Don’t worry, Mr. Air Marshall. I ain’t a threat. Not to you, at least.
Having decided there was no one worth spending any more time inspecting, I settled into my chair and pretended to relax. I just needed to walk through economy and take a look upstairs, if they’d let me. Then I could fully relax.
The last few passengers boarded, and the crew made the final flight checks. The bustle of noisy activity washed over me, waves on an immovable rock. I thought things over, re-planning my route to the Paris hotel. I’d memorized the location of the safety deposit box and would go there as soon as possible to collect my guns.
Alexandra
I had watched Cruz walk down to business-class, wishing I could have upgraded his ticket to first-class, but there was no room left. Resigned, I sighed and settled into my seat, getting comfy in my mini-suite as an attendant asked if I would like some food or drinks.
My mind flicked back to Cruz, sitting on his own down in business-class. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and felt a desperate need to be near his big protective frame. I so badly wanted to know more about him.
Needing something to do rather than just sitting around thinking about him, I decided to take a quick shower in the suite, applying a bit of makeup and brushing my hair afterwards. As I dressed, I left my top button undone, deciding to show a hint of cleavage. And then, unable to resist, I headed down to business-class.
When I got there, Cruz’s seat was empty. My shoulders slumped slightly, and I crossed my arms, wondering how I had managed to lose my bodyguard. He wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.
I surveyed the rest of the cabin, feeling the eyes of a few men on me, though none of them were Cruz. So I decided to sit in his seat and wait, fiddling with the controls of the entertainment system.
Cruz
I wandered back into economy after a while, trying my best to not look suspicious as I headed for the rear bathrooms, hoping the cabin crew would assume the other cubicles were occupied.
I walked down the plane on the right, surveying the passengers along the way. No one caught my eye until I reached the end of the plane.
Sneaky bastards…
There were three men sitting in a row on the right near the end of economy. All three looked hard and grim-faced. Eastern European or perhaps Russian, it was hard to tell. They all spotted me as I’d been walking up the plane and were trying their best to look nonchalant. But I wasn’t fooled.
The words of one of my contacts rang in my ears—the warning I’d been given about a Russian crew out to get their hands-on Alexandra’s dad’s software. Possible high level organized crime, or even secret military.
My gut told me these guys were serious. That they were mean, scarred, and vicious.
Why would three Russians be heading to Paris from San Francisco? Flying right at the back in economy, no less. As far as possible from my seat as they could get.
I looked around. The majority of the people near me were asleep or watching a film. I approached the three men, putting my hands on the seats on either side of the aisle in front of them.
“Having a nice flight, comrades?” I said.
They looked up at me, their expressions blank. One of them smiled cruelly for a second, letting me know he’d understood. The Russian in the aisle seat waved his hand at me dismissively, saying something in Russian that didn’t sound very nice.
“What’s that, Dmitry? Got a problem?” I paused and leaned forward toward him. “Because if you do, that means I’ve got a problem. And I don’t think you’ll fucking like that very much,” I said, grimacing menacingly, feeling the adrenaline pump into my muscles. I tensed my arms, gripping the seats tight.
My gaze flicked to the bathrooms on either side of the aisle. Both were unoccupied.
The Russian rose to his full height, a good few inches shorter than me. He didn’t look intimidated. He shrugged as if to dismiss me and pushed me in the chest. He turned his back and headed for a cubicle, likely thinking I was just a random angry American who didn’t like Russians.
Well, he was right about the latter, but my approach wasn’t random.
As he stepped into the cubicle, I swiftly forced my way in, locking the door behind me. In the small confines, he was no match for my brute strength. I lied into him savagely with body blows, a series of powerful punches to the chest, abdomen, and stomach with one final uppercut into his solar plexus. He collapsed, winded and pained.
“Listen, you fuck,” I spat, my finger an inch away from his face. “I know why you’re here. I know what you want, and you ain’t getting it. If I see you or any of your friends again, you won’t be breathing next time.”
He nodded, gasping for air and clutching his chest.
I pushed the cubicle door open to find the other two Russians staring at me. They made no move, aware that now wasn’t a good time for them to show their true colors.
I snorted at them derisively and walked back to my seat, my blood boiling.
As I walked away, I heard the door of the cubicle open. After a moment of bemused silence, the two Russians started laughing heartily at their colleague, who was presumably still half collapsed on the cubicle floor.
I arrived back at my seat to find it occupied. I could see a head poking above the seat, with headphones on. I approached quietly to see who had snuck into my seat, but if I had to guess…
Looking over the top of the seat, I got a view straight down Alexandra’s shirt and found myself staring at the mounds of her breasts and the top of her frilly pink bra. The fight had made me feel alive, and the view of Alexandra’s large breasts, rising and falling gently, had awoken a feeling within me that I’d long suppressed.
I stood still, not wanting to move my gaze. I couldn’t tell if she sensed me. But if she had, I knew the longer I waited, the more of a pervert I looked.
Deciding she hadn’t sensed my presence, I placed a large hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She jumped.
“Oh. Hi Cruz.” She looked up at me and put her hand on top of mine, trapping it in place on her shoulder. I felt a tingle of pleasure at her touch. “Sorry for stealing your seat. I just came down to check on you.”
