Page 69 of Her Cruel Empire
Leon grunts as another shot takes him in the shoulder, blood blooming across his shirt. He slams the door shut and pounds on the partition.
“Drive! Now!”
The driver floors it, tires screeching against asphalt as we rocket away from the curb. Robin screams and grabs me, her nails biting into my sleeve.
Adrenaline is flooding my system, but I take the time to breathe, to look back, take in the details that are disappearing so quickly. And out the back window, I catch a glimpse of figures in dark clothing melting back into the shadows.
Not a sniper this time. Up close and personal.
The car races through the twisting streets of Paris, the driver taking corners at speeds that would make a Formula One racer nervous. Robin clings to me, her body trembling with shock and fear as she begs me over and over again to tell her I’m alright.
“I’m fine,” I tell her, though I’m not sure I believe it myself. “And we’re safe now.”
But we’re not safe. We’ll never be safe. That’s the reality of my world, and I was a damn fool to think otherwise.
Back at the hotel, Leon waves off the doctor I call, insisting the bullet only grazed him. But I can see the pain in his eyes, the way he favors his left arm. He could have died protecting me.
And Robin could have been caught in the crossfire, just as he warned me.
I pace the suite, my mind a whirlwind. Who knew about the meeting? Who had access to my schedule? The list of possibilities is too long. Was the shooter the same person who tried to kill my father, or was this attempt on my life orchestrated by someone else?
I have too many enemies to even make a guess.
Robin sits on the edge of the bed, watching me with those blue eyes full of concern. “I’m so relieved you’re alright,” she says softly.
I spin around, my composure finally cracking. “You don’t understand. You can’t possibly understand how dangerous my world is. You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Eva—”
“This is what I am!” I snap, my voice rising. “This is what my life looks like. Bullets and blood and people who want me dead. And you—” I gesture at her, this soft, beautiful woman who has no place in my darkness. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
It’s not fair, not at all.Iam the one who’s going to get her killed. But even now, I can’t admit that out loud.
I need to blame, need to rage. But Robin stands, moving toward me with that same determined walk that undid me the first night I met her. “I’m here,” she tells me. “I’m here now.”
I understand her meaning all too well. She is here, now, but won’t always be. So I should take comfort from her now, while I can.
“Robin,” I whisper, but she’s already kissing me, her lips soft and warm against mine.
It’s not soft. It’s not shy. It’s desperate. Fierce. Her mouth crushes against mine like she’s trying to hold me here, in this moment, in this life.
And I let her.
No—Ineedher.
I grab her waist, drag her against me, my hands already fisting in her hair. We kiss like we’re coming back from the dead. Like this is the only way to prove survival. I can’t get close enough. Mymouth parts hers wider, hungrier, deeper. She moans into me and I want to make her repeat that noise over and over.
I pull back just enough to grab her shirt and pull it off over her head, yank down the plain white bra so that her breasts bounce free, flushed and soft and perfect. I shove my hands down the back of her panties and cup her ass, lifting her into me, grinding our bodies together through layers of silk and cotton and fear.
But it’s not enough.
She reaches for my shirt, and I help her peel the silk blouse from my arms, then the bra. We pull away only long enough to strip down to bare skin, and then we kiss-stumble our way to the bed.
I climb on top and straddle her hips, pressing her down into the mattress. She gazes up at me like I’m a miracle, not a monster. Her hands come to my waist, gentle.
I bend to kiss her—slower now. Deep. She parts her lips with a sigh and lets me in like I belong there. My fingers drift over her skin, the curve of her hip, the hollow of her throat, the soft slump of her breasts.
She feels like life. Like something I didn’t even know I missed until now.
