Paris

Luke steps out of the taxi and puts on his shades. He surveys the surroundings and feels nothing much has changed since he was here four years ago. The blue slate top and white exterior of this building is pretty much the same as the rest of the buildings down the block.

Luke pulls his carry-on through the heavy wooden door and walks over to the death trap of an elevator. Normally, he would take the stairs even though it's six flights straight up. However, he's not too keen on the idea of lugging his carry-on up those narrow and old creaking stairs.

The elevator takes impossibly long, creeping one agonizingly slow floor at a time from the top. Suddenly, a couple of people in mid-conversation come out through the door of the stairways and head out of the building without even sparing a glance towards Luke's way. The elevator finally arrives and Luke gets into the tiny space that fits no more than maybe a second person. The French people aren't exactly a small breed, why they make their elevators, stairways, restrooms and such and such so freakin tight it's simply stupid.

Buzzzz. Buzzzz. Buzzzz.

"Coming!"

The old grey door of 606 opens revealing a disheveled half-naked man with a cigarette hanging from his lips. "Luke! You're early."

"Good to see you, Gabe. My flight landed early." Luke lies. He swapped for an earlier flight the moment a spot was available even though he had to pay for the change fee.

"Come in!" Gabe puts an arm around Luke's shoulders and pulls him inside. He hasn't seen his buddy in a while.

"Thanks for letting me stay. I really could have just stayed in a hotel."

"Nonsense. Every time you or Thak visit Paris, you guys are on duty and I can only see you guys at those fancy-schmancy lounges for a little bit and then you guys can't even have a drink. So this is nice for a change. And I've already laid your bed out for you."

Luke nods with a little smile. Gabe has always been the friendliest of the bunch of knuckleheads Luke had met in the military. Gabe was the youngest of their batch so he was pushed around a lot. He was also on the smaller side compared to the rest. How he became the beast that he is now is a complete mystery. Luke and Thak used to sit on top of the poor kid just to let one rip. Ah, the good old days. Gabe is a halfie, being half Thai and half French. He moved to Paris when his father wasn't feeling well and needed him to take over the business. It's been almost ten years since Gabe has left Thailand.

***Gabe***

"So, were you able to locate the target for me?" Luke asks as he sits down on the sofa and looks around the tiny studio. His air mattress makeshift bed is only a few feet away from them. Paris is one of those over-glorified cities that's only nice to visit but terrible to live in. Luke swears why Parisians like to sit in those open cafes with seats facing the streets for hours a day is because no one wants to stay inside their damn overpriced shoebox of an apartment that costs eighty percent of their monthly salary.

"Yeah, your target wasn't that hard to find. She's been strolling around town with a man and two bodyguards. Here, have some water." Gabe places a glass of water in front of Luke.

"A man? What man?" Luke questions with his brows creased together. He came as soon as possible which is only three days later because of Visa issues. This never happens when he's traveling for work but of course, it's an issue when it comes to his personal life.

Gabe raises an eyebrow at Luke's reaction. "Milo Bisset. He's a businessman. His family owns Manoprix, a very popular mid-end department store chain here." He sits across from Luke and runs his hand through his bed hair.

Luke immediately looks up information on Milo Bisset and his marital status. The man is of course another billionaire. Why wouldn't he be? There are a bunch of pictures and articles on the man and his partying habits on the internet. Apparently, he's quite a player with all these articles about his nasty breakups. Why the heck would Nina hang around someone like that?

"Hey, so what's up with this target? Is she your boss's interest or something? Cause she seems pretty cozy with that Milo."

"No. She's.... She's his aunt." Luke wants to say Nina belongs to him and she's his girlfriend but then again she's really not. He has no right to claim her.

"Your boss sent you all the way here to follow his aunt? Is there some inheritance dispute? Are you sent to take her out?"

"Shut up or I'm going to have to kill you too." Luke rolls his eyes. Gabe must be watching too many dramas.

"Fine. I'll make your job a little easier. She's also staying with Milo Bisset at his castle-like mansion in Paris 5th - Quartier Latin. Here's the address. It's highly secured as you would imagine. Do you have any plans? Do you need equipment?" Gabe is a little excited. His job is too boring. All he does is train police officers and security officers in Krav Maga. Just training and never any real action.

