by Ana Sparks
“I'm really glad you came all the way out here,” I said. “I missed you.”
“You did?” His eyes warmed.
I nodded. “I thought about you a lot when I was, um, locked up. I mean, there wasn't much else to do, but I also just like thinking about you. You make me happy, Joel, and I don't know what that means going forward, because we lead very different lives, but I do know that I felt cold when you weren't there, and now it's like there's a furnace in my chest.”
“I thought about you a lot when you were locked up, too,” he replied. “Though a great deal of that was just worrying about your wellbeing. And then there were definitely a few thoughts that were a little less...wholesome.”
My core flashed with heat. How could he bring me from neutral to burning hot in under a second? This man was magic. Pure magic. Nothing would ever convince me otherwise.
“Oh yeah?” I asked, my face burning.
Joel gave me a slow, measured nod. “Oh yeah.”
Our food came, which provided a prime opportunity for me to drain my glass of wine, even though it did little to quench my thirst.
Once we started eating, the conversation moved into slightly less blush-inducing territory. Joel asked about my parents and my sister, and thought it was a great idea when I told him Chelsea was staying in Seattle for a while.
“Between you and me,” he said, taking a sip of wine. “That O’Malley guy is a piece of work. Honestly. I talked to him while you two were incarcerated, and I can honestly say I'll sleep better at night knowing that after what your sister did, he'll think twice before he does something like that again.”
“I'm still so sorry that you had to get involved in this,” I said. “Very grateful, but very sorry.”
Joel reached over the table and took my hand. “I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” he said. “It was really nothing. I'd be willing to do anything for you. Or for your family.”
His sentiment took my breath away. I'd never felt quite so secure, like no matter which way I fell, there was a big net waiting to catch me. It was a feeling I wanted to hold on to for as long as possible.
“Thank you, Joel.” I squeezed his hand and pulled back, intent on finishing my delicious salmon. “And if there's ever a way I can return the favor, I hope you’ll tell me.”
His eyes sparkled. “I can think of a few things.”
I blushed and stabbed determinedly at my fish while Joel chuckled across the table. I wanted to launch myself over the table right now and find out what kinds of things he had in mind, but this was a nice restaurant, and it didn't seem proper to tackle a man while he was trying to enjoy his dinner.
Joel dropped me off at home a couple of hours later. He didn't try to take me back to his hotel room, though I wouldn't have been opposed, and seemed content with a simple goodbye kiss on the porch.
Well, simple doesn't quite cover it.
Joel's kiss was electrifying. He immobilized me with the shock of it, crushed the air from my lungs and filled me with such a deep longing that I thought I might cave in like a sinkhole. His mouth stroked mine reverently, teasing and licking until my knees wobbled. The only thing holding me up was his strong arms around my back. The only thing keeping me present was the tang of wine on his lips and the feel of his mouth gliding over mine.
The kiss was everything, and as he began to pull away; I started to wonder if maybe that kiss had meant something in particular. I began to wonder if maybe it had been a goodbye kiss.
“I don't want you to go,” I said breathlessly, not caring how desperate it made me sound.
Joel stroked a finger down my cheek and I shivered.
“I have to go,” he said. “You've got a flight tomorrow. Your mother would kill me if I kept you up later.”
“That's not what I meant.” I stepped closer to him, gripping the front of his shirt in trembling hands. “I don't want you to go from my life forever. I want to keep you.”
“You want to keep me?” he asked, evidently amused. “Like a lost puppy you found on the street?”
I rolled my eyes but couldn't hold back my smile. “Like a...well, like a person that I'm dating. Or something.”
The smile that crossed Joel's face could have powered half the state. He took my face in his hands and kissed me again, this time short, but sweet. When he pulled away, he kissed my forehead.
“You'll see me again, darling, don't you worry.”
I watched him walk back to his SUV, wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean. Did he not have an ETA of when I was going to see him again? It might be nice to have some notice.
Just as Joel was about to open his car door, he turned back to me. “Hey, do you know much about Los Angeles real estate?”
I blinked, shocked, the words not quite settling in. “Uh, no. I rent.”
“Hmm.” Joel opened the door. “Guess I'll have to consult somebody in the business.”
With that, Joel closed the door and backed out of the driveway.
I watched him go, uncertain of what had just happened. Was Joel moving to L.A.? Would he do that? Could he do that? L.A. would be a long way to go for his patients, and truth be told, I wasn't sure the city needed any more plastic surgeons.
Not that it mattered whether they were in need or not. Joel had something up his sleeve, and I couldn't wait to find out what it was.
Epilogue
One year later
The plane dipped low over the surf, and I could practically feel the salty spray across my skin. I shrieked with joy and smacked Joel the second he pulled us back up to a suitable cruising altitude.
