Air Bound

15

AIRIANA’S feet were killing her. She was bone tired. Exhausted beyond all comprehension. She couldn’t think, and that had never happened before in her life.

“Your feet are going to bleed if you keep insisting on walking. Let me carry you,” Maxim said for what seemed like the millionth time.

He didn’t understand why she didn’t want to be carried—why it mattered so much to her. She was small and she didn’t have the best figure in the world. Her face looked young—although maybe not so much all battered—but that wasn’t the point. She was a grown woman. It was important to her that he saw her as a grown woman as well.

She supposed that sitting down right in the middle of the path they were on would be childish. “I can walk, Maxim. You’re not any better off than I am.”

She’d been a bit appalled that she’d been clinging to his back while they were underwater when she got a good look at him. “But we’re not passing up any more places to sleep. No matter what, we’re taking the next one. I don’t care if every single one of Evan’s men is camped out there. I’m about to launch a mutiny.”

He glanced down at her and her heart skipped a beat. There in the moonlight, his face appeared more ruggedly handsome than ever. She was a mess. Black eyes didn’t look good on anyone, and hers was swollen with an ugly cut above it. She definitely wasn’t the glamorous type.

“If you’re seriously thinking of mutinying, it’s important that you know I singlehandedly stopped a couple of serious rebellions in foreign countries. I’m just saying you might want to rethink.” His voice was droll and his fingers tightened around hers as though she might try to bolt at any moment.

She found she could still laugh, and it felt a bit like a miracle. There wasn’t a place on her body that didn’t hurt. Her bones hurt. She couldn’t imagine how exhausted he was. She had slept a little on the submarine but he hadn’t slept at all. He was bleeding in half a dozen places.

“You know, if we meet anyone, they’re going to think we’ve been in a war,” she said. “That and our clothes are wet—well, damp now.” He’d blown warm air on her clothes and they were mostly dry now.

She was thankful it was a warm night. Still, she was shivering uncontrollably and her teeth were beginning to chatter.

“I’m good at talking. We’ll be fine.”

She sent him a look from under her lashes. “You mean you’re good at lying.”

He smiled at her, and his smile was worth the last hour of torture. “Excellent at it. And I’m especially adept at knowing when someone else is lying.”

He’d be great to have around when she was raising the children, but she kept the thought to herself. “Maxim. I don’t want to be a whiner or anything, but I have to stop. I don’t care if we sleep under a bush, I have to lie down.” If she didn’t, she was going to fall down.

“Just ahead is another resort. I’ve been there before and it has a few cabanas on the beach. If I remember correctly the cabanas were set a good distance from one another. I’ll be able to see anything coming at us. You can sit outside and rest while I go in and negotiate.”

“So you knew where you were going all along,” Airiana said. Sometimes she wanted to kick him. Hard. “You could have just said you knew where you were going so I knew there was an actual destination instead of thinking we were wandering around lost.”

His eyebrow shot up. “You thought I’d get us lost? Seriously, Airiana, this is me you’re with. I always have a plan and then at least two more backup plans. I don’t ever think things are going to work out perfectly, that would be ludicrous, so I have contingency plans for my contingency plans.”

She did kick him. His calf felt a little like an oak tree, and it hurt her bare toes. She glared at him, certain it was his fault. “Have you ever considered communicating? Sharing your plan with your partner?”

“Did you just kick me?” He sounded shocked.

“There you go again. Your communication skills suck. Clearly I’m annoyed with you. You could at least pretend it hurt.” She hopped the next three steps, keeping the blackest scowl on her face that she could, although her sense of humor was kicking in. “Pretend it hurt. That, at least, would give me some satisfaction.”

“I’m beginning to think you were underwater too long and it’s affected your brain. Stop hopping around like a rabbit. I’ll have to pick you up and then you’ll start with your attitude.”

