Chapter 20 Mikail
MIKAIL
She jumps into my arms, squealing. Her lithe body pressed against mine short-circuiting my brain—forgetting that we’re exposed and caring even less.
My instinct to roar that this woman is mine overrides my rationality. The beast growls with the need to possess, claim her as mine. Tearing into the jugular of anyone who even comes close to separating me from what’s mine.
“Really?” she asks, the glee in her voice unmistakable.
I place a soft kiss on her forehead and give her ass a light squeeze. “Really.”
It’s then she notices she’s wrapped around me like a koala. She slips out of my arms, moving to swim away.
I catch her by her elbow, holding her in place. “Don’t worry.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “But…”
“No buts,” I say, my tone firm.
She doesn’t seem convinced but nods and climbs out.
The water glides down her hourglass body, creating an instant thirst. You just had her, I remind myself, but it doesn’t help much. I am crazy about her, addicted to the point of obsession. I clench my hands at my sides, trying to tame the untamable.
You’ll have her again soon enough. The thought is flimsy compared to this craving for her infecting my blood.
Putting on a crochet dress, she dashes inside while I swim a few laps, trying to come up with a solution that won’t end in a bloodbath.
Living our love story in the dark feels wrong. This is not a fucking illicit affair. I refuse to hide her, condemning us to a life of even more secrets.
If telling the truth will call down doom, then so be it.
I get out and dry myself with her towel before I dress and go inside in search of her.
Climbing two stairs at a time, I find her in the walk-in closet on her knees, chaos surrounding her.
“I don’t know what to take with me,” she huffs, appearing overwhelmed.
I swipe a hand through the air. “Leave it. I’ll buy you a new wardrobe there.”
She shakes her head, a radiant smile lighting up her face. “I already have enough.”
I live for her smiles. As much as I love spoiling her, she loves it just as much.
I arch a brow. “That wasn’t up for discussion,” I say, yanking open the drawer to grab her passport and slip it in my slacks pocket.
She changes into an A-line mini dress that showcases her curves, and with my palm on her back, I guide her out.
She worries her lip through her teeth all the way downstairs.
I can’t stand when something bothers her, pinning her with an intent stare. “I’ll take care of it. You don’t owe an explanation to anyone.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Mika. We’re in this together.”
I refuse to let her face the consequences of my actions, but we’re not there yet.
I’d deceive and maim with zero remorse. Anything to erase that worried look on her face.
Nothing will disturb her peace. Not after years where I had to watch her become a shadow, a silent mouse trapped in a cage of her own making—distrustful, alone.
It has fucking killed me witnessing the haunted expression she wore daily.
I’ll snap Enzo’s neck myself if he threatens what we have wanted most. For her to overcome that traumatic event.
Guilt skins my flesh, aware that what she has longed for most is me.
I should have given her what she desired.
But I was terrified it would give her even more reason to live in her gilded cage.
Then, my sister burst into our lives, threatening to uproot our foundation.
It was Calla who drove Dahlia out of her shell.
My sister is fearless, taking whatever she wants with no regard. Something must have resonated with Dahlia. Even though I gave Calla shit for teaching her to fight, it’s more because the thought of her getting hurt seizes my lungs.
Throughout the drive to the private airport, Dahlia bounces in the seat, barely containing her excitement.
On the tarmac, the sleek black jet waits for me. Enzo and I own two identical ones. They both take off simultaneously when we fly somewhere, minimizing the chances of getting ambushed.
The crew waits for us at the top of the stairs, welcoming us in.
They’ve never seen me with a woman, but don’t even bat an eye, keeping their professional masks intact.
Black leather and brown furniture deck the inside of the jet, just as luxurious and with the finest amenities as everything I own. In the back, there’s a small cabin with a bedroom and an adjoining bathroom.
It will be a long flight with one stop. But that’s another surprise. After the classical concert at the New York Philharmonic, we’ll fly right to Paris.
We take our seats across from each other. A table rests between us, but that’s too much distance, so I move next to her.
The flight attendant asks what we’d like, and Dahlia fidgets with her fingers on her lap. “Just a glass of sparkling water, please.”
“Bring us a bottle of champagne too.”
Dahlia peeks at me, slumping deeper in the seat. “I’m not nervous.”
Buckling her in, I look straight into her eyes. “Would I let anything happen to you?”
She shakes her head. “Not things in your control.”
