Shadow Alpha (6 page)

“Then we’ll talk about it again once we’re on the plane.”

“I would really rather not,” Kat cut in determinedly.

“Gregori is going to want to know what happened,” Dair insisted.

“And when the time comes I’ll tell him, but for now I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

Dair’s mouth tightened. No, it really wasn’t okay. He would be calling Gregori as soon as the plane had taken off, and once the other man got over his relief that his little sister was safe, he was going to demand answers. And damn it, Dair wanted those same answers.

But he wasn’t going to get them now, he realized as he saw the lights of the airport half a mile ahead, about the same time he saw the flashing lights on top of the police car heading straight towards them.

The question was, would the two of them reach the plane and be able to take off, or would the police car get to them before that happened?

Dair made a quick assessment of the situation, and decided it was going to be quicker for them to drive
through
the fence surrounding the perimeter of the private airport, than to attempt to outdrive the police car by heading for the official entrance.

He took out his mobile phone and punched in a number. “Get the engine up to speed and the wheels rolling, Lijah,” he barked out before just as quickly ending the call. “Time to hang on again, Kat,” he warned grimly as he turned the steering-wheel sharply to the right, his boot down hard on the accelerator as he drove over the uneven grass and straight towards the chain-link fence.

Dair glanced back at the road once they were through the fence, just in time to see the police car come to a screeching halt, the driver no doubt wondering whether to try and follow them through the gap in the fence or stick with his original plan of going to the main entrance.

His momentary hesitation worked to Dair’s advantage, and he turned his full attention back to the small jet now taxiing its way towards the runway. “Take off your seat belt, Kat, and when I stop the vehicle, be ready to run,” he instructed grimly, his boot once again to the floor on the accelerator.

Kat had lived an indulged and protected life as the daughter of Dimitri Markovic and sister of Gregori Markovic, and her life had been equally as pampered as the wife of Sergei Orlov and daughter-in-law to Ivan.

Tonight, with Dair Grayson, breaking out of the clinic, the insane drive through the darkness of the forest, avoiding the police by driving through a fence, and the two of them now driving towards a jet that was already moving, was the most
thrilling
and exciting
time she’d ever had in her life.

She didn’t hesitate as she unfastened her seat belt and prepared to run.

Chapter 4

Kat was aware of the sirens wailing behind them even as they hurtled towards the jet as it increased its speed, her heart leaping into her mouth as she realized just how fast it was moving.

Surely there was no way Dair could stop the SUV, they could both run to the plane, climb aboard and close the door, all before the jet had taken off?

One worried glance at Dair’s grimly determined face, his booted foot hard on the accelerator, hands tightly gripping the wheel, and her doubts all evaporated as if they had never been; if anyone could succeed in doing all those things then she knew Dair could.

Which in no way made the next few minutes any less terrifying as Dair actually managed to push his booted foot harder on the accelerator and drive
in front
of the moving plane, before just as quickly pressing his foot hard on the brake.

“Out.
Now
,” he yelled as he threw his car door open before the SUV had even come to a full stop, coming round to grab Kat’s arm as she did the same, abandoning the vehicle, engine still on, as he pulled Kat along beside him and ran towards the jet.

As they approached the plane it veered slightly to the left, allowing Kat to see that the steps were down leading into the cabin. Dair didn’t hesitate as he lifted her up by her waist and threw her inside, before following her quickly and closing and locking the door behind him.

“Wheels up now, Lijah!” he shouted to the pilot through the open door to the cockpit. He leaned back against the door, eyes closed, standing just feet away from where Kay still lay on the floor where she had landed, his chest barely moving as he breathed steadily in and out.

The same couldn’t be said for Kat as she tried to stand up, first onto her knees, and then staggering to her feet as she heard the scream of the jet’s engines as it took off, the adrenaline still pumping wildly through her veins, chest heaving as she attempted to catch her breath.

“You’re out of condition,” Dair didn’t even open his eyes as he offered the mild criticism.

Kat tilted her head to one side as she heard a strange sound.

A ‘strange sound’ she finally recognized as being her own happy laughter. Maybe it had sounded so alien to her because she couldn’t remember the last time she had been happy, let alone found anything funny enough to laugh at.

“I really don’t want to have to slap your face because you’re hysterical.” Dair’s eyes remained closed.

“I’m not hysterical, Dair, I’m just—I’m so grateful to you for rescuing me!” A sob caught in the back of her throat as she hurtled across the distance that separated them, her arms going around his neck as she threw herself against him and kissed him on the lips. Hard. “Thank you, Dair!” She kissed him again, her hands cupping each side of his face as he stared down at her in obvious shock, even as his arms moved slowly about her waist. “Thank you! Thank you so much, Dair!” She punctuated the words of gratitude with successive kisses.

Dair had frozen as the first forceful kiss landed on his lips. A freeze that had melted with each successive kiss, until now, looking down into Kat’s beautiful, glowing dark eyes, equally glowing cheeks, and highly kissable lips, he just wanted to kiss her back. More than kiss her. At this moment he just wanted to strip Kat naked, take her to the floor, and have her beneath him as he buried his cock to the hilt inside her heat.

Adrenaline rush, Dair,
he instantly mocked himself.
The need to fuck. Happens every time after the heat of a battle won
.

Besides which, he wasn’t about to take advantage of this situation. Even with Kat. Especially with Kat. Her marriage to Sergei was obviously over—any wife who tried to stab her husband with a piece of flatware obviously didn’t love him!—but if there was going to be any fucking done between the two of them then they would establish some ground rules first. And right now there were still too many questions unanswered for Dair’s liking.