Who’s looking after who here, beautiful? I thought.
“I’m all good, Lex,” I said. “Just had to take a look around, you know. No trouble to be found.”
We locked eyes for a few long seconds, holding each other’s gaze. I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to kiss her…
“How are things up there?” I asked, gesturing towards first-class and trying to redirect my attention.
She gazed into my eyes for a few long seconds. I got the impression that the minutiae of the first-class experience was definitely not what was on her mind. Each time she stared at me, I got the feeling that she was trying to see straight through me. Trying to figure me out. It thrilled me and made me want to squirm at the same time.
“It’s great, thanks,” she said. “Oh, apart from Olivia and Lucy. They’re starting to grate on my nerves already.” She chuckled. Her hand was still on mine, she squeezed it gently. “Why don’t you come back up to first with me since there’s no trouble down here? They’ve got a bar there. Plus, we still have about three hours left until we get to Paris.”
She looked up at me expectantly, her large brown eyes sparkling.
I considered her offer, thinking about how the only trouble was those Russians, who wouldn’t be trying anything any time soon.
Fuck it, could use a drink, I thought. And wouldn’t mind looking at Alexandra for a few hours, either.
“You got yourself a deal, miss,” I said with an attempted smile that was really more of a rough grimace. But she smiled back nonetheless.
I frowned, looking up at the curtain between us and the stairs to first class. I put on a serious, hard face, my big jaw muscles bunching. “One thing though. If they don’t let me up there, there’ll be trouble.”
She frowned for a second, and then burst out laughing.
&nbs
p; Chapter Nine
Cruz
We spent the next two hours or so sitting at the bar in first class, talking. I was amazed to find a large fully-stocked bar complete with stools and a barman. I found the barman a bit too friendly for my liking though, and he pissed me off when he occasionally thought he was part of our conversation. Alexandra had found it tremendously entertaining when, after the third try at butting in, I’d told him in no uncertain terms to mind his own damn business.
I wasn’t one for deep conversation, but I found talking to Alexandra easy. She was friendly, intelligent, and sassy, which more than made up for my social ineptitude.
She had pressed me on my past, and I had reluctantly told her about my stint in the military, and even mentioned my ex-wife’s infidelity. Alexandra had merely nodded sagely, her eyes narrowed, making me feel like I was being analyzed.
We were now approaching our first destination, the luxury hotel in Paris. Alexandra’s dad had paid for a big blacked-out Mercedes saloon to be ready for me at the airport.
Olivia and Lucy complained about the quality of the bottle of champagne in the central unit between them in the rear.
Alexandra sat in the passenger’s seat. I could feel her gaze on me occasionally and when I had the chance, I would look back at her, only to find her smiling at me, absentmindedly playing with her hair. There was no doubt in my mind that she was sending me signals…
Keep it together, Cruz, I warned myself.
I distracted myself by concentrating on the road. I had memorized three routes in case we were being tailed, though after leaving the plane, there had been no sign of our three Russian friends.
Still, I was starting to get nervous. My long dormant libido had been aroused, and I was developing feelings for Alexandra. Lack of emotion for so long left me confused at the turmoil I felt. And overriding it all was a desire to keep the girl safe. To wrap my arms protectively around her and never let her go. But such thoughts distracted me from my job, which only left me feeling angry with myself.
“We’re here, gals,” I said gruffly as I pulled up outside the grand front entrance to the hotel. As soon as I’d parked, the girls’ doors were opened by attendants, and two bell boys began unloading the trunk.
“About time,” muttered Lucy. I glanced back at her and Olivia, seeing that the ten hours or so of drinking had certainly taken its toll on them; they looked like shit.
Alexandra, on the other hand, still looked radiant. She’d been sensible and had interspersed her alcoholic drinks with water and the occasional coffee.
I took the girls into the hotel while they checked in, memorizing their room numbers. They were on the top floor of the hotel, presumably in a large penthouse suite.
After they’d been checked in and I was confident they were safe, I left to get my guns from the safety deposit box across the street.
Alexandra
Cruz was a mystery. Just as I saw him start to open up, his rusty emotions showing through his gruff facade, they’d suddenly fade quicker than they had appeared.
His confusing anger and distance made me want him even more.
Cruz
The next few days, I decided to keep my distance from Alexandra, for two reasons. Firstly, I was making sure she didn’t distract me from my job; we were now in a place where serious danger could present itself at any moment, and I wanted to stay sharp. Secondly, I needed time to try and make sense of the feelings that had suddenly risen within me. I felt that she was special, and I’d fallen for her much quicker than I’d imagined possible. Even with my hard demeanor and my brutal past, I found myself afraid that I would get hurt, which made me push her away even more. But a nagging thought in the back of my mind kept telling me that I needed to make a decision because there wouldn’t be any second chances with this girl.
Alexandra spent the next five days with her two friends, shopping and spending far too much money on shit they didn’t really need. They’d spent the nights partying at expensive nightclubs, extravagant pool parties, big mansions, and even once on a luxury yacht moored on the river.
