Boxed Set: The Baker & the Billionaire

by Nikki Steele

  I did the calculations quickly; that would leave plenty of time to enjoy dinner and catch up with family. He was taking me home. He was actually taking me home! “I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” I almost sobbed. “I was trying really hard to pretend that I didn’t care as much as I did.”

  “I had a feeling,” Jax replied with a smile. “Your poker face is terrible—stay away from Vegas.”

  I grimaced, and he laughed at me.

  I thought he’d handed me every surprise up his sleeve, but there was one more. We climbed the stairs and got on the plane... and instead of settling into one of the very comfortable looking seats in the cabin, he took a left and headed for the cockpit.

  “Oh no you’re not!” I squeaked. “You’re flying the plane?”

  He shot a look at me, over his shoulder. “What did you think I was going to do?”

  “I thought you’d have a pilot. I mean, I wasn’t even sure you’d be coming with me!” Who was this guy? Next he’d tell me he had a black belt in karate and was an ultimate cage fighter.

  “I have my license,” he explained. “I love to fly.” Then he paused, looking sincerely concerned. “Is that okay? Do you feel weird about it?”

  My heart melted. I was gone. He was flying me home. Personally. “Not weird at all. Just a surprise,” I said, an ooey-gooey feeling wrapping me tight.

  “Do you want to sit up in the cockpit with me?” he asked, gesturing to the area beyond the open door.

  I gulped, hard. The normal, timid version of myself would have said no—it would be too scary, flying headfirst into the clouds. But around him, I wasn’t timid. Around him I had nothing to be afraid of. I nodded, then followed him inside.

  * * *

  I was breathless, lost in wonder. The entire world was laid out underneath my feet. Granted, once we left Colorado it was mostly flat Nebraska plains. But it was still breathtaking.

  “How’s it going over there?” he asked, laughing at the expression on my face. I must look like a kid on Christmas morning.

  “How long have you been flying?” I asked through the headset I wore.

  “For around five years,” he explained. “I try to do my own flying whenever possible, like when I travel for business. It’s the greatest feeling in the world, being free to go wherever I want.”

  I couldn’t imagine that feeling; this, alone, was good enough—being able to fly home just because. When I wasn’t looking around, I watched him at the controls. Though I’d never have the courage to tell him, his hands, as they worked, were incredibly sexy. He was skilled at everything he did with those hands.

  He saw me looking at him. “Do you wanna give this a try?” he asked, motioning to the controls.

  I balked. “What? Me? Oh, gosh, no!”

  He laughed good-naturedly. “Come on,” he said. “You’ve got controls right there in front of you. I’ll walk you through what to do—it’s really not that difficult now that we’re in the air.” I frowned skeptically, looking at the steering wheel—no, I corrected myself, Jax had called it a yoke. “Come on,” he cajoled. “When will you ever again get the chance to say you flew a jet plane?”

  That settled it. I reached out for the yoke and held it, gently, afraid to so much as move.

  He chuckled. “Okay,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of it; you have to take a firm grip and not be scared. When you’re scared you lose control. Does that make sense?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. I’m going to switch control over to you. All you have to do is keep us straight. That’s it. I know you can do it.”

  “That’s all I have to do?” I asked, my heart pounding.

  “Yup. Just keep her straight. You ready?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded. And then all of a sudden I felt a surge of power under my hands. “Oh my god!” I squealed, and I heard his laughter in my headset.

  “Cool, huh?” he asked. As if he needed to ask. He knew how cool this was.

  “I don’t believe it! I’m flying!” I laughed. And I was. I tilted the wheel slightly to the left. The plane began an instant gentle curve in that direction. I moved it the other way. I felt my center of gravity shifted back. I was in total control; and with Jax beside me, I felt safe—though my heart was still going a mile a minute.

  Five minutes passed before I grudgingly told him he could have the plane back. He laughed. “It’s another hour and a half before we land, you can have another go any time you want.

