The Perfect Gift: A Bad Boy Christmas Romance

by Mia Ford

  "Nothing's really wrong, Jess. Everything is going to be okay, but I would suggest strapping in though, all the same. We're flying directly into a storm, and we're going to be hitting some major turbulence any minute now. We're going to have to divert the flight path some, too, but it's going to be okay."

  I got on the radio to make a similar, if less informative, announcement to the cabin at large. I kept an eye on Jess as I did so and couldn't help but be surprised, impressed, even. Although flight attendants were supposed to be able to handle things like this, doing so, in reality, was a hell of a lot different from doing so in a simulation.

  I had seen plenty of girls fall apart under circumstances such as these, and I fully expected that kind of reaction out of Jess. Instead, she remained calm and silent, doing as I had told her and nothing more. When she noticed me looking at her, she smiled, just as calmly as she would have done passing somebody in the hallway.

  “You good?” she asked in a soft, even voice. One of her hands reached out and lighted upon my own briefly.

  “I’m fantastic. You?”

  “I’m just fine,” she said. “Let’s get ourselves out of this mess so those people out there can enjoy flying as much as the both of us do.”

  Wonders never fucking ceased, I thought to myself, smiling grimly. She was right, though. Whether or not Stevens was ever planning on getting his happy ass out of the plane’s tiny bathroom, that was exactly what we needed to do.

  Chapter 5: Jess

  I was pretty sure I had done a good job of convincing Drew that I wasn't at all afraid, which was good. It was my job to stay calm in this kind of scenario, and that was exactly what I intended to do.

  Still, the calm I was hopefully projecting on the outside didn't quite match the way I was feeling on the inside, whether staying calm was my job or not. I had been in bad weather before, of course. Any attendant who had flown for more than a couple of months had to have come up against some less than ideal weather. This was probably the worst I had yet to encounter, however, and my stomach lurched inside of me as if to make sure this point was well known.

  My fingers clamped down on the handles of the seat I was in, and my jaw clenched, so hard that I was lucky I hadn't accidentally bit down on my tongue instead of my teeth. The plane dropped violently. Not very far, but enough so that I could hear several of the passengers on the other side of the door cry out in surprise and fear. All the while, Drew maintained his steadfast, calm demeanor.

  If any part of this was fazing him, he wasn't showing it. Every time the violent storm beating against our vessel threatened to destroy us all, he would counter the attack and right us again. It was astonishing to me that a person could remain that calm in the face of such a powerful storm.

  Any person who had worked on a plane or a ship understood that weather wasn't something to be taken lightly. People liked to believe that they were the strongest thing on earth. That as a species, there was nothing that could dominate us. People like me, people who had been at the mercy of a truly terrifying storm, knew that wasn't true. There were things weather could do to us that we couldn't undo. There were some storms some people never made it out of alive. This was something Drew must have known at least as well as I did, but looking at his face, you would never have known it. He looked as calm as he might have if he'd been watching a television show, and I couldn't help but admire it.

  “How you doing over there, slugger?” he asked.

  "Slugger?" I laughed, my voice sounding shakier than I would have liked, but it was the best I could manage under the circumstances. "What do you think I am, a twelve-year-old boy?"

  "Nah, but you know. There's only so many terms of endearment that aren't full of sexual innuendo, right? I just went for the first one that popped into my head."

  “Sure, I get it,” I said. “It’s not like you don’t have other things going on, right?”

  “Nothing too big. A flight tantamount to a leisurely stroll in the park.”

  "You're awfully confident, you know that?"

  “I like to call it an unhealthy level of thrill seeking,” he said.

  I laughed again, dizzy with the sudden movements of the plane, but also with the back and forth banter of this strange pilot and me. It was a terrifying storm to have stumbled into, but looking at Drew's determined face, I had no doubts that we would come out of it just fine. I was so sure of it that I wished I could take a snapshot of his face and pass it around to the passengers so they could see what I was seeing. There was no way this man wasn't going to deliver us to safety. That was something he believed so completely that it couldn't help but be true.

  “There we go,” he half whispered, whether to himself or to me I couldn’t be sure. “That’s better.”

  "Is it?” I asked. “I'm not going to lie. It feels pretty much the same, Drew."

  "It sure does, but if things aren't all completely smoothed over within the next thirty seconds, I'll eat my hat."

  “You aren’t wearing a hat.”

  “I’ll eat something else, then,” he said with a grin. “Just wait. Just wait and see if I’m not right on this.”

  I did as I was told. I held my breath, and I waited. In another couple of seconds, I saw that he was right. The storm that had seemed hell bent on driving us and all of those on board into the ground just an eyeblink ago was gone. Just like that, we were back to smooth sailing, and when I looked at Drew, he was smiling a wide, arrogant grin.

  "Hey there, pilot, don't get too cocky now. You may have won the bet, but you made one big mistake."

  “Did I?” he asked as he raised one eyebrow, making him look like some kind of rogue James Bond and setting my heart to pounding all over again. “And what might that have been?”

  “You didn’t set any parameters for what would happen if I lost.”

  "You're right, I didn't. Rookie mistake."

