Chapter 155

"So you have everything?" Pearl asked him as they were walking to the door.

"I do. Listen, Pearl. This was wonderful. Thank you for spending your entire holiday with me," Erik said,

kissing her forehead.

"Thank you for making my holiday so amazing. I can't thank you enough. For everything." She sighed and didn't care how loud it was.

He leaned down and picked her up, giving her a big hug.

"Ok then. Take care of yourself. Look me up if you ever need a fortuitous meeting in Florence again," he said smiling sadly.

She smiled back and walked him to the car. "Goodbye Charles. Thank you for keeping us safe," she said, handing Charles a box of cookies the chef had made for him. He thanked her with a nod and walked out to the car.

"Alight then. Goodbye, nightingale," Erik looked into her eyes one last time. He gave her one more hug and got into the car. She watched as they pulled away and she walked to the middle of the road, standing there, watching until his car was out of sight.

The pain hit her like a brick to the chest. She couldn't breathe. It sucked the air from her lungs and felt she might suffocate. She walked to the house and closed the door. The tears came immediately and she could not stop them, even if she wanted to, which she desperately did. She gasped for air and sobbed. She was not expecting this at all. She told herself the entire time that it was temporary, that it was just those two weeks. But after the absence of him, she felt like a part of her had been ripped from her body. She hadn't felt that way about Rhys even when she found out her marriage was a complete lie. Or even Paul when he left her groveling on the floor. This was something she had never felt before. She couldn't even move.

Meanwhile, Erik was having the same panic and dread come over him as they drove closer to the end of town.

"Charles. Pull over, please," Erik said. Charles stopped the car along the side of the road. Erik got out and walked a little, pacing along the empty road. He could barely breathe. What in the hell was this foreign feeling burning deep inside of his chest? The loss of her beside him was like mourning a death. It hurt. His chest. His body ached. He tried to talk himself down, but he couldn't. He got back into the car. "Turn around. Turn the car around and go back, please," he told Charles.

"Leave something behind, sir?"

"I sure as bloody hell did." Erik said.

Pearl heard a knock at the door. She wiped her eyes and walked to the door and opened it. Erik bursted in, kissing her and picking her up, into his arms. She kissed him back and clung to him, smelling his skin and running her hands through his hair.

"I couldn't leave. I don't know what happened but I physically couldn't leave you," he said, squeezing her hard and kissing her.

"I felt like someone was kicking in my chest. You took the air from my lungs when you left," she breathed, holding onto him as tightly as she could.

Hearing that, he picked up her legs, cradling her and carrying her to the bedroom. "I'm not leaving your side tonight. I'll wake up early and drive you to the airport myself," he said.

"Yes. Please stay," she begged.

He laid her on the bed and was immediately on top of her. His need to be inside of her consumed him and he didn't have time for foreplay. Prying himself away from her, even for that small amount of time, was unbearable. Within a moment, her pants were off and he was inside of her again, the relief was indescribable. They didn't speak. The need to be as close as possible had overtaken them both and when he finally lost control and allowed his climax to come, he still didn't want to leave her. He held her face and looked into her eyes. "My nightingale," he said.

"Yes. Yours." she said. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him with all of the strength she had. She wanted to remember this moment forever.

He held her that night, awake and deep in his thoughts as she slept peacefully next to him. He looked down at her, this powerhouse of a woman curled into his arms, and thought about how lucky of a bastard he was. There was so much ugliness in the world around him and he prayed, silently that night, that no matter what happened, he would do all that he could to be better, to protect her always. She was his now and no other woman would ever affect him in the ways she had.

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The car parked in front of the airport. Erik held her tight in his arms as he had held her the entire night before, in between their love making.

She looked up at him trying to fight back the tears she didn't want him to see. She knew she may not ever see him again and this holiday was what it was…. an escape from reality. They both had very different lives and nothing with them was ideal or would even be feasible to work.

"I want to see you again," he said. "Soon."

She looked up at him.

"Really?" She asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," he said.

He hugged her again and kissed her forehead. He released her from his arms, with it feeling like ripping off one of his own limbs, as Charles opened her door and she leaned in and kissed him one last time. "I miss you already," she said. She then smiled and turned towards the airport entrance.

"Pearl!" He said, opening his door and standing, looking at her over the top of the door. "I've never done the long distance thing, Pearl. Hell, I've never done much of this kind of thing at all. But I'm willing to try." He held his breath and looked at her with longing.

"Then I'm glad I'm your first," she said, wiping her eye and smiling.

She thanked Charles and grabbed her bags, walking through the doors. He followed her with his eyes until she was out of view.