CHAPTER 17 #2
He reaches out and hauls me back against the cool marble wall, pulling me completely into his space to stay clear of the turret's wide lens.
His large body essentially cages mine against the stone.
He leans in immediately, closing whatever fraction of an inch was left between us.
His lips brush the shell of my ear, his hot breath washing over my neck as he explains the only way through this mess.
He has to lift me. I have to wrap myself entirely around him, fusing my body to his so we become a single, compact silhouette to navigate the narrow gaps.
The air between us goes completely thick, heavy with the scent of ozone, fear, and something a hell of a lot darker.
My chest heaves against his, my breasts brushing the coarse fabric of his waistcoat with every jagged, uneven breath I take.
This requires totally abandoning my personal space.
It requires handing over every ounce of my physical vulnerability to a man who thrives on control.
"Your legs around my waist. Tight," he breathes into my ear.
"If you slip, we both burn."
"Do you trust me, Ruby?"
I give a short, sharp nod because my voice isn't working.
I don't trust him. I don't trust any man in this godforsaken building, but I want to live more than I care about my pride right now.
As the turret sweeps away with a mechanical click, Andrei moves.
His massive, calloused hands slide directly up my bare thighs.
He doesn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, his grip firm, completely functional, and entirely bruising as he prepares to hoist me off the ground.
The sudden, raw heat of his palms against my exposed skin sends a violent jolt through my entire nervous system that completely eclipses the fading adrenaline rush.
My fingers dig frantically into his broad shoulders, my ruined nails catching on the expensive fabric of his suit.
"Hold on."
"Now. Lift."
"Don't move your feet."
He lifts me off the floor like I weigh absolutely nothing, the thick muscles of his back and shoulders bunching underneath his suit jacket.
I immediately hook my legs around his waist, my bare thighs locking around his narrow hips, and cling to his neck for dear life.
Our sweaty bodies slide together in the stifling heat of the hallway, silk and skin sticking and creating a desperate kind of friction.
I bury my face directly into the crook of his neck, breathing in the salt of his sweat and the iron tang of the blood drying on his collar.
My heart thuds against the solid wall of his chest in perfect, frantic syncopation with his own heartbeat.
I can feel the hard ridge of his belt buckle pressing sharply against my stomach.
Every single muscle twitch he makes translates through my entire body.
We are basically functioning as one organism, entirely dependent on his terrifying strength to keep us from touching the light.
"Close your eyes," he orders softly.
"I have you, Malyshka."
"Blyad, you're shaking. Stop it."
I clench my jaw, squeezing my eyes shut so tightly I see stars, and force my limbs to lock into place.
Andrei begins the transit. He twists his torso with agonizing precision, angling my suspended body over one burning beam and dipping under another.
It is a terrifying display of raw athletic power and absolute balance.
One of his hands leaves my right thigh to brace flat against the marble wall for stability, his massive bicep flexing and pressing hard against my ribs.
We glide through the center of the red box.
The crimson light paints grotesque, shifting patterns across our tangled limbs through my closed eyelids.
The sound of his labored breathing is right in my ear, masking the terrifyingly close crackle of the lasers passing mere inches from my exposed ankles.
If he drops me, I don't even think I'll have time to scream. I'll just be dead.
"Don't let go."
"Almost... there..."
"Steady."
He clears the final intersection of the box and gently lowers me down.
The moment my bare feet hit the polished floor, my knees buckle slightly, but we don't break apart immediately.
We stay pressed flush against each other, chests heaving wildly as the turret sweeps back over the empty air we just occupied.
The cool AC rushes back into the space between our bodies as his grip loosens, but the air is completely charged with the residual heat of the lift.
It's a heavy, crushing acknowledgment of the total physical surrender I just gave him.
His large hand lingers on my waist for a second too long, his long fingers splayed wide against my hip, branding the skin through the silk before he slowly, deliberately pulls away.
"You're okay," he says, his voice rougher than usual.
"We're not done yet."
"Keep your head down."
Andrei releases me completely and snaps his attention back to the hallway, gesturing sharply for the next phase.
The corridor narrows drastically here, the lasers shifting from a geometric box into a series of sharp, diagonal slashes that leave almost no walking room.
The only physical way through is to press completely flat against the right wall and inch along sideways, like human spiders.
He gestures for me to take the lead this time so he can monitor my movements from behind.
I shake out my hands, clenching and unclenching my fists to force the blood back into my numb, white fingers.
"Go. I’m right behind you."
"Back to the wall. Flat."
"Don't look back."
I step up to the wall, pressing my shoulder blades and the back of my head completely flat against the cold marble.
We start to inch along. The space is so claustrophobic that Andrei is essentially shielded by my body.
His chest constantly brushes against my back with every agonizing sideways step we take.
His arm reaches over my shoulder, caging my head in as he finds purchase on a piece of decorative molding to steady himself.
Every microscopic slide of our feet is a shared friction of skin and fabric.
The intimate contact makes the already thin air feel impossibly heavy.
I can feel the heat radiating off him through his suit, smell the mint and tobacco on his breath as his chin brushes against the top of my head when he leans over to check our clearance.
I have to bite the inside of my cheek until it bleeds to stop my mind from focusing on the feeling of his body against mine instead of the lethal lasers inches from my nose.
"Left foot... slide it."
"I'm right here."
"Suka, it's tight."
We clear the diagonal section and finally stop.
I turn my head, my cheek pressed to the cold stone, and see the heavy, ornate oak door of Hemlock’s office only ten feet away.
We made it. But before I can take a step forward, Andrei’s hand clamps down hard on my shoulder, stopping me dead.
He points silently at the floor. Stretched across the width of the hallway, sitting barely an inch off the ground, is a nearly invisible, hair-thin tripwire.
It’s positioned directly under the absolute densest cluster of the laser grid.
There is no physical room to simply step over it.
You would hit a laser with your waist the second you lifted your leg.
The final puzzle is pure, unadulterated malice.
It forces a dynamic, explosive movement in a space explicitly designed to execute you for moving too fast. I squint at the faint shimmer of the wire in the red light, my eyes watering from the strain of staring at the lasers for so long.
"One more." Andrei’s voice is grim.
"It’s a pressure wire. Step on it and the turrets go active."
"We have to leap-frog it."
I stare at him, my eyes wide, my heart hammering a chaotic rhythm against my ribs.
I take a deep, shaky breath, my lungs expanding against the tight silk of my slip.
He lays out the maneuver in a harsh, rapid whisper.
He will brace his back against the wall, lock his hands together, and form a step.
I have to step into his hands, and he is going to physically throw me over the wire and through the microscopic gap in the lasers above it.
I have to clear the wire, navigate the grid mid-air, and land perfectly silently on the other side.
Then, he has to jump it himself. It's a literal leap of faith.
"You have to jump when I lift," he commands.
"Land on the balls of your feet. No sound."
"Trust me. One last time."
I don't say a word. I just nod, stepping forward and placing my bare, bloodied foot squarely into his clasped hands.
My weight settles into his grip. I close my eyes for a split second, centering the chaotic, feral energy buzzing under my skin.
Andrei exhales a sharp puff of air against my cheek as he counts down.
"One..."
"Two..."
"GO!"