by Cade, Rachel
***
One hour later, they were on an airstrip. It definitely wasn’t the international airport they’d used to arrive in North Africa. A private plane waited as they exited the jeep.
He was walking in front of her, and she couldn’t help but remember the fateful day which she believed was the last time she’d ever see him.
She said nothing as they boarded the plane and sat. A stewardess offered them crepes, fruit, and champagne, which sat on a small table in between two cream colored seats.
Karen made sure to partake in a healthy portion of food, eating more than Tamir, and ignored the slight grin on his face.
“Should I call the owner of this Travel magazine so that you will not lose your internship?”
They were sitting across from each other as he spoke, shortly after the plane had lifted from the ground to carry them across the sky. Karen was gnashing her teeth right before, realizing she didn’t have her Walkman or any tapes to pass the time with.
“No, I’ll sort it out once I get home. I pride myself on being able to talk my way out of anything.”
“Or into,” he murmured intentionally loud enough for her to hear. “You should not have to talk yourself out of a situation that I put you in.”
His head was facing her but was tilted a bit as it rested against seat. Karen let her eyes subtly roam the planes of his features. Her body recalled each touch and caress of his as it licked and caressed against her skin to the point where it was hard to differentiate memory from reality.
“It was not done out of—maliciousness. It was not safe for you there, plenty of people—too many have died. I didn’t want that to happen to you.”
Karen pressed her back into the supple chair. His face remained normal, but the sincerity conveyed in the brown depths of his eyes unnerved her.
She swallowed to moisten her throat before speaking. “I understand.”
***
Did she understand?
Did he?
Tamir pretended to busy himself with a book after it appeared she was still tired. He also wasn’t as alert as he normally would be. But so much was weighing on his mind, he found himself replaying most of the times they shared together. Primarily what had gone on the previous night.
He didn’t know what he wanted anymore, and this was so unlike him. He was always straightforward, making a decision and then implementing it.
But within the last day his fairly calm and organized life had changed considerably. Due to a pixie blowing back into his life.
A distraction.
Beautiful.
Interesting.
Challenging.
He turned to her, those wide dark brown eyes were closed at the moment. And he acknowledged the idea of their parting was not going to be easy.
The stewardess interrupted his thoughts, asking if there was anything he needed.
***
She wasn’t sure when she’d drifted off to sleep, but when she awoke again she could feel the shifting of the plane as they were landing. She glanced out of the window to see it was covered by a curtain. The glint from the light indicated it was sunset.
“That was quick,” she remarked to him as they both stood to debark from the plane.
The door opened and he sidestepped to let her out but she shook her head. “No please, age before beauty.”
He offered her a knowing look and started down the steps.
When Karen emerged from the plane door, her eyes did a long examination of the sight in front of her. They were on a coastal landing strip, the sea at their right lapped at the edges of a white city, whose buildings were turned orange with the setting sun.
He turned back on the steps to look at her.
“Tamir, where are we?” she asked.
“Monte Carlo,” he answered, as a black limousine pulled into her peripheral several feet away. “Do you gamble?”
Karen looked down at Tamir’s outstretched hand before accepting it into the warmth of hers. “All the time.”
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six