Page 22 of Whispered Surrender

“Let’s get going,” Jay says, guiding me to the elevator and keying in the button to the helipad, where Chase’s chopper and the pilot are waiting.

He hoists me into the ride and slides in next to me.

“Thanks for picking us up, Charlie. Let’s get this thing in the air,” Jay says.

“Roger that. Your coffees are in the holders and there are some breakfast rolls for you and the little lady in the bakery bag,” the pilot says as he navigates the takeoff and heads out and around the bay toward the airstrip.

15

JAY

When she walksout of the bathroom, I can tell she’s trying to be strong. My angel doesn’t want to leave me but thinks she has no choice. What Sasha doesn’t understand, at least not yet, is that being mine means that she wouldn’t need to worry about this shit. I would take care of everything for her, and that includes ensuring her life in the ballet is not put in jeopardy and that everything her little heart desires is taken care of, but she doesn’t have a fucking clue about any of that and reaches up to pull my lips down for a goodbye kiss instead.

As soon as my cuffs affix her wrists, her eyes turn hazy with lust and my dick throbs, watching her eyes dilate in front of me, but she’s still clearly afraid of it ending with me taking what I need from her and then walking away.

I try to explain that I want her with me and that I can protect her, but all she fucking hears is that I want to keep her safe. Fuck, I wish I could rewind that goddamn part of the conversation but I can’t, and I need her on that plane before it takes off. She’s agreeable to go as long as she thinks it’s for her safety and not because I want her with me.

So fucking be it, I’ll deal with it in the air. I key in a message to my team and let the men know we’ll be on the tarmac in twenty minutes, unlock Sasha’s hands from my cuffs and lead her to the awaiting chopper. When our pilot touches down, he lands as close as he can to the awaiting Gulfstream.

I walk her up the ramp of the sleek white jet with the black and gold Prestian Corp logo on the tail with my security team surrounding us. They aren’t taking any chances that someone could have a sniper watching and could take her out. They also don’t know that while they work underneath me now, I will soon be the full-fledged owner of the entire security team and we will be expanding our assignments to others that Chase and Brian want protected.

I shake hands with the pilot and introduce Sasha to him and the crew before guiding her into the main cabin, telling her to make herself comfortable, intending to have a sit down with my team about the situation in Italy. Instead, they’ve settled into the security cabin and are taking seats when I peek my head in. “What gives? We always travel in the main cabin when we’re on our own,” I say.

“We’re good, boss. We thought we’d give you and the ballerina a little private time,” Nick says, and I smile as they try to keep their grins to themselves. They are like family to me, and they’ve never once seen me with anyone that I care about like this, and I can’t help the smile that breaks out on my face.

“Roger that,” I say, closing the door and walking back toward where she sits waiting for me.

“So you think my father’s going to have his men come after me,” Sasha says, sinking into the leather sectional. She’s accustomed to flying in luxury with the ballet troupe and makes herself comfortable, tucking her feet now devoid of shoes underneath her.

“I’m not taking the chance that he won’t, but we both know that he doesn’t want that information leaked to the public. Right now he’s agreed to keep both you and Matt off the list, but if he could figure out how to ensure the information couldn’t be leaked, yes, I believe he would do whatever was in his power to get you two off the grid for good,” I say.

She is about to pull the throw lying on the back of the seat across her, but there aren’t any seatbelts on that couch, and I’m as much of a safety guy as Chase when it comes to takeoffs and landings. If something’s going to happen, that’s when it’s going to be. “Here,” I say, taking her hand. “I want you buckled up for takeoff,” I say as the engines of the G650 roar to life.

She rolls her eyes at me, and my dick hardens in my pants.

“Angel, you ever roll those baby blues at me like that again, and I’m going to pull your lacy little panties down around your ankles, bend your bare little ass over my lap and set it on fire,” I say.

I expect her smart little mouth to say something else that will get her into trouble with the palm of my hand, but she doesn’t say a word. She’s just looking at me with wide blue expressive eyes, and they are now full of lust and desire.

Fuck! “You like the sound of that, Angel?” I ask, settling her into one of the armchairs next to the windows that have seat belts and buckling her in. She doesn’t need to answer because I can feel the hard little points of her nipples against my chest and the rapidness of her breath, but I still want to hear her admit that she does.

I settle myself in across from her and buckle just as the jet starts zooming down the runway. “I asked you a question, Angel. I don’t like to repeat myself, and we’ve already talked about honesty,” I say as we lift off and leave the windy city below.

She looks down and I know she was going to give me some bullshit story, but she’s processing, and I give her the time she needs. When she’s ready, she raises her eyes and looks me straight in the eye. “I love the sound of that,” Sasha says, looking up at me with those glazed over baby blues, and my dick, which has been hard since we started the conversation, now throbs with desire for this woman.

“Good, I like honesty and the fact that you like that turns me right the fuck on. We have a long flight, so we may as well play a little game. You just told me the truth, so it’s your turn to ask me to choose. Truth or dare, Sasha.”

She smiles and leans back in her seat. I love seeing her heart-shaped lips turn up with happiness. “Okay, truth or dare?” Sasha says.

“Truth.” I can’t expect her to open up to me any more than she has if I don’t do the same.

“Why did you come after me when I left, and capture me in the alley?” she asks.

I nod because I now know exactly what she thought. She thought I came after her only to protect her or to handle her father and not to claim what I wanted, but it’s hard to answer because it was a combination of all three. “Because I protect what’s mine,” I say, and that’s the most honest answer I can think of because that’s exactly what I was fucking thinking about as soon as I saw her roll out of that car and head toward the alleys.

She contemplates this for a moment, but I can see the wheels moving in her mind, still stuck on the fact that I’m paid to protect. “Okay, your turn to ask the question,” Sasha says.

“Truth or dare?”

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