“I don’t have an attitude, Mr. I’ve-Got-My-Bossy-Pants-On.” She took three more steps, trying to ride on her sense of humor, but there was no more fuel in the tank. “I’m sorry. I’m going to sit down right here and wait for you to do your thing.” She stopped walking and would have sunk down into the strip of sand they were crossing, but he caught her around the waist, preventing her from doing so.

“See that little patio to our right?” Maxim swung her into his arms. “I’m going to put you in a chair. You’ll be in the shadows. Wrap yourself in layers of air to distort your image just in case anyone comes near.” He strode across the sand quickly, blurring their image as best he could.

Working with air was easy enough if one was still, but blurring a moving image was difficult and took concentration. Looking down at her stark white face with the swelling and bruising actually hurt. She didn’t belong in his world. He cursed himself for ever bringing her into it in the first place.

Her hand came up and caressed the shadow on his jaw. “Sometimes you look so lonely and sad, Maxim, it breaks my heart.”

She lifted her face and brushed a kiss across his mouth. Soft. Barely there. He nearly stumbled. His heart turned over. It was impossible not to respond to her. No matter how hard he tried, she was already inside him. There was little point in fighting it anymore, he was just thrashing around, making a fool out of himself. Love had found him in the form of a small, ethereal woman who didn’t have the sense to run.

“I’m not alone anymore.” He managed to get the words out around the lump in his throat, sounding more gruff than pleased. “I’ve got you.”

She laughed softly and nuzzled his throat. “That’s my grumpy man. You always have the best declarations of affection. You make me sound like a pain in the ass.”

“You are a pain in the ass,” he admitted. “But you’re my pain in the ass.” He toed a chair into the deepest shadows and placed her in it, leaning down, one hand on either armrest to cage her in. His eyes met hers. She looked absolutely exhausted. “Don’t leave this chair for any reason. Don’t fall asleep. You have to stay alert and warn me if there’s trouble coming. It will be difficult, I know you’re tired, but I need you to do this.”

She nodded. “Do you have a bottle of water? That will help.”

“I won’t be long.” He pulled the bottle from the war bag and then kissed her gently. “Please stay here, Airiana.” His fingers found her hair of their own accord. He was so far gone that he couldn’t just walk away and take care of business. He detested leaving her when she looked so vulnerable.

She touched his face. “I don’t think I could move if I had to. Just find us a place to rest. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ve been here before. I can get us anything we need,” he said with confidence.

He’d used the resort on three occasions over the past five years. All three times he’d been hunting and had used the resort as his base. He’d established his cover—a businessman from the United States, Max Walberg, and all three times, he’d been successful in ridding the world of three very dangerous men. One had been a Russian mobster, another a Colombian drug lord and the third had been a senator from the United States.

The three men had all died of “accidents.” He was very good at slipping in and out of the shadows without being seen. And he was especially good at establishing a rapport with owners of small resorts.

His clothes were worse for wear, but they were more damp than wet thanks to the warm wind and the long walk. He entered the tiny office. The family who owned the resort actually resided there and the office was in the front of their residence. The moment he entered a bell rang.

Jorge Estrada never appeared to sleep. Maxim always arrived in the middle of the night, and Jorge always greeted him within minutes, fully dressed, alert and with a welcoming smile. Over the years Maxim had made certain to recommend the small resort to “friends,” and Jorge appreciated the business. Maxim was also a heavy tipper.

“It’s been too long,” Maxim greeted the man. “How’s your family?” The resort was a family-run business with uncles, aunts and cousins helping out. Jorge had three beautiful little girls who sang songs as they followed their mother around.

“Good. Good. But I don’t have your room ready. There was no reservation.” Jorge looked extremely distraught. He prided himself on his efficiency.

“What?” Maxim looked shocked. “My secretary made all the arrangements. This has been a horrible day. I got married, Jorge. I’ve brought my bride here for our honeymoon. I told my secretary to make certain we had the honeymoon cabana.”

Jorge looked more upset than ever, shaking his head.

