"Finally!You’ve no idea how long I've been waiting to do this."
At last, we were back home with no drama surrounding us, no places to be. All we had was the moment and the feeling of being in each other's arms.
I pulled the covers up over us wanting to cocoon us in our own private safe space, a place where no one could touch us. Nuzzling into her neck, I pulled her closer and felt the warmth of her bare breasts against me. reaching a hand down, I held them gently.
"This is all I ever wanted," she said, running her hand through my hair. "Just to touch you. Be with you."
There was a wobble to her voice. A quiver in her body.
No doubt her mind was wandering to all the things that had happened, the things that had nearly destroyed us. Now, with nothing but the future ahead of us, it was hard to imagine that we were finally safe.
"Is it over?" she asked, unable to believe it.
"Yes. I'm sure it is."
I pressed my lips to hers to show I meant it.
"It's just you and me and whatever we want to do. We have all the freedom in the world now. We can go wherever you want."
I rolled on top of her. Not just to feel the space between her legs but to protect her, to feel her beneath me where I could keep her safe.
"We can go anywhere," she repeated. "I've never really been anywhere at all."
Her eyes met mine. I traced a finger down the side of her cheek and couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Somehow, she'd emerged from everything even more stunning than before. And I knew why. It was because she was like me now. She was a killer. We were equal.
"Where would you like to go?" I asked.
She gazed up at the ceiling in thought and sucked on her teeth.
"Venice," she said. "I've always wanted to go to Venice. It's supposed to be the most beautiful place in the world."
"It is," I said. "Let's go. Today. Right now."
"What? Like... now?"
"Yes, like now! Let's go!"
Her eyes were glittering.
"Can we really do that?"
"My jet can get us there in ten hours. What do you say?"
"Are you serious?"
"Damn right I’m serious. We need to get the hell out of here. Enjoy ourselves like all other young couples do. We've not been able to do all the corny, romantic stuff everyone else does. We could just be normal for once. Hold hands as we stroll beneath a sunset, have dinner outside, share a bottle of wine and get tipsy before stumbling up to the hotel room. We could walk for hours, see the sights. Just be tourists. Just be normal!"
"I want to be normal," she said. "Like a regular couple."
"Then, let's go!"
"You mean it? Really? We can just leave. Just go."
"Yes!"
She threw her arms around my neck and toppled me down on top of her.
"Can we have one of those vacations where we never leave the hotel room?" she whispered.
I answered her with a hand on her thigh. Sliding it up, I felt her softness. She let out a gasp, her whole body moving like a wave against me.
She turned my face to hers and kissed me hard as she opened her legs. I eased myself inside her, felt the way she shuddered slightly as she felt my length.
"I love you," she said, her voice hot on my neck as she coiled her legs around my back.
"Fuck… I love you so much."
I wrapped my arms around her as though I was holding on for life. Don't ever leave me, I thought. We're too perfect together. There could never be anyone like you.
She raised her hips to meet mine, threw her head back and pushed her nails into my shoulder. We were both getting close, both feeling the surge of bliss move through us. But it wasn't just the sex. It was the desperation of wanting to be so close after waiting for so long. It was the overwhelming feeling that we needed to be so close we were consuming each other. It was the sensation of loving someone so much you wanted to fuse yourself to them, to never let them go, to never miss a blink, a heartbeat, a breath...
I slowed down, wanting the moment to last forever and she gave out a moan as her fingers wound themselves around mine.
"Shhh..."
Brushing the hair from her eyes, I hovered my lips above hers, feeling the sweetness of her breath tingle on my skin. Then I thrust inside her hard, just the once.
An animalistic yelp escaped from her mouth as her eyes rolled back into her head.
"Do it again," she begged. "Do it hard."
I waited. Then waited some more, feeling her grow even wetter around me. She began writhing against me, her hips rocking back and forth.
"Shhh... Slow down."
I pushed her body back down into the bed and kept her waiting.
"You're torturing me," she whispered.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it."
I thrust into her again, harder. Then pulled out completely leaving her shaking, angry and unbearably aroused.
"Bastard," she laughed. "I'll get you back."
"Please do," I said.
She pushed me against the headboard, her strength surprising me.
"Woah."
"Lie down."
She straddled me, the heat from her thighs penetrating my sides. From below, I watched as her body formed the perfect hourglass. I reached up and cupped her breasts and she pushed my hands away.
"No. You need to earn it," she said, her teeth pressing into her lower lips as her adorable dimples formed in her cheeks.
She slid herself down onto me and rocked back and forth, her waist a mesmerizing curve.
"Ah... fuck."
She licked her lips and bent down to kiss me. Then fell still.
"Don't stop."
She remained still, her wetness encapsulating me, making me feel as though I was losing my mind.
"Don’t stop!"
Chapter Three
ETTA
"You're killing me," he cried and slapped his hands on my ass, desperate to feel me lower myself down. "Please... Don't stop."
