Page 4 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

"Hard to know anything about you behind that mask," he remarked.

I reached for it, having forgotten I was still wearing it, but my hand froze before I took it off. No, I was not sure I wanted to expose myself, not quite yet. There was something far too fun about teasing this out a little while longer, seeing what I could embolden myself to do when behind that mask.

"Well, maybe I like it that way," I shot back. "Easier to get away with stuff when you’re behind a mask."

"And what exactly are you getting away with?"

I flicked my tongue over my lips, and I noticed his gaze move down to catch sight of it. He was not bothering to hide his attraction to me, and right now, there was enough alcohol in my system to embolden me to test it. I knew I should be smarter than this, that I should cut off every bit of involvement with this family and move on with my life, but when he looked at me like that, it was hard not to crave something... more.

"I haven’t decided yet."

"Well, we have a couple of hours left of the flight," he replied, not breaking my gaze. "So you’ve got plenty of time to figure it out."

I grinned. I liked that idea. I didn’t know exactly what I intended to do, but his presence was warming the base of my spine. What would be the harm in going out with a bang? If I was never going to see any of Petar’s family again, then there was no harm in bolstering my bruised ego a little with the attentions of this older man.

And Ilya... he must have been nearly fifteen years older than me. Late thirties, probably. I had never been the kind of girl who was particularly attracted to older guys, but there was no denying that there was something about him that went beyond all the superficial stuff. As he glanced out the window, I caught a glimpse of his sharp jawline, the smattering of stubble along it. I was suddenly wondering what it might feel like to touch it.

"That’s what these masks are for, aren’t they?" I remarked, breaking the quiet once more.

Ilya looked back at me. "What do you mean?"

"Like, being able to do whatever you want," I explained. "They’re here so you can completely lose yourself, don’t you think?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"But you’re not wearing one," I observed, frowning slightly.

"Because I have nothing to hide," he replied, grinning.

I liked his smile. There was something uninhibited about it, something that drew out a feeling deep inside me that I wasn’t able to put into words.

"Hmm, I think I’m starting to get that," I conceded. "If I had private-jet money, I think I’d want to show it off, too."

"You think I’m showing off to you?"

My eyes widened slightly. "No, I didn’t mean it like that⁠—"

But he rose to his feet, closing the distance between us. "Because let me make one thing entirely clear," he murmured, his face so close to mine now that I could feel his breath on my skin. "If I wanted to show off... I have other ways of doing that."

This was my chance. The way he was looking at me right now, he was telling me what he wanted. Telling me that I could have it, if I was just willing to close the last few inches between us and kiss him properly.

And God, there was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to do just that. The alcohol and the emotion and the sheer heat between us were impossible to ignore. If I drew this out for one more second, I thought I might burst.

Fuck it. After tonight, I was done with this part of my life. Why not give myself something to remember it by before I go?

I moved towards him, and he closed his mouth over mine, tucking his hand behind my head as he drew me into him. His tongue entered my mouth, and I could taste the bite of the scotch on his lips, almost as intoxicating as his hands on my body. I moaned into our embrace, and he pulled me from my seat, taking me over to his so that I had no choice but to settle there in his lap.

"Good girl," he murmured as he spread my legs, pulling them to either side of him and slipping his hands beneath my dress to push it up over my hips. His touch was insistent, leaving nothing unexplored, and he kissed me again as he unzipped my dress, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the ground below. For a moment, I thought he would make a move for my mask, but he didn’t touch it, seeming to believe what I said to him about needing it to get away with my sins.

One hand palmed at my breasts while the other pushed into my panties, sliding along my folds and grazing the outside of my slit. I whimpered against his mouth, and he caught my lip between his teeth as he circled my clit for the first time.

"You’re already so wet for me," he growled against my mouth. "This is what you wanted all along, huh?"

Even if I had the capacity to speak right now, I couldn’t contradict him. I grasped his face in my hands, pushing my fingers through his hair and kissing him frantically as he stroked my swollen nub with his fingers. I could already feel his hardness nudging against me through his pants, and I knew it would not be long until I needed to feel him push into me.

He hooked his fingers around my panties and tore them off in a single motion, tossing them aside. It struck me, somewhere at the back of my lust-addled mind, that I was naked in the middle of this aircraft. There were at least some staff on board.

As if reading my mind, Ilya pulled back for a moment as he grabbed my ass, leaning his mouth into my ear.