“We got in a car accident,” Maxim added. He held up his hand when Jorge looked as if he might have a stroke. “We’re both a little beat up but fine. We’re just tired and hungry and now this. Do you have anything open?”

The honeymoon cabana was set apart on the beach. It was kept for big spenders, the jewel of the resort, and it was exactly what Maxim wanted. There were no other huts close, and he’d be able to see the enemy coming a mile away. He always carried money in his war bag, extra clothes and weapons, and in this case, the money would come in very handy.

“I told my wife all about the honeymoon cabana. She’ll be disappointed, but she’ll understand.”

“No. No. You must have it, Senor Max. There is no reservation until two nights from now. I can find something else for them.”

“But this works out perfectly,” Max said, very happy, all smiles, pulling out his wallet and handing over a huge sum of money without so much as glancing at it. He was beaming. “We can’t stay more than a couple of days. That’s why it was so important to me; I’ve got another trip I have to make and I didn’t want her upset cutting our honeymoon so short. This is great, Jorge, thanks.”

Jorge handed over the key. “Are you hungry?”

“Anything would be fine, Jorge. You know me, a burrito will do the trick. Whatever you’ve got.”

“What about your wife?”

“Anything you have will be fine.”

“I’ll bring you something in a half hour.”

“That sounds great. Thanks.” He’d established Max Walberg’s easygoing personality five years earlier. The staff liked him and always went out of their way for him because he never complained and he always thanked them both verbally and with his money.

Maxim made his way back to Airiana slowly, his eyes finding her in the darkness. For a moment, he had to stop, love overwhelming him. It rose out of nowhere, that intense emotion he never thought he’d feel. She was curled up like she often did, her knees drawn up in the chair, her chin on top of them. She was alert, just as she promised. Every few moments she’d lift the bottle of water to her mouth and take a sip to keep herself awake.

“Everything is set, baby,” he said as he approached her.

She looked up at him and smiled. Just that. A smile. His heart reacted with a strange twist that was actually painful. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever encountered—and it had little to do with her looks.

“How far is it to our cabana?”

“Honeymoon cabana,” he emphasized.

She lifted her head with an effort and pushed back her hair. “Wow. My dream honeymoon. I’m looking like a drowned rat, and you’re all perfect again.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Perfect? It’s nice to know, when you aren’t thinking of kicking me, that you think I’m perfect.”

She held up her arms, forgetting all of her former objections to being carried. She was evidently too tired to worry about appearances. She slid her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face against his throat.

Maxim carried her to the honeymoon cabana, his heart pounding hard with every step. He hadn’t known a man could feel the way she made him feel. He hadn’t known he was capable of such an intensity of emotion.

The cabana was built solidly, although the roof appeared to be straw and grass. The inside was nice, beautifully laid out for a man like him. The windows were large for views and he could see several quick exits should there be need. He set her down in the center of the room and looked her over.

He’d never felt so possessive of anything—or anyone—in his life. In that moment, he realized his woman had less choice than he did. He would never let her go now that he’d made up his mind he would stay with her. He would love her with everything in him—and he would guard her with a ferocious passion that would probably drive her crazy.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve gotten us into?” he asked, still half angry that she could change his life in the blink of an eye.

She smiled. “Right now, Maxim, all I want to do is lie down and sleep. Can we talk about relationships later? If that’s what you’re referring to.”

“Come here. You need to get in a warm shower. Jorge will bring food in twenty minutes and he’s usually very prompt. I’ll want you to stay out of sight until he’s gone. I need to check your feet again, make certain there isn’t sand in those cuts.”

She took the two steps to him, standing in front of him, looking up with so much trust in her eyes he nearly groaned. “I used air to cushion them as we walked.”

“Damn it, honey. You’re killing me.” He didn’t tell her why. What was there to say? He’d already made up his mind she was his, and he was taking her whether he deserved her or not. Whether it was a good idea or not. “Lift up your arms, I’m going to take your shirt off.”

