Chapter 37 - Lilia
When Reuben first dragged me away from the motel where I thought I had told Masha to find me, I was merely confused. I couldn’t say I had ever liked the guy, but I had trusted that he wanted to align himself with my family. Now he thought he was going to pull off some kind of double cross?
Did he really think he stood a chance? I didn’t bother telling him I could spout a litany of safe words and assurances.
There was no way they weren’t sending at least three people after me, probably more.
I actually felt a glimmer of pity for Reuben until we pulled up at a dilapidated farmhouse, and we were greeted by a horde of people from the Collective.
I recognized the man who arranged the auction at once, and spent a satisfying moment recalling Gavril smashing him in the face, but it didn’t take long for that to dissolve. Within seconds of being shoved inside the house, I was tied to a chair.
For a while, it was as if time didn’t exist. I overheard their plans for my sister and cousins when they showed up, and how they’d be in a state of confusion when the attacks started back home. My fury and screamed threats only amused them, and got me smacked a couple of times.
All I could do was wait to watch my family be slaughtered.
And then everything sped up, a blur of noise and confusion. I ended up getting knocked over, almost stepped on, more terrified by what was happening outside when the first gunshot rang out than for my own safety.
There was no way I was breaking free from those tight zip ties, but I tried anyway. I thought I saw Masha take a punch as she tried to get inside the house. I closed my eyes and felt someone tugging at my wrists, the slice of a knife sliding through the hard plastic. I was free.
And Gavril was there. He had found me. The rush of gratitude and relief was so strong I almost collapsed, but there was no time for a single emotion as he tried to get me out of the fray. Why was he there? Whose side was he on?
I acted without thinking when I saw my cousin Rurik raising his gun, lining up a perfect kill shot on Gavril’s back.
Among all my ruthless family members, Rurik was most like me.
A lover of books and quiet occupations. He just started keeping bees on his new property and acted like a worried father over the hives.
But make no mistake that he was as deadly as the rest of them when he needed to be.
My shout wouldn’t have stopped him from pulling the trigger, not when he believed I was in danger.
Which, I surely still was. Gavril was going to take me and hide me away again, wasn’t he?
I didn’t know why I shoved Gavril out of the way so that the bullet only grazed him.
I didn’t know why I had a rush of relief when the other man knocked the gun out of Rurik’s hand before he could try again.
Except, I did know.
It was the same thing that made it feel like a knife was plunging into my heart when Gavril raised his own gun at my cousin.
And then instead of killing Rurik, he killed the man who threatened him.
I was buoyed up on hope, which was instantly dashed when Rurik ended up on the floor and I was carried out over Gavril’s shoulder.
What the hell was going on? Who was he working with? Killing his own man to save Rurik, but still spiriting me away from my rescue squad. I tried to get some answers out of him, but he turned to stone, so quiet as we drove that fear began to gnaw at me.
What happened at the farmhouse was a big deal. He must have lost a dozen or more men. Maybe this was the final straw.
We ended up at a private airfield where his jet was waiting. He remained utterly silent, and so did I as he marched me across the tarmac and up the steps. At least I was on my own two feet and not face down across his back.
It was like being in a freezer with a man of ice as we took off. Even the well-seasoned attendant who must have flown with him a hundred times closed herself in with the pilot as soon as her take-off duties were finished.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Gavril bellowed. It was the first time he’d really raised his voice at me.
And it set me off. No more shrinking away into myself. I was emboldened now, by this infuriating man himself. “What was I thinking? Hmm, the flight wouldn’t be long enough to explain,” I snapped.
He glared at me, shock momentarily erasing the look of anger in his eyes. Yes, I was fighting back. And not nearly finished.
“Start with why you thought it was a good idea to run off with one of my guards. You could have been killed, Lilia.”
The true concern that made his voice crack had no effect on me. I was still too spitting mad. “So you think I should just stand by and let you take down my family? You’re crazy if—”
“I’m not attacking your family,” he interrupted, slowly and distinctly, as if I were a child.
I snorted. “It’d be smart if you didn’t, since I already warned them. If you go ahead, you’re cooked.”
“Good,” he said, leaning back, and for all the world looking like he meant it.
“Good?” I asked, thrown.
“I was trying to rush back to LA to stop it, not facilitate it,” he said.
“The Collective in LA is badly fractured, and I’ve been trying to clean house for months with minimal blowback, but you were the final straw.
Now I’ve got more men in from Russia and can get it done.
They’re there now, infiltrating Luigi’s people and waiting for orders.
If I can’t stop it and your family retaliates, a lot of good people will die. ”
I blinked, lost for words. Did I believe him because my heart was yearning for a reason to believe him? He stared at me calmly, waiting for my reaction, still clearly frustrated, but keeping it in check while I processed.
“You could have killed Rurik,” I said, mostly thinking out loud.
“Sure could have.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Sure didn’t.” He leaned closer, across the aisle to where I sat on the leather couch in his luxurious plane. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
He rubbed the area where he’d been grazed, dried blood sticky on his torn shirt sleeve. “I don’t think your cousin was aiming for my arm.”
He knew I saved his life. And if he kept looking at me that way, he’d know why. I wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer. Could it be possible to team up with Gavril to finally end this violent turf war?
“I promised that no one in your family would be harmed,” he reminded me. “And I promised that I would keep you safe.”
His voice was quiet, sure, and almost urgent. He needed me to believe him. I could feel the same yearning radiating off of him that welled up in me. He did make those promises, and so far, he kept them both.
