Theo stepped off the ten-hour flight and into the muggy heat. Ten hours probably should have been enough time to prepare himself to face a past he'd been trying to outrun for ten years. Turns out it wasn't.
One phone call had managed to reach across the ocean, grab him by the gonads, and knock him on his ass. He hadn't seen Sofi in all this time but one look at her, waiting at the arrival gate several yards away, damn near took him to his knees.
Jesus. He was a grown man and couldn't pull himself together. His heart was slamming inside his ribcage, and it felt like his knees would knock until they shattered.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
He had experienced the same reaction the first time he met her. What he felt now took him back ten years when it was just as pure, just as primal as it was then. It was more than desire. It was an overwhelming need to protect and possess her. To be possessed by her.
And damn if it wasn't still love.
He was so fucked.
She hadn't seen him yet, so as the slow-moving group of passengers kept him semi-hidden, he used the advantage to look his fill. Fact is, he couldn't have looked away if he'd tried because it didn't appear she'd aged one day in ten years. She still had that gentle curve of her elegant neck that he'd always wanted to nibble, and that adorable little head tilt. She had always looked amazing to him. The years had matured her, yes, but not aged her. She was still stunning. Her hair was still long and black and straight and looked like silk. She stood tall and confident, though Theo could tell her body was rigid with tension. Even her wide dark eyes were pinched with worry. Her bearing told him all he needed to know about where her head was at, but she hadn't broken yet. She still looked strong and brave and even more beautiful than he remembered.
Yearning hit him like a runaway train. Jesus, he still wanted her.
But the gravity of her situation came rushing back, and he tried to pull himself together. He was here because she had trouble. Big, nasty trouble and that had to be his top priority. "Start thinking with the big head instead of the little one, Wilder" he said to himself, hoping to chastise the out-of-control feeling he was wrestling inside.
He glanced past the gate and another jolt set him back when he realized Sofi was looking at him. Her face said she'd been watching him for several seconds. He had to get his act together. She raised a hand and smiled a little hesitantly. He forced a return smile and then, reading the frustration and confusion on her face at the delay, mouthed, "Hold on." She nodded, realizing that he was stuck a few moments longer.
Finally, the wave of humanity started moving. He broke away from the crowd and headed straight for Sofi but slowed as he reached her, unsure how to approach. She sensed his hesitance, smiled her radiant smile, and folded her arms around his neck. He hugged her back with one arm because dammit, he was determined to keep this light, but when she turned her face into his neck and whispered, "Thank you for coming," he thought, fuck it.
He dropped his duffel on the floor and squeezed her tight, picking her up a little bit off the ground. She needed his strength, his presence, and he wouldn't deny her any of himself. His old feelings were stronger than his resolve.
"I wasn't sure you'd come."
She had very few reasons to worry about that. Theo took a second to inhale her familiar scent, then reluctantly set her down because they had to get moving. They'd lost too much time already.
Without another word, she took his hand and headed for the main exit out of the terminal.
They emerged onto the boulevard outside the terminal and a wave of exhaust, heat, and noise hit Theo in the face. He swept his gaze up and down the street in either direction, looking for any signs of trouble. He saw nothing, but that meant exactly jack shit. He couldn't wait to get out of the open. He took Sofi by the elbow and steered her jaywalking across the street in between the motorcycles, taxis, and hulking buses coughing diesel fumes.
