Chantal, Jillian - Surfer Bride (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Jillian Chantal

  Quincy sat on one hip facing him. She was asleep. Her hair was mussed and some fell across her brow. He was so tempted to touch it, he actually reached out then pulled his hand back. I should’ve given her a comb. No. She’s perfect. Beautiful.

  The flight attendant came by. She leaned over Finn until her breasts were at his eye level. “You sure are dedicated to your job, aren’t you, officer?”

  Oh God, was the woman actually flirting with him while he was on duty? No, surely not. She should know the protocol for this type of flight. “Why do you say that, ma’am?”

  She stood back up and loomed over him. She shivered. “I love it when you federal types call me ma’am.”

  Dear God, she was flirting. “Just protocol, ma’am. Protocol.” He sat as still as a statue.

  “I know, but it’s so sexy. Makes me hot.” She put her face closer to his and whispered, “And wet.”

  He sat up straighter, if possible. In his best interrogator-cop voice, he said, “What can I help you with, ma’am?”

  She shuddered. “You can meet me in the crew area and take care of my needs. My panties are soaked just looking at you.”

  Even more sternly, he said, “I meant as a law enforcement officer. An on duty officer.”

  She got huffy and stalked off, muttering, “Everyone gets a break once in a while at work. Even cops.”

  Damn. She was something. Coming on to me like that. He was shocked at the brazenness of the woman.

  He looked over toward Quincy, grateful she was asleep and missed that whole exchange. But she wasn’t asleep. She looked at him with sleepy eyes, but it was clear that she’d heard the whole thing.

  Before he could say a word, she said, “You still got it, Agent Smith. Congratulations on another conquest.”

  “I don’t want that woman. Are you nuts?”

  “No. But really, who can blame her?” Quincy made a point of looking him up and down. “You’re a fine specimen of a man. You’ve got beautiful abs and pecs which are shown to advantage even in that dress shirt. Your thighs are strong and muscular, and you have a great butt. And that’s before we even get to those green eyes of yours. The color of the Caribbean Sea on a clear day. Yep.” She nodded. “You’re spectacular looking, and any woman would want to bed you. That is, until you open your mouth and show what a jerk you can be.”

  He gaped at her. Did she really feel that way? Does she really think I look that good? And what’s with the jerk thing? I’ve tried to be nice to her. Came here to get her even after I warned her off that fiancé of hers.

  Quincy snapped her fingers as near to his face as she could get them with the cuffs still on. “Hello? You there?”

  He pulled himself together. “Yeah. I am. Just thinking about what you said. Maybe I was a jerk. What do you think? Should I apologize to the glorified waitress and ask her to sleep with me when we get to LA and I drop you off?” He tilted his head, hoping for a reaction.

  Quincy shrugged. “Suit yourself. It makes no difference to me.”

  So much for trying to get her to say she still wants me. It may be too much to hope for, especially since she may be in love with Hicks and nursing a broken heart. The bastard.

  Quincy’s next words jerked him out of his reverie. “Will you uncuff me?”

  “Yeah. I said I would. You have to stay here in the seat, and if you need to get up, I’ll have to put the cuffs back on.”

  She held her hands out, and he inserted the key in the lock and removed the cuffs. He rubbed her wrists. “Feeling coming back?”

  “Never went away. I have to say, you did cuff me nicer than the man who hauled me off the plane. He really hurt me.” She slid her hands out of his grasp and paused as she relived for a second the anger and humiliation she’d felt when the man was on her back with her hands behind her. She took a deep breath and let it go. “Speaking of the plane, what was in the cargo space of the Lear?”

  “A selection of firearms and spare barrels. Some ammo and some Kevlar vests.”

  “Spare barrels?”

  “Yeah. It’s a pretty new thing. Smugglers are sending extra barrels so once a gun is used, the barrel can be disposed of and a new one put on. The gun can still be used, but the lands and grooves that are unique to each barrel can’t be traced back to the gun. It’s more economic for the criminals, and the chances of getting caught with a ballistics match are much less.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty serious.”

  He nodded. “Sure is. Now you see why you’re in so much trouble?”

  “But it’s not my plane and not my stuff.”

  “But the flight plan was filed in your name. There was a tip off and the raid happened. You showed up and that was that as far as the Balinese are concerned.”

  “And Percy did this to me?”

  “It seems so.” He reached across the middle seat and patted her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “That he did this to you. That your marriage isn’t going to work out.”

  Incredulous, she said, “I seem to recall a conversation on the beach in Miami not too long ago where you told me not to marry the man. It’s beyond belief that you now want me to believe that you’re sorry.”

  He shrugged. “I guess what I’m sorry about is the ordeal you’ve been through.”

  “I don’t know about that either, Finn. You seemed to take joy in marching me through the airport in chains and in slapping me earlier.”

  He shook his head as she turned her back and leaned on the window. She shut her eyes.

