Page 56 of These Tears

Up close, that smile is obscenely beautiful. The harsh airport light skims over his cheekbones as he removes his cap. It catches on the straight line of his nose, the dark fan of lashes that should belong to a poet – not a man threatening mass murder.

His mouth curves in that soft, private smile I used to believe was reserved for me, breath warming the space between us. It could almost pass for devotion—

If I couldn’t feel what his fingers are doing to my ribs.

I grunt out a breath. His hold on me loosens but doesn’t quite let go. He smells as if he’s brought winter with him and wrapped it in clean, black cotton, and I struggle against the onslaught.

Security is already behind us. Nothing left now but the boarding gate and half a dozen people who could save me if I could make one of them understand.

When he looks up again, he takes in the queue and the security desk at the front of it. A woman argues with her husband over passports, a teenage boy stares at his phone.

Elias’ gaze moves from face to face, to the desk ahead, lingering wherever someone might be watching us for too long. The hairs along my arms lift. He looks like he knows what he’s doing.

Only when no one spares him a second glance does the smile slacken, as though the mask has grown too heavy to hold. When his eyes meet mine, it disappears entirely.

‘Relax,’ he murmurs, his mouth close enough that anyone watching might mistake it for affection.

‘Calm down.’ His hand slides higher up my back with stark possessiveness, pinning me to the steady beat of his chest. ‘I know it’s been a while since you belonged to someone, Leah, but you should still have some idea how to behave.’

I steel myself and force back the pressure behind my eyes as I meet his stare.

The thumb of his other hand strokes my cheek once, almost tenderly, while his voice drops into something colder. ‘It means you stop looking for exits. No one is going to save you. And it means when I hold you like this, you are all mine. You breathe when I tell you to breathe.’

‘What have I done to you to warrant this?’ I force through my teeth.

He chuckles with genuine amusement. Straight, white teeth flash as he lowers his chin and nudges my nose fondly. The faint rasp of his beard catches my skin, horribly familiar.

‘You’ve done everything,’ he growls quietly, pressing his cheek to mine as his voice roughens and he breathes me in. ‘You’ve fucked it all up.’

The queue moves.

He lets me go only long enough to catch my hand and thread our fingers together. I try to pull away, but his grip tightens immediately.

We’re already at the boarding gate. I glance to the side at a man in a uniform who fumbles with his phone. My throat locks, sweat breaking beneath my collar.

‘Leah.’ Elias tightens his fingers around mine, though his voice retains the softness. ‘Look at me.’

My head lifts on its own. His half-lidded eyes first fall to my lips, then lift to mine as his thumb and forefinger reach for my chin.

‘No funny ideas,’ he whispers on a soft note, smiling that irresistibly devastating smile at me, even when the glint of his teeth promises something else entirely.

My eyes slide off his face and find the gate agent again.

‘Leah,’ Elias warns again, lowering his head and suddenly—

He takes my mouth in his.

It may look like a gentle kiss at first, but when he brushes his lips against mine, he makes sure his teeth catch – just enough. He nuzzles my nose as I suck in my wounded lip, tasting metal beneath the clean bite of mint on his breath.

‘I mean it. Misbehaviour will be punished.’

‘You don’t have to do this, Elias,’ I murmur.

‘Oh, I really do.’ The words come out on a silky snarl, and he suddenly unfolds from me. ‘Now, smile bright, eyes on me.’

My throat goes for another swallow as the gate agent holds out her hand for my passport and boarding pass.

This is the moment everything should collapse. His passport should flag as invalid. His boarding pass should fail to match. Some hidden discrepancy should flash red across the screen and tear his entire scheme open.