Airiana’s sky blue eyes met his. She blinked and complied with his command, allowing him to tug off the wet, salty T-shirt, revealing the massive bruises over her ribs where Gorya had kicked her. He expected her to cover her breasts, but she didn’t. She just stood in front of him without a murmur while his hands dropped to the fastening of her jeans.

He had been thinking only of getting her warm, clean and in bed where she could rest, but seeing the look of absolute trust sent an unexpected rush of heat through his veins. Trust such as hers was a precious gift few ever received in their lifetime. She’d gone into the sea with him when she didn’t know how to swim. She’d shot more than one man for him. He’d given her a crash course in using a tank beneath the water and she’d been terrified, but she’d done it.

Without a doubt, if he insisted on having sex with her, no matter how exhausted she was—or afraid—she would give herself to him. He could see her consent—her gift—in her eyes. She’d been showing him all along what love was and he hadn’t gotten it. He had wanted to reach for it with both hands, yet he hadn’t, and that hadn’t stopped her from giving to him the same unconditional trust that she was giving him now.

She offered him the world, right there in her blue eyes, and he’d thrown it back in her face. His offer to her had been more of an order, a command. Her choices were gone—taken from her—almost as though, without realizing it, he was retaliating against her. He’d been arrogant, so certain he knew better than anyone else, yet truthfully, he’d been afraid to love, to have so much to lose all over again. He’d been striking out at the person who had offered him a priceless gift instead of treasuring her.

He shimmied her wet jeans down her legs, wincing when he saw the stark bruises there as well. It was a wonder she’d walked so long. He’d sustained bruises like that during fights and knew firsthand how painful movement could be.

He stripped and threw his clothes on top of hers. The resort had a laundry service and perhaps they could save the items. At the moment, he only cared about getting Airiana into a shower to get the sea off of her and then into a bed to rest.

Taking her hand, he led her into the bathroom, surprisingly luxurious for a cabana. The water was warm immediately and he tugged to bring her under the spray. When he glanced down at her, she was frowning. His heart jumped.

“What is it, honey?” he asked gently.

“You’re hurt. In a hundred places.” She reached up to touch his arm just below where one of the bullets had kissed him.

“Nothing fatal. That’s always what counts.” He forced himself to sound cheerful. She looked battered—completely battered—with bruises coming up all over her body. “If someone saw you right now, I’d be arrested for domestic violence.”

She glanced down at her body, looking a little shocked. “We both look terrible. I should have checked you out instead of feeling sorry for myself, Maxim. I’m sorry. I could have at least used your first aid kit to close some of the bigger wounds.”

He used the shampoo on her hair to give himself something to do besides kiss her, because he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to frame her face with his hands and taste her lips, pouring everything he ever was or ever could be into her mouth. He wanted to crush her body close to his, hold her in his arms, feel her softness melting into him and protect her with a fierceness only he was capable of. Instead, he massaged her scalp and then rinsed suds and salt from her thick platinum hair.

“I’ve had worse, Airiana. I might look bad, but all the wounds are fairly superficial,” he assured.

She leaned into him, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were both naked. He hadn’t considered that, as tired as he was, as exhausted as he knew she was, he’d become aroused. He had far too much discipline for that, so why the hell was his body not cooperating?

Her arms slipped around his waist and she clung to him as he rinsed her hair a second time, after using the resort’s conditioner. She was short, far shorter than him, and he found his shaft resting between her small breasts. Her body was soft and warm, and the spray of water didn’t help. She didn’t seem to mind—or notice. Maybe she was just too damned tired, but he had one hell of a hard-on and he wasn’t a small man.

“Airiana?” She was killing him. He scrubbed the salt from his own hair and body. She didn’t move, but stayed wrapped tightly around him, holding him to her.

“Mmm?”

He closed his eyes briefly. She sounded drowsy. Sexy. The last thing he needed. He must be far more tired than he realized to have so little discipline.

“All right, baby,” he said, gritting his teeth. “We need to get you in bed.”

“I’ll just sleep here, thank you,” she replied.

