“Seriously.” Adrian waited until she met his eyes. “He’s miserable. You need to talk to him. Avoiding him won’t work forever.”
Nell looked away, out over the water. “I know.”
Adrian turned and faced the water as well, nudged her. “Scared to talk to him?”
He expected her to bristle, but instead she just shook her head, silent. Seagulls screamed overhead, and in the far distance, Adrian swore he could see a plume of water shoot up from one of the resident Orca whales.
“Why do people always want to talk about feelings?” Nell blew out a breath, moved her shoulders irritably.
“Because they care,” Adrian said simply, glancing over at her.
She let out a deep sigh, and he smiled.
“No one’s forcing you to talk to me. I gave you my advice, and we can leave it at that, if you want.”
When she didn’t respond, he stole a glance at her profile, strong jaw, full lips outlined against the dully gray sky. He was fantasizing nibbling his way up from the corner of her mouth along her jawline when she finally spoke up.
“I feel like an idiot,” she said, looking over at Orcas Island as they passed by. “Everyone’s been telling me they don’t see us together, and I’ve been furious. How dare everyone presume to know how I feel?”
Adrian kept silent, turning towards her slightly.
“And then, the night before I signed the papers to close the deal on this business, I was tossing and turning, worrying if I’d made the right decision. Excited because I’ve wanted to grow my operations, and this just fell right in my lap. A whole stew of emotions.”
“Those damn feelings,” Adrian commented and earned a grin that sparked a flare of desire. The woman was lethal when she smiled.
“Exactly. I realized who I wanted to call most of all was Paul.”
“Hmm.” Adrian tried to sound neutral, ordering himself to push aside the stab of jealousy that shot through him.
“But,” Nell sighed and turned toward him, meeting his eyes. “I wanted to call him to get his advice, because he’s so practical, and he knows me so well that he can talk me off the ledge. I wanted my friend. I didn’t want him to come over to hold me and distract me with fantastic sex.”
“I’m always available for that, by the way,” Adrian said solemnly. “Just so you know.”
She rolled her eyes, but a smile quirked the corners of her mouth. “Well, who doesn’t want some hot sex to take their mind of their troubles?”
“Anytime. Seriously. Just give me a call.”
“So,” she continued as if he hadn’t said anything, “then I was even more wide awake. I stewed on it all night, and then I called my mom in the morning. I spilled the beans on the whole story.”
Adrian wondered if the story included her sexapade with him, then decided he didn’t want to know.
“Did she drop the mom truth bomb on you?” he asked.
Nell laughed. “Oh my god. Yes. You sound familiar with this.”
“You’ve heard me talk about my mom, right?” Adrian smiled over at her. “I experience the truth bomb regularly. Unsolicited, mostly.”
“It’s cute that you love your mom so much,” Nell said, studying him.
He flexed his arm. “I’m also super strong and handy around the house. Perfect catch, right here.”
“Modest, too. Anyway. She told me I was being an idiot, basically, confusing friendship with love, blah blah blah. So now I feel like a moron, and I don’t know how to make it right with him. Because how awkward is that conversation going to be—‘Welp, thought I was in love with you but turns out I’m not. So, yeah, sorry for freaking you out.’ Not to mention Ben told Amy who told me that Paul knows that we slept together, soooo…” She groaned and buried her head in her hands. “It’s just so fucked up.”
Adrian slid his hand up and down her back in a comforting caress. “It’s going to be okay. He misses you. Yeah, it’ll be weird at first but the longer you wait, the weirder it will get.”
“I know.” Nell sighed. “Anyway. Let’s change the subject.”
“Okay.” Adrian smiled at her, and before she could react, leaned in and brushed his lips lightly against hers.
She drew back but not before he saw the flare of lust in her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Changing the subject.” He grinned.
“I told you I’m not going to sleep with you,” she muttered, looking away from him, but Adrian swore he saw the corners of her mouth quirk as if she was trying not to smile.
“I think that’s a terrible idea,” he said.
“Yes.” Nell nodded. “For so many reasons.”
“No, it’s a terrible idea not to sleep together,” he clarified. “See what a lovely time we just had? I gave you some awesome advice; we bonded over the mom truth bomb. And now you’re going to show me your new business, and we’ll go our separate ways. How much more amazing would it be if instead, we christened your new desk?”
Nell laughed and led the way below deck as the ferry neared the dock.
“We are definitely not doing that.”
Adrian let her stew in silence for a minute while he admired her ass, her long, confident stride, and the curve of her neck.
“You’re imagining it now, though, aren’t you?” he asked finally, and hid a smile when she threw him an annoyed look over her shoulder. A slight telltale flush spread across her cheeks.
When she didn’t reply, just hastened her already brisk pace, he let it go. Once off the ferry, she kept walking, not bothering to wait for him. Adrian couldn’t say why that turned him on even more, but he wanted to catch up to her, slide his arms around her waist from behind, and bite her neck. He’d press his erection between her sweet, tight cheeks…he silently groaned, and lengthened his stride until he was side by side with her.
Nell spared him a glance from under her baseball cap. “You’re still going to invite yourself on this tour, huh?”
