“Ezra!” A voice called. It sounded like Nunes’ voice. He was holding my face in his hand. “Stay with me kid, we’ve got you.” I wanted to answer but my voice broke, and I was hit with a wave of nausea. Then the world disappeared before me, sinking into a black hole.
Chapter Thirty-One
Christina
My eyes were as dry as the desert ahead. My world had turned silent and meaningless. The loneliness was a heavy burden on my heart, squeezing with just enough pressure to be a constant throb. It was tearing me apart a little more each day.
I ran my thumb over my tattoo refusing to let him go. Ezra had to be alive. He was my inner light. His absence was the reason for my nightmares. The reason I struggled to breathe. The reason I was about to give up and go back home.
The tour guide pointed at one of the pyramids and rambled on about its importance. I wasn’t paying attention to anything he was saying. I was following the plan Ezra had drawn out, acting like the normal tourist I wasn’t. Nothing I’d done in the past month had been genuine. Not a smile. Not a handshake. Not even the words uttered from my mouth. It was all a carefully constructed facade.
By the time we were heading back to the hotel, I was just as clueless about Egyptian customs and history as when I left this morning. I rubbed my thumb over my tattoo again. This was the last night. If he hadn’t made contact by now it meant that he was dead or in jail. It was hard to know what the outcome was, because there was nothing on the news or the internet. However, I could feel him alive. I doubted I would ever stop feeling him even if he was gone.
The hotel was grand and magnificent. The hallways were decorated by handmade replicas of historical pieces. Ezra would have loved them. I passed by the restaurant and although lunch was being served, for the first time, I wasn’t hungry or even tempted to eat. All I wanted was Ezra.
I took the elevator up knowing that for another night I’d spend it with only the rhythm of my own heartbeat echoing in the vacant silence. I walked into my room, closing the door behind me and a stone-cold shiver ran down my spine. An unusual sense washed over me, as if the energy in the room had been disturbed. I couldn’t turn, my feet were rooted.
The lights clicked on, I jumped, fastening my eyes shut. It was as if the whole world was about to crumble. I slipped down on my knees as my legs went limp and cried with all my might. I sobbed and tears flooded like the waters rushing down from a waterfall.
I hadn’t seen him yet but I knew he was here. Ezra was here.
“Christina it’s okay,” Ezra spoke and I sensed him getting closer. All the millions of cells in my body were revived. He dropped to his knees next to me and held my sobbing face in his hands. “I’m so sorry for everything. But it’s over, we did it, we’ll be alright.”
All my words were cut off by my tears. There was so much I wanted to say. So much I wanted to yell at him, but the only thing I could do was throw myself at him. His hug was stronger than anything I’d known. Every ounce of me pressed into every ounce of him. I was fully awake somehow, more alive than I had been in a long while.
“I missed you so much Christina. I was so worried about you,” he said. “God, I love you so much.” His arms squeezed a fraction tighter and I breathed slower, my body melting into him as every muscle lost its tension.
Gently he pulled back and adjusted us so his forehead rested against mine. We stared into each other’s eyes. Ezra’s were full of wonder and love, mine with equal passion and curiosity.
“I love you,” I panted. “I’ve missed you so much.”
His lips found mine in a kiss steeped in a passion that ignited a fire. It was the promise of realness, of the primal desire that lived in us.
“I love you,” he replied, his voice low and husky in between the kiss.
We pulled apart taking shaky, shallow breaths. Unable to contain himself anymore, Ezra lifted me off the floor and carried me to the bed across the room and set me down.
Clasping onto his shirt, I pulled him closer to my body continuing the fiery kiss. My hands worked their way around his body, touching each crevasse, each line along his perfect physique. I lay on my back as he matched my body’s form. Ezra’s hands traveled over my curved body, exploring. As we kissed, I rolled him over and hovered on top of his strong, muscular frame. I ran my lips up his neck and placed a loving and intense kiss on his lips.
Soothingly, his fingers ran up and down my spine, coaxing shivers out of me. With my cheeks still blushing hotly, I glanced back up into his captivating dark eyes. His warm breath ghosted across my face causing my body to flush with heat. The heat seemed to travel through my veins, warming everywhere it touched. Just as I felt a rush of euphoric bliss envelop my entire soul, making my heart sing with pure joy, he broke the connection to strip me bare.
I pulled his shirt over his head and pushed him back onto the bed. He sunk into the mattress. I fell gracefully on the bed next to him and sunk into the pillows before straddling his hips. He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down.
There was a scar across his abdomen. Gently, I ran my finger over it and he flinched.
“What happened?”
“There is a lot we need to talk about and I’ll explain it all, but right now I need you.”
I smiled, bringing my finger up to his lips and kissed him again. This time it was slow. I wanted to relish it, but most of all, I wanted him to enjoy it. I stopped kissing his lips and moved to his jawline, neck, and collarbone. Kissing every inch of him that I’d missed so relieved to have him alive. I placed soft butterfly kisses down his chest and abs.
“Christina,” he whispered my name with need. I sat up, straddling him as I took his hands and placed them on my hips.
“Touch me,” I whispered into his ear, biting his earlobe. “Show how much you’ve missed me.” His hands instantly flipped me over violently, burying his head into my neck and his hands roved all over my body.
“You’re irresistible,” he said while nibbling on my chest. His hand came up to my breast ripping a gasp out of me. “So beautiful.”
Ezra came up over me, propping himself up with his hands on either side of my shoulders so he could spend another few moments kissing me before pushing back onto his knees.
The admiration. The love. The passion I grasped from him was enough to cause an explosion within me.
I complied rapidly when he pushed my legs apart, positioning them on either side of his. He grabbed my thighs and yanked me forward, gazing down at my body and then brought one hand forward to glide his fingers down through my hot, wet folds. I pushed my legs further apart and with a few more delicate strokes, my back arched while helpless moans left my parted lips.
I squirmed with desire and anticipation, as the first inch of his cock slid into me. I cried out with the fullness of him burying himself deep within my body. He then withdrew slightly and slammed back into me with greater intensity, propelling another lustful cry out of me.
My groans only seemed to spur him forward. Ezra held on to my hips, digging his fingers, almost painfully, into my flesh as he thrust into me so hard and fast, I could barely catch my breath. The sensation of him stretching my walls, plunging further than I thought was possible and I lost myself in the feeling.