“So we need to bring the rope to the rogues in your organization,” I said, scooting forward at the same time he did. Our knees almost touched. His hand twitched, like he wanted to reach for mine.
“And wrap it around their necks,” he said. “You and me.”
You and me. I liked the sound of it, and for the first time, wanted to fight instead of run and pretend nothing bad was happening. A whole lot of bad was about to happen, but I could face it if Gavril was there with me.
“There’s so much to do,” I said, my heart rate kicking up a notch, not completely because of all the planning ahead.
He nodded behind me, out the window of the plane. Nothing but clouds. And hours until we landed in LA. “Nothing we can do now,” he said.
Oh, wasn’t there?
Everything fell away. I was achy and crusty from fighting the ocean, still slightly in shock from the absolute mayhem that occurred at the farmhouse.
But one thing was certain. Gavril was leaning closer to me, and I was leaning closer to him.
Drawn to each other, inexorably. He had found me somehow, in the middle of nowhere, and snatched me from danger. He had kept his promises.
I believed him.
As his hand moved closer, his fingers sliding gently up the side of my neck and into my tangled hair, I leaned the final inch. His mouth was hot on mine, hungry and fierce. With sure hands, he dragged me across the aisle and onto his lap.
I accidentally hit the spot he’d been shot, and felt him wince. I wasn’t fast enough or strong enough to keep him from getting hurt, and I gasped at how easily things might have turned out differently.
He pulled away from the kiss and shook his head at me, reading my thoughts. “I don’t feel a thing. Not in my arm, anyway.”
His wicked smile as he grabbed my hips and tugged me closer so I could feel the stiff bulge under me had me gasping again, this time for a completely different reason. Emboldened again, I straddled him, grinding against that hard rod pulsing against me.
With a growl, Gavril held me close, pushing the edges of my t-shirt up. I was glad to be free of it, stiff from salt water, and even happier to feel his fingers trailing down my back and up my sides.
He pulled away again to look down as he stroked his thumbs over my nipples, making me moan and wriggle on his lap. I watched his eyes grow dark, and he licked his lips. “I need a bigger plane,” he said, looking around for a place to carry me.
It was a luxe setup to be sure, but beside the short couch I had been sitting on, there wasn’t much room to stretch out. I pushed down hard, sighing.
“You need to hurry up,” I said, reaching for the button of his pants.
Of course, that only made him stubborn, and he gave me a little smile as he leaned me back so he could dip down and drag a taut nipple between his teeth.
I shivered and grabbed his hair with both hands, holding him there.
He teased me until I was pleading with him, grinding hard against his straining cock.
With strong hands, he lifted me off his lap until my backside rested against the seat in front of us.
I clapped my hands down to balance as he spread my thighs and dragged at the waistband of my shorts with his teeth.
After a little maneuvering, they were sliding down around my ankles and tossed aside.
I held on tight, watching him peruse me, perched on the seatback and spread wide open. With whip-like speed, his face was buried in my wet heat, making me yelp with pleasure.
“Oh my God, the flight attendant,” I groaned. We had boarded the plane in murderous silence; now I was screaming. “And the pilot.”
“They’re not invited,” he said, pressing his tongue hard against my clit.
After a few more expert swipes of his tongue, I was shaking, yanking on his hair, begging him for more, and at the same time, overloaded with sensation. It was a miracle the seat didn’t break with all the thrashing I was doing.
I finally clamped my legs around his shoulders and let go completely. The plane dipped in a bit of turbulence as the final, wracking shudders took over my body and I ended up on Gavril’s lap again.
His lips shiny from my juices, he kissed me, his fingers buried deep inside me.
I shook my head and tore at his pants until his big cock was free and in my hands.
He went still, leaning back as I stroked his thick length, sliding my fingers over the liquid at the tip until he made a wild noise in his throat.
“I really want you,” I whispered, breathing so hard I could barely get the words out.
His head was thrown back as I worked his stiff rod, and he muttered something I couldn’t quite make out. It sounded like ‘Is that all?’ but I was too caught up in watching his cock throb in my hand to be sure.
Of course, it wasn’t all. But it had to be enough for now. The need for him consumed me. I had never felt such hunger.
He grabbed my hand and brought it to his chest, where his heart hammered against his ribs. One searing, possessive look had me gripping his shoulders and rising. Planting his hands firmly on my hips, he brought me down onto his cock until every inch was deep inside me.
“Enjoy the ride, Lilia,” he said.
And, oh, I did. Pretty soon, it was Gavril who was making a racket, roaring as I lifted and lowered my hips with abandon. He took over, and I let myself flop against him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he rammed inside me, hard and deep.
A sweet kiss landed on the side of my neck after the final thrust, his movements slowing and becoming languorous. I tipped forward, our foreheads touched. We smiled weakly at the same time.
“What would I do without you?” he asked.
His tone was lazy and flippant as we struggled to regain our breath, but his arms tightened around me as if he couldn’t bear to really think about how things could have turned out a hundred different ways.
I pushed off his chest and dropped a kiss on his nose. If he were serious about stopping this war once and for all, he wouldn’t have to ever find out because I didn’t intend on leaving him.
It was clear the plane was descending. There wasn’t much time until we’d have to act. Could we win this? It seemed impossible to lose at the moment, with the heady afterglow surrounding us like the clouds outside the windows.
But we’d have to touch down soon. Then the real fight would begin. And in battle, there were never any guarantees.