a Primal Pursuit

thirty seven

Someone had lied to me.

The journey was not six hours.

The car journey was half an hour.

But there were four on a damn airplane!

Pulling up in the death box to be led into another death box drained my soul from my body. The only reason I even got on the bigger death box, death tube, was because there were people taking pictures from a few hundred yards away.

Why?

I do not know, but I was glad Serenity made me not look so tattered.

The pilot greeted us warmly despite my obvious fear, and Asra's hand rested on the small of my back. After brief pleasantries on his part, he forced me forward until I fell into a comfortable chair. I hummed for a second, appreciating the soft leathery fabric. Arabella would've loved this chair to read her books. You could get all of your legs on it criss-crossed with ease!

"You didn't tell me we were going on a death tube." I muttered, glaring at Asra.

"A what?" Asra's lips quirked.

I glared at him, noticing his men line the surrounding seats. Asra fell into the chair opposite me, his attire catching my eye again. He was wearing some grey-scale checked suit trousers that hugged his thighs and ass, and I couldn't help but stare.

How could I not stare!

The shirt was short-sleeved, and white, and so tasty... It was a colour I often found him wearing, but today he just looked extra yummy.

I blame the hormones; my bleed was due in three days. And then finally, I could take the damn birth pills.

"A plane. A death tube. You think I am going to sit here in this when, in fact, I am going to run out of the door so fast-

"Tulip," Asra mused, leaning forward so he was closer to me.

My breath hitched at the mesmerising midnight of his eyes, pursing my lips as he successfully gained my attention.

"Butterscotch."

His lips quirked, unfazed. "They proved air travel to be fifteen times safer than a car."

"It is?" I wondered.

"Yes, trust me."

I eyed him with scrutiny, but I could tell he was being honest. With a sigh, I nodded once and used the chance to scour the surrounding death tube. Now I was more scared of cars.

I saw Serenity in the back, falling into her own chair, reclining it, and closing her eyes.

"Okay," I sighed. "But the idea of jumping out of the door isn't out of my mind yet."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't expect any less."

I smiled, amused, and leaned back into the chair to stare out of the window. The cabin fell into a soft hum as the engines shifted and the plane moved. Asra explained it was called taxiing, which meant it would only be a minute before we took off. Forced to wear a seatbelt, I stared at Asra with wide eyes as the world blurred beyond the window. With heavy breaths, I internally begged for it to be over so I could launch onto my mate's lap.

I wasn't allowed to leave my seat until it was safe! Meanwhile, I was going to have a mental breakdown!

My nails gripped the armrest and Asra's eyes were hard as my wide ones held onto his. I saw the twitch in his jaw, the clenching of his fists as he shifted his weight uncomfortably in his chair. He offered me soothing words as the plane launched into the sky, but I stayed mute, frightened to silence as we left the ground.