Page 75 of Beautiful Trauma

As the jet skidded across the runway, I peered my head out the window. I was home. Although I should’ve been glad to see the sight of the two blacked out SUVs waiting on the tarmac, I wasn’t. I knew what those SUVs meant.

Turning to Kellan, I gave him a slight smile. “I guess this is it.”

“For now.”

Although I hated myself for it, my heart did an irritating flip-flop at the determination of his words. “For now,” I repeated.

He dipped his head to bring his lips to mine. As his tongue slid into my mouth, I moaned. Kellan tangled his fingers through my hair as his tongue made love to my mouth. At first, he was tender and gentle, and then something turned over in him. The thrusts of his tongue against mine became more forceful as he tugged my hair between his fingers.

Just as I was afraid I was going to leave a wet spot on the leather, someone cleared their throat. When I jerked away, I found a visibly mortified Andrew standing before us. “It’s time for Ms. Korolova to depart, sir.”

“Yes, Andrew,” Kellan replied.

As I rose out of my seat, Kellan said, “I’m coming with you.”

Furrowing my brows, I questioned, “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“If I didn’t escort you to your brother, I would look weak or as if I had something to hide.”

I rolled my eyes. “You underworld men and your obsession with feeling weak.”

The jet door opened, and Kellan and I started out. When I got to the top step, Dima stepped out of his SUV. I waved wildly at him, to which he merely nodded. Of course, he wouldn’t show a lot of emotion in front of Kellan since it would be construed as weak.

Kellan followed right behind me down the stairs. When I got to the end, Dima stepped forward to meet me. “Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

“I wanted to make sure no further harm came to you.”

His statement was more for Kellan than for me. To his credit, Kellan didn’t take offense. Instead, he replied, “As I said on the phone, your sister was safe in our protection.”

Dima’s jaw ticked. “I thank you for that.”

“And you once again have my apologies for Brian’s actions. The Kavanaughs will be handing sanctions to his family regardless of our shared blood, which hopefully shows your father and your family our commitment to keeping a positive alliance between us.”

Dima’s expression turned menacing. “While there might be a shred of an alliance, it will never be positive. Your brother’s disrespectful actions will not be forgotten or forgiven anytime soon.”

“That is understandable.” Kellan’s gaze flicked from Dima’s to mine. “Please take care of yourself, Mila.”

Dima sucked in a breath. “You speak with too much familiarity to my sister.”

“I would argue that Mila and I were familiar due to our shared history. Not to mention, the confines of our stay last night bred even more familiarity.” Giving him a pointed look,Kellan added, “You cannot comfort a hysterical woman without gaining familiarity.”

Stepping toe to toe with Kellan, Dima growled, “Whatever was between the two of you is over.”

“Dima–”

He cut off my protest by slashing his hand before me. “That is a command from Father.”

“He has no right to dictate my life!” I argued.

“Get in the car, Mila,” Dima growled.

When I started to protest, Kellan shook his head at me. “Let it be, Mila.”

Before I could argue, he said pointedly, “For now.”

I understood his meaning. With emotions high, we would get nowhere arguing with Dima now. We had to be patient.

“For now,” I once again repeated.