by Jade West
Happy we’d made it.
I really, really wasn’t expecting his desperation to overload him enough to catch up with me outside the bathroom. I was just stepping into the lavatory when he grabbed hold of me from behind and shunted himself in after me.
“I’ve been missing you,” he told me, then locked the door behind us.
I barely let out a squeak before his mouth was on mine.
His hands were frantic as they tugged my sweater and t-shirt up and over my tits. There was no doubt about it, he sure had been missing me as badly as I’d been missing him, but it wasn’t what he was looking for. He was checking my wound all over again.
“This is crazy,” I whispered. “Lucian, this is crazy. I thought you said to stay away from each other at all costs.”
“I did,” he growled. “But I can’t stay the fuck away from you, Elaine. You drive me too fucking wild, and not only that, I’m too fucking worried about you.”
His cock was hard through his joggers and I squeezed him tight, working my fingers up and down him as he pressed me even tighter against the side of the cubicle.
It was him who came to his senses before I did. He took hold of my wrists and gathered his breaths and there was at least some kind of rationality in his eyes this time as he stared at me through his glasses.
I tried to gather my own.
“I’m Penelope Jackson,” I reminded myself. “I have to be Penelope Jackson from here on.”
“You’ll never be Penelope Jackson to me,” he said, and there was a whole fresh burst of fire in his eyes. “You’re Elaine Constantine and I love you for it.”
With that he opened the bathroom door just a crack to check the aisle.
“Just a few more hours to go, princess,” he whispered, and then he was gone.
14
Lucian
The UK was five hours ahead of NYC. My senses were fried when the plane began the descent—the day already marching on ahead outside. My interior clock was a mess, but I still managed to keep my thoughts together and my mind on high alert. I had to. We still had a long fucking way to go.
People were already bustling into action when the plane touched down onto the runway. The thank you for traveling with Jettison Air recordings were lost in the thrum as everyone went full throttle into gathering their things together. I stayed still. Quiet in the chaos. Waiting, poised.
My eyes were all on the woman a few rows ahead of me, getting to her feet with a smile at the couple who’d been sitting next to her.
I let the two guys to the side of me out into the aisle and held back even more, pretending to be busy with my briefcase as Elaine joined the line to get off the plane. I was one of the last people to step past the attendants with a smile and a thank you, and once again there was no flag as to my identity, they just let me right on by with a wave and a you’re welcome.
London Heathrow felt so much different to JFK. I’d been before, and there was always some kind of cultural overtone to it but it felt more pronounced somehow. Maybe that’s what happens when you are effectively emigrating. You get a whole load more sensitivity to the new world around you.
Elaine was ahead in the line far enough that she was out of my view, but I caught sight of her again once we got to the baggage collection. She was on the other side of the conveyor to me, and jumped into action when her friend’s battered old suitcase came out for collection. I gave her the slightest nod as her eyes met mine and she moved along to passport control.
My suitcases were some of the last to appear which again felt damn weird considering I usually had people jumping to attention everywhere I went, clicking my fingers and having my wishes delivered in a flash. That just confirmed again what I already knew. Being Lucian Morelli with an empire around me was very, very suited to my nature. Even carrying my own luggage through to that damn check-in felt like a fucking drag.
Elaine was already through and out the other side when I pushed those dumb glasses up my nose and stepped up to the counter.
I was steady. Composed. Confident. They let me through without a challenge, and then I was there. Done. We were through border control into a whole new country and a whole new life set for the taking. I felt a sense of relief I’d never felt before. It consumed every breath. Hell. Fucking. Yes.
There she was in the main terminal, waiting for me with that battered suitcase resting against her legs, her eyes alive with a clear sense of relief that mirrored mine.
Her arms slung around my neck when I reached her.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she breathed, clearly gushing it out. “I’ve been waiting to say it for hours. Just because I can. Just because I want to. And I can, now! I can say it!”
Fuck, how it made me smile.
“I love you too, baby,” I whispered to her. “Believe me, you’ll be knowing it soon enough. I’ll be showing you how much I love every single little part of you. Inside and out.”
Only that wasn’t for now. Now I was absolutely fucking exhausted.
People were all around us, but they weren’t really looking. We got a baggage cart and walked along, blending right into the masses. Her eyes were darting everywhere as we made it through the main terminal, her enthusiasm palpable. I had to dig through one of my bags to find a bank card associated with one of my other IDs and use that in the cash machine for some British sterling, and she was still wide-eyed at the people and the accents passing by.
Her energy dried up somewhat when we found a cab and they helped us load our suitcases up into the trunk. We practically flopped into the back seat as our exhaustion truly caught up with us. It had been a long fucking flight.
Elaine’s fingers squeezed mine and she let out a yawn as she arched her back against the seat, barely able to keep her eyes open.
“Sleep, sweetheart,” I told her, but she shook her head.
“Not until I can sleep curled up against you, warm in bed. My chest is hurting again, but not so bad.” She smiled. “You saved me from that. You are amazing.”
Yet again, I loved the cuteness in her. Such adoration was the most intoxicating thing.