“Yep,” he said, cheery. “I won’t get in your way. If you have stuff to do, I’ll just poke around.”
“Keep up,” was all she said as she veered down a side street.
“Hey, Alice,” she said with a wave as they came up to the moped rental business.
A middle aged woman with short, spiky hair and tight jeans tucked into boots looked up from where she was polishing the handles of one of the bikes.
“Hiya, Nell. Need a ride?”
“Add it to my tab.” Nell strode over to one of the bikes off to the side.
“Nah. No charge. You just keep sending customers my way, and bring it back in a few hours.” Alice sent Adrian a grin. “You with her?”
“I am, although she’s pretending I’m not.” He winked.
Alice guffawed. “I like him.”
Nell rolled her eyes, secured her helmet. “Get moving, Adrian.”
He took the helmet that Alice offered, and selected a moped. Nell was already revving the engine of hers, clearly hoping to speed off and leave him in the dust. Of course, she didn’t know that he’d driven a moped nearly everywhere in Spain, so when she took off, he easily gunned it and weaved in and out of traffic to catch up with her.
After about five minutes, she pulled off the main road into the airport and zoomed past the main concourse towards a cluster of what he assumed were commercial hangars. Nell parked in front of a small office building next to an empty hangar. The sign above the door, a bit worn, read San Juan Flights.
“Are you keeping the name?” asked Adrian as he swung off the bike and unbuckled his helmet.
Nell shrugged. “I’m having a hard time with that one. Tim had a lot of repeat customers, and it comes up in website searches better than just ‘Nell’s.’ I go back and forth if I change the name on the one on Lopez, or I keep them different, should I customize the services I offer on Lopez to differentiate from what’s here…” She trailed off, and peered into the hangar. “They must all be out on flights.”
When she opened the door,
a bell jingled cheerfully. No one sat at the counter, but after a few seconds, a short man with red hair poked his head out from a back room.
“Oh, hey, boss.” He grinned, gave her a two fingered salute.
“At ease,” Nell said dryly, jerked her thumb at Adrian. “This is Adrian. Adrian, Rick.”
“Nice to meet you. The two seater should be back in about ten minutes if you’re wanting a ride.”
“Nah, I’m a friend, just wanted to see the new digs,” he said, eying the waiting room. It was plain, painted white, with a few plastic chairs huddled in the corner. No magazines, no plants, with a few maps of the Islands stuck on the walls with thumbtacks.
As if reading his mind, Nell spread her arms to encompass the space. “Tim wasn’t big on decoration. We’ve got a space and an employee stationed in the tourism office in the marina, and that’s where walk-ins sign up for the flights. Once they arrive here, we don’t make them wait, typically.”
She walked past the counter and through the door into the back. Here, employees had added their touches, with framed posters of the Islands on the walls, a fridge with customer thank you notes stuck on with magnets, and three desks lined against the wall—belonging to the pilots, Adrian assumed. Rick had gone back to his desk to tap away at his computer. Papers littered the surface, along with framed photos of a goofy looking black lab and Rick and his buddies at top of what looked like Mt. Rainier.
“I’m going to take off, if that’s okay,” Rick informed Nell. “I’m taking the seaplane out. Sissy should be back with the two seater in a few, like I said, and she’ll be manning the fort until her next customer.”
“Great. You guys are rocking it,” Nell informed him with a smile that made a flush creep up Rick’s cheeks. “Thanks for being patient while I figure out what the hell I’m doing.”
“You’re awesome,” Rick was quick to assure her, flushing a bit more. He shut down his machine, and headed out, with one last glance back at Nell.
“He’s got a bit of a crush on you,” Adrian informed her when the door had closed behind him.
Nell shrugged. “He’ll get over it. Too young and sweet for me.” She led the way into the office opposite the row of desks. “This is mine.”
Adrian followed her, took in the tiny space, dusty desk, bare walls. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
She faced him, leaning back against the desk. “I’ve been just a touch too busy to decorate. I could put Zane and Ryan on it but they’d go overboard.”
“You need a sign,” mused Adrian. “For here, down at the dock, and at Lopez. Something that ties all three together. I could make you one.”
“Right.” Nell let out a laugh. “I don’t think hiring the world renowned metal artist Adrian Perez to make me a business sign, of all things, is within my budget.”
“Hmmm. Not an airplane, that’s too obvious. Something interesting, that would catch people’s eye. You could use it for branding on your website.”
She laid a hand on his chest, drew his eyes to hers. “Stop. I’m telling you, I can’t afford that. I’ve got six people on the payroll now, five planes and one boat. Signs are the least of my problems. Plus, I need to figure out the name.”
Adrian let it go, but had already added it to his growing list of projects. He’d just have to figure out a way to get her to accept the gift, but he had time.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said, capturing her hand and holding it there, slowly stroking his thumb over her skin. “This is a lot bigger than the airport at Lopez.” Even as he said it, he heard the sound of an engine revving to taxi down the runway.