"Thanks. And seriously don't dig your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Alright. Alright." Gabe gives up. He probably should stay clear of anything illegal.

~~~~~~

Nina has ignored all of Luke's calls and texts up to this point. Having no choice but to try to meet her in person, Luke has followed her around for two weeks already with no luck in approaching her. Nina is constantly in the company of Milo Bisset. The two are in and out of museums, shops, and all sorts of fancy restaurants. Luke has inadvertently seen more of Paris on this one trip than he has in the past decade. Thank goodness he is staying free at Gabe's.

Luke has thought of sneaking into Milo Bisset's mansion but the place has been proven impenetrable. That man sure knows how to spend his money to keep his money safe. So Luke has only been able to watch Nina from afar, hanging off the arms of that Milo Bisset, laughing at whatever he says, and whispering into his ears. Fuck! Luke wants to kick his balls inside out. Thank God they're not sleeping in the same room. Otherwise, Luke would have gone ballistic.

Finally, today that Milo Bisset probably has real work to do. He left at the crack of dawn and took his private jet to Madrid. So Luke has to take advantage of this opportunity to get close to Nina.

Luke watches Nina sit down with a book inside a cafe alone with the bodyguards outside. He casually walks inside the cafe, well aware that the two bodyguards are assessing him from head to toe. He walks past them with no trouble and gets a table in the corner of the cafe near the coffee bar where he can keep from being spotted by Nina. Luke needs an opportunity to approach Nina without alarming those bodyguards because he knows if he just walks up to Nina those guys will be quick to start a fight.

Luke is done with his second cup of cappuccino already and has yet to have a chance to approach Nina. And those bodyguards keep peering into the cafe. Then suddenly Nina asks a server something and gets up and walks towards the back of the cafe. The opportunity has finally come. Luke sees the bodyguards turn around, and he immediately gets up to follow Nina before the bodyguards notice him.

At the back of the cafe is the restroom. Nina must be inside. Luke stands outside pretending to be just waiting for his turn when people pass by.

After a little while, the door finally opens and as soon as Nina comes out, she is immediately pushed back inside and turned back against the door. Luke has one hand cupped over Nina's mouth while his elbow presses down on her shoulder, and he quickly locks the door with his other hand.

Nina panics and tries to pull Luke's hand off her but she's not strong enough.

"Shhhh.... it's me." Luke tips his shades down so Nina can recognize him. "Don't scream and I'll let go. Okay?"

Nina rolls her eyes then glares at Luke but nods anyway. As if she can't recognize him with those shades that he wears about eighty percent of the time. Pfff. Luke slowly uncovers Nina's mouth but cages her between his arms.

Nina's trapped and there's no way out. She grabs a hold of Luke's strong arms, hoping to maintain some distance and gain some sort of control in this situation. She hates how her heart is racing at their close proximity. She tries her best to school her voice so Luke won't notice how much he affects her. "What are you doing here?"

Luke's eyes stare into Nina's and then lowers to her plump lips. He misses her beautiful eyes on him, her soft lips on his, her burning touches on his skin. He misses everything about her. He slowly leans closer and the tip of his nose gently grazes along Nina's cheek before his lips touch the shell of her ear, "I'm here for you."

Nina's breath hitches and her grip on Luke's arms tighten as her knees go weak. She hates how weak and traitorous her body is for Luke's touch. She doesn't want to play this game anymore. She can't let a few words change her mind. She wills herself to push him away. It's enough!

"Get off me! What do you want, Luke?"

Luke pulls back just a little. Nina wouldn't be able to move him by an inch even if she had put in everything she's got but he moves nonetheless. "I want you. Isn't it obvious? I came all the way to Paris because of you."

"Luke, we have to stop this. Whatever that was between us, it's over. I can't keep...." Nina's words drown and turn into soft moans as Luke hungrily claims her mouth. Her body responds desperately like the desert needs the rain, so intense, so needy, and so greedy for more. His hand fists into her long locks and pulls her in closer. Nina loses all ability to reason in this intoxicating kiss. Her whole body tingles, the feel of his frame pressing on hers makes her knees go even weaker. A strong arm wraps around her waist to close the non-existing space between them. All thoughts of how wrong and forbidden these moments are have been forgotten as Nina finally drapes her arms around Luke's neck.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Excusez-Moi, avez-vous fini?"
(Excuse me, are you finished?)

And just like that the spell breaks and Nina pushes Luke away.

"Un instant s'il vous plaît."
(One moment please.)

This is so embarrassing. Now there's a woman on the other side of the door waiting for them to emerge through it in a true walk of shame. Nina can't believe she let herself get carried away like that.

"This is all your fault. Now people are going to think something happened here." Nina fixes her blouse and pushes her hair back.

