She didn’t look for Thomas’s reaction. She didn’t want to read anything in his face that might reveal whether or not he loved her, too. Right now, she didn’t need to know. She just needed him to know.
Julia was still frowning.
Sasha took her mom’s hand. “You’ve never even been abroad. Think of this as an adventure. This can be like all the holidays we never got to go on after Dad left. And Gerald’s coming, too. You two get on famously.”
From his lookout post by the window, the security man chuckled.
Sasha could tell her mom was starting to soften. She took a sip of her coffee. Then as she moved the mug from her lips, she said, “What’s the weather like in England? I need to know what to pack.”
Sasha let out a breath of relief and hugged her mom. Knowing she had permission to return to England with Thomas made her feel as giddy as a teenager being granted a midnight curfew.
Gerald wheeled Julia out of the room, so she could start packing. Sasha and Thomas were left alone. The silence was so thick she could almost touch it.
“Sasha...” Thomas began.
Sasha shook her head, cutting him off. She smiled. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. I don’t need to know.”
Chapter Thirty
Being on Thomas’s plane again was like déjà vu. Only this time there was no chance for steamy sex because Julia—fatigued from the drive over—was napping in the bedroom. Gerald decided to rest up too, having been awake all of the previous evening on security duty. That left Thomas and Sasha in the main room together. They decided to make their way through a bottle of wine.
“Did you watch Chris’s video?” Sasha asked. The alcohol had loosened her tongue somewhat.
Thomas took a sip of his wine. “Yes. It was vile.”
Sasha nodded sadly. “I can’t believe he’d do that to me.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Thomas replied. “People turning on you is the worst feeling in the world.”
Sasha thought the comment was directed at her. She deflected it by asking, “Have you heard from Crystal?”
Thomas shook his head. “Not since she left the facility.”
“Are you worried about her?”
“I’m always worried about her. I’m worried about her every second of every day. She’s my little sister, and she puts her life in danger on a daily basis.”
Hearing him talk about Crystal like that gave Sasha hope. If he could forgive his little sister for selling him out, he could forgive her, too.
She took another sip of wine. “What about Pippa?”
Thomas sucked air between his teeth. “Pippa’s been communicating with me through her lawyers. I get almost daily reminders that I’m not allowed to mention certain things.” He eyed Sasha, communicating silently that she was the subject of his gagging order.
“It seems so unfair,” Sasha said. “Both our reputations have been tarnished by this whole thing and we’re not even allowed to set the record straight. All these strangers have constructed these stories about us that aren’t even true.”
Thomas tipped his chin down. His eyes bore into her. “Maybe you see now why you were so appealing to me in the first place.”
Sasha swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. “We’re out of wine,” she said, standing and smoothing down her rucked up skirt. “I’ll get another bottle.”
Thomas swilled the last drops in his glass and watched her intently as she walked over to the fridge.
The alcohol coupled with the movement of the plane made her sway. She bent down to pick up a new bottle. As she stood, she became aware that Thomas was now standing directly behind her.
She was about to turn to face him, but he said, sharply, “Don’t look. Carry on with what you’re doing.”
As she placed the wine glasses side-by-side, she felt Thomas’s hand slide in through her blouse and cup her breast. He pulled her into him, and she felt his erection straining in his pants, pressed up against her buttocks. She hiccupped her pleasure.
As she wound the corkscrew into the cork, Thomas’s fingers slowly caressed her nipple, making it hard. She pulled the cork out. At the same time, she felt Thomas lift her skirt with his spare hand. She was wearing a thong, and there was now nothing between her and his hard cock except the fabric of his pants.
Sasha tried to turn again, but Thomas wouldn’t let her. “Keep going,” he said.
She began to pour the first glass of wine. The sound of the flowing liquid was matched by the sound of Thomas unzipping his fly. She wanted to reach back, to touch his penis, but he wouldn’t let her. He squeezed her breast. “You have another glass to fill.”