I kept him waiting. Then, when it looked like his face couldn't grow any redder, I kept him waiting a moment longer.
"Fuck."
He clamped his eyes shut and gripped his hands around my waist.
It was the most excruciating, sweetest torture, the both of us lingering in the liminal moment between pure ecstasy and collapse. It was like dying, like being reborn, like the whole world around you floated away and left nothing but heat, love, pleasure.
I watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed, a single bead of sweat falling down the space between his pecs. I leaned down and caught it with my lips and felt the divine saltiness of his skin.
Then, making sure to take as long as I could, not wasting a single inch of his length, I lowered myself down on him.
"Aaargh!"
He lost control, wrapped his arms around me and held me close as he thrust inside of me, both our bodies shaking as we came.
The knot of tension that had lain deep inside my body for so long began to unfurl as it unraveled itself from the strangle hold it had maintained around my core.
I was becoming free. I was able to think again, feel pleasure once again, look in to his eyes and know that everything would be okay.
We fell away from one another, struggling to breathe with our sweat quickly cooling on our bodies. The air around us had changed. Everything had changed. We were together again. Everything was going to be alright.
"I love you," I gasped as every muscle in my body relaxed.
"I love you too."
He lay an arm over my stomach and kissed my shoulder.
"That was... That was..."
He scrunched up his eyes as though he was still recovering and struggling to find the right words.
"Intense?" I offered.
"Fuck yeah."
I rolled over to face him and pressed a hand against his chest to feel his heart beat wildly from deep within him.
"Are we really going to Venice?"
>
"Absolutely. I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be."
"Have you been before?"
"I've been everywhere."
Of course he had.
There were times when there were no differences between us. We were simply two people in love. Yet there were times like this when the differences between us formed a rift. I'd never experienced most of the things someone as rich as him had. He'd travelled the world, met the most extraordinary people and achieved things I couldn't comprehend.
When it came down to it, I was just a nurse. He was a billionaire. Almost a superhero.
"What's up?" he asked, sensing my unease.
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
He pressed his palm into mine and shivered before pulling the covers back up around us.
"We're just... so different," I tried to explain.
"Different?"
"You've done so much. You've been everywhere. I'm just..."
"Don't you dare say it.”
"Just a nurse."
"You're my soulmate," he said. "That's all that matters and I’m going to make sure there isn't a corner of the world you haven't explored."
I couldn't help but smile but there was still a sadness in me, a feeling of insecurity that he would find someone that was better suited to him. Someone who was just as wealthy and educated.
"Seriously," he said. "We're in this together now."
From the look in his eyes, I knew he meant it.
"We've experienced things that class and money doesn't even relate to. It's the two of us against the world."
There were tears prickling at the backs of my eyes. Despite everything we'd survived, I'd never been happier. It was a new start for us.
"So when are we leaving?" I asked. "I wanna get outta this freaking town as soon as possible."
He sat up and ran a hand through his hair as he reached for his phone.
"Start packing," he said. "I'll have the jet ready ASAP. We can be in the air by dinner time and wake up tomorrow watching the sun rise over the Doge's Palace. How does that sound?"
"Amazing," I said and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Jumping up, I reached for my clothes but before I could pick up my jeans, his hand was on my shoulder.
"Wait."
I knew there had to be acatch. It sounded too good to be true.
"Something wrong?"
"Wrong? No, of course not. I got you something. I'd been waiting for the best time to give it to you and... this is the perfect moment, right?"
He reached over to the bedside cabinet and slid open the top drawer.
"Okay, listen. This isn't just a random present, something sparkly I saw in a shop window and thought you'd like. This really means something."
He lifted out a small, black bag with velvet straps. As he handed it over, I felt how light it was. It was so delicate it felt like holding a feather.
"What's in it?"
I reached for the straps and pulled the bag open. Nestled inside a cluster of golden tissue paper lay a box.
"Wait," he reached a hand out to my wrist. "There's something you need to know before you see it."
"Jesus, Linx, the anticipation is killing me!"
His fingers tigthened around me.
"It's special. Really it is and I don't mean because it's expensive. It’s important to me that you have it."
We both stared down into the bag. Now I was desperate to know what it was.
"Can I open it now?"
He let go of my wrist.
"Go ahead."
With intrepid fingers, I pulled apart the paper and plucked out the box. It was even ligther and smaller than I realized. For a second, I just held it in my hand and tried to guess what could be inside.
An engagement ring?I thought. Is he proposing to me?
No. Of course he's not. I could never be that lucky.
Flipping open the box, I saw a silver tulip pendant on the edge of a fragile chain. In the center lay a diamond, sparkling in the low light of the bedroom like a dying star.
“Oh, my God.Linx! It’s gorgeous!”
I turned my back to him so he could fasten it around my neck.
“It’s not just a pretty flower,” he explained as his nimble fingers moved along my back. “Eleventh century Europeans believed the dark, velvety center at the bottom of a tulip’s petals symbolized the darkness of a lover’s heart.”
