CHAPTER 9
MIKHAIL
Leah hasn’t said another word in over an hour. And I’ve purposely kept my distance. I know she’s upset, but what does she expect? She shows up here after four years just to fuck with me and turn everything on its head. This morning, I would have said I was in a better place regarding the girl I had to let go...because it’s how things needed to be.
How they need to stay.
But now... Now, my hands buzz with the need to touch her. To pull her into my lap, keep her, and make her mine.
“Sir.” Benjamin’s voice is like goddamn nails on a chalkboard. I suppress the urge to wrap my hand around his scrawny little throat and choke the fucking life from his eyes. The balls on this bastard.
Without looking his way, I motion with my hand for him to get to the point.
“Captain says we’re going to hit some turbulence. There’s a storm ahead.”
Seconds crawl by, and he, for whatever reason, remains standing in place.
“Thanks, Benny.” Leah breaks her streak of silence. For fucking Benjamin, no less. “You don’t have to treat him like that. He didn’t do anything wrong,” she says once he retreats.
“I’m not here to make friends. He did his job and doesn’t need a pat on the back.”
I click my seatbelt and wait for Leah to do the same. But she resumes her silence, gazing out the window. I bite my tongue, knowing damn well if I mention it, that will just be another reason for us to argue, something we never did in the past. And I hate it.
But when the first jolts of turbulence rock the plane enough that she slips from one side of her seat to the other, I can’t hold back any longer.
“Seatbelt, Leah.”
She doesn’t lash out. Instead, she fidgets as if searching for something. “Shit, my phone. I must have left it in the bathroom.”
Jumping to her feet, she makes a run for it, but is quickly tossed backward by another heavy jostle of the plane. I snap off my seatbelt and lunge, catching her before she’s thrown to the ground. Unfortunately, my back rams into the edge of a seat, partially knocking the air from my lungs.
“Oh my god, Mikhail. Are you okay?”
“Fuck,” I groan at the pain, but as long as she isn’t hurt, then it’s well worth the bruising or cracked rib. “I’m good.”
Leah attempts to break out of my arms, but I hold firm and push to my feet while cradling her. We manage to make it to my chair without incident, and I stretch the belt to accommodate her body over my lap.
“I’m sorry. But you shouldn’t have done that. What if you cracked your head instead? And Mikhail...why am I in your lap?”
“But I didn’t. And you’re here because you’re stubborn, and I don’t want you running off again and getting hurt.” I wonder if she can hear how fast my heart is thundering. It’s like a steady bass in my chest.
“Lesson learned,” she murmurs as I tuck hair behind her ear.
“Better safe than sorry.” My thumb brushes her chin, then moves over her lip, and God, I want to fucking kiss her. “ Takaya upryamaya i takaya krasivaya .” (So stubborn and so beautiful.) Leah’s lashes flutter as she leans into my touch. “ Ya bol’she ne tvoya krasavitsa? ” (Am I not your pretty girl anymore?)
My eyes snap up to meet hers. “You learned Russian?”
“ Da. ”
My cheeks are on fire, and I realize it’s from smiling so goddamn much. “What made you want to do that?”
She shrugs. “I was bored, and I figured if I ever saw you again, what better way to get
revenge than to curse you out in your own language.”
I tip my head and laugh. “Touche. And I probably deserve it.”
“Probably.”
A vortex of emotions rage through me. I know I should let her go in more ways than just this moment, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Not yet.
“It’s probably safer if I sit in my seat,” she says, reaching for the latch.
But I catch her hand and shake my head. “You’re always safe with me—and I can’t risk it.
I’m fresh out of partners at the moment.”
She closes her eyes and draws a breath. “I’ve missed you.”
“Leah...”
“I don’t want you to think that I came here to try to rekindle what we had. I came for
closure, Mikhail. Because your memory still haunts me.” I wipe a tear from the corner of her lips. “We used to talk every day. You were my best friend. And then, one day, you were just gone. So I had to leave.”
The unresolved pain in her eyes lances through me, fresh and raw like the day we said goodbye.
“Fuck, Leah...I never wanted to hurt you. But I felt like my hands were tied,” I say, cupping her face.
“You let my dad, my brother, your family...tear us apart. I wanted to be enough and for you to see me .”
I rest my forehead on her chest and grip her hips. “Krasivaya devushka , (Pretty girl.) I do. Fuck, I do. That’s what you don’t understand. You’re all I’ve seen for a long time.”
A small gasp falls from her lips, and before I can stop myself, I’m kissing her like I haven’t been able to in four fucking years. I draw her closer, and it’s still not enough.
“I need you to be quiet for me. Can you do that?”
Leah whimpers into my mouth when I squeeze her thigh and slowly ascend until I find the edge of the tights around her waist. I yank the frail fabric and the strap of her thong until they give.
“I’ve missed this, pretty girl,” I say, sliding my fingers along her slick opening. She clutches my collar and bites down on my neck when my knuckle circles her clit.
“Me too.”
I tear at the seatbelt’s latch and reposition her so that she’s straddling my lap, then dive back into her sweet cunt without wasting another second.