“Where in the city are you headed?” the cab driver asked and I made up an answer on the spot.
“Elephant and Castle.”
Elaine looked at me as the cab set off. “I’ve never heard of that.”
I shrugged. “Quite a memorable name, you’ll be sure to remember it.”
I’d been to Elephant and Castle once as a boy on my way to some deal with my father. It had certainly stuck in my memory. It wasn’t a particularly grand part of the city, which was necessary seeing as I was yet to organize my identity and my finances. I couldn’t be too grandiose. Not yet anyway.
The outside rumbled by in a blur as we made our way from the airport to the city. I could barely keep my eyes open.
“Elephant and Castle,” the driver said finally.
I snapped back to attention, checking out the street through the window.
I got him to pull up outside a budget inn that looked significantly nicer than it would have if we hadn’t so recently holed up in her friend’s shithole of a neighborhood. It would sure do us alright until we could get our damn life together.
Its mediocrity didn’t seem to matter shit to Elaine. She stared up in abject awe at the building as the cab driver unloaded our suitcases beside us.
“Wow!” She was a sweet little girl all over again with that one little word.
The cab driver was off as soon as I’d paid him, and still she was staring up at the hotel. I held open the entrance door for her to step inside and she was tight against me as we made our way to the reception desk.
“I’m hoping you have a double room available for a few nights,” I said to the woman behind the counter.
She nodded. “Yes, sir. Would you like standard or premium?”
“Premium,” I told her and she handed over a key.
“That will be a hundred and twenty pounds per night.”
Pounds. Th
e word would be a novelty for some time yet.
I handed over one of my credit cards. This one belonged to a fake ID known as Evan Taylor. She swiped it through her machine without any concern.
“I’ve booked you in for two nights, Mr. Taylor. Please let us know if you would like to extend your stay.”
Looking around the lobby, I very much doubted it.
I doubted it even more when we stepped inside the premium room and found it to be little more than a crappy cheap box with a plain double bed, a cruddy little dresser and a budget little TV on the wall, but that didn’t matter. Not right then. It didn’t matter shit to either of us.
Elaine let out a huge sigh as she dropped her suitcase on the floor and threw herself backwards onto the bed. She was washed out, exhausted and showing it, eyes barely open as she kicked off her sneakers and scrabbled her way up to the pillows.
My eyes were barely open when I climbed up beside her.
We weren’t even under the covers when she snuggled her way up against me. She let out a sigh as I wrapped her up in my arms.
“I still can’t believe it,” she whispered after another yawn. “We’re in London. My name is now Penelope Jackson and I live in London.”
Only she wouldn’t be Penelope Jackson, just as I wouldn’t be Jason Reynolds or Evan Taylor or any other of the numerous fake IDs I had in my suitcase. I’d already realized that on the flight, sitting amongst the regular travelers, the thoughts churning over in my mind all the way.
I didn’t want to be Jason Reynolds, or Evan Taylor or any of the other numerous fake IDs I had in my suitcase and I never could be.
I was Lucian Morelli.
I’d always be Lucian Morelli and the world would always know me as Lucian Morelli. Jason Reynolds could go fuck himself, and so could some cheap, pathetic little life on the run.
I watched the pretty angel fall asleep beside me, drifting into lovely steady breaths with the very gentlest of snores, and I let the thoughts tumble and focus one last time before drifting asleep myself.
Just as I’d always be Lucian Morelli, my beautiful sweetheart would always be Elaine Constantine, and I wanted her that way. I wanted Elaine Constantine at my side.
I wanted the world to know it was Elaine Constantine at my side because I was proud.
Proud of her, proud of me, proud of our life together.
What a shame our families across the Atlantic would be anything but.
That was another reason I needed to step out and take charge of our new place in this world. It was the only hope we had of staying alive.
Sure, they’d still come for us, they’d be trying even as my thoughts were tumbling fresh, but to survive it, and attempt to get them to give up the fight, I’d have to stand strong, proud and ruthless. Bold in a brave new world.
One thing was for sure—I’d have a damn fucking load of work to be doing before Lucian and Elaine could take the public stage in this new kingdom, otherwise we’d be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Just as well I’d always been a relentless workaholic, then, wasn’t it?
Only I wasn’t right there and then.
I was anything but a relentless workaholic as I took hold of Elaine even tighter and let myself finally fall asleep at her side.
15
Elaine
I had no idea what time it was when I woke up. It was dark outside, just the orange glow of the London streetlights showing through the window. We hadn’t even closed the blinds we’d been that tired when we’d flopped on the bed.
Lucian was still deep asleep beside me, and I loved that. I knew I’d be loving that for the rest of my life. I loved it way too much to ever take it for granted.
I just hoped the rest of our lives was quite a long period of time, and not going to be snatched away from us in just a few days, if people found out where we were. That was another case of optimism on my part at best.
I needed to pee, and tried to move without waking him, but I didn’t manage it. He reached out for me before I’d made it off the bed.
“Get back here, Elaine,” he said, and his voice was low and beautiful.
