by Zavi James
"Hey," Mia's voice was quiet and gentle in my ear. "You're okay. We're in the air."
I opened my eyes to see Dante snickering. Idiot. Flipping him off, I turned to Mia who now looked out the window.
"How long is the flight?" she asked.
"About 8 hours," Dante informed her.
I groaned. I’d tried not to think about the duration of the flight. Eight hours in a metal bird, suspended in the air wasn’t a choice I would have made if Dom wasn’t family. Beside me, Mia took a book out of her bag and flipped it open to read.
"I'm about to take an 8-hour nap," Dante announced as he stretched out and got comfortable.
"I think 8 hours of sleep falls out of the category of a nap," Mia told him, finger holding the page during the temporary distraction.
"I don't judge your choices, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't judge mine," Dante replied, and with that, he reclined his seat and closed his eyes.
"What are you reading?" I asked after a little while.
Mia looked up from the book and blushed. "It's stupid."
I shook my head at her. "You seem pretty engrossed in it." I reached out for the book, but Mia pulled it away.
"It's just Greek mythology," she divulged. "I like reading the old myths of Gods and Goddesses."
"And what myth are you reading?" Mia mumbled something and I asked, "What was that?"
"It's about Hades and Persephone," she said clearly.
I knew nothing of this subject but if someone was to teach me then Mia would be my choice. "What's it about?"
Marking the page with her bookmark, she closed the book and turned to face me. Dante had started to snore softly opposite us, signaling that sleep had taken him and this conversation would be had in privacy.
"Hades was the God of the underworld and Persephone was the Goddess of spring," Mia explained. "He saw her and instantly fell in love with her. Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her to the underworld where he married her. She hated him at first but grew to love him."
As Mia talked about the story, I noticed the way her eyes lit up and how animated she became. She talked with her hands when she lost herself, motions untamed just like her laugh, in complete contrast to how she looked. I also couldn't help but draw the parallels between the story and our own, and for a moment I wondered if she realized it. I doubted it. Mia was away with her mythical Gods in Greece.
"Actually, she loved him so much that she turned Minthe, his lover, into a mint plant out of jealousy," Mia said.
That was a level of pettiness I could get behind. Eliminate the competition and you no longer had a problem.
"Tell me more," I encouraged her.
Mia told me about Hades and Zeus and Aphrodite, and I hung off her every word. Not because I had an interest in any of them but because here, thousands of feet above the air and with her contagious enthusiasm, it was easy to forget the reality of my life and imagine afternoons filled with her in a similar fashion. To come home to her with no dark cloud hanging over me and spend our time together with no worries about who knew.
After a few hours, Mia's head rested on my shoulder. The citrus scent that belonged to her filled my nose and I felt the calmest I had for the entire flight.
"I'm nervous about this wedding," Mia confessed to me, just loud enough over the hum of the plane.
"Why, princess?"
She sighed softly. "I'm worried I'm going to mess it up somehow and ruin Dom's moment."
My hand found hers again and I rubbed my thumb over her knuckles, the skin soft and unmarred compared to my own. Mia wore no rings and the lack of tan lines told me this was not a new occurrence. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"That's easy for you to say," she said, squeezing my hand. "You're going to be sitting with everyone else watching me trying not to trip in an outrageous dress while I deliver Dom to the love of his life."
I placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and laughed, "Stop worrying so much."
"I just don't want to let him down."
There was a streak of loyalty that had developed over the few short months that I appreciated.
"You won't," I assured her. "Dominic asked you because he trusts you and sees you as family. Stop overthinking it."
Mia grumbled and I kissed the top of her head again. She nuzzled her face into my neck as the pilot announced we would be landing. My hand immediately gripped Mia's a little tighter.
"Now who's worrying," Mia teased me. Her chin rested on my shoulder so that when I turned my head we were nose to nose.
"You know what might take my mind off the landing?" I asked her. I rested my forehead against hers and gently cupped her face with my hand. I searched for any sign of resistance but instead, her eyes fluttered shut. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. A signal that told me she was on the same page as I was. Boundaries be damned, we both knew there was no way we could keep this strictly professional. Or even worse, as just friendship.
"Shit!" Dante said, startling us both. "I really did sleep for... Oh! Sorry! Am I interrupting something?"
Mia pulled away from me quickly, hand and all, as Dante sat upright and looked at us both with a grin. I was almost certain that one day I would kill this dumbass for his impeccably shit timing.
After we landed and sat for dinner, Mia went straight up to her room rather than staying to join the conversation with everyone. She claimed the flight had made her tired, but Mia had been twitchy all evening. I’d sat beside her during the meal and was acutely aware of every movement she made. My hand brushed hers under the table and Mia threw glances with that delightful blush coloring her face.
I couldn’t focus on the conversation. My thoughts ran rampant over what could have happened if Dante had just been able to read the room when he woke up. I’d trodden so carefully, but the desire to have more than a friendship with her continued to grow each day, until I was completely powerless before it. I had everything I could want in life, but suddenly there was one more thing that I needed.