Her implicit trust undoes me, pumping me up with renewed determination never to break it.
As the jet takes off, soaring into the sky, I hold her hand. She clutches mine, glancing out the round window. I’d like nothing more than to slaughter her fears and bathe in the fucker’s demise.
“I’m your god, Dahlia. If I say nothing will happen to you, I mean it.”
“Not cocky at all,” she giggles, glancing at my cock.
Goal achieved. Now she thinks of other things. The flight will be long, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it pleasurable enough. Then I remember Enzo. We share fucking everything, including our staff. It’s pissing me off.
She senses my unease, so she unbuckles herself and straddles my lap. “What is wrong?”
I cup the side of her face, caressing my thumb along her soft cheek. “Nothing for you to worry about, baby girl.”
Her eyes bore into mine as she palms my chest. “Oh, my Mika, when will you accept that your troubles are my troubles? I feel it viscerally when something is not right… That pain of not being able to help you fists my chest, threatening to stop the beats to my heart.”
Her words unravel me to my bones. She deserves complete honesty from me. But I don’t want to trouble her when I don’t know the outcome yet.
Curling my hand around her nape, I bring her face an inch away from my mouth. “I want you to understand one thing, baby girl. You’re embedded in my genetic coding. I breathe you in, filling my lungs with the very oxygen that keeps me alive. I refuse to live without you.”
Her eyes glisten with raw emotion.
“I’m not hiding or keeping myself away from you, but it’s my duty to protect you. Not the other way around.”
I hear the flight attendant coming with our drinks. She sets the glasses and bottle of water and champagne on the table, taking forever.
I rake a hand through my hair, groaning. “Thank you. I’ll call you when we need you. Don’t bother coming before then.”
She finishes her duties quickly before disappearing at the front of the jet.
The tip of Dahlia’s nose crinkles. “That was rude.”
I shrug, frustration pulling my mouth into a hard line. “I said thank you. But I’m so fucking done with people interrupting or me not being able to do what I can’t stop myself from doing.”
Dahlia brings the flute of champagne to her lips, wearing a teasing smile. “And that would be?”
I incline my upper body toward her, stealing a kiss. “Keep my hands, mouth, and cock off you.”
I raise my flute in a toast, and she giggles.
After sipping the bubbly contents, she places the glass on the table.
She leans into my side, relaxing as I caress her back. “This is my favorite position to recharge.”
“Am I exhausting you?” I ask, worry threading through my gravelly voice.
“In the best way possible,” she sighs contentedly.
That eases me a bit, and she continues, her hand palming my chest, “I feel alive, Mika.”
Me too, baby girl. Me too.
She lifts her gaze, tilting her head. “Am I exhausting?”
“Such a curious kitten.”
She grins, terribly proud of undoing me.
I wink at her. “Body, mind, heart.”
She closes her eyes for a moment and murmurs, “I need you more than music.”
“I need you more than violence,” I confess.
Both our coping mechanisms and the things we excel at made it easier to navigate the lives we were dealt.
And I am sure we just said I love you.
She smiles at me so beautifully broken, the sight pierces my chest.
“Mika?”
“Yes, baby girl?”
“At the end of this, I want you to live. I want you to find the woman who can give you what I can’t.”
My hand stops on her back as she continues. “You don’t owe me a life. You’re the reason I have one.”
“Dahlia.” The thought alone repulses me, bile rising in my throat.
Tears well in her eyes, and she places a finger on my lips. “You’ll need an heir. You’ll need someone to make the darkness bearable. I want you to be happy. And with me gone, maybe… I don’t want to pressure you anymore… to—”
“Love you?”
She gives a small nod, the sigh passing her lips wrecking me.
An epiphany lights up my brain, and I palm her face. My eyes bore into her so she can see the truth embedded there.
“Love? That doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel for you.
It doesn’t cover a smidgeon of how crazy I am about you, how fucking obsessed I am with you.
How much I crave you. How deeply I long for you.
Every breath I take carries you in it. Every beat of my heart pumps your name.
” I inhale deeply, pressing my forehead to hers.
“There are days when you’re the only one keeping me going.
Seeing you reminds me that my heart beats.
That my life carries meaning. That beneath the skin of a monster lies a man in love.
A man who will do the unthinkable repeatedly if someone even dares to upset you. ”
My happiness begins and ends with her. I could never even dream of being a husband or a father if it’s not with her, be with someone other than her.