I’d stayed with them throughout but kept my distance. Partying wasn’t my thing, a realization I’d come to nearly fifteen years ago. I just wasn’t fond of going somewhere with music so loud that you couldn’t hear yourself think, let along what anyone else tried to say to you. And it was pointless trying to talk to women under those circumstances. Plus, how was a man supposed to enjoy his drink under such conditions?
Needless to say, instead of joining the girls in their partying, I became a silent, protective figure. Alexandra was the only one of the trio who even noticed me, giving me an occasional smile or wave. She would even come over to speak to me sometimes when her friends were goading drunken rich guys.
She’d confided in me that she was getting pissed off with her friends, who only wanted to look good, party, and sleep with random men. She said she’d been laughed at when she’d mentioned wanting to visit a museum, or even going out just for a fancy meal instead of getting drunk.
“Do what you want. Fuck what your friends think. You ain’t gonna be in Paris forever. Gotta make the most of it. So to hell with those airheads,” I’d said to her, gesturing to her friends who were taking selfies with some half-dressed guys eager to show off their top heavy, gym sculptured bodies. It was the most words I’d spoken to her in one go since we’d chatted on the plane. She had beamed at me in return, glowing radiantly from the small bit of attention I’d given her.
As it turned out, she took my advice and had persuaded the girls to visit a few museums during the day, and even talked them into dining at one of Paris’ most exclusive restaurants that evening.
Lucy and Olivia had been making a show of being incredibly bored throughout the day, as they’d traipsed behind Alexandra. While she had marveled at artwork, antiques, and various historic artifacts, they had spent most of their time plastered to their phones, flicking through pictures of their various exploits from the previous nights on Facebook and Instagram.
I watched them, feeling irritated over their seemingly pathological need to show off their exploits online, as well as the way they obsessed over taking perfect pictures rather than actually enjoying the moment. It seemed a bit soulless to me, but I’d grown up before cellphones, the internet, and even home PCs, so maybe I just didn’t get it.
At least Alexandra seemed more down to earth though, actually enjoying doing real stuff. Seeing her happy reignited the fire within me, and I was struggling to repress it for a second time.
Alexandra
Much to Lucy’s and Olivia’s annoyance, I’d taken great pleasure in dragging them through various museums throughout the day. I’d genuinely enjoyed the exhibits, artwork, science, and natural history. But I’d almost enjoyed their petulant boredom even more.
I’d gotten fed up with the constant partying, drinking, and mindless shopping, not finding any of it meaningful. I especially didn’t like drunken rich guys who just expected me to jump into bed with them.
Olivia and Lucy, on the other hand, had enjoyed that attention, and had both had a precession of one-night stands with various sleazy men—much to Cruz’s annoyance, as his flawless security perimeter had been breached. He would often sleep on an armchair outside of my room when Olivia and Lucy were ‘entertaining’ in their respective suites.
The guys mainly ignored Cruz, as they only had one thing on their mind. Cruz tolerated them, but watched them carefully. I doubted he would think twice about swatting them like flies if they even hinted at causing any sort of trouble. I’d half hoped that one of them would give him an excuse to do just that; the thought of him showing his strength and dominance made me hot just thinking about it.
Unfortunately, none of the guys were that stupid.
As I was getting ready for our outing to the expensive restaurant I’d booked for the evening, I partially was getting ready for Cruz. I wanted to flaunt myself in front of him and see if I could get away with some flirti
ng, even if just for a few glorious moments.
All three of us were getting ready in my room, with Olivia and Lucy seemingly forgiving the ‘boring’ day I’d put them through as they chatted away about their various conquests and exploits from the previous week.
I was only half-listening as I curled my hair, catching small pieces of their conversation. “…not very good. Didn’t know what he was doing. His dick was massive, though. So that sort of made up for it,” Olivia was saying, regaling Lucy with sordid details of her most recent encounter. “See, look!”
I turned around to see Lucy staring with fascination at Olivia’s phone screen. “Alexandra, you gotta see this!” she said.
“No, thanks.” I turned back to the mirror and resumed curling my hair.
“You’re so frigid, you boring old lady,” Olivia said. “I bet you got turned on by those statues earlier though, right?” she said, laughing condescendingly.
“Those museums were so boring,” Lucy chimed in. “There’s still quite a few shops I want to see though. We coulda had a look around those.”
I bit my tongue, thinking that if I had to traipse around another ridiculously expensive department store or boutique, I would murder them both. Or maybe persuade Cruz to do it.
“Look, I’m sorry I had to drag your uncultured asses to see something interesting of actual historic value. I was wrong in thinking you might enjoy it,” I sighed, my voice sounding harsher than I meant to it.
“Whatever. It’s just not our thing,” Olivia said.
Her attitude made me think of Cruz’s advice to essentially just tell them to fuck off. In my mind, I replayed the deep rumble of his voice.
Apparently, things were simple when you were Cruz Miller, but that made sense, considering his size. I personally didn’t think I’d get away with his solution, but it was damned tempting.
“Oh, look at this,” Lucy said. “The guy I met the other night, you know, the one with the yacht?”
Mr. Beast_An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 53
