Within seconds, D’Angelo’s pushing me back inside the cubicle. He locks the door behind him.
With nowhere to go in the tight space, my back hits the mirror behind me. “Sir?”Don’t react. Don’t let him see you’re shaking.Years of masking helps me portray a cool demeanour, but on the inside my muscles are wound so tight, my whole body aches.
“Shh.” His hand cups my cheek, then moves around my neck, gripping me with the gentlest touch. My flesh heats where his skin lingers. “It’s only me. You don’t have to be afraid of me, little bird.”
I should push him away. I should scream. But my body remembers him even when my mind wants to forget. “What do you want?” My voice quivers.
His eyes darken, flecks of grey and blue swirling around his pupils. “You’re trembling.”
Of course I’m trembling. You’re my heartbreak and fantasy rolled into one. “There’s a stranger holding me hostage by the throat,” I snark back.
He leans closer, his lips a breath away. Why does he have to smell so divine? “I’m no stranger, fiore mio.”
And just like that, any barrier I’d built comes crumbling down when he calls me his flower. Tears pool in the corners of my eyes. Heat pools between my thighs and I’m sure my heart’s bleeding on the inside.
“Why are you hiding? Why change your name? Are you in trouble?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My body tenses, my hand curls around his at my throat, the warmth of him seeping into my skin.
He narrows his eyes. “You can change your name. Change your hair. Even your accent. But I’d recognise these eyes of yours anywhere and these lips.” His thumb runs along the seam of my mouth, causing a whimper to escape.
I shake my head. “You always act like the hero. But you couldn’t save me back then and you can’t save me now. Just let the past stay in the past.”
“I didn’t know you needed saving. You left me and got fucking married.” His grip on my throat tightens. With his other hand, he reaches for my wrist, then holds my ring finger up to the light.
It’s been eight years since I wore my wedding ring. Eight years since I changed my name and moved north. Eight years of gaining a small piece of myself back. Yet I can still feel the weight of that ring. Still feel the prison of a promise I never wanted. And somehow, Dan’s touch makes me feel free again.
Dan exhales, his warm breath fanning the heat rolling off of me. His shoulders drop as his fingers massage where my ring once shackled me to a life of misery. He gazes into my eyes as if he can read the small print. Even after all these years, he still knows how to touch me like I’m something precious. That’s the most dangerous thing about him.
I try to remember why I hate him before I become putty in his arms. “You were the one who used me to get close to my family. I may have been a silly girl in love back then, but I’m a woman now.” The anger in my belly fuels the fire in me to stand my ground.
“I can see that.” He continues to massage my finger as if he can erase the ghost of my ring that still binds me to a man I loathe. His forehead rests against mine as he whispers, “You’re still mine, fiore mio.” He interlaces our fingers as if binding us together. “You said you won’t let anything happento me on this flight. I won’t let anything happen to you on the ground. Tell me who you’re afraid of.”
I believe him. As silly as it sounds after everything that’s happened between us and what he did to my father, I believe this man would take a bullet for me. But it doesn’t change a thing. He betrayed me and he left. “The only person I’m afraid of right now is you.”
His eyes sadden. He lets go of my hand and my throat and takes a step back, putting some distance between us. It’s not enough, but at least I can breathe a little easier.
I’m not afraid of him hurting me. It’s a different fear. I’m afraid if I stay in this close proximity to him, I’ll do something I regret. I can handle most men. But D’Angelo isn’t just any man. He was my first love. My first sexual experience and my first heartbreak. He’s woven into my history and become part of who I am today—an empty shell with a hard exterior, aware of the ways of the world.
I smooth my palms over my uniform with an intake of breath. “We’re going to leave this cubicle and go about our day as if this never happened. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Then when we land, we forget we ever saw each other.”
“Is that what you want?”
No. I want to go back to when I was eighteen. Before I knew the truth. I want you to hold me and tell me you love me and I want to feel the way I did in the safety of your arms.But what’s done can never be undone. “It’s the only thing we can do.”
I slide the lock and squeeze past him as I force myself out of the space and retreat behind the curtain into the cabin. My fingers curl around my neck where his touch is seared into my skin. I take deep breaths to calm my nerves as I watch him stride back to his seat as if he owns the plane. A complete contrast to the man a while ago who was gripping onto the armrest as if his life depended on it.
What’s happened to him since I last saw him? He nevermentioned a fear of flying, but then everything that came out of his mouth was no doubt a lie.
My hands tremble, so I grip the trolley tighter and paste on a fake smile as I return to business class, the plane floor trembling beneath me, matching my limbs.
“About bloody time,” a man in a suit says.
Dan spins his head around as he stands in the aisle, reaching for his bag in the overhead locker.
“I’m sorry, sir. What can I do for you?” I put on my best mask and smile at the man.
“You can do your bloody job properly. That’s what. I’ve been waiting ages for a bloody drink.”
