Beyond These Walls (The Walls Duet #2)(37)

“Cheater!” I yelled.

I waved to the woman whose name tag said Brie.

It reminded me of cheese, and suddenly, I was starving. I followed my bride up the steps and found her halted at the entrance.

“Have I ever mentioned my concern for your sanity?” she said, her eyes taking in the lavish furnishings and ample space.

“A few times, yes.”

“Okay, good. I might again before this flight is over.”

“Good to know.” I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her waist, and I pushed us forward into the room.

As she looked around, I took a seat. “Are you hungry?”

Her hands flew to her stomach, probably having the same realization as me. “Famished. Please tell me this thing is stocked with food.”

I nodded, leaning my head back against the seat, as I watched her walking back and forth, opening doors and checking out buttons.

“Good. Whoa! There’s a bed back here!”

I turned and found her blushing. Apparently, she’d just realized all the fun things that we could do with a bed mid-flight.

I felt my body harden at the mere sight of that red stain across her cheeks.

Calm. Must stay calm.

We couldn’t be horizontal when the flight took off, and I planned on at least feeding her before f*cking her. After last night, we both needed strength.

Good God . . . last night.

Making love with Lailah always filled a dark hole in my heart. Each time our bodies came together, I’d feel whole, alive, and completely connected to her.

There was nothing more I needed. Nothing felt lacking, and until yesterday, I hadn’t realized that I’d been holding back. It wasn’t that I had been rougher or different with others in the past. It was simply the fact that, with Lailah, I’d always want more because she meant more.

It hurt to admit that to myself, knowing how intensely I’d once loved another. But I knew I couldn’t live in the past. I’d never know what my life would have been like if Megan and I hadn’t visited Los Angeles and never attended that fateful party. All I knew was, I’d somehow been given a second chance with Lailah, and I’d fallen so deeply in love with her that I couldn’t imagine living any other way now.

But seeing her fear that something might be missing between us couldn’t be any further from the truth, yet I’d still held back when we made love.

When you’d seen the person you loved nearly die, the feelings, the fear, etched itself permanently in your psyche. Even though I knew logically that she was healthy, even though the doctor had told me she had a clean bill of health, I found myself filled with doubt—doubt that she’d take a turn for the worst, doubt that something would go wrong and she’d leave me much too soon.

As scary as it was to admit, I didn’t think I could survive without her.

So, she was correct. I would use caution and act a tad irrationally when it came to her health. I couldn’t help it.

But I also wanted to give her everything.

And, f*ck, my every fantasy had been wrapped up in a pretty little package while watching her fall apart beneath me as I showed her exactly how little restraint I could have. She was stunning every second of the day, but seeing her like that had been breathtaking. The echoes of her cries as she’d begged for more had been replaying through my head in an endless loop, and I had every intention of recreating that scene in a dozen different places over the next few weeks.

“You’ve got that dopey, faraway look in your eyes,” Lailah said, bending down to catch my gaze.

I smiled, taking in her features, as she stared at me with a goofy grin. Her hair was piled high on her head in a sloppy bun, and not a trace of makeup graced her flawless skin. It was such a stark difference from the woman I’d watched walking down the aisle yesterday, yet it was still so beautiful.

When she was like this, I could see the Lailah I’d fallen in love with. When she’d walked down that aisle yesterday, I had seen the woman she’d become along the way.

“They’re just dopey because I’m thinking about you,” I answered, tugging on her hand to pull her into the seat next to me.

We were going to take off soon, and I knew we would need to be buckled in.

“Ready to go to . . .” she asked, expectantly looking at me.

“Oh, no. I’m not telling you now. I haven’t planned and plotted this long to screw it all up in the last inning.”

“Fine.” She folded her arms across her chest, and her lips jutted out into a ridiculous pout.

I shook my head, leaning back to close my eyes, as we waited to take off.

She’d forgive me once we landed.

I hoped.

I usually found plane rides uneventful and dull, just endless hours to fill with mindless nothingness. I’d try to work, but I’d never manage to get anything accomplish. I’d pick up a book but get annoyed by the snoopy person next to me who felt the need to read over my shoulder or talk about how he or she had just read and loved something similar. The movie selection was always horrible, and I was a picky sleeper, never able to find the correct position to drift away for a few precious hours of the flight.

But that was all before I’d found the perks of having Lailah with me . . . on a private plane.

Now that I had, I didn’t think we’d ever fly commercial again.

Nope, I was officially spoiled.