Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
He yanked away from me, rising to his full height as his thrusts slowed.
I said it again, a breathless whisper. My demon groaned my name as he kissed me.
He kissed me softly at first, and then it grew into something more intense, his body telling me what he couldn’t.
It was all-consuming. It was ground-breaking.
It was my light clashing, blending with his darkness, creating something words couldn’t describe.
He loved me.
We both knew it, but he didn’t have the strength to admit it. Not yet. Perhaps not ever, and I couldn’t blame him for that. Because in the end, words were just words. His body was telling me everything that I needed to know.
“You are the only one,” he rasped as I came undone for him, my back arched against the window, my nails digging into his shoulders.
You are the only one.
Maybe that was his “I love you.”
Collin growled, his fingers digging into me as he thrust this cock into me three more times as he spilled inside me, holding my eyes. “You filled with me. That’s all I want. Every day for the rest of my days, Karina.”
“Look at me,” he demanded, warmth lingered on the tail end of his voice. I turned to him, smiling as he cupped my face.
Collin had an image to protect, especially out in public.
He had to come off as the harsh, unrelenting, cold man he had always been in the underworld.
That was what he was known for, and that was how it would stay.
He was only soft when it came to me. He told me that, out in public, from now on, he would have to be a bit cold to me until he had complete loyalty.
If his enemies found out about me…
I shuddered at the thought.
I could play the part. For now.
We were at the airstrip in Chicago. He ordered me a jet for the short flight down to St. Louis, and he would be taking his jet to New York. Xander was with us, standing off to the side by Col’s Audi, his eyes scanning each member of the flight crew as they entered the plane.
It was small, but comfortable.
Collin and I stood at the base of the stairs.
“Who owns you?” His voice was harsh, but it was only for show.
“You do,” I said softly, my eyes holding his. He dropped his hand.
“Good girl. Don’t cross me, Karina.”
I almost smiled. He was good.
He pulled me to him, kissed me harshly, his hands holding my head in place. His lips pulled back a few centimeters. “You are the only one,” he whispered, and I nodded, kissing him back.
Soon, I would ask him what that meant, but for now, I was content with this. We had the rest of our lives, after all.
He pulled away, his brow furrowed slightly. Clearing his throat, he looked to the flight attendant behind us. “Anything happens to her, your fiancé gets his dick chopped off. It will be delivered to you, on ice,” he growled.
Holy shit.
I tried to keep my composure and keep my jaw from hitting the fucking ground.
She stammered over her words, and he snapped his fingers, pointing to the plane. “Go.” The woman didn’t hesitate.
I should've felt bad, but she was glaring at me when I got out of the car, envy all over her features. I didn’t. It made me miss Gina. I needed to bake her some cookies as an apology for pulling a gun on her. Col assured me she would get over it, but I considered her a friend, much like Bella.
Maybe we all needed to have a girls’ night. G and Hals could come too. My heart smiled at the thought, and my soul beamed with excitement of the future. There was still much to be done, but I could add “girls night” to the bottom of the list. For later, of course.
“You call me as soon as you land,” my demon ordered, turning back to me. He was looking at me like I was a stranger, like he didn’t just have his cock buried inside of me an hour ago.
“I will,” I said, looking around. He was on edge for a reason.
“You are safe, Karina. You have my word. The plane has been checked four times, and my men are surrounding the airport,” he explained, his voice soft again.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
His phone rang in his suit pocket, and I knew it was time to go. I sighed and brushed past him. A strong hand wrapped around my arm, his warm breath coating the shell of my ear. “I miss you already.”
My heart fluttered. I nodded and brushed away a stray tear falling down my cheek. He let me go a second later, walking away from me as he answered his phone.
“You find your loyalty yet, or is your family spending the holidays at the bottom of the Hudson?”
I shivered at his words. Xander approached him and nodded before making his way to me. My brows came together as the big man came to a stop in front of me. “You gonna pull a gun on me again, Ms. Jones?”
I smirked up at him. “You let me take it.” His lips twitched, but he remained silent.
We both knew Collin would've killed him.
A few minutes later, I was strapped into my seat, looking out the window at my demon. He was leaning against his car, a cigarette hanging from his lips, his ankles crossed. His cold eyes met mine, and the world seemed to slow.
“I love you,” I whispered to the window.
An hour later, the wheels touched down, and I was home for the first time in what felt like months.
I let out a shaky breath as Xander stood, buttoning his suit jacket.
He nodded once to the flight attendant as she opened the door.
He turned to me, pulling out his gun. “Stay here. I need to do a sweep.”
I sat up, bracing my hands on the arm rest. “Is everything okay?”
He ignored me and loaded a bullet into the chamber of his gun, his face stern. “Call Mr. Stevens and let him know you have arrived.” Then, he was descending the steps.
My hands scrambled for the phone that Collin had given me. It rang once and then. “Angel.”
“Hi.”
“I see you landed safely,” he drawled, his voice low.
“Yes, Xander is doing a sweep.”
Silence. “A sweep.”
Turning my head, I tried to scan the flightline for him. “Yes, he said I needed to call you.”
“Angel, get down,” he barked through the phone. My stomach tightened as fear latched onto my neck, sucking the life out of me. Immediately I sank to my knees and crawled behind the seat as I heard them.
Gunshots.
My hand snapped over my mouth as the gunshots got closer and closer. There was a scream, cut off by a loud round of gunshots and then a thud. Col was shouting at me on the other, but my heartbeat was the only thing that registered in my ears.
I peeked around the corner of the seat, my teeth clutching the skin of my palm as my eyes scanned the dead flight attendant. Her crisp white shirt was now covered in blood. Her once envious eyes were lifeless, and her hair spilled around her in messy waves. Blood drained from the side of her mouth.
Shock.
I was in shock.
There was a loud bang just outside the small plane, causing it to shake. An explosion.
I scrambled to the back of the plane, behind the curtain. I was in the staff area now. It was small, and there weren’t very many hiding places. My eyes darted around the space, looking for something—anything—-that I could use as a weapon.
“Karina!"
I jumped at the voice. Collin’s voice. I looked down at the phone in my hand.
He was still on the line.
Putting the phone up to my ear, I grabbed a serving tray and crouched down in the corner. “Col,” I whispered. My voice didn’t sound like my voice and there was slight ringing in my ears.
“Baby!” His strong voice was panicked and angry. My heart cracked a bit at the sound. He was a there, and I was here…in the middle of a fucking war.
There was another loud bang, and then I heard voices. They were in the plane. Vomit rose up in my throat.
“This isn’t her. Boss said she was blonde,” a deep, thick accent said. An Italian accent.
Boss.
Italian.
Ray Romano.
The footsteps got closer and closer to the curtains pulled shut. “Boss said we can’t hurt her,” another male voice said, his voice further away.
“Fuck off, Russo.”
“Karina! Karina!” Col. My sweet Col.
“Romano,” I whispered before hanging up.
There was a new form of anger rising within me, within the darkness inside me. I would use it to my advantage. The men on the other side of that curtain were arguing now. Grinding my teeth, I made my decision. I wasn’t going down without a fucking fight.
I would fight. For Col. For me. For the years we lost and for the years we had left to live together.
Leaving the tray on the ground, I rose to my feet and pulled my hair up into a high, powerful ponytail.
Was I strong? Yes.
Could I take down a fully grown man with a gun? We were about to find out.
I raised my fists and took my stance. “I love you, Col,” I murmured as the curtains were yanked open and I was met with a sinister smile.
“Boss didn’t tell us you were fucking pretty,” the dark man sneered, licking his lips as he looked me up and down.
Here we fucking go.