  "Don't beat yourself up,” I said. “I have a younger sister, so I'm pretty accustomed to the intricate ins and outs of these sorts of things."

  He laughed loudly, probably riding his own adrenaline high, and without thinking about it first, I leaned forward and put my hand over his again. There was a crackle of electricity when the two of us touched, the kind of shock you got after rubbing a carpet for too long, but I let my hand stay where it was. I had something to say, and I was going to say it, even if I had to give myself a freaking heart attack in order to do it.

  “You were pretty amazing just now, you know?”

  “Aw shucks, me?” he said, joking.

  “No, seriously, you were. I’ve seen plenty of pilots, and not all of them would have kept their head as well as you did. I would say most of them wouldn’t have. The way you handled that was pretty fantastic. You’re very skilled.”

  “Don’t give me too much credit, Jess. You don’t know me yet.”

  "I don't have to,” I said. “Not to know I'm right about this. That took skill, and it took guts. I appreciate those things. If all of those passengers out there understood how well you just handled that storm, they would say the exact same thing."

  “Have dinner with me,” he said.

  “Wait, what? Did you—?”

  "Did I just ask you out? Is that what you were going to say? Because if it is, then the answer is yes. I know you weren't coming onto me just now. I'm not an idiot, but I don't care. When we land, have dinner with me. If you think you might be interested, that is."

  All of the reminders I'd given myself earlier about the fact that I didn't date pilots went flying back through my head. All of those self-delivered warnings were not only still true, but something told me that Drew Larson came with a whole other unique set of warning bells of his own. He was too good looking, for one thing, and I had a pretty good idea that the same thing that had allowed him to maneuver that storm meant that he was reckless in other parts of his life. These were all things I knew, all things I understood very well, and yet when I gave him my answer it went against all of these sound judgm
ents.

  “All right,” I said.

  “All right? That’s a yes?”

  “It’s a yes.”

  “Don’t look so excited,” he said, grinning and squeezing the hand I was still half holding. “I promise I’ll try to keep it from being too miserable a time.”

  A knock on the cabin door put a stop to any further flirtation that might have taken place between the two of us. Both Drew and I looked up at the video screen at the same time and saw the elusive pilot, Fred Stevens, standing there, one hand clamped firmly down on his forehead.

  “What the fuck?” Drew muttered, his frown returning instantaneously. “What, he thought it might be time to rejoin us now that all the danger is over?”

  "I'll let him in,” I said. “Hopefully, the second half of the flight isn't quite so eventful as the first half."

  There was a pang of regret at having to leave the cabin and Drew, but I shook it off as best as I could. This was my job, after all, not a dating service, and it was probably a very good thing for me to get away from Drew and clear my head some. I pulled the cabin door open and then held both of my hands up, staving off the full weight of Stevens as he lurched forward and almost knocked me completely over.

  "Woah there,” he said. “Sorry about that, honey. I had a little mishap, and I'm feeling a little woozy. Might have to let the boy here take over the rest of the flight, if he thinks he can handle it."

  "He can handle it," I answered quickly, watching Fred Stevens with a wary eye. "Are you sure you're going to be all right? It looks like you took a nasty hit to the head."

  “I did indeed, my girl. Fortunately, one of your lovely colleagues took it upon herself to repair me. Nothing that a little bit of time won’t fix, right? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take my seat back.”

  I hurried back to where my designated seat was. The storm appeared to be over, but that didn't necessarily mean it was. Being belted in seemed like the smartest move while it was still an option. That was part of it. The other part was that I was feeling sort of woozy myself, but for a reason unrelated to what I'd just experienced.

  My head was spinning because of what I'd noticed as I'd passed by Fred Stevens. Or, to be more specific, what I had smelled. It was always possible that it was my imagination, but when the two of us had passed by each other, I was almost positive I had smelled liquor on his breath.

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  SNEAK PEAK: Body Heat

  Blurb

  Damn you, Zoe Maxwell… You screwed my body then screwed with my head, leaving me to wonder what the hell happened… Why did you run away when we had such a good thing going… Fine, I was a control freak and liked it a little rough in bed, but I never heard you complain when I was slamming you into the headboard and making you scream my name…

  It’s like she's tattooed on my soul. It’s been over ten years and I still can’t go ten minutes without her face flashing through my mind. Zoe freakin’ Maxwell, the girl who broke my heart and literally ruined me for other women. Now, I can’t even get hard without a bit of the rough stuff and my box of toys.

  She said I was too controlling, in and out of bed. The truth was, I didn’t mean to be controlling, I was just afraid she’d leave me if I ever let her down. Maybe If I had been less dominant, maybe if I’d let her take control once in a while she would have never left me behind.

  Now, after all these years, there she is, standing in front of me, older, hotter, sexier. I can smell her scent like a wolf smells its prey. I’m a different man now; rich, famous, confident, always in control, at least until she looks at me and I find myself melting like an ice cream cone on a hot summer day.

