Chapter 91 Adeline
Adeline's POV
After the passionate kiss we shared in his office, he asked that we get out of there.
"Do you want to come home with me now?" He had asked softly, and there was no hesitation on my part. I still can't remember how we got back to the penthouse because we kissed and touched each other, with him carrying me up into our bedroom.
When he stripped us both down to make love to me, I almost cried. With every stroke and every squeeze, he promised to make sure I never felt unsafe. "I can't lose you, Adeline. You're the light in my life." That was all he kept saying until we both fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
The next morning, waking up felt even more special because for the last two weeks, my mornings were a mix of loud alarm and cups of espresso and a stomach tied in knots of dread at what the day could bring, but not today. I woke up slowly and wrapped in the intoxicating scent that was uniquely Percy's.
I kept my eyes closed for a moment longer, just letting myself feel it, letting my body remember what it felt like in the arms of a lover. I listened to the sound of his heart beating, and I knew that I was home.
I fluttered my eyes open, blinking against the bright morning sunlight streaming through the windows. I turned my head slightly on the pillow and found Percy already awake, his head propped up on his hand, just watching me.
His dark hair was messy, and his jaw was shadowed with morning stubble, and his eyes held a softness so deep it made my chest ache in the best possible way.
"Good morning," he murmured, his voice a thick, morning rasp that sent a shiver straight down my spine.
"Morning," I whispered back, a slow smile spreading across my face. I reached out to tangle my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to convince myself I didn't dream last night," he replied, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my forehead. He had woken me up twice during the night, once to fuck me into the mattress just because he could and the other to just worship my body with his tongue, so there was no way that could be a dream.
Right on cue, one of his phones began to vibrate on the nightstand. The sound shattered the intimacy, and I instinctively tensed, the lawyer in me preparing for whatever crisis had just hit.
Percy didn't even look at it; he just reached over to hit the power button until the screen went black and tossed the phone into the open drawer.
"What are you doing?" I asked, laughing softly in surprise. "That could be London."
"London can wait," Percy declared, pulling me flush against his chest so my legs were tangled with his. "In fact, the entire firm can wait. I am officially off the clock today."
I raised an eyebrow. "The King of New York is taking a vacation day?"
"The King," he murmured, his lips trailing down my jawline to press a burning kiss to my neck, "is taking his queen out of the city."
Two hours later, we were so far away from the city that I was scared we would never find our way back. Percy had personally driven us an hour north of Manhattan in one of his favorite cars with no guards trailing us. Soon, we pulled into the long driveway of a private estate surrounded by miles of lush, vibrant green trees.
Seeing Percy out of his suits would always be a revelation. He wore dark, fitted jeans with riding boots and a black jacket that clung to his broad shoulders. He looked rugged, relaxed, and so breathtakingly handsome it was almost unfair.
The estate manager had two beautiful horses saddled and waiting for us. We spent the next three hours riding through the private, wooded trails. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, the ghost inside me was completely silent in the face of crisp autumn wind on my face and the sound of hooves against the dirt. Percy laughed freely, too, at my awkward attempts of guiding a horse like a bike. It was very normal.
By late afternoon, we made our way back into the city. Percy parked the car at a secure garage, and instead of calling for a car to take us back to the penthouse, I stopped him on the sidewalk.
"Let's walk," I suggested, slipping my hand into his. Percy looked down at our joined hands, a flicker of surprise in his dark eyes, quickly replaced by protective pride. "You want to walk with me? In the open?"
"I want to walk with you in the open." I affirmed, and that was what we did.
We walked through the bustling late-afternoon crowds of the city. We bought hot roasted snacks from a street vendor and ate them as we strolled past the touristic buildings in the city. There was no mention of work or our shared dangers; we just existed together like a normal tourist couple that was seeing the city for the first time.
As we waited for the walk signal at a crowded intersection, my eyes casually scanned the people on the opposite corner, and I saw a man I recognized. He was built like a heavyweight fighter, and his posture was entirely too rigid for a casual tourist. It was definitely one of his men.
Two weeks ago, spotting an enforcer tracking me would have sent me into a blind panic, but as I stood there with Percy’s large hand in mine, there was no fear. In fact, I felt untouchable.
Percy followed my eyes to see what had caught my attention. He looked down at me with a slow, wicked grin spreading across his face.
"You're not scared anymore," Percy observed.
"I have the most dangerous man in the city holding my hand," I quipped and bumped his hard chest. "Why would I be scared?"
Percy let out a laugh before wrapping his arms around me to kiss me senseless right there in the street. The people around us whistled and cheered, but I paid them no mind.
I had spent my entire life running from the dark, but looking up into Percy’s eyes, I finally understood the truth. I didn't need to run from the shadows anymore because the shadows answered to him and he answered to me.
"I have one last stop for the night," he murmured, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. "And it requires leather."
An hour later, Percy had taken us deep into the industrial district of Brooklyn, right into the heart of the underground racing circuit.
I almost jumped at the excitement of being back in the racing world. Percy got us two of their finest bikes.
"Let's see if your skills are not rusty yet." He challenged, and I bared my teeth at him playfully.
"I used to run the circuits just to pay my rent, Akilov; you're no match for me!"
And like that, it was on. By the end of the night, I had outraced him and two others.