“The darkness? Isn’t that supposed to be a bad thing?”
I hurried to the mirror to see what it looked like resting against my collarbone. It was small and dainty, just how I felt.
“They believed it was a darkness created by erotic passion,” he said. “But I thought it meant something else.”
He held me from behind and kissed my ear lobe, a rush of goose flesh flying down my arm.
“I thought it was the darkness you and I share,” he said. “A darkness that comes from sharing a dangerous secret.”
I turned to kiss him and felt a rush of love inside me.
“There have been so many secrets,” I said as I pressed my head to his chest. “But I don’t want there to be anymore.”
He held me tight and kissed the top of my head.
“It’s all over,” he assured me, taking the pendant in between his fingers. “Did you see the diamond?”
“Of course I did!”
“Not just a diamond.”
“A symbol too?”
“The Roman’s used to think they were splinters from falling stars but the Greek’s thought they were tears that had fallen from the Gods. There have been so many tears but I wanted to turn them into something beautiful.”
“I love you so much,” was all I could say, too overcome with emotion.
“Come on, let’s get packing. We’ve got an exciting day ahead of us.”
“I can’t wait to get away from here!” I beamed. “Just think. This time tomorrow we’ll be on the other side of the world.”
“With nothing and no one to get in our way.”
It sounded so perfect I could cry.
“I’ll gather my things,” I said. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Sure. Just…”
“What?”
He hesitated and shuffled away.
“There’s just one last thing I want to do before we leave. I need to see Berger. The hospital’s on the way to the airport. Not Normont International. The private one on the south side.”
“This city has a private airport?”
“This city has a lot of things.”
“I’m gradually getting to find that out. You think Berger’s woken up yet?”
He pulled on his clothes and spritzed himself in a haze of cologne.
“I hope so,” he said. “No doubt he’ll be asked to testify and I need to know whose side he’s on.”
Chapter Four
Lincoln
The sounds and smells of the hospital soothed me as soon as we stepped through the sliding doors. At first, I thought it would be the last place I wanted to be but now I was here, it felt like I was on home ground. This entire building depended on me and all the people in here loved me. It wasn't ego that was driving me down the sterile corridors with a smile, it was a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
Berger was on the third floor on a ward and given who he was and the sensitive state he was in, he was kept near the nurses station on the neurology ward.
As soon as we entered, there was a rustle of gossip from the nurses, hushed voices and young girls talking from behind their clipboards.
"You must be here to see the detective," said one of them as she came forward.
Her rosy cheeks and green eyes were still filled with the eagerness of youth.
"He's right here," she said. "You've made it just in time."
Just in time?
Shit...
I thought the worst. Was I about to say goodbye to him? Not that long ago we were adversaries but now we were bonded whether we lik
ed it or not.
"Just in time?" echoed Etta.
"Yep!" smiled the nurse. "He woke up this morning."
She held the door to his room open, keeping an eye on Etta the whole time.
"You used to work here, right?"
"Erm... I suppose I still do."
"You're coming back?"
The nurse's gaze switched from me to Etta and back again. Nurses were always fishing for gossip but right now I had little time for them or their childish needs.
"Thanks," I said and waved a hand to dismiss her. "We'll be fine from here."
I stared at her until she scurried away back to the nurse's station.
"You son of a bitch. You made it."
A raspy voice came from the bed. Berger lay with his head bandaged and bloody. His usually stylish stubble was now a full grown beard.
"Jesus, Berger, you look like you just rode into battle."
"I feel like it," he grunted. "Those bastards knocked me out real good when they crashed into your house."
"I watched you for hours," I said. "Was sure you were dead. You just.... lay there."
He gave us a weak smile and reached his hand through the bars to touch Etta's hand.
"Hey, you're not here to knock me out again, are you?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"I'm... I'm sorry."
"Water under the bridge," he replied. "Besides, I bet you get called a knockout all the time."
"You dog," I laughed. "Just woken up from a coma and you're coming onto my lady already."
He laughed, a great big throaty chortle that erupted into a cough.
"Hey, get me outta this room, will ya?"
"You need to rest," I insisted and tried to push him back down but he was stronger than I thought and tried to climb past me. "Seriously, Berger. Lie down. You need to relax."
"I need a god damn cigarette."
He stopped struggling for a second as a nurse walked past the window and he smiled.
"I guess there are some perks around here," he said with the smile still on his lips.
"You're a total cad," I laughed. "Right, well I suppose I can't begrudge a man a cigarette."
~
The Zen garden was built on the roof as a place where people could take a break from the mechanical, unfeeling machines of the wards where everything smelled like bleach and sickness overwhelmed each room. Up here, you'd never guess you were in a hospital at all were it not for the occasional person in their gowns shuffling along the grass in the slippers.
Jewels And Panties: (Book 1-15) Billionaire Romance Series Page 33
