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The feeling of finally having her in my arms is indescribable.

The delicacy of her body makes me cautious, as if I'm holding something precious.

The force with which I desire her is almost violent.

As much as I guessed that things between us would be intense, given the way she arouses me, it never crossed my mind that Elina would be able to throw me off my balance this way.

My tongue invades her, slowly at first, making her get used to it, teaching her to receive me. When I notice she's more confident, I dig deeper, and the choreography of our mouths finds a perfect rhythm. It's like we've been doing this forever.

I had no illusions that we would stop at the kiss. Even though she's a virgin, I have more than enough experience to know that sex between us will be explosive. A kiss wouldn't even count as a warm-up.

Now that I've tasted her, I know that it'll take many nights to satisfy me. But from everything I've learned about her so far, I know that Elina won't let me play around so easily, and the uncertainty of how much time we still have together makes me demand her surrender.

I squeeze and move her hips over my cock so she has no doubt about how much I want her. She breaks away from my mouth and leans her neck back in a long moan that almost drives me crazy.

I tangle my fingers in her long hair because I need her mouth back. “Suck my tongue.”

She pulls away in order to look at me. Then she approaches again and very lightly tries what I asked.

“Not like that. Suck it. Suck it nicely.”

It takes her a while to get the hang of it, but when she learns how to do it...damn it! My cock instantly reacts, imagining what it would be like to feel her mouth taking me whole.

“Just like that. Go on.”

“Odin . . .”

“I knew that it would be like this, Elina. Even before I touched you, I knew it would be delicious.”

We're completely lost, surrendered, desperate, so when the pilot's voice comes over the PA system, we're both startled.

I’d forgotten we were on the plane, and apparently so had she, because when she realizes that there's someone else around, she tries to escape from my lap.

But I'm not ready to give her up that easily. “Shhhh...calm down. He's just letting us know that we'll be landing soon. No one will come here yet.”

“Let me go.”

Against my will, I get up and put her back in her seat. I fasten her seat belt but don't go back to my seat yet.

I stand there, looking at her mouth swollen from our kisses. Looking at her breathing heavily and the almost wild way in which her chest rises and falls.

I don't want to go to my chair, not yet, but I guess that Elina has been through a lot for one day.

As soon as I sit down, however, she surprises me.

“You said a kiss. If a single kiss from you feels like that, I don't doubt that you can spend hours having sex.”

It doesn't go unnoticed that she used the expression having sex . I'm already getting to know her a little better, and I guess that's her way of keeping our attraction a little less important .

“That was just a kiss. If we were making love, you would now be naked, showing yourself to me, while my mouth and tongue tasted every bit of your body.”

“You make love with words.”

“Perhaps." I hide a smile, pleased to see how aroused she is. "But I like to listen too. You shouldn't hide anything you're feeling when we're in bed.”

“That won’t happen. I'm honest enough to admit that your kiss feels really good and that I'm on fire, but let's stop there. As I said before, I don't want to mix work with sex.”

“We don't need to mix anything, although I'd love to make love to you on my desk in the office, while people outside the door have no idea that inside we are both naked in each other's arms.”

She shakes her head, as if to dismiss the scene I've just described, and changes the subject. “You said you work with computer programs. Do you create these programs? I don't understand any of this.”

“Not so much these days. I have people all over the world doing that for me. I am the CEO . Only the boring boss.”

“The bossy boss.”

“What?”

She gives me a smile. “You're very bossy. You like to control everything.”

“I can't control you.”

“I'll never let anyone control me again. You are giving me the opportunity, for the first time, to take charge of my own life. Don't ruin it by trying to seduce me. I know our attraction is very intense, Odin. I'm not experienced, but I know my body. It reacts to you regardless of my will. I don't have the strength to resist, but you can have any woman you want, so why mess things up by having sex with me?”

“We can keep everything separate. No sex in the office.”

“I’m serious.”

“Me too.”

“Really? Then how will it work? And when our affair comes to an end, what will happen? I'll lose my job, and I can't afford that. We have to stop whatever is happening between us right now.”

Before I can respond, the flight attendant appears to check that our seat belts are fastened. I know she's just doing her job, but it annoys me to be interrupted.