He snapped off the water with a little more force than necessary. He didn’t mind if she slept on him. His shaft was quite happy in its resting place, although his brain was filling with erotic images that would have shocked his partner.

“The bed will be more comfortable,” he promised and grabbed a towel to hitch around his waist and a second one to dry her off. “Jorge is going to be here any time with our meal. Let’s get you on the bed. We’ll drop the mosquito netting and wrap air around the bed. He knows me as Max Walberg. If someone comes by asking questions, he won’t be able to describe you and he won’t even consider we’re the couple everyone is looking for.”

She didn’t answer him, and he swept her into his arms, cradling her close to his chest—to his heart. He might not be able to say sweet words to her aloud without feeling foolish, but he could feel them when she was this close to him. They had two days to recoup before the honeymoon cabana would be claimed by another couple. There was no way he was going to be able to keep his hands off of her for two days. Not and lie beside her in that bed.

She turned to the pillows the moment he set her down. Maxim took his time examining her feet before wrapping them again. He swept a cover over her body and dropped the heavy netting. Even from the bed the view was fantastic, the waves looking close as they rose and fell, white foam curling invitingly. He glanced toward the main resort to see Jorge coming.

He hadn’t taken the time to stash a few weapons around the rooms—very unlike him. The sight of her body so bruised and battered really bothered him. He dragged on a shirt to hide the wounds on his own body and opened the door, towel drying his hair as he greeted the owner.

“Thank you, Jorge. We’re starving.” Maxim stepped back to allow Jorge to enter and put the tray on the table. He kept his hands free, although he felt fairly safe with the owner. There had never been any indication that the man was anything than what he appeared. Still, Maxim wasn’t a trusting man and less so now that Airiana was with him.

Jorge looked past him to spot the clothes on the floor. “Let me take your clothes. Maria will launder those for you,” he offered.

Maxim managed to look surprised, as if he hadn’t noticed the wet clothes—or deliberately left them on the floor to command Jorge’s attention. “Oh. Thanks.” He wanted the man looking at the wet clothes on the floor of his most prized cabana and not at his woman curled up in the bed.

Jorge took the clothes, and with his happy, knowing smile left them to do what honeymooners do.

Maxim took the plate of food to the bed. He stood for a moment looking down at her. She looked far too small there in the large bed, hardly making a ripple beneath the sheet. The bruises stood out starkly on her pale skin, looking obscene to him. He sank down beside her.

“I know you’re exhausted, honey, but I need you to sit up just for a minute or two and try to eat something.”

Her long lashes fluttered. She opened her eyes without lifting her head. Need punched him low and wicked. Hard. And it was need. He sighed and pushed back her hair with gentle fingers. “You know I’m not going to be able to do without you. Not ever. We’re bound together, you and me, for all time.”

A soft smile curved her mouth—that mouth that was giving him far too many fantasies. Her blue eyes lit up. “That’s so sad for you. I know you aren’t thrilled.”

“I’ve decided there might be a few perks I hadn’t considered.”

She laughed softly and turned over to stretch. He winced when she did, but she didn’t complain. Instead she sat up, pulling the sheet up under her arms.

“I can’t imagine what perks you’re thinking of.”

“Sex.” He said it bluntly.

“I don’t know a thing about sex. Not one single thing. You’re the first man I’ve ever kissed. I don’t think you’re going to be all that thrilled with me as a lover.”

He laughed softly. “You really don’t know a thing about men, do you? Especially a man like me. I’m quite happy teaching you how to be my lover.”

He didn’t want much more discussion on the matter as his body was already as hard as a rock in anticipation. Thinking about burying himself inside her hot, slick channel, surrounded by her soft body, was doing things to his own body he’d never experienced before.

Every seduction had been calculated and planned for a specific reason. The women were targets—or he had been one. Either way, the act of sex had been just that. He had a certain expertise, taught, and used when necessary, but his emotions had never been involved. In his own way, he supposed he was as much a virgin as she was—which was laughable.

