The ending of the previous chapter was a bit unexpected, wasn't it?) And I'm glad that you didn't lynch me for that…)))
What I can say, blame Mr. Thornton with his so emotional eyes from 'North and South', the scene of heartbreaking farewell has inspired me. He is simply gorgeous in it. As our Nikola!)
Hope this chapter will make you better, enjoy!)
Chapter 10
Helen sat in the taxi, leaning her head on the window as she stared absentmindedly through it. Outside streets were sweeping past, highlighted with yellow lamps. She sighed wearily and squeezed the bridge of the nose with two fingers. The last thing she wanted tonight was to rush somewhere at full speed. And though it was her work, not just work, it was the work of her many lifetimes. Because of it, she always stayed away from interpersonal relations, hanging on the sidelines. She never complained, it was her choice after all, but sometimes, in moments like this, she wished for the chance to set the rules and spend the evening however she wished. She would have been much happy to stay in that cozy little cafe, listening Kate and Nikola throw witty barbs at one another. A small smile touched her lips but vanished almost instantly, broken by the reality – she was sitting in a cold taxi, on the move again, and suddenly realized that she still wore Nikola's jacket.
She smiled, enjoying the feeling of being close to him as she drew it closer around her shoulders, stroking the collar with her fingertips. The fine, expensive wool blend beneath her fingers was so lovely and soft that, against her will, she proceeded to brush the fabric against her cheek. She couldn't keep from smiling; it smelt just like Nikola.
The car stopped at the hotel entrance, pulling her out of her thoughts. It took her a quarter of an hour to change and to gather her things. She glanced one last time around the room, grabbing her own leather jacket as she tried not to dwell.
All the formalities at the airport were passed rather quickly and Helen finally took her place on the airplane by the window. She always preferred overnight flights, but not today. She sighed and closed her eyes, at least she could use this flight for a little name to help put the day that had been behind her.
Well, that was until she heard someone else speak.
"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty."
She instantly opened her eyes and groaned, "It can't be true! I'm either hallucinating or I've lost it completely."
Nikola grinned and sat down in a nearby seat, "The question is, which do you prefer?"
"Nikola, what are you doing here?" she asked, exhausted physically and emotionally.
"Well, a certain lady stole my favourite jacket and I couldn't simply let her go with that!" he joked.
She frowned, "I left it at the hotel." But then it hit her, "Jacket? Seriously?"
"Fine, I believed you would need help with whatever the problem is," he said and smiled, "so I'm here!"
She arched an eyebrow, "You don't volunteer to help, Nikola. So I repeat my question: what are you doing here?"
"Helen, I'm hurt, how can you think so low of me?" he replied indignantly and, to look more hurt for effect, he turned away from her with his arms folded across his chest. "And by the way, I didn't hear 'thank you'," he added over his shoulder.
Helen sighed, trying to pretend that she didn't like the slightly twisted situation she now found herself in. Not that she'd let herself admit that she couldn't bare the thought of a few hours separated from him lest she miss Nikola unbearably.
The pilot called for take off and Helen dismissed the thought, turning back to Nikola. "And where are the others?"
"Oh, it was all very amusing when you left me with the kindergarteners," Nikola started. "Dr. Expendable decided to play boss, forcing Booty and the Wolf to go back to the hotel and go to sleep. Only they disagreed and ran away from him."
Helen was listening to him with wide eyes, "What?" she cried.
"I left the spectacle when your responsible protégé was methodically investigating every nightclub in Baku. I'm afraid if he continues like this, he'll actually find them but, to be honest, I don't think tomorrow any of them will be up for much."
She had no idea what to say and simply asked him in a tired voice, "Why didn't you help him?"
"Well, I wasn't asked to baby-sit." Nikola countered with a completely straight face, only his eyes were twinkling merrily.
She turned to him with the open mouth and suddenly realized that he had obviously fooled her, "You did think up that entire unbelievable story, didn't you?"
Nikola laughed, "Who knows?"
"Arghhh! It wasn't funny!" she grumbled at him.
"It was funny for me," he said, shrugging. "You looked like you were so mad you could have jumped from the plane."
Helen pulled a face in response.
"It was my revenge for the way you've been treating me all night. Especially all that torture in front of the children," he added.
"Well, you were asking for it. So don't complain," Helen retorted with a conceited grin.
"And you say I'm unbearable?" He was astounded.
"You most certainly are," she said with a chuckle, enjoying their teasing, friendly chat. The airplane shuddered in the turbulence and Nikola muttered, "Damned airplanes! I hate them!"
"As much as crowds?" Helen asked with a ghost of a smile.
"It's a tie," he replied with a dark look.
The conversation lapsed and she settled back, turning to the window, where the night sky was impenetrably black and all she could see was a reflection of both her face and Nikola's. She regarded with admiration his sharp features in odd pensiveness and suddenly blurted out, "Nikola, tell me why are you here?" before she considered its effect.
