Chapter Seven: Choices
As Helena's mind whirred with the combustion of a jet engine, hours away at that point, Talia blew out a relieved breath when Chris and Ryan began to dig in the hard soil of the abandoned earth that used to be an industrious walnut farm.
Talia paced as the men weren't moving fast enough for her liking and she shouted in a nearly dead language for them to pick up the pace or she would shred the flesh from their bones after they dug a hole large enough to accommodate three.
As Ryan and Chris began to perspire and breathe heavily, back in the Lang household, Helena felt her breath seize in her chest as Bane turned her left hand over and pressed his lips to her palm.
Bane murmured against her palm, stammering even in his muffled tone.
"What did you say?" she whispered and felt her breath escape her again as he raised his eyes to meet hers.
"I've never felt there was hope for anything more than enslavement and nursing my wounds in the darkness. I would've killed myself for a kind word from Talia," he admitted.
Helena could see the exposed belly of his vulnerability. He didn't try to hide anything from her as he returned his lips to her palm. He continued on a whisper; his exhale warm against her skin. "The moment I saw you, I questioned everything I have ever known, and I would gladly walk through fire for the opportunity to share your breathing space."
Helena felt her mouth grow suddenly dry under the weight of his gaze and the heat of his skin seemed to radiate her in a wash of warmth.
Bane knew even his wordless self was becoming overwhelming and rose to his feet as he pulled her with him.
"Let's head inside for a while, the sun is getting to be too much," he murmured.
Bane led Helena inside, knowing she had no idea how much of his life had been spent in darkness, the kiss of the sun was fleeting. He'd never been trapped in moments of solar inundation that seemed would never end.
He settled back at the table as Helena crossed to the freezer and rooted around for a frozen bagel. Bane watched her struggle to get the frozen halves apart before she settled them on the long setting in the extra wide toaster slots.
They remained wordless as she fetched a just opened rectangle of cream cheese and jar of strawberry jam.
Helena reached for the piping hot slices when they popped up from their red coiled crypts and dropped them on a waiting plate. She happened to glance over the moment his eyes fell on her bruised wrist.
Helena followed his eyes down to the discolored flesh he had caused to happen and tugged her sleeve down to cover it.
"You need to be prepared that she's very likely going to ask me to hurt you."
Bane's words hung in the air and Helena paused as she spread the sticky strawberry on the porous bagel's surface.
"What'll happen then?"
"I'll have to make my actions appear believable," he answered vaguely.
"What will that feel like for me?" she managed breathlessly.
Bane stared at her so long that she started to squirm. "Please stop that," she snapped.
"Stop doing what?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his massive chest and leaned back in the chair.
"What should I expect from you when she's around?" she asked, ignoring his question before she took a bite of her late breakfast.
"Honestly?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen and leaned casually on the tiled counter. He traced his rough fingertip around one of the square ceramic tiles.
Helena didn't trust her words and found she could only nod.
Bane stifled a yawn, "I'd really just like to take a nap. That sofa upstairs is incredibly uncomfortable," he admitted.
Helena couldn't help but chuckle. "It is the most uncomfortable sofa ever, but I just love the color."
He glanced at the clock on the stainless-steel microwave. "I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap," he said moving away from the counter and approaching her.
"But you just said the sofa kept you from sleeping," she mumbled and struggled to stand still.
"Your bed looks cozy," he murmured as he dropped his voice to a ragged whisper and closed the small distance between them. He laid a hand on the counter on either side of her and leaned down. He spoke with his lips hovering centimeters over hers.
"What are you expecting if I go upstairs with you?"
Bane raised an eyebrow and pressed his lips to the barest corner of her mouth. "When… you come upstairs, I'd like to take a nap with you, I will not take anything you don't want to freely give," he murmured and felt his groin grow tight as her warm scent filled his lungs.
Helena felt her chest tighten and her breath barely fall from her lips at his close proximity. She was inundated by his woodsy, masculine scent and faint brush of menthol on his exhale.
"Will you come upstairs with me?" he asked on a breath and pressed his lips to hers before she could answer.
A moan slipped from Helena's mouth and into his as he kissed her breathlessly. He moved his hands from the sink and massaged the flesh of her sides as though he was palpating for a tumor. The rough movements of his hands were actively causing bruises to blossom on the skin under her thin sweater.
"Yes," she managed on a gasp when he lifted his lips and reached for her right hand.
Bane paused as he led Helena from the kitchen when they reached the bottom of the stairs as the front door opened and Barsad walked in from the bright morning.
Barsad let his eyes trail over Helena's frozen form and where Bane had a hold of her.
"Do you have something to report brother?" Bane asked.
Barsad shook his head and took his eyes off of Helena to look at Bane.
"No, I just need to get something to drink before I continue."
"Then let your eyes rest somewhere else brother," Bane said in a tone that held no anger, but a promise of certain death should his gaze linger.
