Page 64 of Into The Light

His hands moved to my face and cupped it while I dissolved into his kiss. My body buzzed with a euphoria I never imagined possible. It was more than an orgasm. More than him drinking my blood. It was a connection to him more intense than anything I could have dreamed. If I had a habit of falling for bad boys before, I had flung myself off a cliff when it came to Aiden. And I had no intentions of pulling the parachute.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Aiden

Her soft breath brushed across my chest while I held her sleeping in my arms. She had dozed off a half hour ago and looked so peaceful curled up at my side. I hated needing to wake her, but as my jet slowed to a stop, I knew Sheila would knock in moments to announce our arrival. I was half-tempted to tell them to leave us here so I could keep her sleeping, but the morning light crept closer by the minute. In less than an hour it would be upon us and I needed to be in the safety of my bedroom or remain trapped here in my light-tight jet until darkness.

I stroked a finger across her cheek, brushing a long piece of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “Emilia?” I whispered, still pained to wake her. “Emilia, we’re here. You need to wake up.”

Lids heavy with sleep blinked open, and sleepy blue eyes met mine.

“Hi.” I smiled while I stroked her cheek again. “How did you sleep?”

“What year is it?” She moaned and stretched in my arms.

“That good, huh?”

“So fucking good.”

Now that my greatest need in life was to see her happy, I let my smile grow. “I’m glad to hear it. After such a long evening, I know you needed your sleep.”

“Tonight was perfect, Aiden. I feel like it was a really crazy dream.”

The whole evening had gone exactly as planned, except for the last part. The best part. Feeling her melt into my touch, and meld with my body... my soul, had been a pleasant surprise I hadn’t expected. My desire for her still pulsed through my veins and drove deeper now than carnal pleasures. A need for her burned inside me now, an unquenchable fire I knew would never burn out. It started as a spark when I saw her that first night and flickered and burned brighter with every moment since. Last night the spark had exploded within me and consumed me from the inside, fueling a desire to protect her, care for her, and cherish her. I needed her now.

“Did you sleep?” she asked, sliding a hand across my bare chest before stopping and sucking the air through her teeth. “Oh, God, I ripped your shirt. I forgot. I’m so sorry.”

“You never need to apologize for something like that. It was hot and well worth the loss of some buttons.” I kissed her forehead, squeezing my eyes shut while I savored her sweet vanilla smell.

“Mark is going to kill me. I defiled an Armani. That’s a capital punishment-type offense to him.”

“I’ll protect you.”

She giggled and skootched up tighter against me. I let out a long, satisfied exhale. The knock on the door pulled our attention.

“We’re here, Mr. Mackay,” Sheila called from the other side.

“Do we have to go?” Emilia asked, puppy dog eyes pleading into mine. “Can’t we just stay here a bit longer?”

“Well, we either need to go now or I need to close up the plane and hunker down here until tonight. It will be daybreak soon.”

“Oh, shit. I forgot.”

“The plane is light-tight back here so if you want to keep sleeping, I don’t mind one bit.”

“No, no. I won’t make you sit in your jet all day while I snore.”

“I don’t mind at all.” I stroked her hair again.

With a deep moan she pushed off my chest and sat up, a yawn and a big stretch completing the movement. She looked adorable with her tousled hair and sleepy eyes. I loved how she looked waking up, and then a pain snapped through my stomach, remembering that I wouldn’t get to see her every morning. I slept all day and came awake at night. Perhaps I would have to convince her to switch to my schedule. Then I could kiss her forehead every evening when we awoke together.

“Come on. Let’s get going before you turn into a human bonfire,” she joked.

Together we stood and started toward the door. Before we reached it, I caught her by her wrist, yanking her back into my arms. Her mouth opened when she hit my chest, a breath escaping just before I claimed her lips as my own again. She leaned into my body, her arms encircling my neck while I pressed my lips against hers in a soft and sensual kiss. It was all I could do to pull away and not slam down the blinds and take her again on the couch.

Our lips drifted apart, and she looked up into my eyes. Her own, heavy with desire, seemed to reflect the intensity of the emotions she evoked in me. She smiled and reached down, pulling my hand into hers and leading me out of the plane and down the stairs. I felt physical pain when she released my hand as we got into the helicopter. The absence of her touch left a weight around my heart that smothered me, like being trapped beneath the water unable to come up for air. I reached over and took her hand and inhaled a deep breath when her fingers tangled with mine.

We landed at my estate and Mark waved at us from the ground, his face lit up in anticipation for how the evening unfolded. I knew he and Emilia would have a lot to talk about today while they floated around the pool sipping on Bloody Marys. A pang of jealousy shot through me, wishing I could spend the day with her floating by the pool as well. She and I would need to talk soon about how to figure out our schedules so I could see more of her than Mark. Not that I minded their relationship, in fact I was ecstatic how well they got on, but I wanted more of her time than Mark... or at least as much as she would give me.