  PROLOG: Zoe Maxwell

  “What are you doing in here?” I whispered loudly as Mark closed the door of the women’s bathroom and locked it behind him. He never spoke a word. Just smiled, roughly grabbed my ass and pulled me into him and pressed his lips to mine. I didn’t resist. I couldn’t resist. I had given him permission to do such things the moment I stepped into the role of mistress and first wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

  Without a word, he hiked my sapphire blue cocktail dress up to my waist and lift me onto the edge of the counter as he proceeded to have his way with me. Sex with Mark was usually all about Mark. And quite honestly, as much as I couldn’t wait for it to be over, a part of me also enjoyed the way he used me. It reminded me of a past boyfriend, one I let get away.

  I knew what Mark liked. My role was to give him everything his wife didn’t, like hot sex in a public restroom while two hundred people milled around outside the door. I bit my bottom lip as his right hand forced my shoulder strap down to my elbow. He squeezed my left breast as his thumb fiercely massaged my nipple. I held my breath as he pinched my plump nipples between his thumb and forefinger. I loved the pain and pleasure, especially when the line between the two was so thinly drawn. We’d had sex several times over the past week. I was sore, but was eager to take the sex when Mark was free.

  I sucked on his tongue as he ran his hand down my stomach to the wet spot between my legs. I let out a quiet gasp as he slid his hand inside my silk panties and forcefully slid two fingers inside me. I pulled my arms from the dress, allowing it to slide down and over my tits to bunch around my waist. I laced my fingers around the back of his neck just the way he liked. Mark loved to watch my tits bounce as he fucked me. I was blessed with firm, round full breasts that Mark loved to slide his manhood through. He’d left a pearl necklace on my chest many times over the last few months. It was one of his favorite things to do. Like I said, I did the things his wife would never do. That was how our relationship worked, at least for Mark.

  “I couldn’t wait to have you,” he said over gusts of breath, his finger still thrusting in and out of me up to the knuckle. “When I saw you standing there… talking to Graham… so fucking sexy…”

  “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” I said. “I’m… glad... you did…” I bit my lip as he forced three fingers inside me and curled them to search for my G-spot. Little sparks of delight shot through my body when his fingertips found their target.

  He playfully bit my lower lip and looked deep into my eyes. “Spread your legs for me, baby.”

  “Mark, we’re… in a… public restroom… this is… insane…” I gasped as he pinched and held both my nipples firmly.

  He growled in my ear. “Spread your legs… Now…”

  There was an edge to his voice that made me blink. Something dangerous, something I’d never heard before. I put my hands on the edge of the counter behind me and spread my legs as Mark pushed my shoulders back toward the mirror.

  “Good girl.” He smiled as he let go of my nipples, releasing them finally from the vice of his fingertips. I was so caught up in the moment I didn’t even notice when Mark had unzipped his pants to expose himself. Before I had time to take another breath, he pushed aside the crotch of my soaked panties and thrust inside me until he go inside no further. I could feel my opening spreading to accommodate his girth. His sizable cock was Mark’s best attribute. It was a pity that endurance didn’t come with size.

  With an intensity that I had not seen from him before, Mark dug his fingers into my ass and started thrusting in and out with such force I thought for sure the people on the other side of the door would hear our grunts and groans. A few more forceful thrusts and he came to a dead stop as he shot his load inside me. I could feel the pulsating of his cock with each wave. And just as quickly as it had started, it was over. That was usually where things ended, but tonight Mark didn’t stop pleasuring me just because he had shot his load. To my astonishment and delight, he leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips; a good, long, deep, passionate kiss between lovers. His cock slid out of me, but was quickly replaced by his fingers.

  “Mark, what are you…”r />
  “I want you to cum, baby,” he said, his lips on my neck, his fingers working furiously between my legs. “Do you want me to make you cum, baby? Do you? Tell me, Zoe. Tell me what you want.”

  “I want to cum…” I whispered, my lips at his ear, his teeth on my neck. “Please… yes… make me… cum…”

  Mark slowly fucked me with his fingers as he kissed my lips, probing with his tongue. He was bringing me closer to orgasm with every stroke. I had never seen or felt him be so attentive. My knees clasped around his arm when the orgasm hit. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I prayed that he wouldn’t stop.

  “Oh… god… yessss… I’m… oh… Mark… oh… oh…” I clenched my arms around his head and pulled him to me as his fingers took me all the way home. He kept going, plunging, until I let go of his head and grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stop.

  “Let me breathe,” I said, playfully pushing him away, smiling coyly at him. He took a step back and matched my smile. His gooey right hand dangled at his side, dripping with our juices. He had just given me the best orgasm he ever had. Strange that it happened in a public restroom in the middle of a huge dinner party at a ritzy New York hotel.

  “That… was… amazing,” I said, panting, smiling at him. I turned toward the mirror and adjusted my dress down over my hips and back up over my breasts. I grabbed a towel from the stack on the counter and turned to the sink to wash up, still dazed about what just happened.

  “I’m glad it was amazing,” Mark said as he tucked his cock back into his suit pants and stepped over to the other sink to wash his hands. He dried his hands on a towel, dropped it in the dirty towel bin, then reached for his jacket that was hanging on the hook behind the door. He slid his arms into the jacket and stared at me in the mirror. “Since it will probably be the last time we fuck.”