6. Alek
ALEK
We make it to the road just as the sun sets. The stars are covered by thick storm clouds. Thunder rolls up above and the first drops of rain fall onto my arms.
The road is quiet. There hasn’t been a car since I found the road and followed it to the state line.
Looking down at Mia, I manage to brush the hair out of her face. She’s fallen asleep, her cheek resting against my chest. I’m able to see the faint yellow hue of an old bruise my wretched son left on her and I grind my teeth together.
The anger vanishes when a small grin twists her lips while she’s dreaming and she buries her face deeper into my chest, as if she’s wanting to get under my skin.
I’d allow her. The closer she is the better.
When we get to the state line, and the blue “Welcome” appears, I look to the left but there’s no way a car could drive into the woods on this side. There are too many trees.
Crossing the road, there’s a path that is wide enough to fit a car. I follow it, hoping no one else has found it. If the vehicle isn’t here, we’ll have to spend the night outside in the dark. I don’t want that for Mia.
“Be here. Be here,” I beg, stepping sideways to make my way between two branches.
She said it was just a few yards away from the road. I stop, the humidity in the air sticking to my skin. My shoulder is on fire, the muscles throbbing more with every second that passes holding Mia.
I won’t let go. No matter how bad the pain becomes.
I scan the woods, knowing I can’t be missing it. It’s impossible to not see a fucking car in the woods. I do a double take between to trees to my right.
There.
Parked right between two slender tree trunks is a camouflage tarp she described to me.
“Mia,” I whisper, hating to wake her up. “Mia, I found it.” I shake her slightly, hoping it’s enough.
She squeezes her eyes shut and yawns, opening those big brown eyes I’ve fallen in love with. She’s so damn beautiful and the light dash of freckles over her nose? I’m enamored.
My son is a fucking idiot. He’ll never have a woman like Mia ever again. He had no idea how good he had it.
“We’re here?” Her voice is tossed with exhaustion.
“We made it. I have to set you down so I can make sure it’s drivable.”
She nods on another yawn, and I ease her to her feet. The pressure on my shoulder eases and I groan in relief.
“How are you feeling?” I grab the tarp and yank it off the car to reveal a rusted Volkswagen Beetle.
It’s seen much better days, but all it needs to do is get us from point A to point B. If it can do that, we’ll be okay. At the safehouse, I have everything we need. Food, clothes, and a car safely tucked away in a garage.
We’re close to getting out of here and getting her to safety. Once she’s at the safehouse, we can plan on where she wants to go from there. She’ll have to change her identity, her name, her passport, which can be taken care of with my connections.
And then, I’ll probably never see her again.
The thought has me hanging my head and pressing my hands against the roof of the car. Never seeing her again can’t be the only option. I don’t think I can accept that. Losing her forever can’t be where this ends.
“Better. I’m breathing easier but I’m still really sore.” She rubs her chest, wincing.
“I’m sorry I had to do that, but I didn’t have a choice.”
“I’m not sorry. I’m glad you did. Drowning wasn’t part of my escape plan.”
“Dying typically isn’t.” I check the tires to make sure they aren’t flat. I’m not sure how long this car has been sitting here or what shape it is in. If there’s a flat and no spare, we’re fucked.
I don’t see a spare.
Mia probably wasn’t thinking about that when she bought the car. She only wanted a way out. She took what she could, and I don’t blame her for that.
“Tires look good. Let’s see if it starts. Please tell me the keys are inside?”
“They are. In the visor,” she explains, pointing for added direction as if I don’t know where the visor is.
I open the door with a hard tug, the hinges screeching loud with rust, and I wince. The sound is like nails on a chalk board. The seats are torn, the stuffing threatening to spill out. Dust covers the dash. A cobweb hangs from the rearview mirror.
There’s a small suitcase in the back. She really was preparing to leave.
Dropping into the driver’s seat, I snag the keys from the visor and send a silent prayer to whoever is listening that this engine will start.
“Come on, come on,” I beg, pressing the gas, feeding the engine the fuel it needs to start.
The engine whines, grinding, doing its best to rumble to life.
I’m surprised it’s working at all. I would think the engine would be dead sitting here this long.
“Is it going to start?” Mia asks, joining me by plopping down in the passenger seat, the tulle on her skirt taking up the entire space.
“It has to.” I try again and the exhaust grumbles and coughs smoke.
