298 - Ella Carter

298 - Ella Carter
Ella Carter

Ten days had passed since we left New York.

Ten days where time ceased to exist. Where the world was reduced to the untouched nature of Croatia, to the muffled laughter between sheets, to the smell of coffee in the morning and the slow touch of Leon on my skin every time the sun set.

But reality does not forgive happiness that tries to last forever.

Gavin wasn’t answering. And his absence, more than any silence, began pulling us back. Leon tried to hide the worry, but the restlessness in his eyes betrayed that something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"We’ll be there soon, my love" he said softly, caressing my face with his warm, steady fingers.

I sighed, feeling that gesture etch itself onto my skin like a symbol of everything we were.

There, in the private room of the plane, covered only by a sheet, we had just celebrated one of our last moments of peace. And I refused to let the anguish in too soon.

I slid my hand along Leon’s defined abdomen, feeling each scar he carried. Those marks weren’t just reminders of a mission gone wrong years ago, they were a message of his survival. Of everything he endured to get to where he is today. Especially to be mine, and only mine.

I kissed his lips slowly, like someone who knew it might be the last time in days. Leon responded with the intense tenderness that only he knew, the one that belonged solely to me.

I pulled the sheet aside and climbed onto his hips, keeping my eyes fixed on his. His erection rose, hard and hungry. But it wasn’t just desire. It was love we felt at that moment. I knew the lust he felt for me every time we were close, especially like this, was something Leon could never hide.

I rested my hands on his chest.

"Leon..." I whispered. "You understand, don’t you? That all of this..." I moved up and down on his erection, creating a delicious friction. "Everything we are... is more than flesh. It’s more than any problem waiting back home. You are my home."

He took a deep breath, his eyes welling up, something I rarely saw.

"And you are my sky" he replied without hesitation. "Even when everything around me is darkness, you shine."

We began to move together. Slowly, the only urgency we had was to bring each other pleasure. But with the intensity of lovers who know each other down to the cellular level. My body welcomed him easily, as it always had. And our rhythms aligned in a deep silence, broken only by our ragged breaths and the stolen kisses between trembles as we reached the peak of our love together.

Our love was liberation and the certainty that, even if the world outside was falling apart, we would still be together, united in body and soul.

Still breathing heavily after our climax, I heard him whisper my name like both a plea and a promise. And I, breathless on his chest, allowed myself to just exist there a little longer.

On his skin, listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart. Knowing he is the man I chose to be mine until the end.

Hours later, the vehicle dropped us off at the Carter mansion.

The feeling of stepping foot there again was strange. Even though my in-laws had told us to live there, Leon and I decided it would be better in the first years of our marriage to have a place of our own. So we’d be staying in his apartment.

Upon entering the mansion, we found the windows shut and the air strangely heavy.

We were greeted by Laís, her face pale, and Helena appeared right behind her. Both had the kind of expression that made me freeze in place, a look weighed down by sorrow.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice already faltering before the answer came.

"It’s Gavin..." said Laís. "He’s sick. No one knows exactly what it is. He’s having fevers, hallucinations. He’s at home, but he refuses medical help. And..."

"And no one’s heard from Lessie since her last message" Helena added, holding my hand.

My heart sank.

Leon walked past me and went straight into the house without saying a word. But I saw the trembling in his shoulders.

It was as if all the weight had returned again. But now, it wasn’t just about vengeance or power.

It was about saving the ones we love.

I took a deep breath.

The last scene of our honeymoon was still imprinted on my body. The love still burned on my skin. And even so, at that moment, I knew:

A war against those who wanted to harm us had ended.

But now we need to help Gavin...

The End…