I look out the window as I think of a way to overcome our impasse. Rationally, of course she's right. If we got involved, it would likely bring embarrassment when it all came to an end. I've never mixed work and pleasure, so I know she has a point.

The thing is, I don't see myself getting tired of her anytime soon.

Despite that, I'll back off for now. Decisions made in the heat of the moment never work well. The best thing is to analyze the whole thing before I end up pushing her away for good.

I feel her watching me, but I pretend not to notice. My desire for Elina is so wild that if I don't put in the effort, I'll send the decision to slow down for now to hell.

So I close my eyes and try to calm the animalistic way my body still remains attached to hers.

MANHATTAN - NEW YORK

My secretary did as I asked. When we arrive at the building that will now be Elina’s residence, the apartment is ready to receive her. Clean and with enough groceries so she can eat for at least two weeks.

Until our . . . interaction on the plane, I intended to keep things impersonal because I thought that even if we had sex, it would just be what it used to be for me: a few chance encounters.

The thing is, I know myself. After what happened on the plane, the intense chemistry between the two of us, I will be even more careful about her well-being. I take care of what's mine, and as long as we're together—and eventually we will be, I have no doubt—Elina will be treated as my woman.

I know I won't be able to leave her anytime soon. I'm starving for her. Everything she said was on point; she nailed it when she brought up my need for control. Controlling my world is part of who I am. I anticipate people's reactions to understand how to make my next play. I rarely relax around another human being, which is why it's so strange to have disconnected from everything when I took her in my arms on the plane.

I look at the woman who is now walking around the apartment's living room as though she’s trying to take in everything around her.

The furniture is white, and the sofa is a light gray.

Despite being a three-bedroom property, not a mansion like the one she grew up in, Elina looks dazzled as she wanders around every corner.

I'm standing there, hands in the pockets of my suit pants, watching her every move. I have a feeling that if she was alone, she would spin around like she did that day in the library. She looks happy.

“It's incredible.”

I don’t answer. I'm still not in a good mood. I haven’t yet found a way to make our relationship work, which has put me in a hellish state of mind.

“Come. Let's see the rest.”

Before I think about what I'm doing, I reach out. Unlike on the plane, this time she gladly accepts my hand. The feeling is foreign. Not just because she gave in, when she's usually skittish, but because it feels right to hold her. Have her with me.

“The apartment is huge.”

“No, it's average, but I think you'll be comfortable.”

“Are you kidding? We could fit ten of my bedrooms in here.”

“Your home in Greece wasn't just your bedroom.”

“For me, that was what it came down to. It was the only place I could be myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s nonsense. As I said before, you turn me into a chatterbox.”

“I don't want you to hide anything from me.”

Yes, she can—and maybe should—send me to hell for what I've just said, but instead, she shrugs.

“You'll have to earn the right to know my secrets."

I stop in the middle of the hallway and make her face me. "Are you flirting with me, Elina? ”

“No.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Sorry. It won't happen again.”

I grip her hips, my desire already fully rekindled. “I'm going to kiss you again. Say you want it.”

“Would it make a difference?”

“It would make all the difference. You can always say no to me, Elina.”

She looks at my mouth. “Just one more.”

I lean her against the wall and put her arms around the back of my head. If a kiss is all I'm getting for today, I'll make sure she has something to think about when I'm gone.

Unlike the first time, she now knows what to do, and her hands pull at me urgently. I took it slowly on the plane, but right now, perhaps because her words are still etched on my memory, there's a hint of desperation in my attack. I take her mouth in a clear simulation of the sexual act, and she responds as I know she would if I were inside her body.

Elina is pure fire in my arms.

Yet, despite the excitement bordering on madness, I force myself to stop. She'll have to learn to ask, too.

Her face shows disappointment, and God only knows how much it costs me not to kiss her again, but something she said stops me from continuing. I want Elina to come to me spontaneously, not feeling vulnerable or indebted because I gave her a job.

I wait to see if she will give an indication that she wants more, however, despite her desire being obvious, she hides it.

“Are you going to show me the rest of the apartment? I'm looking forward to seeing the kitchen."