Barsad bobbed his head, instant understanding flooding his central nervous system and he hurried past them.
Helena blinked at Bane as he renewed his tugging on her wrist and she struggled to keep up with him on stairs she'd been navigating her whole life.
Bane practically pulled her off her feet as they drew closer to her room, he wanted to have her closer and return to a place of intimacy.
He slammed the door and turned to face her.
The weight of his gaze made her feel exposed and she mumbled an excuse to use the bathroom and caught her breath as he waited more than a few minutes and then knocked on the door.
"Are you okay?" he called through the closed door.
"Yes," she said and splashed water off her face. "I'll be right out," she added as she dried her face.
Helena counted to ten and blew out a slow breath before opening the door to find him standing in front of her.
Bane stepped aside and let her pass. She went and sat on the sunny window seat and watched him pull back the bedspread and adjust the pillows.
Helena felt her heart skip a beat when he locked the door and began to slip out of his clothes. She felt her face turn positively fuchsia when he was soon standing in front of her in a pair of snug-fitting royal blue boxer briefs. His vascularly striated thighs were strong and scarred as he walked over to her and held out his hands towards her.
Helena scooted backwards on the window seat cushion and crossed an arm over her chest.
"Shhhh," he murmured and dropped to his knee in front of her. "Come lay down with me, I will not make any demands of you."
Helena sniffed hard and slowly slid towards him until he gave her enough room to stand. She kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers he held up. She tried to not tense as he shifted until he could mold himself behind her.
She closed her eyes and adjusted the pillow under the side of her head as he moved her hair away from the side of her neck and pressed his lips to the flushed flesh.
Helena couldn't help but flinch when he settled his hand on the natural curve of her waist and then smoothed down the side of her denim encased leg.
"Do you know what else has changed the moment our worlds collided?" he murmured as he shifted until he could press her onto her belly and began to massage her back.
"Hmmmm?" she sounded as his fingertips sought out each point of muscular tension.
"My trust in my control."
"In what way?" Helena managed as he slipped his hands under her sweater and continued his circular massaging against her bare skin.
"Around you, I've never questioned my control as a solider, a warrior. I've never wavered under leadership and yet I struggle to hold loyal to words still new with sound," he admitted and rubbed his thumbs up the wings of her shoulder blades.
Helena couldn't find her words as he pressed his fingertips down the center of her spine and teased the curvature of her lower spine. She gasped and murmured breathlessly intelligibly as he unclasped her bra and smoothed his palms over her bare back, urging her sweater further up and out of the way.
"Can you do something for me?" Bane growled.
"Hmmm?" she managed as he continued to massage the sore muscles deep in between her shoulder blades.
"Turn over."
She was reluctant to have the massage stop but rolled over to look up at him.
Helena hadn't realized he had taken off his boxer briefs until she saw his hard cock between his legs, practically bobbing with anticipation.
Helena felt an instant flood of adrenaline and futilely attempted to scramble away from him.
"I swear I won't take anything; I just want to hold you close," he uttered on a ragged groan.
Helena shook her head but had nowhere to escape being trapped under him.
"Come back here," he demanded.
Helena shook her head. "What if it ends up being one of those moments where you lose control?"
Bane shot out a hand and yanked her further underneath by the waistband of her jeans. "I swear I will not take anything from you," he whispered as he cupped her jaw and traced his thumb over her lower lip.
Helena slowly nodded, "do you always sleep like this?"
"Naked?" he asked in a feral tone that made a twinge throughout her nervous system.
She nodded through her blush.
"Yes," he growled and danced his fingertips down her neck. "What about you?"
"Pajamas," she said and couldn't avoid his gaze as he gave her a small smile and looked away from her for a moment to tap on his square smart watch.
"I'm setting an alarm for just under two hours, that still leaves time to talk about the script."
Helena's struggling was immediately reignited when he began tugging at her jean's metal buttons.
"You just promised to not do this," she shouted, anger fanning her adrenalin as she pushed at his hands.
"I can't risk you running away if I nod off," he growled and easily shook her hands off as he yanked her pants open and fumbled the zipper open.
"Where could I even go, there's not even a car here I can take," she stammered and tried to slap him but couldn't extend her arm much under him. She only succeeded in roughly resting her palm on his cheek as he jerked at her pants.
"I swear I won't try anything, just stop," she said shrilly as he growled in frustration and grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head.
"Then I'll need you to handcuff you to the bed so you can't go back on your word," Bane murmured and dropped his lips to hover over hers. "Which would you prefer?" he asked and added on an all-male chuckle. "I'm sure you can guess which choice I'd make."
As a blush that rivaled the sun lit up Helena's face and made Zeus smile down from Mt. Olympus, hours away, Talia continued to watch Ryan and Chris struggle with Howard's grave. The soil was hard from the recent long spell without rain and tree roots had made progress slow in getting depth as they had to pause and hack at the gnarled buried wood.
