For His Desire (Full Trilogy) (11 page)

They rested in silence, both taking in the events that had unfolded between them, each knowing that they were closer now than before.  Elena broke the quiet, unable to stifle her questions since she had been encouraged by Michael to speak up. 

“Will you ever take pictures of me?” she asked.  “You know, those kinds of pictures?”

“If you wanted me to, I would,” Michael said.  “It would have to be for your enjoyment as well as mine.  Never if you were against it, but I think pictures of you all tightly bound would be gorgeous.”

Elena thought about that, deciding to think whether that was something she really wanted.  She did wonder what she looked like to Michael when she was tied and spread out before her.  “It was harder than I thought,” she said, changing the subject.

“What’s that?” Michael asked.  “The punishment?”

“No, not that,” Elena said, suddenly feeling self-conscious.  “It’s just that now I am used to trying to orgasm with my hands tied.  It felt strange to not be tied.  Does that make sense?”

Michael’s smile widened as Elena spoke.  “I’m glad to hear that.  I’m rather partial to tying your hands.  I think the rope suits you.”

“I’m rather partial to having them tied,” she admitted.  She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Michael.  “It’s always something fun and different.”

“I’m glad,” he said. 

“What makes me different than them?” Elena asked.  She lay on her side with her head resting on Michael’s chest, feeling a contentment that had eluded her for so long.

“Everything,” Michael said.  “I’ve punished other women on occasion but I have never made love afterward.  I’ve wanted to fuck afterward, but not make love.  There’s a difference.”

Elena smiled to herself, a blissful smile.  “Yes, there is.  I like both,” she said.  Her thoughts were far away from the past and from pictures.  She was focused on now, on Michael and to building with him something more than
either of them thought possible.

Elena answered the phone, deciding to adapt a flirty tone as soon as she noticed that the call was from Michael.
 
He had been wrapped up in work and she had barely seen him the past few days.
 
She had planned on a quiet night in with Chinese food and movies, but she had to admit that she was always happy to hear from Michael.
“I’m on my way now,” Michael said before Elena could barely get “hello” out of her mouth.
 
“Just listen to me, Elena.
 
This is important.”
“Oh, okay,” Elena said, but Michael cut her off before she could say anything further.
 
Michael was often direct and to the point, but rarely rude.
 
She had never heard him call something “important” before.
“I need you to pack a bag.
 
Just one.
 
Pack only what you absolutely need.
 
We can replace everything else.
 
Don’t answer the door or go out.
 
Just wait for me and I will be there as soon as I can.”
Elena felt her heart race.
 
“Michael?
 
What’s going on?”
“We need to get out of here.”
 
The phone cut out and then Elena heard the words “Kill me.
 
I’ll . . .” Elena heard a loud crash and then nothing.
 
“Michael.
 
Michael,” she yelled, but the line was dead.
Elena was frantic and she redialed Michael’s cell number but there was no response.
 
She left a voicemail and then hung up, trying his home number instead.
 
There was no response and she threw a few items in a suitcase, not even caring what they were.
 
It was stuff; stuff didn’t matter.
Michael mattered.
Her heart beat painfully in her chest and she wanted to scream.
 
She tried Michael’s phone again and there was nothing.
 
Dead air.
 
She didn’t know where he was and she had a strong urge to go to her car and drive around to find him.
 
It was futile, she knew, but she could not stand to be idle.
Elena felt nauseated and she kept moving, pacing through her apartment and trying Michael’s phone numbers again and again.
 
She received no answer, but she couldn’t stop.
 
Michael would not have called like that if it wasn’t something important.
Her apartment didn’t even feel like her place anymore; more often than not she stayed with Michael but with his busy work schedule she had not seen him in a few days.
 
A good portion of her things were already at Michael’s house, but she still had her own place and her own measure of independence.
Elena placed her hands in her red hair, rubbing her temples and tried to think about what might be happening and about where Michael must be.
 
She had to trust that he was on his way and she could not bear to think of anything else.
She felt tears start to well up and she tried to force them away.
 
She couldn’t lose control; if she did she would fall to the floor and sob until there was nothing left in her.
 
She was afraid.
 
It had been Michael’s tone that concerned her, that subtle note of panic she had detected.
“Please be okay.
 
Please be okay,” she chanted, the words a mantra.
 
Michael had become so important to her and she had no clue what might have happened to him, about what might have frightened him.
 

She picked up her suitcase and headed for the doorway, needing to do something.
 
When there was a sharp knock on the door, she jumped.
 
Michael’s order to not answer her door ran through her head and her heart was nearly coming out of her chest with fear.
“Elena, it’s me,” Michael said through the door and Elena raced to answer it, tearing it open.
 
She was so relieved to see him standing there and apparently unharmed.
“Oh, thank God you’re okay,” Elena said, wrapping her arms around him.
 
Just seeing his face made her feel better and she buried her face in his chest.
 
His scent was familiar and comforting to her and Elena nearly forgot her anxiety from earlier in the evening.
As she squeezed him, Elena heard Michael moan and he winced beneath her touch.
“Oh, Michael, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed.
 
She noticed a faint bruise on his face, but he shrugged it off.
“I’m fine,” he insisted.
 
