Jade sighed with happiness as she took in her reflection one last time. Jeans and a t-shirt covered her slender frame, and she had never been so happy to wear such humble clothes. She walked beside Li'ir to the private plane that would whisk her back to civilization.
Her jovial mood turned to awe as she took in the plane's interior. She had become used to luxury during the weeks she languished in the palace, but even that didn't prepare her for the sumptuous appointment of the plane. It wasn't that far removed from what she would expect from an exclusive and swish lounge. Mood lighting. Blue topaz and gold filigree winking from the ceiling and walls. Plush sofas. Flat screen TVs. She could just make out what appeared to be a full bedroom in the rear of the plane. Wow!
While Jade readily acknowledged that she would miss living in the lap of luxury, she certainly wouldn't miss the captivity.
A careless shrug dismissed the past few weeks. It was with an eye on the future that she stowed her carry-on and then fastened her safety belt for takeoff. Her sporadic dark sense of humor rose to the surface as she recognized it wouldn't do to have endured all these weeks and then to die from carelessness during transport.
She was offered a glass of champagne, which she gladly accepted in light of having so much to celebrate.
She was just munching her way happily through a delicious crab and saffron cream salad when the reason for the delay arrived. Akim boarded the plane with barely a glance in her direction, advising the stewardess they could take off immediately.
Jade's appetite deserted her immediately upon seeing him. What was he doing here?
He could feel her inquisitive gaze resting on him, but was too tired to engage her. This was it. The last few hours they would be together and he still couldn't explain, even to himself, what he was doing on this plane. Torturing himself with her presence instead of making a clean break.
Once they were airborne he withdrew some papers from his briefcase and tried to busy himself with state affairs. He was having a moderate level of success when he realized she was on the move.
His eyes lifted to hers and he was struck anew by the amount of love he felt when he looked at her, and at the sorrow that clenched his heart that they would shortly be separated for all time.
She settled next to him and said nothing. Her hand fell to his thigh and just sat there, a heavy weight with no true purpose. His eyes dropped to examine the fine bones in her hand, fighting with every breath the desire to lift her hand to his heart and let her feel for herself how deeply she affected him. But he remained still, letting her take the lead.
"Akim."
His eyes lifted once more to her face as he steeled himself for the pain of partaking of her beauty.
"Why are you here?"
Her question was reasonable, he supposed, in the circumstances. He toyed with a few different answers, all of them lies, before deciding that he owed her the truth.
"Because you're here."
She breathed in the truth of that statement, holding his gaze, feeling the pressure of denying her own feelings.
"Because I couldn't stay away."
The words were like arrows, marking her heart, forcing her to tell the truth she had kept only for herself.
Her eyes dropped from his suddenly; her hand withdrew slowly from his thigh leaving him feeling cold and bereft. She stood as if to move away from him and breathed words so low he barely caught them. "I love you too."
His hand snaked out and caught her wrist before she could move more than a few inches and tipped her over onto his lap. His hand gently clasped her jaw and positioned her face so that she had no choice but to meet his eyes. "Say it again," he demanded.
For a moment her lips remained still, as if she wasn't sure she wanted those words released into the universe again. A few fraught seconds passed and finally she repeated the words, although if possible at an even lower volume than before. "I love you too."
The words gave him such an immediate sense of elation he could barely contain it. He wanted to weep with relief and only just managed to withhold his emotions. He contented himself with gently stroking the soft line of her cheek and pressing her heart to his.
Her hand came up to cover his as she brought her lips closer to his. Her eyes were so earnest as they held his. "Make love to me," she entreated. His heart soared until her next words brought him plummeting back to earth, "Hold me in your arms and make love to me one last time."
His mind immediately negated her words. How was it possible? How did she confess her love for him one moment and then confirm she still intended to leave him the next?
He wouldn't allow it.
He couldn't allow it!
He dropped his hands to her shoulders to ease her away, to give them the space they needed to discuss the situation like reasonable adults, but apparently his delay was too great. Her mouth dropped to his of her own accord, stealing the breath he would have used to question her choice. Gone was the sweet virgin of weeks before and in her place was a sexually mature woman of the world who knew her own desires. One kiss turned into two as she devoured his mouth. One hand held his face to hers while the other buried itself in the luxurious thickness of his hair.
His mouth left hers to trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She writhed against him with helpless desire as his teeth scoured a particularly sensitive dip in her neck.
Easing her back against the sofa, he began a renewed assault on her mouth. His shirt was discarded at random while he began a campaign to show her body who it's master was.
His mouth cleaved a path of fire across her collarbone down to the luscious slopes of her breasts. His teeth tugged at the stretchy fabric for all of a few seconds before he lost his patience and dragged her shirt off and pushed her bra up seeking the fastest access possible. His mouth fell to her newly exposed nipples in voracious hunger; his teeth nipping and suckling with lavish attention.
Pushing the two mounds together, he licked the pointed peeks. At the end of each lick his mouth was a hairsbreadth away from hers. Her eyes met his, begging for another kiss. She wanted it with every breath in her body and she arched up beneath him in silent entreaty. He could see the plea in her eyes and finally gave in, planting a kiss of such longing against her mouth that she never wanted him to release her.
He unsnapped her bra and tossed it aside, easing her up to sit astride his lap. He continued feasting on her breasts and fed off the rapt expression in her eyes as she watched him.
Easing onto his back, he swiftly dragged off her pants. She climbed back on him without any urging, positioning her pussy over his mouth.
His hands locked onto her waist and held her still as his mouth went to work, sucking her clit into his mouth without hesitation. She jerked on top of him as a wave of intense pleasure swept through her.
One hand eased behind her and felt for the fastening on his pants. Between the two of them they managed to remove his pants as well and she stroked his hard length while he ate her pussy.
She might have gained some skills in the weeks past, she acknowledged, but she was nowhere near as skilled as him in gifting pleasure. She convulsed on top of him again and again as he held her still and tasted his fill.
Her hands grew weak and clumsy as she stroked his flesh and tried to fight down the flames that were burning her from the inside out. It was only a matter of minutes before her hands flattened on his thighs as the pleasure peaked again and she sought purchase to ride it out. She could only submit to the pleasure that was washing over her as he held her firm, her back arching in agony.