He moved his head closer to her and peered into her eyes with a playful smile. But what he wanted to say was forgotten. Under her always shining eyes lay dark circles and she looked so tired that he didn't want to invent any excuses. But was she ready to hear his truth? He hesitated for a moment, it seemed to Helen that he even swallowed, although she wasn't sure and then he quietly said, "I believed you didn't want to be alone, and that you needed…" He paused and she was almost certain that there was nothing more to add to.
"…me," he finished in an irresolute whisper.
She locked her eyes on his, being both excited and relieved for some reason by the sincerity of his answer, but what was more important was that it was the truth - she really needed him - which she was so afraid to say aloud, concealing it under harsh words. But she did nothing, just nodded and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.
Nikola eyed her carefully. The woman, sitting next to him, was the greatest mystery he could only hope to guess at one day: she could as easily shoot him as laugh at him in an answer to his questions, and for the first time he was glad that she didn't say anything. His always strong, stubborn and self-confident Helen didn't tell him to go to hell. It was a good sign! Her breathing became steady, she had to be fallen asleep so he quietly turned off the light so that nothing would disturb her, when suddenly he felt that she took him by the hand and murmured, "Thank you!"
Not sure what to do, he joked, "Twice this evening, ljubav, are you all right?" And she let out a sound, seemed to him a gentle chuckle, kept on staring at their entwined hands and he asked faintly, "For what?"
"For being so nice," she replied with an instant addition, "sometimes!" He smiled, his heart growing heavy with tenderness for this woman and he simply squeezed her fingers in return. Absolute happiness washed over him, removing any of the doubts he had as to whether he had been right to follow her.
"Helen?" he gently called her and heard her sleepy response, "Mmmm?"
He remained silent for a few seconds, "So what were you thinking about then?" he asked.
A slow smile showed up on her face and she opened her eyes, squinted at him, "Are you sure you want to know?"
Nikola hesitated for a moment, but shrugged, "After all, I served you faithfully, my lady, for a whole evening, and so where is my promised reward?"
"Yes, you did! But to be fair, I don't think that I would employ you, I didn't notice that you had been doing your best!" she responded slyly.
He smirked, she always had a sharp tongue and that afforded him an exquisite delight to exchange blistering remarks with her, "Next time I promise I will do all to give you maximum of pleasure, madam!" he replied seductively and turned his head to look at the effect produced by his words, but to his disappointment he saw that she was sleeping, and the answer to his fiery speech was just her mumbling. A smile touched his lips, "Sweet dreams, my love," he thought, and leaned back in his chair, still holding her hand. The airplane shuddered again and he muttered, "Bloody plane!"
Helen was torn out from sleep by sudden shaking and she heard Nikola swearing in a low voice. It caused a feeling of warmth in her chest. It was so astonishing to be comfortable with flying somewhere together again, with relishing his hand squeezed hers. She believed that she could get use to it, or she had already done. This sudden thought made her succumb to an impulse, "You. I was thinking about you," she whispered.
If he hadn't his sensitive ears, he'd never heard her words, which made his heart race. Their eyes met and the Earth stopped moving for both of them. And after several eternal seconds he was only able to force himself to say, "Really?"
She nodded, carried on looking at his magnetic eyes and he could see such a gamut of emotions in hers but there was also something new, breaking through the usual guise of indifference – a fascination. With him. And it was all he could do to kiss her.
He was caressing her lips with his, catching and savouring her gasps for breath. He put his hand on the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her dark hair and the sensation of his endearment made her shudder and gasp and seize him tightly by the lapel of his jacket. He took advantage of her parted lips to squeeze softly her bottom lip and sucked it. Gently… Slowly… Sensually… He ran his tongue over the silk skin of her lips, and almost lost the control when she repeated his action. The sweetness of this kiss didn't have anything in common with their previous hungry one. This kiss was the admiration of Nikola for the only woman in his life. They finally struggled to break away from each other when the air became vital but remained joined with foreheads, and through the noise of blood pressure in his ears, he heard her hoarse voice, "You asked would I shoot you if you kissed me?"
The way she said that sent shivers down his spine and he grinned, knowing he was the reason behind it, "Well, perhaps, this time, I have an advantage – you can't shoot your gun on a plane," he said with a chuckle.
"You may be right!" Helen agreed, making herself comfortable in the seat and closed her eyes. They both fell into a wonderful comforting tranquillity, each replaying in their minds the splendid moments of their evening together, when she carried on keeping her eyes shut suddenly added to his amazement, "Although, I still wouldn't have shot you, Nikola."
He gasped for air and looked at her perfectly drowsy face, on which was such a playful smile that he found himself astounded by the way his heart was saying that he could wait for her for an eternity if she so required. Over the years they had known each other, he had few moments when her rejection was so unbearable that he wanted nothing more than to give up on her and move on, but his love for her had such power over him that any struggle against it was simply useless. Whatever he did he always came back to her. She was his dream, his muse, his friend, his companion, and tonight he got a spark of hope that one day he would be able to call her his forever, and that was enough - he would give her all time in the world. He raised her hand to his lips and mouthed into it, "Uvek sam te voleo, ljubav!"
After all, this trip was worth it!
Thanks for reading.)