  I felt my heartbeat quicken with anticipation. It wasn’t until I’d thought I wouldn’t be able to make it, that I’d understood how much this trip back home meant. And Jax had made it happen. I glanced over at him, and again felt a weird, melting sensation in my chest.

  When we’d first hooked up, it had been lust—those deep green eyes, and biceps under a tight sweater. He could have been a model, and I wasn’t ashamed to say I’d wanted him because of it.

  When I looked at Jax now though… now I saw beyond that. He was someone I could laugh with; be myself with. Someone that believed in me, and didn’t want me to change. Someone so kind and caring that he was flying me, on his private jet, home in time for dinner.

  He did so much for me—there must be something I could do for him, too. “How long did you say we would be in the air for?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

  Jax checked his watch. “An hour twenty five, give or take.”

  “And, ah, does this plane have autopilot?”

  “Sure!” Jax said. He indicated a switch on the dashboard. “Why do you ask?”

  I unbuckled my harness and then removed my headset. “I think you might want to turn it on.”

  Jax’s eyes went wide as I knelt down beside him. He hurriedly reached over to flick on the switch. “You… have my attention.”

  My hands moved into his lap. I undid the top button of his jeans and slowly began to pull the zip down. “You’ve given me so many new experiences lately—the hot tub, the library, flying a plane. Now it’s time to give you one.” I looked up at him as I inched his jeans down; the tigress within making me bold. “Has anyone ever given you this experience?” The cotton underneath was already hard and straining.

  He pursed his lips, exhaling, as my hand slid the cotton down too. “This will definitely be a first,” he said.

  His proud, thick member sprang free. I wrapped one hand around it, and his eyes closed briefly in pleasure. I began to stroke.

  The time to fight this attraction between us had long since passed. Now all I could do was be discrete, and be thankful. At 30,000 feet in a private jet flying home, I was both.

  I adjusted my grip as Jax leaned back with a sigh. There was something solid about having him within my hand; a connection that only strengthened at the apex of each stroke.

  I moved a little faster, fingers gliding in a ribbed ripple across silken skin. He murmured in appreciation. I used the reaction to guide me, licking my hand and then squeezing to give him more sensation. His eyes rolled back.

  “Do you want me to suck on it?” I asked. He moaned, and nodded. “You’ll have to tell me what you like; I’m not experienced,” I told him. Then I bent down and gently licked the head.

  “That’s so good,” he said. “Now take it in your mouth. Slowly.”

  I did, letting the head slip past my lips, then lowering further to slide him deeply into my mouth. The movement felt natural, and soon I was bobbing up and down.

  “Good, Libby. So good…” I took that as encouragement. I loved hearing the sounds he made, knowing that I was giving him pleasure. I used my tongue, letting it stroke as I sucked. His noises told me I’d made the right move.

  “Now suck a little harder,” he whispered. “You’re good at this—a natural.”

  I murmured my appreciation at the compliment, and he groaned. Ooh, vibration. That was a new one. I hummed a brief tune and he groaned louder. My lips wrapped tightly around him in a smile. This was fun.

  I resumed my movements up and do
wn. His hand moved to my head, adjusting the tempo. “As things get faster,” he murmured, “use your hands as well as your mouth.”

  I slid up off him. “Like this?” I asked, grasping him in my palm and stroking.

  His noises came louder as I pleasured his slippery surface. A wild look appeared in his eyes. “Yes. And now put your mouth over the top!”

  I did as instructed, a student under his intimate tuition, my head bobbing faster and faster as my hand moved underneath. I imagined the warmth, and the pressure, and the moisture, must feel almost as if he was making love to me.

  My free hand slipped between my thighs at the thought, and found myself wet. I undid my own jeans, and began to stroke there, too. Faster and faster I began to move, my hands synchronized. I could feel his presence in my mouth, but I could also picture him between my legs. If I closed my eyes he was there, too, pleasuring me as I pleasured him. Sharp spikes of delight began to radiate across my hips and into the pit of my belly. The pressure of my knees on the floor disappeared as my body took on that tingling, anticipatory feeling that said there was something special just around the corner.