“Yeah.” She grinned. “I love that sound. It’s keeping me up at night, worrying that I’m going to fuck it up. But there’s so much potential here—I mean, Tim was successful, but I think we can do more. That boat, for instance, isn’t utilized much at all—it’s an honest to god yacht. People will pay good money to rent it. That space in the tourism office isn’t ideal, and there’s a new development opening up on the main street where we could get an office, maybe partner with another outfit to share the rent. And…” Nell trailed off, laughed, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “I could go on and on.”
He smiled down at her. “I can’t wait to see what you do with the place. You’re going to kick major ass.”
“You bet I am.”
In the silence that followed, he was very aware of her hand in his, her skin warm and soft. She held his gaze, the amusement fading from her eyes, replaced with awareness. Adrian leaned in slowly, giving her a chance to move away, delighted when she held her ground, not moving in, but not running away either. He let go of her hand, slid his arms around her.
“Have I mentioned how much powerful businesswomen turn me on?” he murmured, his mouth a whisper from her lips.
“I’m getting the idea,” she said, her breath catching.
Adrian captured her mouth with his. She hesitated, and he teased his lips across hers, danced his tongue across her lips, slid his hands up and down her back. He cupped her ass and pulled her close against his erection, and at that, she arched against him, relaxed into the kiss, twined her arms around his neck. Her lips parted, and he swept his tongue across hers with a groan, lifting her up onto the desk. She wrapped her legs around his waist, rocked against him with a sexy little moan.
As much as he wanted to rip off her shirt, lick and bite her breasts, then rip off her pants and bury himself deep inside her, he forced himself to focus just on her mouth, devouring her with his tongue and his lips, holding her ass and gently thrusting against her until her breath came in uneven pants. When he felt his control slipping, he gradually backed off the kiss, biting her lower lip gently, then licking it, before finally giving her one last, lingering kiss.
“I should get going,” he said softly as she looked up at him, her dark eyes cloudy with desire, those fantastic high cheekbones flushed. Damn, he wanted to just lick her all over. “I think I hear one of your planes coming in.”
“Oh.” Nell shook her head, eyes clearing. “Right.”
He just held her for another minute, torturing himself with the feel of her pressed up against his throbbing erection while she stared at him, looking torn between pushing him away and pulling him back for another taste. Adrian leaned back in, nibbled the spot on her neckthat he’d fantasized about earlier, and she shuddered, her head falling back.
“I bet you’re so wet right now,” he murmured, making his way up to her earlobe, biting it gently. She drew in a sharp breath. “I want to fuck you again, Nell. Just so we’re clear.”
“I got that,” she said in a strangled voice as he indulged himself with one lingering caress of her breasts, running his thumbs over her nipples.
“Think about it,” he said, brushing his mouth over hers, then giving in and parting her lips with his tongue, yanking her close, thrusting his tongue in roughly as she opened for him, met him thrust for thrust. She grabbed his ass this time, pulling him as close as she could get, writhing against him.
They were both breathless when he finally tore himself away. He’d intended to have a little more finesse, a little more control—to be calm and cool and walk away leaving her confused. But, he thought as he took in her glazed eyes and heaving chest, maybe leaving her turned on as hell was better.
“See you around, Nell.” He shot her a devilish grin. “Thanks for the tour.”
He left before he changed his mind, shut her door and fucked her senseless on her new desk. It wasn’t part of the plan, he reminded himself. She needed to be seduced into having a fling with him, because of all her damn rules, and taking her in her office would just be a temporary satisfaction that she’d easily walk away form. He wanted her to come to him, to agree to his terms—friendship in and outside of the bedroom.
He’d done the right thing, Adrian consoled himself, grimacing as he settled himself on the bike. But it was going to be a very uncomfortable ride back to the marina.
Chapter 9
The trouble was, she realized as she rifled through the fabric, she loved lingerie. From bras to panties to thongs, every single piece ranked capital “S” for smoking on the hotness chart.
The other problem was she could imagine Adrian licking, biting or sucking her in every single pair. And, then she could imagine him taking them off. Or, ripping them off. From there, it was all too easy to imagine his hard, hot length thrusting into her, over and over, as she lost herself in ecstasy.
Why, oh why, did the man have to be both so sinfully good looking and also so talented in the sack?
Fuck it, Nell decided. She needed to focus her sex-obsessed brain onto something else. Unfortunately, it ricocheted over to Paul, and then she felt weird staring at her sexy panties and thinking about Paul, which was another sign that made it soooo obvious that the two of them weren’t right for each other, but of course, it was too late now, since she’d totally made things weird between them…
“Enough,” Nell ordered, snatching the red thong and matching red lace bra that barely covered her nipples. She needed to feel confident, both to make things right with Paul and to resist the sexiness of Adrian, and that was the set that made her feel powerful.
Of course, there was no harm in taunting Adrian with what he wasn’t going to get a taste of, so she wriggled into her skinny jeans, chose a flowy black top that showed off her ripped arms—so sue her, she was proud of them—and a keyhole drawstring neckline that she’d found drew men’s eyes like a magnet. She kept her makeup low key since it was the middle of the day, but did enjoy painting her lips the same deep red as her underwear.
Love in the Air: Lopez Island Series #2 Page 12