"Let them think what they want. Besides, it would have happened if she didn't interrupt us."

"Shut up! This is why I need to get away from you. Because that's all I am to you. I'm just a fucking warm body and I can't be that anymore."

Luke has never felt a knife pierce through his heart, physically or metaphorically, because he has never let anyone get close enough but right now those words are cutting deep, making him bleed like no other.

Luke searches Nina's eyes and takes a step closer. Can't she see the effort he's making? He's here, isn't he? "Nina, I know I fucked up. Can you..."

"No!" Nina immediately turns to leave. She can't trust herself. She ignores any looks thrown her way and charges outside.

"Nina! Wait! Can we just talk?" Luke reaches for Nina's hand but his arm is suddenly pulled to his back and he tries to spin his body around to unwind his locked arm but his other arm is caught by another person. And of course, it's the two damn bodyguards. He back kicks the one on his right in the knee to free his right arm and quickly turns to punch the other guy in the jaw rendering him unconscious.

"Stop! He's my friend." Nina yells just before the other bodyguard charges for Luke.

The bodyguard looks to Nina and reluctantly takes a step back. Nina approaches the bodyguard and whispers in his ear to let Luke just say what he needs to say and he'll go away.

Luke narrows his eyes and clenches his fist. The adrenaline that's pumping through his veins right at this moment doesn't help his case. He doesn't like how close Nina is standing next to that useless bodyguard. Both these so-called bodyguards are nothing but useless meatheads. He can take them out in ten seconds flat.

The bodyguard nods and helps the other one get back up.

"You wanna talk, then talk." Nina starts walking down Avenue Joseph Bouvard. There are quite a bit of people around so she should be safe from her traitorous body.

Luke quickly catches up to Nina while the two bodyguards follow behind them from a close distance.

"Nina, I know I've hurt you but give me another chance. Please. We can start over."

Nina shakes her head. "No. It was never meant to be more than what it was. We had some fun, and now it's time to move on." Nina keeps walking while she tries to close her heart. It really is time to move on while she still can, before she falls too deep and shatters to pieces. She takes a deep breath and takes in the scenery before her. It's a beautiful day in Paris, clear blue skies without a cloud in sight. The Eiffel Tower serves as a beautiful backdrop for a stroll in Champ de Mars.

Luke takes two quick steps forward and stops Nina from walking further. He looks into Nina's eyes. This is it, Luke. "I don't want to move on. It's you or no one for me. Nina, I love you."

Nina freezes on the spot. What? What did Luke just say? She's too stunned to move as Luke comes closer and cups a hand over her cheek. A warm feeling surges from deep within, butterflies wildly beat their wings in her stomach, and her eyes flutter shut as his warm tender lips once again capture hers.

Time stops and everything ceases to matter at this moment. She melts into him as his arms wrap around her, almost lifting her from the ground. She can't deny herself any longer. This is where she belongs. She wants to be even closer. A soft moan escapes her and it's music to his ears. He can't get enough of her. He can't let go of her. Not this time, not ever. He surrenders completely. He'll go down without a fight. She wins and he wants to be conquered. This is it.

Luke pulls back from their kiss, both breathless and panting, leaving no more than an inch between their lips. He's too afraid to give any more distance, too afraid she will slip away again, too afraid that this would be their last kiss.

With his heart beating against his chest like never before, Luke closes his eyes akin to making an impossible wish, "Say you love me too."

Nina looks at the man in front of her. For the first time, he looks vulnerable and unguarded. He's not cocky or cheeky like always. His wall has come crumbling down to her feet, letting her see his real feelings. The real him. And it's beautiful.

"I love you too," Nina whispers against his lips before closing the little distance between them with another searing kiss.

Luke smiles lifting Nina up and spins her around. People nearby start clapping for the lovely couple who are still in their own bubble.

~~~~~~

Bangkok

"Ahhh....ahhh..."

Ping.

"Ahhh.... f-fuck....why are you stopping? I'm so close."

"Just hold on, Tiger. I've got a message. It might be important." Kongpob reaches for his phone. Only important people can get through to him at this hour.

"It better be. Fuck!" Arthit throws his head back in frustration. He was so close. Ugh!

Ping.

Arthit's own phone pings with a message. He doesn't usually get messages at these hours, so he reaches for his phone as well.

Kongpob and Arthit immediately look at each other with eyes wide open and show each other their messages.

Kongpob's Messages

Nina: We got married!
12:46 am

Arthit's Messages

Luke: We got married!
12:47 am

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, sorry for the late update. I was a little busy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm dotting my i's and crossing my t's. The end is coming.

So here's Luke and Nina. Finally. 😌 Hey, this is Paris, the city of love. Love stories from here are classy and cliché, but someone's gotta write it. Might as well be me. 😉

I ❤️ Paris. Check out the Paris video at top.

Curtsy,
Lana ❤️