*Jade's Pov*
Perrie's eyelids fluttered, and I wondered what she dreamed of. The steady vibration of the aircraft had lulled her to sleep nearly as soon as we'd taken off from the private airfield in London. Her cheeks flushed in her sleep, hair spilling across her face. She had never looked more delicate. My chest constricted at the reminder of her fragility. Perrie was strong emotionally, psychologically, but not physically. In the few seconds before I'd managed to pull Zayn from her, I'd glimpsed her one weakness and it had shaken me to the core. I'd been afraid to love her, afraid to allow myself to claim her body and soul. Every person I'd ever loved had slipped through my fingers. I never saw my father's smile one final time.
Karl's blood covered my hands as he died in my arms. I'd convinced myself that Perrie would be safer if I always kept her at a distance. Then I would never have to face the prospect of losing her, too. But seeing her with Zayn's hands around her throat, the wall I'd erected between us crashed down. Losing her was an impossibility.
In that moment, I was too selfish not to love her. It was why I couldn't allow her to go unprotected.
My thoughts returned to the exchange I'd shared with my mother only yesterday. The crown would not offer her the same protective services it would employ if one of the monarchy was under threat. It hadn't surprised me, but it had disgusted me. Zayn might have been a threat from her past, but it was our high-profile relationship that had enabled him to track her down. And now he was free, thanks to an ambitious young barrister who paved the way for him to be bailed out.
My own lawyers assured me he would be tried and sentenced, but that hardly mattered to me if he was allowed to walk the streets in the meantime.
The glass in my hand cracked, and I looked down in surprise to discover blood streaming from a cut on my palm. I hadn't realized I was squeezing it so tightly, and when I relaxed my grip the pieces shattered on the tray table. Perrie startled, awoken by the sharp clink of glass fragments hitting the plastic.
"What..." Sleepiness faded from her voice when she saw. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
"An accident," I said dismissively.
"We should find a bandage. Where's the flight attendant?"
"I sent her to sit with the pilot,"
I informed her, maintaining a level head. I'd learned the importance of controlling my own reactions around Perrie, knowing my mood too easily coloured her empathetic spirit. "I didn't want her to disturb you."
Perrie crossed to the storage units near the aircraft's door and began to search them. Wrapping a napkin over my wound, I joined her.
"Here we are." She pulled a first aid kit out. "And look what else we have."
Next to it was a full box of condoms.
"I suppose they're okay if their clients join the mile-high club," she said with a giggle.
Her laughter in that moment was the sexiest sound I'd ever heard. There'd been far too little of it in the last few days. I had suspected that the farther we got from London, the more she'd return to me. And I needed her far away from London from him. I needed to hear her laugh, needed to watch her face as I devoured her. Perhaps here I could finally show her how much I loved her. Fear had held me back for far too long, and now it tainted the time we shared together. This weekend would release us from that, even if only for a moment.