  His breathing changed even as mine did. His fingers suddenly entwined in my hair. “Libby, I don’t have much longer,” he panted.

  I began to suck harder; harder than I ever had before. There was a salty taste to him now. My hands were moving faster too; the thought of what he was about to do had me at my own crest as well.

  The feeling was all through my body now. His thick member was in my mouth, but it was also between my legs.

  “Libby,” he said in warning. Then I felt him swell. “Libby!”

  His back arched as his hands gripped my shoulders, and then pleasure exploded through us both as his hot, salty taste hit the roof of my mouth. I swallowed as we each convulsed upon one hand, our cries loud within the quiet confines of the cockpit. When I sat up we were both seeing stars. I blinked rapidly as I saw clouds drift past the window—I’d forgotten we were high above the ground.

  He kissed me. “That. Was amazing!”

  I bit my lip. “Think that counts as lesson number seven?”

  Chapter 6

  We landed right on schedule, touching down at a private airfield just outside of town.

  “I have a car ready for you,” Jax said, taking off his headset. “Just tell him where you need to go and he’ll take you there.”

  Disappointment struck me like a bolt from the blue. For some reason, I’d thought he was coming with me. I knew, now, that there was no real reason to have assumed it; he never said he would, only that he would get me there.

  “You okay, poker face?” he joked.

  I shrugged. “I’m okay,” I said. “I just… hate saying goodbye like this.”

  “It’s not goodbye forever. I’ll see you back in Colorado, if you want me to.”

  I nodded, trying to look happy. But all of the happiness I had was gone. It had dried up when I imagined going on without him.

  Call it the after-effect of the adrenaline that had been pumping through my veins just a short time earlier, but I took a deep breath and let the truth come spilling out. “It’s just that… I was sort of thinking you were coming with me. Like, to the house. I know that was a stupid thing to think, I do. Don’t feel weird, please,” I said with a little laugh, hoping he didn’t hate me now and wishing I’d kept my mouth shut.

  At first he didn’t register any sort of reaction. Then the sweetest smile I’d ever seen spread over his face. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me there,” he said. “Do you think your parents would mind?”

  “Are you kidding me?” I said, suddenly excited. “They’d love you!”

  Jax smiled. Then he looked down at his clothes; he was dressed casually, in jeans and a long-sleeved tee with a zippered hoodie. “It’s a deal, then. But do we have time to stop off so I can buy something a little better suited to the occasion?”

  * * *

  I was sure that shopping in my hometown was slightly below his normal standards, but Jax didn’t seem to mind. While at the store I had casually suggested he wear a turtleneck sweater like the one he’d been wearing when we first met at O’Hoolihan’s.

  “Why?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Because you looked smoking in it,” I said, point-blank.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’re just trying to take me home and show me off like some piece of arm candy. I get it.” He shook his head, but picked up a cream-colored turtleneck anyway. He shrugged when he saw my pointed stare. “I didn’t say I minded, did I?”

  So he bought the sweater, along with a pair of tan cords and brown dress shoes, and even a new coat since he hadn’t brought one on the plane. I shook my head in amazement when he emerged from the dressing room—even after a trip to JCPenney, he managed to look like a runway model.

  Then he really surprised me. “Why don’t you get something for yourself? You look great just the way you are, but I’d like to treat you to nice dress, if you’ll let me—make you look like a million bucks when you walk through that front door.”

  We settled on a form-fitting sweater dress unlike anything I’d ever worn before. It was a dark grey color, cut to a low but still modest V in the front, and it came down to just above my knees. It left nothing to the imagination in terms of my curves; normally I leaned toward baggier sweaters, or tunics—anything to hide my figure, so this was a complete departure. A wide belt around my waist completed the look. I’d found a beautiful pair of black knee-high boots to wear with it, and a beautiful black wool coat, nicer than anything I would ever have treated myself to, as well.