“You're showing off,” I scolded.
He laughed. “Am I not allowed to show off my insane pilot skills to my wife from time to time?”
“Insane is definitely the correct word,” I shrieked playfully. “One of these days you're going to kill us!”
Joel laughed and I turned my gaze to the side window so he couldn't see me smile.
We were flying along an atoll in the South Pacific, exploring all the little islands that were difficult to get to otherwise. When your husband owned a plane, however, you could just pick a spot on the map and go. It was one of the many things I enjoyed about living with Joel, though that was an incredibly long list.
“Look at that one,” Joel said, pointing off to the left at a little island. I looked over and smiled, loving the way the sapphire sea licked at the edges of the white sand beach, surrounding it in its cool embrace like a lover. The view from up here was always spectacular, but the view inside the cockpit was unparalleled.
“You know,” I said. “I had a crazy thought the first time I came up in the plane with you.”
Joel looked over at me, and I saw my reflection mirrored in his aviators. “Oh yeah? What kind of crazy thought?”
I grinned. “It was more of a desire.” I nibbled on my lower lip, and Joel watched as long as possible before he was forced to turn back to look at the sky.
“Tell me.” It was a command and a plea rolled into one. I had his full attention, or as much of it as he could afford to spare while piloting the steel bird.
“I thought about how much I would love to make love to you in here,” I said, stroking my fingers along the cool metal interior reverently. “I had this mental image that was so hot, I blushed like crazy. And you had no idea.”
The plane's nose immediately tipped downward. My eyes widened with concern.
“Joel? What are you doing?”
He grinned but kept his gaze straight ahead. “I'm landing.”
“Are we there yet?”
“Nope.” He chuckled. “But I think you've waited long enough for your fantasy to be fulfilled. Don't you?”
Excitement rippled through my body. We descended so quickly that my heart flew up into my throat. It was a bit like going downhill on a rollercoaster, except I knew what waited for me at the bottom wasn't a loop. It was an incredibly sexy man.
“Aye aye, captain,” I said, strippin
g off my shirt.
Joel groaned, and I could tell it was because he had to keep both hands on the wheel and thus couldn't reach over and touch me. To that end, I touched myself, running my hands along my stomach, over the front of my bra, and up my neck. I wasn't sure if it was particularly wise, given the fact that Joel had to land the plane, but I was too turned-on to care, and my husband certainly wasn't complaining.
The plane bumped over the surface of the water, jolting the cabin. My breasts jiggled enticingly with the motion, and I noticed Joel giving me the side-eye as they did.
I loved how one look from him could make my insides burn, could light a fire in my belly that only he could put out. Every day with him was an adventure, whether we were at our house in L.A., or the one in Miami, or the cute little cabana in Nassau. I couldn't believe that everything I loved about my life today was the unanticipated result of my sister stealing a bunch of money from her employer. It was so surreal.
Joel killed the plane's engine, tossed his sunglasses onto the dash, and grabbed my hand.
“Come on,” he said.
I hopped into his lap, heart hammering in my chest. He opened the door to let in some air, then started to undress.
“You're not going to romance me a little first?” I whined jokingly.
Joel's eyes flashed with lust. “I'll spend the whole night romancing you if that's what you want,” he growled. “But right here, right now, I can't wait another second to have you. Any questions?”
My body grew heavy with desire, nipples pressing against the lace of my bra. “No questions.”
“Good.” Joel pressed his mouth on mine in a passionate, heart-stopping kiss. It was demanding and unrelenting, like being caught in a storm that sucked the breath from my lungs and made me feel wild. I hung onto him for dear life, hands roaming over his taut muscles, nails digging into the skin of his back.
Joel lowered me onto the cool metal floor and began to undress me, tearing my clothes away more than undressing, really. My core burned for him. I kissed him as though I was dying and he was the only thing that could keep me alive for one more second on this earth.
“I love you,” I murmured between kisses.
Joel, completely naked now, nipped at my lower lip. “I love you, too.”
There were no more words. We tumbled together across the floor, and I couldn't tell whether the plane rocked from the passing swells beneath its pontoons, or our energetic lovemaking.
My fantasy had finally come to life. Being with Joel was like existing on the final page of a fairytale. There was always that feeling that pure happiness would continue until the end of time, even if it was impossible to read beyond the pages we'd been allotted.
“What am I going to do with you?” Joel gasped an hour later, his naked body half-draped across me.
“You make it sound like I'm some sort of trouble maker,” I replied.
Joel chuckled. “You are a troublemaker.” He nuzzled into my neck, kissing the spot against my pulse. “But you're my troublemaker.”
“Well, in that case,” I sighed. “I suppose you'll just have to keep me in line.”
The man I loved look deeply into my eyes. “Count on it.”
The End