The process was taking too long for Talia and she wanted to beat both men to death with either or both of the shovels and leave them to rot on the ground for the rodents and carrion eaters.
Talia returned to the sedan and cranked the air conditioner as she dialed Barsad for the eighth time.
They exchanged a few words and she hung up angrier than when she had dialed when he told her the same thing as every time before.
"He's in the kitchen with the woman watching her work and telling her what you expect upon your return."
As Barsad went back to hacking through a government firewall, upstairs Helena continued to struggle in Bane's unbreakable grip.
Bane switched his grip on her wrists to one of his large hands and gripped her chin with the fingertips of his free hand and traced the rough pad of his thumb across her lower lip. "Tell me which one you'd prefer, and I'll gladly accommodate," he rasped as he felt his desire began to overtake his control.
Helena gave an exasperated huff and sagged against the mattress. "I don't want you looking at me," she finally mumbled, trying but not able to avoid his piercing gaze and the sudden questions that filled his eyes.
Bane held her gaze as he trailed his fingertips down the length of her neck and danced down the front of her body, the cashmere soft under his moving touch.
"Let go," she murmured urgently and shook her restrained wrists as he began sliding her sweater upwards.
Bane paused his hand on her hemline and released her wrists after what seemed an inordinately long time but in actuality was less than five seconds.
Helena's wordless relief was obvious as he pulled the bed linen up and around them. She was further thankful when he kept most of his weight off of her as she slowly slipped out of the rest of her clothes, her limbs heavy with the effort.
"Try and let yourself relax," Bane murmured as he shifted them around until he could crush her to the front of his body. She gasped when their naked skin kissed.
Helena laughed despite her myriad of emotions at his casual suggestion.
"Relax? How can I even begin to relax?"
Bane kept his smile mild as he smoothed her hair off her clammy forehead as she struggled to catch her breath between being physically compressed under the weight of his formidable frame coupled with the plethora of emotions that swirled within her frontal lobe.
Helena doused his rapidly surging lust when she turned her head sharply to the side and zeroed in on her family photographs next to the bed.
"She didn't take my father to the hospital?" she asked and answered as his hands paused against her.
Bane stayed quiet as he followed her gaze to the picture of the proud parents with the newly adopted Helena. He shifted and smoothed his hands behind her thighs until he could yank her further down in the bed and slide closer to her intimate center.
Bane started stroking his hands up and down the outside of her thighs as he murmured against the curve of her neck. "I didn't plan on such a blunt delivery. Your father has passed, I might not be able to find the precise spot for you to mourn," he breathed and felt a wave of tension possess her.
Bane was surprised to feel the rigidity in her limbs subside as she murmured something unintelligible.
He gripped her chin and brought her eyes to meet his. "What did you say?"
Helena sniffed hard as fresh tears fell from the corners of her eyes. "It was going to be sooner than later regardless of that woman," she repeated as she tried and failed again to move away from him.
Bane let the bulk of his weight pin her to the mattress, his stiff cock pushing intrusively into the supple flesh of her inner thigh. "Your father was ill?" he huskily whispered.
Helena nodded and cleared her throat before she spoke. "Stage four kidney and bone cancer. He was close to palliative care," she added.
Bane waited a few minutes after she spoke and let her remain in her silence as he tried to calm the inner torrential lustful flood he was holding back with sealing wax and clothespins.
As Bane tried to gather his words and not fall into a lustful hypnosis at the press of her naked flesh and ultra-closeness of her wet femininity, hours away, Ryan and Chris finally reached an acceptable depth for the impromptu grave.
Talia crossed her arms and found some satisfaction as Chris and Ryan unceremoniously dumped Professor Howard Lang's still warm body into the hole.
She tapped out Barsad's phone number and hit end quickly before the call connected. She knew she was starting to sound a little nutty and blew out a frustrated breath as Ryan and Chris began the fatigued task of filling in the hole they had made.
Talia mumbled under her breath in the near-dead language as she dialed Bane's number three times in a row to be greeted with zero rings and the automated message. She nearly hurled her phone to the unforgiving ground but ended up shoving it deep in her pocket.
As Talia resumed sitting in the car with the air conditioner turned to high, back at the Lang household that now belonged solely to Helena, Bane cleared his throat before he spoke in a gravelly whisper. Each word was measured and deliberate, he was close to forgetting how to speak.
"I'll give you time to mourn your father before," he trailed off and pressed his lips to her closed eyelid.
"Before what?" she asked breathlessly as he shifted and kissed her other closed eyelid, the fringe of her eyelashes tickling his lips.
"Before you give me the chance to earn your heart and every part of you," he groaned as he danced his fingertips down the front of her body and made slow circles around her belly button with his index finger.
"What about Talia?" she asked before her voice broke.
"I will resolve that, put her out of your mind," he murmured and pressed his lips to hers when she protested. "I'm speaking of a time past that, a beginning," he added when he lifted his lips.