Lion Den

Part 20

The second of scintillating weightlessness that Emma had felt was cut short when she felt a hand grab onto her wrist at the last possible second. Andrei was standing there, looking about ready to careen off the cliff edge with her. He heaved as he pulled her up and walked away from the edge. His blue eyes so shrouded with rage that the hazel disappeared, he grabbed her by the hips and shook her hard. She felt oscillations in her teeth.

"What in the fuck are you doing, Emma?" He finally crumpled to the ground, holding her close to his chest. She felt his convulsions as he bawled hysterically. Andrei was practically maniacal, clutching her hard. His arms were like girders around her. They seemed anchored to that spot, Andrei loath to move and Emma unable to. It took her a second to realize that tears were spurting uncontrollably from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I promise that I won't lose my temper like that with you ever again. I know you're stressed." He released her and inclined her face slowly up towards his, crushing their lips together. She could feel his heart pumping against her sternum.

"I just don't see any way out. Andrei, I killed a man! I murdered him in cold blood." In her mind, a cacophony of screaming, gunshots, and pained but erotic groaning rattled her. It flung itself off the walls of her skull. It smashed through her cranium. And Emma couldn't visualize a way out. In her mind's eye, she couldn't see any way to figure it all out. The ire in Andrei's gaze perturbed Emma.

"I still can't believe you tried to kill yourself. I'm-I'm flummoxed!" Despite the entirety of her ordeal, Emma laughed.

"Flummoxed? What are you, seventy?" She was feeling crazy, made slightly daffy from the pregnancy hormones. The rush of epinephrine and noradrenaline from her interrupted suicide attempt made her downright slaphappy at that point. In spite of that, Andrei was not amused. He found no entertainment in her unbalanced behavior.

"This is not a joke, Emma. I don't find this funny at all. You shouldn't either. Do I have to chain you to the bed so I can make sure you won't try anything this stupid again? God, this is so irritating. Are you trying to provoke me?" He pulled her closer to him, holding her body flush against his own. He practically devoured her lips as he carried her back to the Charger. He didn't let her down until they were in the backseat together. He pressed his body weight onto her after he closed the car door, suckling on her neck and leaving a hickey. She moaned as he started fumbling with her clothes. She didn't really feel up to it at that moment, but his urgent hands and voracious mouth were strong.

"Andrei, please, I'm not really in the mood right now." The adrenaline was wearing off. He froze his roaming hands that were making their way up her shirt.

"Emma, please. I thought I lost you. I'll do anything for you, just let me do this. If you're really against it, I'll stop. I feel like an asshole for even saying that. Here, I'll stop." He moved to get up, but she pulled him back down on top of her. She suddenly understood what he was feeling, why he needed her.  She needed him as well. She suddenly needed to feel Andrei's flesh against hers. The fire that he ignited in her needed to be extinguished, her thirst for his body needed to be quenched. He groaned as she seized his head, her fingers digging into his scalp slightly. She crashed his mouth to hers, and he took it as a sign that she wanted to move forward. She ran her hand up his shirt, feeling those strong back muscles of his. Emma let her body go, giving it willingly over to Andrei. As he made love to her softly, she whispered one phrase over and over.