“It is mostly just my ribs.
 
No big deal.
 
We have to go,” Michael said, grabbing her suitcase with one hand and guiding her out the door with the other.
“Where?” Elena as she followed him.
 
“Back to your place?”
“No,” Michael said.
 
“We definitely can’t go back there.
 
We’re going to my jet.
 
I’ll explain it all later.”
 
Even with his injuries, Michael was moving very quickly and Elena hurried to keep up with him.
 
She saw immediately that the car he was driving was not the vehicle she was used to seeing.
 
What happened to his car?
They piled into his car and Michael picked up his phone to make a call.
 
Elena saw that it was not the usual cell that he carried and she wondered what had happened to that phone – and to Michael.
 
 
 
Elena tried not to eavesdrop, but she could not make out much from Michael’s side of the conversation anyway.
 
She had so many questions, but she held back, waiting for Michael to talk to her.
 
Her lone suitcase was packed and in Michael’s backseat and Elena did not have any idea where they were going.
Elena couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary about his demeanor now and she heard the words “security” and “danger.”
 
Michael drove quickly and Elena felt her heart racing as she still didn’t know what was happening.
 
She tried to focus on the road ahead of them, tried anything to keep the thoughts from racing through her head as she wondered again what was happening.
They arrived at a runway where a plane was waiting.
 
Elena looked around, seeing only one other car near the runway.
 
Elena knew that Michael owned a jet and she was sure that must be what she saw before her.
 
Michael led her to the small plane and they climbed on board.
 
Where they were going, she had no idea.
 
What had happened, she had no idea.
 
She just knew that she needed to trust Michael, as she was trusting him with her life.
Elena was overwhelmed by the situation and by the luxury around her, but she did not have a chance to take it all in.
 
Instead, she tried to force herself to relax.
 
After all, no matter what had happened, Michael was okay.
 
As soon as he settled in, she would find out what had happened.
It was chaotic on the plane with Michael talking to the pilot.
 
“We have to go.
 
Now,” Michael said and Elena heard the urgency in his tone.
 
She tried to take in everything that was happening and she sat on a plush maroon seat near a window; she looked out but there was nothing happening outside.
 
All of the excitement seemed to be going on right there inside of the jet.
The pilot disappeared into the cockpit and Michael seated himself in the plush maroon seat beside Elena.
 
“I’ll tell you everything,” he promised, his hand in hers.
 
“I’ll feel better when we’re off the ground.”
Indeed, Elena was aware that Michael’s hands were shaking, though he was not showing any other sign of nervousness.
 
Fortunately they did not have to wait long until they were in the air and each moment was spent with Michael looking out the window as though expecting someone to appear.
Elena had only flown twice in her life – both short distances and never in such a small plane -- and she gripped Michael’s hand tightly.
 
He squeezed her hand in return and she noticed that the shaking had eased, though she knew that he must still be ruffled.
 
Whatever had happened had to have been bad.
 
She couldn’t quite read the expression on his face and she decided to wait for him to speak.
When they were completely airborne, Michael sighed and Elena studied him.
 
Whatever it was, it had to be bad.
 
Now that she was really looking at him, she saw his anxiety.
 
She had never seen such worry etched into his face.
 
Once they were in the air, however, he seemed to relax noticeably and even smiled at her, though Elena suspected that was meant to reassure her.
Elena knew that wherever they were going, she was happy to have Michael with her.
 
His handsome face still took her breath away and she hated the empty, awful feeling that invaded her when she thought something had happened to him.
“I could have lost you,” Michael said, looking Elena in the eyes.
“What do you mean?” Elena asked.
 
“I’m not going anywhere.”
 
She put her other hand over his in a gesture that was meant to be reassuring.
 
She had never realized how deeply Michael’s feelings for her had to be and that knowledge only made her love him more.
“They had your information,” Michael said, speaking more quickly than usual.
 
The words tumbled over one another as he began to explain what had occurred.
 
“The software should have been impenetrable, but it was breached.
 
All of the secure information on my computer was hacked.”
Elena gasped as Michael continued.
“Terrorists,” he said.
 
“I had a security detail for just this reason and I never had any reason to doubt any of them.
 
It could have only been an inside job, though.”
Elena was speechless, feeling as though she was in over her head and not knowing what to say to Michael.
“It wasn’t just that the computers were hacked.
 
All that information is very sensitive.
 
That’s bad enough.
 
But they were in my office, Elena.
 
In my personal space.”
 
Michael’s voice was growing louder and his speech more animated.
“What happened?” she asked.
“The office was empty when I got home, but I knew immediately that someone had been there.
 
I keep everything a certain way and things were out of place enough for me to notice.”
“How do you know it was terrorists?” Elena said, frowning.
 
Just the word ‘terrorist’ was enough to make her stomach turn.
“Their calling card,” Michael said bitterly.
 
“I’d been threatened before.
 
That’s an unfortunate part of working in defense.
 
But things got personal.”
“What happened?” Elena asked, her hand squeezing his more tightly.
“A bomb in my car,” Michael said and the full horror of the situation was occurring to Elena.
 
“Obviously I wasn’t in the car at the time, but my whole garage is decimated.”
“A bomb?” Elena said, her mind fixating on that image.