“I’m going to marry you, Airiana.” He set the plate between them and handed her a fork. “Jorge’s wife, Maria, is an excellent cook. Eat.”

She pressed her lips together, taking the fork slowly, her blue eyes regarding him steadily. “That’s it? You declare you’re going to marry me and then tell me to eat.”

He shrugged. There wasn’t really much more to say. Clearly she wanted more, but that was all he had. As far as he was concerned, it was all there was.

She sighed. “I feel like kicking you again, Maxim. I fear you’re going to have bruised shins for the first twenty years or so that we’re together.”

Relief flooded him. He hadn’t even known he’d been holding his breath. It was strange to him how he was absolutely confident in every area of his life aside from with her. Airiana shook him up inside. Caused chaos in his well-ordered mind.

“Eat,” he ordered again. His voice came out gruff, maybe even a little harsh, and that earned him another look from under her long lashes.

She took a bite of the burrito. A very small bite. One couldn’t even consider it an actual bite, more like a delicate nibble. He had the sudden urge to shake her.

“You might consider that I’m a lot bigger than you are, honey, when you decide to defy me over something so ridiculous as eating.”

Her fork stopped midway to her mouth. “Defying you? Seriously? Maxim, I feel sick to my stomach, but I’m eating because you asked me to and I wanted to please you. I’m taking small bites to make certain I don’t throw up. Stop being an arrogant jackass. I’m not really in the mood for it. Sometimes it’s cute and funny and even appealing. Right now, when my stomach is lurching and I hurt like hell, it isn’t at all attractive.”

He didn’t get past that she was eating because she wanted to please him. There was something about loving another person that eluded him, and it was right there in front of him. Airiana did things for him that she wouldn’t normally do—and she did them to please him.

He touched her hair. In the warm air it was slowly drying into wild, untamed waves and even a few curls over her head. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m just worried about you. I tend to react with . . .” he trailed off.

“Arrogance? Anger?” she suggested.

“Maybe both. When I can’t control something I probably react with anger, although honestly, it’s buried so deep I’m never certain if that’s what I’m really feeling. Anger is an emotion we’re not allowed for many reasons. It isn’t safe.”

“This school you attended was pretty messed up, Maxim.” She took another bite of the burrito and chewed thoughtfully. “Everyone feels anger once in a while. It isn’t healthy to keep it buried.”

“My anger would be like unleashing a volcano, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.”

He watched her swallow the small bit of food, and for some inexplicable reason, the movement of her throat tightened his body even more. He was afraid he might end up with a permanent hard-on if he didn’t claim her body soon. The sheet dipped just a little, revealing the small creamy swell of the tops of her breasts. Without thinking he reached out and tugged at the sheet until it dropped down to her waist.

She sat very still, holding her breath, her gaze jumping to his. He smiled to reassure her and then realized he probably looked like a wolf about to devour her.

“I’m only looking at what’s mine,” he assured her. “You need to sleep. But I like looking.”

Her breasts rose and fell when she drew in her first deep breath of air, filling her lungs. Her nipples were rosy and peaking under his scrutiny. Temptation in the form of a woman. He couldn’t help himself. One hand caressed her left breast, a brush with the pads of his fingers. She was warm and every bit as soft as her skin looked.

A current of electricity ran from her breast to his groin. The charge sizzled through his veins, a rush of intense heat that flooded his body. His cock jerked, drawing her attention to the bursting fullness he couldn’t hide beneath the towel cinched around his waist. He didn’t want to hide his reaction to her.

“Do you think you’ll actually fit?”

He closed his eyes for a brief moment trying to hold on to sanity. It was the last thing he expected her to ask. Especially in a curious, I’m-so-intrigued tone.

“I think you were made for me,” he assured. “I’ll take good care of you, Airiana, always. A man should prepare his woman, and I have no doubt I’ll find that task very pleasurable. I think I could eat you like candy and never get enough.”