His resolve almost broke as he placed his hands on Kat’s waist with the intention of putting her away from him. She felt so warm and soft beneath the touch of his fingers, smelled of flowers and earthy woman, and those big dark eyes were still gazing up at him with warm appreciation.

Because she’s grateful, you dumbass.

A gratitude fuck had to be an even worse idea than an adrenaline-induced one.

Kat stumbled slightly as Dair put her firmly away from him before releasing her completely and stepping away. For a moment—for a very brief moment—she had thought… She had thought what, exactly? That Dair was actually going to
kiss
her?

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d showered and washed her hair, she wore no makeup—it was one of the things Sergei had forgotten to throw in the suitcase when he locked her away in that luxurious hellhole—and her bulky sweater and loose denims weren’t exactly sexy either.

Of
course
Dair hadn’t been about to kiss her.

“I’m going to see how Lijah is getting on,” he informed her as he strode down the cabin.

“Is his name really Lijah?”

“Elijah, I guess. I’ve only ever known him as Lijah.” Dair shrugged. “Help yourself to the food and drink in the galley while I’m gone.”

“Shouldn’t we…?” Kat looked pointedly at the four plush leather armchairs in the main cabin, all equipped with seatbelts.

Dair gave a disbelieving grimace. “I just broke you out of a secure facility by bombing and setting fire to the place, we drove a mile through the woods without using the headlights, avoided the police by driving through a chain-link fence, all before jumping onto a moving plane, and now you’re worrying because we don’t have our seatbelts on?”

When he put it like that…

She shrugged. “I’ll just see if there’s any coffee.”

“Pour one for me too, please.” He nodded abruptly, light-colored eyes hooded by heavy lids. “I’ll be back in a few minutes and then we can make a couple of calls, one to the authorities about the hellhole, as I promised, and the other to Gregori to let him know you’re okay.”

Kat had to repress a quiver of physical awareness as Dair stepped out of the main cabin. This completely adult Dair was just so…just so… She had never met anyone like him before. Over six feet of raw masculinity, he gave off this aura of complete self-confidence, as if nothing could go wrong on his watch. While at the same time giving the impression
he
was the most dangerous thing in the room.

The first Kat found reassuring, the second was sending her sexual arousal into overdrive.

Or maybe it was still the meds wearing off?

No, it was Dair. All Dair.

And when he came back in a few minutes time he was going to start asking her all the questions she had so far avoided answering, mainly because there simply hadn’t been the time. The same couldn’t be said for all the hours it would take for them to fly to England.

As for what she was going to say to Gregori when Dair called him…

Kat poured the two coffees before sitting down in one of the comfortable cream leather seats. She gratefully ate the sandwich she had also found in a small fridge and turned to look out the window at the view of the lit up city of New York beneath them. The city where Sergei, and Ivan, would soon receive a telephone call telling them that she had escaped.

And it really had been as much of an escape as if she were a prisoner in a cell.

Kat’s hand shook slightly as she put the empty sandwich packet aside and raised the coffee cup to her lips to take a much-needed sip, her thoughts racing. Whatever she said to Gregori, she had better make sure it was good. Sergei and Ivan would prefer not to go to war over her, she was sure of it, and if she didn’t tell Gregori what they had done to her—Dair knew. Not all, but some of it. Enough to ‘break her out of that secure facility’.

Okay, so she would have to talk to Dair too, convince him that telling Gregori the truth would serve no purpose, except to cause her brother to declare war on the Orlov family. She just had no idea if Dair would agree to do that—

“Okay?” Dair questioned sharply as he dropped down into the chair opposite hers.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that!” Kat put her coffee cup firmly down on the table that separated the two of them, before she had the chance to spill it all over herself.

“Do what?” He raised dark eyebrows.

“Sneak up on me like that.” She frowned across at him. “Part of your military training?”

His expression didn’t change. “I don’t remember saying I had any military training.”

Kat gave a grimace. “You didn’t need to, it’s obvious in everything you do.”

His mouth quirked. “But you haven’t experienced
everything I do
, Kat.”

Her sexual awareness of this man returned with a vengeance, the ache between her thighs becoming so intense that she crossed one leg over the other in an effort to control it. The added pressure just made the arousal worse.

She had been in love with this man when she was a teenager. Well…what she had thought was love at the time. To the extent that thoughts of Dair had occupied her every waking moment for months. When he had just suddenly disappeared, Kat had thought her world had come to an end. She had gotten over it, of course, had fallen for some rock star six months later, one she couldn’t even remember the name of now.

But she had never forgotten Dair’s name. Hadn’t forgotten a single thing about him.

The Dair seated opposite her now wasn’t that same man
.
Whatever he had done in those intervening years, he had become a man of steel. One who did exactly what he said he was going to do, quietly, efficiently, lethally if it became necessary; Kat had absolutely no doubts that if they had been directly challenged earlier this evening, Dair would have dealt with the problem without making so much as an extra blink of his eyelids.

He was looking at her now with that same calm intensity.

Kat moistened her lips before speaking. “I really am grateful to you. For rescuing me earlier,” she added as he just continued to look at her.

He gave a shrug of those muscled shoulders. “Your words of gratitude may be a little premature.”

She tensed warily. “Why?”

Dair grimaced. “Because at the moment Lijah is doing some fancy talking to the New York authorities regarding the flight plan we didn’t log, and the authorization we didn’t have to take off. He’s also denying having any passengers on board.”

Kat’s fingers were gripping the arms of her seat so tightly her knuckles showed white. “I’m not going back.” She hated the tremor she could hear in her voice. “I can’t go back there, Dair!”