Page 161 of Depths of Destruction

His jaw clenches. "Draw me a map and help me finish this."

My heart sinks, and I feel like my entire world is going to be destroyed. Because he is my entire world. "I don't have a say in this, do I?"

"No, baby. As long as I breathe, no one is going to come after you. It's not negotiable."

I blink hard, fighting tears.

"I need you to draw me a map. Can you do that for me?"

I nod and rise.

"Hey."

I spin, and he pulls me between his legs, palming my butt. "You can kiss me now."

I peck him on the lips.

He pulls me into him and squeezes my ass. "I think you should kiss me again like you mean it."

I bite back my smile.

He raises his eyebrows in a cocky fashion. "I'm waiting."

I lean in.

He slides his hand in my hair, squeezes my ass, and kisses me as if I'm his dinner and he hasn't been fed for a week. When he pulls back, I'm panting.

"If we hurry up downstairs, you can spend the rest of the night showing me how much you're going to miss me."

I push my body against his erection and attempt one last time to get him to change his mind. "Why don't we not go downstairs and stay up here. And I'll show you tonight and then all day tomorrow how happy I am you're staying?"

"Hmmm. Nice try. Still going." He pats my bottom. "Let's go. Time's ticking."

We go to the kitchen, and I draw a map as best as I can while Andre and Blaise construct what Andre terms a "loose plan."

"That doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me."

Andre and Blaise both chuckle.

"Don't worry. I'll have it nailed down before I do anything," Andre tries to assure me, then picks up the burner phone Kalim put in his bag when we were at the hospital. He turns it on and leaves a message. It sounds like gibberish to me.

"What was that?" I ask him when he gets off the phone.

"Kalim will know how to decipher it."

"What if he's tried to call about Malin and Emilia? We haven't had the phone on."

"He hasn't." Andre shows me the empty voice mail box.

The ticking of the clock in my head starts again. "Why hasn't Emilia surfaced?"

"She will. Malin will find us," he confidently states, but all I hear is the tick-tock of my mental clock.

Us? You are leaving and who knows what is going to happen.

"Naomi," Blaise sternly says.

I turn, and he grabs a chair and sits next to me. "Let's breathe a bit." Blaise inhales and exhales a few times, and I soon replicate his breathing pattern.