And it had come crashing down in the end. She had nearly destroyed me—so thoroughly that it was a small miracle that I was able to find a shred of decency with Naomi these days.
Still, if I closed my eyes, I could see the brilliant sapphire eyes that had brought me to her to begin with, how they lit up whenever I saw her. She had been my own little secret—the sole person who’d meant more to me than anyone else in my life.
And those same eyes had pleaded with me in her final moments. Her lips had moved and whispered words of false apology that fell on deaf ears. Even after everything she had done, I’d held her as tears streamed down my cheeks as the brilliance had faded, dimmed, and finally gone still.
It was the last time I had cried over anyone.
Since that day, I had vowed to never let anyone get that close again.
Yet here I was, desperately trying to shove the door closed that Naomi had kicked wide open.
I couldn’t let her get any closer. I couldn’t let her take me to that place again.
“What are you thinking about?”
Naomi was sitting up in her seat, pushing the hair out of her eyes.
I turned my attention back to her. “You, of course.”
That got me a full smile in return, and my heart hammered against my rib cage in booming thuds that only she could elicit.
“You are so full of it,” she laughed, stretching her arms over her head.
I placed my glass in the armrest holder. “I’m not full of anything, thanks to you.”
Her cheeks bloomed with embarrassment, and I found myself liking the look on her. When it was just us, just Gavril and Naomi, things were right with the world.
“Sleep well?” I asked.
She rubbed her eyes and looked out of the window. “Where are we?”
I shrugged. “Somewhere over the Arctic Ocean. We are about halfway there.”
“Ugh,” she sighed. “As much as it’s nice not to fly commercial, I don’t care to see a plane for a long while.”
“Even if I take you to the Maldives or to Paris?” I teased, surprised at how natural it felt to tease her.
Her lips curved in a smile. “Well, you might convince me to get on a plane then.”
“Next time, then.”
She looked around. “What else have you been doing since we left?”
“Nothing,” I admitted. “Just watching you sleep. But if you are going to be awake now, I can show you some excellent in-flight entertainment to pass the time.”
The jet had a selection of brand-new movies that had just barely hit the theaters, including every show known to man. I wasn’t a big TV or movie watcher, but I definitely wouldn’t have a problem watching her enjoy herself.
Naomi pushed the blanket aside and unbuckled her seat belt, rising on her bare feet. “I can think of other ways to pass the time,” she murmured as she slid into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.
For a moment I looked at her, wishing that things were different, that I could be the man she deserved in her life. I was a monster, one who had taken her from her life and forced her into this one. Yet I didn’t want to let her go.
Her eyes narrowed. “You are thinking far too much about something, Gavril.”
I slid an arm around her, my fingers finding the edge of her shirt and caressing the skin above the waistband of the leggings she was wearing. “It’s nothing.”
She arched a brow. “I doubt you’re ever capable of thinking about nothing, Gavril.”
Leaning forward, I brushed my lips over hers as my hand slipped under the sheer material to caress her perfect round ass. “Maybe I’m just thinking of how hard I want to fuck you right now.”
Naomi smirked and bit her lower lip. “Maybe I was thinking the same thing.”
I nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent. “Then what are we waiting for, Mrs. Kirilenko?”