She blushed. The color surged into her face, down her neck and into her breasts. He felt the heat beneath his exploring fingers. She didn’t pull away from him, not even when he tugged on her nipple gently. Heat flashed in her eyes, desire pushing at the exhaustion. He wanted her with every breath he took. It was going to be a long, excruciating night with his body on fire and no relief. That was certainly a first for him.

“I can’t eat any more, Maxim, I’m sorry,” she said. She put the fork down and looked around a little helplessly. “I don’t have a toothbrush.”

“The resort always has a little supply of things in the bathroom, including toothbrushes. Not a cheap one either.” He’d used one of their toothbrushes he’d taken with him to kill a man who had ambushed him in his hotel room in Cairo. He thought it best not to mention that fact to her. “In the second drawer. There’s toothpaste as well.”

Her face lit up. “Thank you. My mouth will be forever in your debt.”

“I like that idea,” he said softly, contemplating the possibilities. She hadn’t moved to make her way to the bathroom, and he realized she was sitting very still under the assault of his fingers. He hadn’t stopped caressing her breasts. He enjoyed the shiver running through her body when he tugged at her nipples. She was definitely very sensitive. The idea of teaching her the things he liked was becoming more pleasurable by the moment.

He ran his fingers from the tip of her breast, lightly down her bruised ribs to her navel. Because he could. Because she was his. Reluctantly he dropped his hand. “Go brush your teeth, baby. You need to sleep before I change my mind.”

She slipped out from under the sheet, a slow process when every muscle hurt. The tiny curls just above the junction of her legs were every bit as platinum, gold and silver as the hair on top of her head. He had to resist touching her there—and it wasn’t easy. He would have followed her to the bathroom to ensure she didn’t fall, but his body was too hard and painful to walk. He managed to set their meal aside on the end table before slipping the towel from his body and lightly circled his shaft, wanting to give himself relief, but knowing it wouldn’t help.

He found himself smiling. She made him feel so alive. He wasn’t alone in a hotel room, or a cabana or the cabin of a ship. He wasn’t alone traveling the world, going back time after time to empty apartments he’d rented in several different names. She knew his true identity. She saw him; the man that he wanted to be—could be—was deep inside where no one else could ever go.

“I could maybe help.”

Airiana stood beside the bed, looking at the thick length of him. This time he could see the apprehension in her eyes. He almost loved that as much as the curiosity, because she was so willing, even in spite of her anxiety, to please him. Was that love? Unconditional surrender? He wanted to know. More and more it mattered to him to find the right path with her.

“Not tonight, honey, although you can’t know how much I want to take you up on that. I have to protect you, even from myself. You need care tonight. Rest. Not more physical activity, as much as it pains me to say.”

“I want you to be able to sleep, Maxim. You haven’t slept in days.”

“I sleep. I’ve taught myself to sleep whenever possible.”

He pulled back the sheet and waited for her to climb into bed. There was no resisting caressing her firm, rounded buttocks. He had a great appreciation of her shapely backside. She didn’t pull away from him at all, rather pushed back into his hands while he kneaded and massaged the firm muscles.

“Lie down, honey,” he instructed a little gruffly.

She was just too much of a temptation. His body refused to settle down, even when he willed it to. That had never happened to him before. He found it oddly unsettling and yet exhilarating.

Airiana complied with his command, and he pulled the sheet over her. They had never really turned on any of the overhead lights. The moon was up and light spilled into their cabana. He didn’t like lights at night. People could see in and he couldn’t see out.

“At least lay down, Maxim. I know you said you can’t sleep with anyone in the same room, but I’ve gotten used to you being close and I don’t want to be afraid.”

He stretched out beside her, pleased she wanted him close to her. She moved subtly, enough to press her body close to the heat of his. Strangely, the small action made him far more comfortable.

She fell asleep almost immediately, and he turned to curve his body around hers protectively. Propping himself up on one elbow, he indulged his need to memorize every sweet line of her face. His body slowly settled now that she was asleep. He found himself just watching her, drinking her in.