But then the engine roars to life.
Now, it just needs to get us to my safehouse.
Fingers crossed.
“Hey! Yes!” I slap the steering wheel in victory and Mia claps, screaming with excitement.
She throws herself across the middle console and wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. “Thank you, Alek. Thank you for getting me out.”
I return the embrace, burying my face in the crook of her neck. My hand slides up the middle of her back, her skin soft under the hard calloused fingertips that have strangled the necks of many men.
I breathe her in, inhaling as deep as I can. The lake didn’t wash away her perfume completely. It lingers on the base of her throat and my lips become needy for a taste.
I can’t.
It takes all of my control not to kiss her divine skin. So soft, so smooth, and flawless. If she were mine, I’d have a sculptor create statues of her so I can marvel at every line and curve her body has. She deserves to have immortality, to live forever in some way.
My men would never be able to get me out of the house again if Mia belonged to me.
She tightens her arms around me, her breath ghosting over the base of my neck. I close my eyes, marveling how close she is to me. My heart thumps wildly, pounding with hope, wanting nothing more than to lean back and meet her eyes with mine.
The silent question in my eyes to kiss her will be answered by a response glittering in hers.
I can’t kiss her in the dress that she was supposed to marry my son in. She’s so hard to deny when I finally have her so close. Chest to chest, her heart against mine, I know this is exactly where she needs to be—where she belongs.
Time stands still as we hold one another, unspoken wishes, dreams, and hopes are passed between us.
In another life maybe…
If things were different…
If she were supposed to marry me and not him…
If.
If always hold what we truly want, a fictional life outside our reality. It’s what keeps us hoping and that’s dangerous for a man like me.
It’s me who pulls away first. I have to. If I hold onto her any longer, I won’t be able to control myself. She deserves more than that. She leans away too, untangling her arms from around my neck. We stay close, continuing to look at one another in a way we shouldn’t.
She’s so close, I can see the dark golden hue around her pupil that fades into a beautiful autumn brown.
Losing myself in her will be so easy if I allow myself to fall even just an inch further. I cup her face, my thumb dragging along her cheek, and press our foreheads together. I don’t say a word. There’s no need to speak when the air is charged with all those what ifs.
She feels it too. I know she does.
“We have to get going,” I whisper into the silence.
She nods, grabbing onto my arm.
I press a kiss to her forehead and allow my lips to linger longer than they should. I have to feel her against me somehow. Someway.
The slight taste of her sweat swipes across my bottom lip. There’s an underlying sweetness so her that I want to explore.
“Fuck,” I hiss under my breath and pull away from her completely, gripping the wheel as hard as I can while I look out of the filthy windshield. My cock is straining in my pants. Long, hard, and leaking for her to wrap her hand around me.
She inhales a sharp breath, probably seeing the evidence of what she does to me.
I won’t apologize for it. I won’t act on it, but I won’t apologize either. I can’t help I want her in a way I’ve never wanted anything or anyone else.
I am completely lost in her, I realize.
I’m already so far gone I’m not sure what could bring me back. Not even loyalty to my own son will stop me from loving Mia.
“We need to go,” I state, my voice gruff and strangled from controlling myself. “Try to get some rest. I’ll get us there, okay?”
“Okay,” she agrees with a sleepy voice, her hand resting on my thigh.
I wait for her to move it. Instead, she squeezes my thigh muscle and relaxes again, her hand staying in place.
And my cock is erect, hard and wanting against the inside of my thigh which is only a few inches away from her delicate fingers that I’ve dreamed about wrapping around me.
I tighten my hands on the steering wheel again, focused on the windshield, and I reverse. The sooner we get to the safehouse, the better. I need space. Being this close to her is havoc on my heart.
“Go to sleep, Lyubimaya. Rest. We’ll be there in about an hour.”
She leans across the middle console again and rests her cheek against my shoulder, yawning. Mia shuts her eyes, her long lashes casting a shadow on the tops of her cheek.
I don’t have the heart to push her away. I feel better when she’s close than when she isn’t. This might be all in my head. What if she is doing this because she knows she’s safe with me? What if I tell her I’m in love with her and I have been for a few years now, will she change how she views me?
I rub my temples, the exhausting day causing a throbbing headache. I can’t wait to get to the safehouse, shower, change, and get some rest.