It was those thoughts that drove me to knock on her hotel room door after a shower. When she answered, Mia had a book in her hand and was clad in pajamas.
“Luc?” She seemed confused by the fact I was standing before her late at night.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” I asked her.
Mia looked amused as she pointed out, “You’re the one knocking on my door. Did you need something?”
Did I need something? That was the question I had been asking myself for weeks. Did I need something from Mia, or simply want something from her? When I had first set my eyes on her all I had wanted was to get her into my bed and out of my system, but now, there was no cleansing myself of this woman. She had set what remnants of my soul that still existed alight with her warmth, and I needed her to be mine.
“Actually, yes,” I answered her. “I need something.”
I crossed the threshold of her room, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against me. With my free hand, I pushed the door closed so both of us stood in the dim light of her room.
“What do you need?” Mia’s voice came out as a squeak as one of my hands came to her face.
“I need you, Mia.”
I didn’t allow her the time to process the words before I kissed her. The book Mia held fell to the floor with a dull thud. I’d waited long enough to taste her lips again. The last time we had kissed, she had broken away too soon. As if giving an addict a drop of his drug and expecting him to be satisfied, when he knew there was so much more awaiting him. Cautiously, tentatively, my tongue asked for permission to her mouth, always wanting more from her but never wanting to scare her away. We stood there taking each other in before she broke the kiss and looked up at me.
“Let me stay with you,” I told her. I didn’t believe I was capable of leaving her now.
“Luc…” Mia hesitated at the suggestion.
“You said you would stay with me while we’re here,” I reminded her, as her hands slipped from aro
und my neck and rested on my bare chest.
“No one’s going to come after me in the middle of the night,” Mia said, with a roll of her eyes.
“I did,” I told her, a slight growl in the words.
“So, I should tell you to leave then,” Mia concluded. That smart mouth of hers had been trouble since day one. She pushed her hands against my chest in an effort to part us, but I pulled her closer.
“I never said that,” I argued. “Let me stay.”
“We need to sleep.”
“I need to make sure you won’t open the door for any more strange men.”
“I’m glad you recognise that you’re stra… Luc!” Mia had started her quick-witted assault, but I didn’t let her finish. In one swift movement, I picked her up and took her to the bed, placing her down and kissing her again. Mia melted into the embrace, a smart alec silenced by affection.
“I’m staying,” I told her firmly when we broke apart. There was no discussion or compromise to be had on this matter.
She nodded her head in agreement and a smile came to my lips as I climbed into the bed beside her, pulling her close once again. There were things that needed to be discussed and lines that needed to be reassessed, but we would have plenty of time to do so after Dom’s wedding.
I let Mia curl up against me, head nestled in the crook of my neck while my fingers trailed through her hair, content, for now at least, to just have her in my arms.
∞∞∞
"You need to go," Mia told me, pushing me gently. I’d woken up to her fingers trailing down my cheek as she called my name softly. I’d almost thought it was a dream to have woken up to such a beauty. Even first thing, Mia knocked the air clean out of my lungs. This was a sight I could get used to. What better way was there to start the day than to a beautiful woman who belonged to me?
“Says who?” I muttered, pulling her in close. My voice was gravelly and heavy with sleep as I sank into the pillow. I was ready to argue that it would be easier to just let me stay here while she went about with preparations. Leaving her was becoming a more difficult task with each passing day.
"Says me," she told him. "So please, Luc. Dante's probably going to come looking for you soon." I groaned and she gave me another push. "Get. Up. Get. Out."
I hadn't moved an inch from the effort she’d made. Mia must have forgotten at times who she was dealing with. "You're cute when you take charge,” I humored her, one eye open to witness the pout on her lips.
"Luc!"
"Fine, fine, I'm getting up." I reluctantly let go of her and she got up and out of bed before I could convince her otherwise. And I had plenty of ways to convince her. I followed her and stretched out the sleep from my system. As my arms dropped to my sides, I caught Mia’s gaze drop to the floor. A smirk came to my face. I hadn’t pushed my luck with Mia last night. This had become about more than chasing after sex.
"I'll see you later," I said as I moved towards her for a kiss, but she pushed me back towards the door.
"Yes, you will. Now go."
I grabbed the handle and opened it to see Dom standing there, poised to knock.
Dom's face broke into a grin, "Alright, boss?"
"Just fine, thanks, Dom." He could make whatever assumption pleased him because I was not about to try and correct him. I wondered if Mia would. "Good luck down there," I said to Dom. "I'll see you later, princess."
∞∞∞
Dante and I had already made our way to Rodrigo's hotel where the ceremony was being held. Out on the grounds, surrounded by tall trees and a massive amount of orange flowers, guests had started to mill around. The pair of us made our way to the front, as members of Dom's family, and engaged in some small talk along the way.
"You look after him," I said as I shook Rodrigo's hand before taking a seat in the front row. It was a blazing hot afternoon and being suited up was not my ideal scenario, but I would support my family the best I could. They were what I lived for. They were why I did what I did.
