LAILAH
TWENTY
Stepping onto the plane, I felt like I was still sleeping, because this could only be a dream.
Moments before, Beth had dropped us off at the small private airport, where they took our bags, leading us out onto the tarmac where the plane was.
I’d envisioned something close to what I saw from watching Criminal Minds, but this was way nicer than that.
Boarding, I found myself in what looked like a living room with a geometric-patterned carpet and a black suede couch, throw pillows and all.
Next was a set of captain’s chairs with a small table between them.
On the other side was a larger table and four chairs around it.
Setting my stuff down, I went down the small hallway and found a bedroom with a bathroom adjacent.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, taking it all in.
Brayden peeked his head in, grinning at the shocked look I must have had on my face. He walked over to me and took my face in his hands, placing a gentle kiss on my nose, then my lips. I grinned up at him and caught his lips, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“It’s going to be nice having you all to myself these next couple of weeks,” he murmured against my lips. “You’ve been a hard lady to get alone.”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as our energy wrapped around each other, making me sigh.
It was almost like our powers missed interacting as much as we did.
We agreed to keep things between us on campus limited so I could study at the library hidden in the Elementi’s private section.
If I was at the house, Parker always found some way to talk me into playing with him and getting distracted.
“Hate to break up the love fest, but they are ready to take off as soon as we’re seated,” Micah said from the doorway.
Micah, I was finding, was the biggest cock-block in existence.
He always seemed to know when Brayden and I had found time alone, and suddenly he needed something.
I glared at him as Brayden took my hand, and we walked up front to the couch, where he pulled me down next to him.
Micah plopped down in one of the captain’s chairs and immediately placed on his headphones.
“How long did you say the flight would be?” I asked, resting my head on Brayden’s shoulder.
“Smooth flight, a little under two hours. It sure beats the ten-hour drive or the fourteen-hour train ride,” Brayden said as he ran his hand up and down my back absently.
I loved that he was always doing little touches like that when we were at home.
Other than my parents, physical touch wasn’t something I had practice with.
Brayden seemed to need it, and I was more than happy to oblige, having gotten a taste of how good it could feel.
Most nights, I’d taken to sleeping in his room, and even though we didn’t have sex, it was nice to be held.
After the last experience in his room, it had made me paranoid of being heard again.
We made up for it in the sitting room we had taken ownership over.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Dolton, but can I get you or Ms. Mackenzie anything?” a strange male voice asked.
I opened my eyes and found that I’d drifted off to sleep and was now laying on Brayden’s lap, curled up on the couch. A flight attendant was standing, poised ready to take care of any need we might have.
“I would love some coffee,” Brayden said, then looked down at me. “Do we have the chai tea?”
“Yes, we made sure we had it stocked per your request, along with the sugar cookies,” the attendant said as I sat up. “Would you like me to get those for you as well?”
“That would be great, thank you,” Brayden said as I just blinked at him. Swiftly, the attendant went off to grab our requests.
“You made a special request to have chai tea and sugar cookies stocked on your dad’s plane?” I said, shocked.
“Of course. I also had them make sure we had Micah’s favorite energy drink and Cheetos, along with my favorite organic fair trade coffee. It’s another perk of having your own plane. It has what you like,” Brayden said, amused at my reaction.
I leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you, that was very sweet.”
“Not as sweet as you,” he countered.
“Barf. Barf, barf, barf. You're going to make me sick.” Micah groaned, apparently having decided to include himself in our conversation.
“Fuck you, no one asked your opinion,” Brayden shot back.
I looked over at him in surprise. He never talked to Micah that way, no matter how mean he was.
“Is this what I have to look forward to this whole trip, because if so, I need to invest in some barf bags. It’s sickening to watch you both.”
“You're just jealous,” Brayden said, yanking me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me. “I have her all to myself, and I plan to live it up before you lot join the party. Don’t be too disappointed when she keeps coming back to me, ignoring you. It happens when they practically lose their virginity to you.”
Micah’s face darkened into a scowl. “How the fuck can you be so chill knowing that eventually you and four other people will be sticking their dicks in the same woman? I know I’m no saint, but that’s just fucked up, and the fact that she is totally willing makes me disgusted.”
Micah’s words slapped me across the face as he verbalized my worst fears.
If he was feeling that way, then did the other three think the same thing?
Would I fail at the one purpose I had—to bring this group of warriors together—by splitting them further apart?
The angels picked the wrong person. I wasn’t going to be able to do this; I wasn’t strong enough.
Seeing this unfold around me sent me reeling; I just wanted to leave and hide somewhere, but I couldn't while trapped on this plane.
“Angel. Lailah, wake up,” Brayden said, shaking me and pulling me up so I was facing him and straddling his legs. His worried eyes searched mine. “Lailah, take a deep breath, you need to calm down.”
I tried to do as he said and noticed how fast my heart was racing and how ragged my breath was. Was I having another episode? I looked around and saw the cabin of the plane filled with a slight haze of golden power.
Oh my God, was I going to crash the plane if I didn’t calm down?
Any calm I had was now blown away, and new panic crashed into me.
I was too dangerous to have around; anything could set me off.
What was even scarier was that I couldn’t even tell what was real and what was a dream.
Another set of arms grabbed me, and I was whirled around to face Micah.
I couldn’t look at him after hearing those words come out of his mouth, real or not.
I was fairly certain he felt that way, even if it was a dream.
“Lailah, you need to get your shit under control before you destroy this fucking plane,” Micah snapped, shaking me a little, forcing me to look into his eyes again.
He trapped me with his burning gaze, and this time, I clung to it like a life preserver. Something moved behind me, but I couldn’t lose focus. If I did, I would drown for sure.
“No, Brayden, gentle isn’t going to work this time. We need her to snap out of it now,” Micah said, his hold on my arms so tight I might bruise. “See if you can ground her. If we get the edge off, it might be just enough to steady her.”
It was surreal to be trapped in my brain, unable to control what my body was doing, lost in the flow of power.
Another pair of hands settled on my hips, and I could feel his energy surge into me, but it didn’t fill me.
Instead, his power seemed to be absorbing mine, but it wasn’t working fast enough for me to fight through this power-induced panic.
“Micah, reach out and see if you can burn off some of the energy. My power isn’t strong enough this high in the air,” Brayden said, fear in his voice.
Micah faltered at this suggestion, fear and doubt creeping into his eyes. I was right—he didn’t want there to be any chance he might bond with me. He was more willing to let the plane crash than to possibly end up with me bound to him for eternity.
“Micah, get your head out of your ass and do something,” Brayden yelled, snapping Micah back to attention.