Page 176 of A War Around Us

“How long will we stay?” I wondered.

“A few days.”

My eyes flashed away from the gorgeous view to him.

Feeling my gaze, he removed his attention from his device and stared back.

“You should wear your seat belt when the plane is landing.”

That’s it? He wasn’t going to offer anything else?

The jet’s tires squealed, and gentle jerks shook inside the cabin.

“Looks like we already have.” I smiled, but it was forced as I struggled to keep my thoughts and questions to myself. There wasn’t a point, and I didn’t want to start this getaway, or early honeymoon, with a fight.

I knew honeymoons in our ways of marriage weren’t traditional as most didn’t marry out of love, only duty.

Was I romanticizing a simple trip into something more?

Either way, it was just him and me. With this opportunity, I was going to seek out more of those minutes that made me feel alive.

I powered off my tablet after saving the blueprints I’d started for the downstairs renovation he’d agreed to yesterday. When the plane came to a halt, I stood and retrieved the few belongings I’d scattered, tossing them inside my tote. The golden zipper closed shut, and I hooked the bag on my shoulder and waited as he watched my every move.

Lucca took the glass of brown and drowned its contents before he rose before me. His gaze roamed over my frame and stopped at my bag. With an outstretched hand, he offered to take it.

It was such a simple gesture. Yet, after feeling unseen by him for hours, my tensed shoulders relaxed as my heart eased, and the tightness in my chest evaporated.

I gave him my bag and took a step closer. I raised my hand, but before it connected to his cheek, I settled for his chest instead.

His eyes calculated every blink and breath I took, and my hand slithered up to his neck as I dived for a kiss.

We had never kissed outside of sex, and his lips didn’t move for a second. It had been the longest second I’d faced, and it brought a mixture of feelings of rejection and anxiety together. The kind that weighed your chest in silent torture. Then his lips gave, and I took as he closed the small distance by dragging me to him.

His kiss wasn’t gentle. It was slow but never gentle.

And as I experienced this intimate moment wrapped in his arms, and the taste of liquor in his devilish lips, maybe Montana was indeed the right place after all.

I had lied.Montana was not the right place. If I thought mosquitoes were a menace in Miami, Montana’s were the devil’s spawns.

Before arriving here, I believed I could live and thrive in any environment. But I’d been humbled, and I was a city woman.

I felt guilty for feeling so unhappy, knowingthiswas the destination of my getaway instead of the blue crystal waters of the Bahamas or Bali, knowing his yacht remained docked while I washere. I even sounded like the spoiledprincipessamany believed me to be. But as I itched my legs furiously, frustrated by the countless buzzing that flew by my ears, and the continuous weird animal sounds, and the frog that wouldn’t stop croaking since we arrived at the cabin, I was enraged.

“You’ll bleed if you don’t stop scratching, Katia.”

I hurled my gaze in his direction. Humor danced clearly in his eyes even from afar as he grabbed our bags out of the trunk of the car that had waited for us at the terminal.

I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on before I snapped at him. After all, he was the reason for my discomfort.

I closed my eyes briefly and mumbled silently,“Deep breaths, it’s just us.”

Did I hear a soft chuckle? No, I couldn’t have.

“I’m glad you find it amusing!”

He smiled. A real one. That alone relieved my annoyance.

“Come, you’ll enjoy the inside.”

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