Chapter 117 – Setting off?
Evgeniya
The SUV jostled me awake as it passed over the speed bump at the gate that led to the runway and private hangars of
Toulouse-Blagnac airport. My breast collided with the cheek of my mate, Badru, snuggled right where I had left him.
‘Snuggled and drooling,’ Evva chuckled, feeling the slick damp patch in my cleavage.
The sensation threw my pregnancy hormones into overdrive and sparked the beginning of another damp patch, wanting
something else entirely coating me from my mates. Time away from them hadn’t simply made my heart grow fonder. Every nerve
within me wanted to be reacquainted with their touch.
A nose behind me grazed along the curve of my neck, starting at my collarbone and sweeping up to the soft patch of skin behind
my ear, a low grumble following that I felt more than heard. Astennu’s lips tugged on the lobe of my ear nipping with his teeth and
I was conscious of the tug of his smirk when my breath hitched.
“You had better be real this time,” Badru dreamily mumbled.
He nuzzled his face further into my cleavage and tightened his hold on my bare hip devoid of underwear under my shirt, his
thumb tracing smooth firm circles on the crease of my thigh.
“Can you at least wait till you’re alone?” A gruff voice thick with sleep spoke behind us.
Like a hot rod to my ribs, my heavy eyelids broke open from the languid dreamy state to turn around and see Diego propped up
on his elbows. The grimace at the corner of his mouth showed the ache deep in his bones, but the mischievous glint of his eye
told me he had seen everything and was teasing.
The deep clearing of a throat, that could well have been a growl, spun my head to the front of the vehicle, spinning my poor brain
along with the motion. His eyes were narrowed, but my father’s frown was not aimed at me but rather Astennu and Badru on
either side of me. They dropped their hold on me like an electrical current had been run at the point of contact and they sat up
straighter.
“Yes, sir,” Badru answered no statement uttered, a sweet blush staining his deep golden cheeks a darker shade over his
automatic response to my father’s hard stare.
“Smooth moves, cabrón,” Catalina sniggered, pulling our vehicle up to the hangar and waiting for the doors to roll open and I
caught how her sight lingered on the rearview mirror, no doubt catching her mate’s eyes.
As the door slid to reveal a private jet, my father’s frown deepened, changing from a playful annoyance to genuine worry. He
looked uncertain of the contraption and had probably never seen one up close, let alone travelled in one.
‘How does he think we got here?’
‘This isn’t the time for your sass, wolf.’
‘It’s ok, dad,’ I quietly reached forward to lay a hand on his upper arm. ‘I haven’t been on one either. Not one I can remember
anyway.’
When the SUV rolled forward to pull up as close as possible to the steps lowered from the aircraft by the pilot, Astennu tried to
pull me to his lap, ready to slide his arms under and carry me bridal style. I wriggled away from him in protest, not wanting to be
carried anywhere because of one specific lack of attire.
“Aste!” I hissed, fighting against his pull. ‘I don’t have on any underwear yet and I’m not flashing my cooch to half of France.’
‘What are you gonna do, run barefoot?’ Badru made it sound as though it was a ridiculous notion.
‘Yes. It’s three feet away and not five hours ago, I backhanded a wolf and split him apart like a piñata. I think I can make a two-
second sprint to the stairs.’
The moment she brought the car to a stop, Catalina was out and rushing around to the truck, eager to get to Diego before he
“Soy un tío bien grande (I’m a real big guy),” I could hear the grin on his face and through his tired voice. “Think you can handle
it?”
“My sister and I have dragged each other home plenty of times after partying,” she rolled her eyes at his challenging flirts and
pulled his arm over her neck. “I can drag you up a couple of steps to a plane.”
“Okaaay,” the mischief sparked in his voice.
By how her eyes bulged and her steps teetered, he was leaning more weight on her than necessary, all to prove his point. But he
had met his match in the game of hard-headed pride because, once challenged, Catalina was not the sort to abandon a fight.
“You still think you got it, mi vida?” The smirk dripped in his tone.
I shook my head; those two were more than perfect for each other. The moon goddess outdid herself with that match and
probably giggled to herself when she spun their souls together with their intrinsic threads.
I quickly followed after my father, springing on my tiptoes and leaping like a gazelle up the steps. The inside of the jet was as
fancy as I expected; a beige upholstery and expensive-looking carved woods. I doubted it was rented so it must have belonged
to Catalina’s family. She really was loaded.
The immediate aisle in front led to the cockpit and a door before it. Adjacent to the walled partition were four deep armchairs with
seatbelts, facing each other for take-offs and landings. At the other end, an ‘S’ shape formed a small round couch with the other
curve forming a seating area and table. Papers and devices were strewn over its surface, so I gathered that was where the
plotting had been hatched. Beyond that, were two doors that led to the tail of the plane. My guess was that the doors led to
private bedrooms and a bathroom.
“Get seated,” Catalina strained, lowering Diego to the small yet deep circular couch, almost landing on top of him. “The pilot,
Orville, wants to take off immediately.”