The music started up and the congregation got to their feet, looking back towards the end of the aisle where Dom and Mia had appeared.
"Holy shit!" Dante whispered. "Mia looks amazing!"
I gave him a swift elbow to the ribs although I was inclined to agree. While everyone else’s attention was focused on the groom by her side, I struggled to see anything but Mia. She was all bronzed skin and champagne satin that skimmed over her curves, leaving nothing to the imagination. Dom had chosen well. The ink in the center of her chest was visible thanks to the dangerously low-plunging neckline and I felt my pants get uncomfortably tight.
"You better stop looking at her," I warned Dante, barely containing the urge to march up to her to cover her up from any other roaming eyes.
"All eyes on Dom," Dante assured me.
As Mia and Dom made their way closer to the top of the aisle, I could clearly see the glittering band across her throat. Seemed she had found a reason to wear my choker after all. Eventually, they had made it to the top and Mia gave Dom's hand over to Rodrigo before she kissed them both on the cheek and took her seat beside me.
They exchanged vows but I only half paid attention, my eyes naturally falling to Mia every so often. A tear rolled down her cheek and I pulled out my pocket square and handed it to her.
"Thank you," Mia said as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
Rodrigo and Dom sealed the end of the ceremony with a kiss, and their guests were back on their feet showering them with confetti as they walked back down the aisle. Mia popped her fingers into her mouth and let out a shrill whistle and my mind sank back into the gutter wondering what other tricks it could do.
"I need a drink after all that," Dante said moving past me and Mia, following the guests to the reception.
"You look—" I started, now that it was just the two of us.
"Please don't," she cut me off. "I know I look ridiculous."
I looked at her as if she were crazy. Most of the guests had disappeared with only a few lingering and chatting. I put an arm around her waist and pulled her close and took her in, hungrily, from head to toe. Mia had soft skin and petite curves. As my eyes travelled further down her body, I could see her nipples were hard under the fabric of her dress and her long legs on display where the skirt split up along her thighs. My mind fogged over with how much I wanted to take her away from this place and have a more private party.
"Mia, you look beautiful," I told her. "And if we weren't around people right now, I'd be sure to show you just how beautiful I think you are."
She swatted at me, but I caught her hand and kissed it.
"We should probably catch up with everyone else," she told me quietly, linking our hands before she led us to the reception. This was going to be a long night of exercising self restraint.
Chapter Twenty
Mia
Dom's reception was beautiful: a rustic theme that saw twine and fairy lights threaded around mason jars and wooden pillars. The orange and green floral arrangements stood out and I couldn’t help but think just how perfect everything had been for the newlyweds. I was grateful to have been a part of Dom’s day and I hoped one day he’d be able to return the favor.
Everyone had sat down for the reception and Dom and Rodrigo took to the floor, just as the sun sank into the horizon, to have their first dance. I found myself leaning against Luc and watching them move effortlessly across the floor. Luc hadn’t left my side since the ceremony had finished. There were a few glances thrown in our direction, but no one had approached us. Luc clearly gave off an aura of not wanting to be disturbed.
I sighed wistfully as other couples joined Dom and his husband on the floor.
"Mia, would you like to dance?" Luc asked, looking down at me.
Lifting my head, I was surprised at the offer. "I didn't think you'd be someone who wanted to dance."
"I don't want you sitting here all night and I'm sure as hell not letting anyone else dance with you looking like that," he told
me bluntly. The dress had definitely caused some heated words between me and Dom, but it fit perfectly with the rest of his vision.
"In that case, I would love to dance with you."
Luc stood up from his seat, offering a hand to me before he led me out onto the floor. His arms wound around my waist as I locked mine around his neck, and we swayed to the music. I was pleasantly surprised at how light on his feet he was.
"Is that the tattoo you couldn't show me?" Luc asked. His gaze lowered to my chest where a coiled snake lay between my breasts and I nodded. "I like it but why a snake?”
"Thanks, they’re meant to symbolize healing. There was a Greek God…” I trailed off.
"Of course,” Luc laughed. He’d become aware of how deep my interest lay. “Anymore that I'm not meant to see?" Luc asked.
"No, just the two and you've seen them both now." Luc was covered in designs that snaked up his arm, across his shoulders and down his chest but I was happy with my two small pieces.
My fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck and Luc's fingers dug possessively into the sides of my body. He dropped his head down against mine as he spoke. "I might just need to make sure of that myself."
I felt my breath catch. Whenever Luc was this direct it caught me off guard and sparked my own desire. "You need to behave," I told him weakly. It was a poor, last-ditch attempt to keep the remnants of our agreement in place.
"You make it very difficult, love."
With some confidence, I bridged the gap between us, pressing my lips against Luc's and I could feel his smile. It was a promise for later and he knew it. There was no denying it anymore. Despite the fact that some part of me felt like we would end in disaster, I wanted Luc and I would risk my heart for him. I would deal with the consequences when the time came.
As the song wound down, Luc moved his forehead away from mine to give us some space just as Dom appeared next to us.