  I didn’t realize the extent of Jax’s generosity until we were back in the car, on our way to my parents’ house. He handed me a small bag, in which were my accessories. “I knew you’d say no, so I grabbed these while you were getting changed,” he said. “You can’t say no now—I’ve already paid for them.” In the bag was a set of silver bangles, a gorgeous multi-strand necklace that complimented my neckline, and one final element—I laughed when I saw it.

  “Our little secret?” I asked, holding up silver snowflake earrings with a diamond set in the centre of each one. I still blushed whenever I remembered the snow and what he had done to me with it.

  “You have a dirty, dirty mind,” he remarked drily, fastening my necklace.

  * * *

  My heart was on the verge of giving out as we climbed the front steps of my parents’ house. Why was I so scared all of a sudden? I touched my hand to the doorknob but had it pulled away by my sobbing mother as she threw the door open.

  “I saw you coming up the walk! I can’t believe it!” she cried, wrapping me up in her arms. She pulled me into the living room, where at least a dozen family members were gathered. “Everybody, look who made it!” My two cousins, Rachel and Veronica, came rushing in from the kitchen, elbowing their way through the crowd. We did the squealing-and-hugging thing as my mother called for my father. “Phil!” she called, summoning him. “Look who’s here!”

  After the first flurry of excitement died down, my mother finally noticed that I was with someone else. “Ohhhh…” she said softly. “And who is this?”

  “Mom, this is my friend Stephen,” I said. He shook her hand with a warm smile. I was so proud, having walked in with him.

  “Stephen,” she said. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh, it was you who sent that lovely flower arrangement!”

  I looked at Jax in surprise.

  “You got it—I’m so glad,” he said, indicating a massive arrangement of roses in a crystal vase on the living room table. I shook my head; he had thought of everything.

  I was on top of the world showing off Jax. That is until I heard a familiar voice.

  “So you made it,” Erica said sourly. “I thought all the flights were supposed to be full.” She was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed.

  I froze, all color running from my face. “And I thought… I thought you were with your friends,” I said in a
small voice. Oh god. I knew what she was going to say next.

  “They cancelled, so here I am. Who’s this?”

  She was prettier than me, and slimmer, and a world class skier too. The last time she’d met someone I cared about, she’d stolen him away from me. There was a tray of cookies beside the roses on the table, and suddenly all I wanted to do was take it into a closet and eat every single one it held.

  Jax broke the ice. “I’m Stephen,” he said, extending his hand to shake. “And you must be Erica. I’ve heard a lot about you; I work at the resort, actually. I saw your run during the first round. You did great.”

  She took his hand and shook it. Then her eyes shifted to meet mine. “How come you never mentioned him to me before?”

  I shrugged, trying to affect his cool attitude. “You’ve been busy. And it seems like every time we’re together all you want to talk about is protein balls!”

  Chapter 7

  You would think that in a simple two-story home, I’d be able to find somebody. I had lost him somehow, having been pulled into the kitchen to help put away plates and pull out the desserts. While he’d held his own very nicely when we were together, I hated the idea of him being trapped by at nosy relative—and that was just about everybody in attendance.

  I was especially worried about Erica. I’d noticed her once or twice, looking over at us from across the room. I’d finally found someone that made me happy—yes it wasn’t under the best of circumstances, but that was another issue—and it would be just like her to want my candy, just because I had it.

  She was prettier, and thinner, and-

  I cut off the thoughts sharply. Stop it Libby. It took two to play those games, and Jax wasn’t like that. But I still couldn’t help feeling uneasy. I was only just starting to realize how much damage had been done all those years ago.

  Now I was going from room to room, trying to find Jax. If it wasn’t Erica fluttering her eyelashes, it would be some uncomfortable conversation. But what I found was just the opposite; he was standing out front with my father and the other men in the family, beer in hand. They were talking football.