Badru was last in through the hatch behind his brother, carrying the single bag from the car. I ushered my father into one of the
four seats, showed him how to fasten his seatbelt and took the seat beside his so that if he was nervous, I could take his hand
discreetly and possibly stem my own tension. Badru took his seat opposite me and Astennu took the one opposite my father just
as the jet began to pull forward and start its taxi for the runway, the aircraft rumbling away and the blades of the wings joggling in
response. The sudden burst of speed sent us thundering forward and airborne, a strange sensation of weightlessness followed
and a pressure change that made Evva squirm in discomfort.
Just as my father did, we gazed out of the window as the plane levelled, having never seen a landscape like it. Sailing above the
clouds, we had a clear view of the early morning sun in its infinite hues of glowing yellows and oranges, painted at its edges in
vibrant pinks.
“There’s someone who’s a little desperate to hear for herself that operation: dysfunctional rescue was a success,” Catalina
nudged my shoulder with the corner of a phone. ‘Make it quick, chica, because you’re not getting it back once your papi gets a
hold of it.’
“Lucy?” I glanced at my father, his ears were perked and I wouldn’t have been surprised if his heart burst out of him.
“Evie!” She screeched and I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “They really did it. You’re coming home... both of you?”
“Of course we are,” a small easy smile formed. “I’ll keep it short because I know who you’re really pacing for. I’m fine, and you
probably know about the baby and he’s fine-”
“Oh, thank goddess,” she interjected in relief. “We were all a mess. And your mates, they were like lost pups without you.”
My lips twitched, knowing they had overheard. When I peered up through my lashes, both were crimson, looking anywhere but at
me and clearing their throats with an awkward cough.
‘Our nugget and goober and so cute when they’re exposed for being all gooey,’ Evva fawned, melting the same as me that two
huge and hulking men could be so precious.
“I know what phone is,” he chuckled, taking the handset. “Although last time I saw, they flipped.”
“Follow me,” Catalina inclined her head, calling my father to follow her to the tail of the plane. “It’s only a small bedroom, but you
can talk in private and get some sleep after. The bathroom is just next if you need it.”
“And you three,” she curled her finger, walking the full length to the front of the plane. “Again, it’s only small and you’ll be lucky if
all of you fit in the bed, but it’s comfy. It has its own en-suite, just watch how much water you use as there’s only a limited supply.
And it’s not soundproof, so keep it PG-13,” she winked and whisked away.
I had a sneaking suspicion she had an ulterior motive for clearing the living area of the jet; a motive that came with tattoos and a
cocky smirk.
The heated silence stretched, rising in temperature as the seconds ticked by. There was nothing more I wanted than to rip them
bare and devour every available measure of flesh, starting with sinking my teeth as far as my canines would allow into each of
their necks.
Our lovemaking would be neither gentle nor quiet and while our bubble was our own, we were not, in fact, alone. One of those
sets of ears was my father’s and that thought alone was enough to sober me out of my hormone-drunk state.
A knock at the door behind me caused my body to break out of its skin, shattering the searing stalemate that had blotched my
skin red..
‘I hope you’re not naked and doing things,’ Catalina interrupted and I wasn’t sure whether to thank her or slap her for the timing.
‘I have some clothes for you.’
I yanked the door open with more force than I intended, almost taking out my chin in my haste. There, the she-wolf stood,
sporting a broad grin and a stack of folded items.
“Here you go. It’s some jeggings and an oversized sweater. You’re a little more well-endowed than I am,” she thrust them at my
chest. ‘I think you’ll fill out the underwear nicely though.’
An arm appeared over my shoulder, closing the door with a soft click.
“Why don’t you take the first shower... we can wait,” Astennu’s breath caressed my nape, plunging the small space into an
expanding s****l tension.
I swallowed down a gulp of excitement that rushed to my head with his nearness and nodded, squeezing between the two
ruggedly thick bodies that I’d rather wash instead of my own.
The en-suite was indeed small, but doable and stocked with everything I would need.
“If you’re short of room, you could always leave the door open,” a boyish grin overtook Badru’s face; just as I remembered,
innocent yet dirty.
What caught me by surprise was the hesitation that froze me to the spot, a myriad of memories surging to the surface as cold
and dark as though they had returned for a repeat.
The last time someone had watched me shower...
My spine shuddered and had my stomach been full, I would have lost it.
“Evie?” Astennu’s concern slapped me back down to earth, ironic seeing as we were soaring in the clouds.
“I’m fine,” I slammed the door, rattling the thin wall separating us.
A thick band of immovable pressure locked around my throat, invisible to the touch, but there all the same. It constricted me out
of nowhere, tears pricking my eyes as my insides twisted.
‘Just breathe,’ Evva spoke above the rushing water in my ears. ‘That pig isn’t here and there are two very snuggly men to fall
asleep on.’
‘Evie,’ Badru mind-linked, his presence sending an excitable and comforting shiver down my spine. ‘We’re right here for you.
Take as long as you need.’
I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was outside the door. I could feel the heat of his palm upon its surface as though it rested on my
spine in support.
Had I been at home, I would have stood under the stream of water in the shower until the crawling sensation slid off my skin or it
melted under the heat, whichever came first. The luxury wasn’t afforded to me in the shimmering glass cubicle, so I had to settle
for scrubbing my skin raw as quickly as I could.