“You’ll have to be quieter than that.” Bringing my wet fingers to her lips, I shove them inside and slip them against her tongue. Leah moans, hollowing her pretty mouth until she gags. “Benny has one strike left, and if he so much as breathes this way, I’ll gouge out his eyes.”
She shakes her head, moaning around my fingers.
“That’s my girl.” The loss of my touch has her rocking her hips against my thigh. “It’s been so goddamn long since I’ve seen you fall apart for me.”
I slip from her mouth, grab the hem of her blouse, and tear it over her head. The plane suddenly jerks, and I hurriedly throw an arm around her while the other grips the seat, keeping us in place.
“You okay?” I ask, pressing my lips to the bridge of her nose where her skin is tinged pink. “I will be once you put your hands on my pussy again.”
Chuckling along the column of her neck, I trail kisses lower until my face is buried in her breasts.
“Touch me, Mikhail,” she begs, rubbing her cunt on my pant leg.
I reach around her ass and drag two fingers over her slit.
“I want you to ruin my pants, pretty girl. Like you ruined me.”
The world outside this plane doesn’t exist. Not when we’re 30,000 feet in the air. Nothing matters beyond this woman grinding against my cock and crying my name.
“Fuck, Mikhail...I’m coming.”
“Yes...that’s it,” I urge as I grab her throat, wholly enraptured by her beautiful face as she splinters.
Warm, wet, and throbbing against me, Leah has me aching for my own release, to sink inside her until we’re both utterly useless.
“My turn,” she says with a grin and slinks to the floor on her knees, freeing my cock from the aching confines of these goddamn pants.
When her mouth slides down my shift, I curl a fist into her hair and tip my head back against the seat.
How have I lived four years without her?
“Mikhail, I know this goes without saying, but watch out for her. You know she’s a little crazy, and I’m pretty sure she fucking drugged me. If my dad finds out she’s with you, he’ll put my head on a spike.”
I don’t answer. Reality coming to collect.
“Hey, did you hear me?” Rodrigo’s voice rattles in my ear.
“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll get her home.”
I stare at the dark phone screen long after hanging up. My thoughts are in disarray.
As I watch her sleeping form, the pit of my stomach hollows. I can’t pinpoint the emotion festering inside me.
“Hey...” Her voice is thick with sleep as she sits up and stretches before touching my arm. I thought I told you not to let me fall asleep.” She pulls my knuckle to her lips and presses a kiss. But the longer our eyes connect, the more she realizes something has fractured. Her beautiful smile fades when I don’t offer one in return.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
Slipping my hand from hers, I adjust my body, and with a slight shake of my head, I say, “Leah, this can’t happen.”
Silence chills the air between us. I wait for her to process, to say something, anything, but she remains quiet.
“The alliance between my family and yours is too important. Everything we’ve built over the years...my future—I can’t just throw that away for...”
“For what?” she bites out. “For someone who’s not worth it? Or maybe it’s because I don’t exactly look like Celeste?”
I snap my head toward her. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
She whips away from me and tugs on her skirt almost desperately, as if she’s trying to cover every inch of exposed skin. Maybe it’s her way of erasing what happened between us.
“Leah.” I reach for her hand, but she recoils like my fingertips are on fire.
“Don’t.” Her voice quivers slightly, and it does strange things to my chest. “Not only are you the biggest dick I know, but you’re also the biggest coward.” A devious little grin tips the side of her mouth. “ You’re all I’ve seen for a long time, ” she taunts, throwing my words back at me. “The Mikhail I thought I knew was a man who always took what he wanted and answered to no one. What are you so afraid of? My dad? Rodrigo?”
“Fear has nothing to do with this. But my family...”
“Save it.” Her gaze shifts to my lap. “Maybe you should go take care of that.” I follow her line of sight to the stain on my pants. And the memory of her face, contorted with pleasure, hits me with the weight of a freight train.
It takes every morsel of self-restraint not to haul her into my arms. But I know what’s at stake. Losing our alliance with the Castellanos would cost millions in product and territory. Fallout is inevitable. I’m the heir to my father’s empire, and I can’t jeopardize everything we’ve built...even if that means losing her. The thought is like a thousand serrated knives to the heart. But once this drop is over, I’ll keep my distance and let time dull the ache for this woman like it has for four years.
As if sensing the resolution I’ve come to, Leah shakes her head and pushes to her feet. Benjamin’s stupid face flashes in my mind, and I catch her arm before I can stop myself.
“Where are you going?”
“Fuck off.”
She attempts to free herself, but I tighten my grasp and tug her back to her seat. Her eyes are
wide as she watches me.
“You go to that man, and I’ll toss him out of this goddamn plane.”
“You’re insane.”
“Maybe, but I don’t make empty threats.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You?” I feel my expression softening as I touch her cheek, expecting her to lash out, but surprised when she doesn’t react or pull away. “You don’t ever have to be, pretty girl. But Benny will regret the day he set eyes on you.”
My words ignite a flame behind her eyes, and she clenches her fists. I’ve just given her the perfect opportunity to use her Russian.
“Sir, we’re flying into a storm. We have to land.” Looks like Benjamin saved both of our asses.