“I need to pee,” I whispered.
He let go of my arm with a grunt. “Then hurry the fuck up. And ditch those clothes while you’re at it. We need to rebandage you pretty damn sharp as well.”
I hurried to the bathroom as quickly as I could while still flinching at the pain, didn’t pull the light switch, thinking it might wake up some hitman sniper on the roof opposite. God this was crazy.
I ran the basin tap to hide the sound of me peeing. That was crazy, too. As if that mattered anymore. I flushed the john and had a quick drink from the tap before I tore my clothes off and hurried back on in there, stopping short of the bed. He was sitting up, still dressed, his beautiful face bathed in the orange glow through the window.
He didn’t say a word, just opened his arms and I fell into him as he held me tight.
“God I love you,” I said and it rolled off my tongue in the most amazing of ways.
“Just as well, sweetheart, since I love you right fucking back.”
I knew he was smirking.
I let out a breath against his chest. He smelled so much of him through his sweater that I pressed my nose against him just to smell him deeper. I loved it. Love, love, love. I loved every damn thing about Lucian Morelli, or Jason, or Evan, or whoever the hell he was now.
His fingers trailed up my back and his touch made me shiver—a nice shiver.
That was another thing I loved about Lucian. I loved how hard his cock was for me constantly. It made me feel like the most attractive woman alive. Even now, after grabbing sleep after a crazy, crazy few days, his body was still seeking out mine.
And it was crazy instinct as I ached for his body, lifting his sweater off over his head for him.
It didn’t take him long to get naked.
Didn’t take him long to pull me into bed and under the covers with him, still being so tender around my bandage that he was like a saint, even through his dark eyes.
And it didn’t take me long to grab hold of his cock and squeeze it hard.
“I love what a horny little bitch you’re turning out to be, Elaine,” he said, and his face was illuminated just enough by the glow from the window that I could see his smile.
“So treat me like one,” I whined. “Make me your horny little bitch.”
“Oh, I will be treating you like one,” he told me. “Don’t you worry about that, little girl. I’ll be making you my horny little bitch so much you’ll barely be able to take it, just as soon as we get you nice and healed.”
The pause was magic. Our eyes meeting in that stillness that only the early hours of the morning can give you.
He took my hand from his cock and wrapped it around him, his voice was so deep and pure when it came, when he hugged me.
“Luckily right now, sweetheart, I’m enjoying this too much to move.”
That gave me a weird little pang in my chest. Something like a tickle, because it felt so nice. To be wanted by someone so much that they just wanted to have their bare body next to yours and savor that moment was so weird I never thought I’d feel it. I never thought I’d be good enough.
I reached up and took his face in my hands, just touching his cheeks, feeling him right back.
An I love you just wouldn’t have cut it right then. Even those three magic words just wouldn’t be enough.
Neither of us said anything, just lay there together, holding, breathing. I felt so secure. Protected by the monster.
It was me who broke the silence.
“I can’t believe you gave up being Lucian Morelli for me. It’s just… crazy.”
“I’d happily give up anything for you,” he told me, and his voice was so sincere. “You’re worth everything I could ever give.”
“Clearly, since you’d die for being here.” I gave a little laugh. “Hopefully people won’t hunt down Jason and Penelope and we’ll manag
e to live a sweet little life in the UK.”
He kissed my forehead before he rolled away. I had to blink as he flicked on the bedside lamp, eyes shocked at the light.
His face was so serious when I managed to focus on him, his stare firm on mine. I could almost hear his brain ticking. I could see his mind at work behind his eyes.
“This is the thing though, baby,” he said. “Do we really want a sweet little life? Do we? Do we want to spend our life glancing over our shoulders worrying people are going to catch up with us and wipe us off the fucking planet every damn day?”
I shrugged. “What choice do we have? We could try to make it great, like Kington Peak. We could get a little place somewhere, where nobody would ever know who we are. It could be okay. I do like gardening, you know?”
He didn’t laugh along with me. His brain was still ticking.
“The choice we have, is that we don’t fucking take it. We make it work however we want to make it work. We be whoever we want to be.”
“I don’t think we can be Lucian and Elaine anytime soon.”
I was laughing. He wasn’t.
He wasn’t laughing at all.
“But what if we were?”
It stopped me laughing in a heartbeat.
My face must have looked puzzled. “But we can’t be. Ever. People would come for us. They hate us already.”
“They’re going to come for us regardless,” he said. “Lucian and Elaine, Jason and Penelope, Evan and fucking Matilda, it doesn’t matter. They’re coming for us.”
His words were bristling with fire. With fight. With the kind of strength that people always associate with a beast like Lucian Morelli.
“So, what do we do?” I asked him.
My heart was racing, only it wasn’t fear it was racing with, it was something else. Respect and awe. Because that’s the master in him that stole my heart. The man who controls and dominates whatever is around him, not just me.
Everything.
Every fucking thing in his path.
He was sitting up on the bed, naked and brilliant. I felt like a meek little lamb lying beside him, staring up at the monster.
