.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding, relaxing against Cyrus.
His hand is moving up and down my leg, and I feel goosebumps rise on my skin before his hand stops underneath my skirt at the apex of my legs, his fingertips resting on the lace of my panties.
Eli gets up, walking somewhere behind me toward the back of the plane before returning with a bottle of water and a straw.
He cracks the lid before placing the straw in and bringing it to my lips, and I take a sip, not realizing how dry my mouth is until the cool liquid quenches my thirst.
My lips part, and he pulls it away before putting it in a cup holder next to Cyrus. He shocks me when he leans down, kissing my forehead, making me furrow my brows. Why would he do that? Why do any of this?
“Why do you have sedatives?” I ask. Neither of them answers. Yet I watch as Eli’s eyes dart to Cyrus at my question.
“Go back to sleep,” Cyrus tells me, and I feel my fingers twitch, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Eli as he leans forward, his elbows braced on his knees as I start regaining some form of feeling back.
He sits back, and Cyrus suddenly gets up before handing me to Eli.
He places my hand on his shoulder while my head rests on the other heavily.
I move my fingers, yet my legs feel like dead weight.
I brush my fingers together. The sensation feels weird, like when you get your mouth numbed before getting a tooth pulled.
Eli kisses my fingers, and I hear a strange noise that reminds me of a growl, yet I can’t turn my head to see where it comes from.
Eli’s face turns to look at me before his lips brush mine softly, his tongue tracing over my bottom lip before he presses his nose to my cheek, inhaling deeply.
“Why did you do that?” I ask, wondering why Eli is being affectionate, especially while his husband sits across from him in plain sight of us. Cyrus, too, is acting strange, touching me in a way no boss should when he had hold of me.
“Because you are ours,” Eli tells me like that was somehow supposed to make sense.
“That makes no sense. I am not anybody’s,” I tell him.
“That is where you are wrong. You belong to us now and forever,” Cyrus says before kneeling in front of me and grabbing my face before turning me to look at him.
“We are your mates, but that doesn’t matter right now. You won’t remember any of this when you wake up. But I promise we would never hurt you, Addie, not intentionally, anyway,” he says before kissing me, his tongue brushing mine as it tastes every inch of my mouth, making me gasp.
Sparks rush over me, and I moan into his mouth before he pulls away.
I am shocked by my reaction to him, shocked that he’s kissed me, and Eli doesn’t seem to mind.
Instead, he is watching Cyrus. I feel Cyrus grab my face; I feel dazed and can’t seem to tear my eyes from his as if in a trance; his lips are moving, yet I can’t understand a thing of what he is saying.
My brain becomes foggy, and I feel like I am slipping, consumed by the shimmer of his eyes.
It doesn’t scare me, but I know it isn’t right, but it also doesn’t feel wrong either, just a calmness that settles over me.
His eyes twinkle oddly before I see darkness.