  He looked at her while she slept. Or faked sleep. It was hard to tell which. At least when she had her eyes shut, he could look at her in peace. He held the magazine open in his lap just in case she looked over at him. If she opens her eyes, I’ll say I was resting mine from reading.

  She looked so small. They’d left the arm rests up, and she huddled in the corner in her seat at the back of the plane. Finn couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering. He knew she was naked under that jumpsuit. He’d seen that tantalizing rear as she’d taken that shower earlier. There were no prison issue undergarments on her. It just about drove him over the edge to be so close to her after all this time and knowing how very little she had on. It was all he could do not to reach over to touch her.

  Abruptly, he unhooked his seat belt again and stood to get away from her. Perhaps a little stroll would ease the constriction in my own undergarments. He walked down the aisle toward the first class section. When he saw the flight attendant from earlier striding toward him, he turned and made his way back to his seat. I’m caught between two women. One I want and one I don’t.

  Finn sat back down in his seat. I’m not going to look at her again. Not gonna punish myself. He shut his eyes, was soon asleep and dreamed of the last time he and Quincy had made love.

  In an hour, he woke with a start. Disoriented, he looked around. His dream had been so real, and the return to reality was a huge letdown. Literally. He groaned and covered the shrinking bulge in his pants with his jacket.

  Just as he got himself together, the cabin stewardess came back. He tensed, but she stopped by his seat and merely said, “It’s almost meal time. I have a cold sandwich and chopped fruit for the prisoner. I understand the policy of no silverware. Did you want the same for your meal or did you want the hot meal?”

  “I’ll eat what she eats. Seems fair.”

  The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’d almost think you have a personal interest in this one. You’ve been very kind to her. I’ve been on these prisoner flights before, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a cozy pair as you two.”

  “Just seems mean to me to eat a nice dinner in front of her. And we aren’t a pair. I’m just doing my job and delivering her to Los Angeles.”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She leaned close and added, “Since you won’t let me help you.” She sashayed off, her hips swaying in a provocative manner.

  Finn looked at the ce
iling and wished the pilot had an accelerator to speed up this flight. The woman never let up.

  Finn shook Quincy awake when her food was delivered, and she ate it quickly and in silence. She sat the empty tray on the seat between them and closed her eyes again.

  Finn sighed.

  * * * *

  When Quincy woke for the second time, she poked Finn on the shoulder. “I guess I have to have your permission to use the facilities?”

  “Sorry to say, but yes. And I have to cuff you again to let you up.”

  She let out a deep sigh. “God, this just gets worse and worse. How the hell am I supposed to do what I need to do with cuffs on?” A few tears slid down her face. “Do you have any clue how horrible this is? To have to ask permission? To ask permission from you, especially?”

  He looked at her. Her comments made him sad. “Yes. I think I do, Q.” He patted her hand.

  Suddenly, she was in a rage. She jerked her hand away from his. He pulled back at the venom in her voice. “No. You don’t. You’ve never been in this position. So shut the hell up. Shut up, cuff me, and let me get to the ladies room. Don’t say a word to me. Just don’t talk to me anymore.” She held her hands out for the cuffs. The tears slid faster down her cheeks.

  Finn knew when to shut up, and he did. He cuffed her hands and stood up. He reached over to help her out of the seat.

  She snarled. “I can do it. Leave me be.” She jerked back, teetered, and had to steady herself on the seat back.

  He stepped back into the aisle. He turned and signaled to the male flight attendant to keep the other passengers out of the back of the plane until the prisoner was back in her seat.

  She walked out into the aisle and to the lavatory area. When she got to the door, she turned to him, and he unlocked the cuffs again.

  She went in the lavatory, shut the door with a solid thud and slid the bolt home to where it read occupied.

  Finn stood around for a long time. He paced back and forth. The cabin steward came to the back and stood there with Finn.

  After a few minutes, the steward said, “We can’t keep the passengers away from back here forever. They’re using the first class lavatory, but the first class group is getting annoyed with all the traffic up there. We have to open this area soon.” He looked at the closed door and turned back to Finn. “What do you think she’s doing in there?”

  Finn looked down at his watch. “I don’t know, but it seems like she’s been in there a long time.”

  “I can get a key. We have it in case of smokers in there.”

  “Go get it. I’ll see if I can make her come out.” Finn leaned on the door. “Q. Can you hear me?”

  Silence on the other side.

  “Quincy. I’m going to have to come in there after you if you don’t respond to me. Right now,” rapping hard on the door to emphasize his point.

  A muffled sound came from behind the door.

  “Quincy? Are you all right?”

  He heard sobs. Loud sobs.

  “Quincy?”

  The sobs got even louder.

  “Please tell me what’s wrong. I know you’re upset about this whole thing. You were handling it all right a few minutes ago. What happened?”

  In a flash, the door opened a crack and Quincy peeked out. Her face was raw, red, and streaked. It looked like she’d tried to rub her skin off.

  Finn took a step back, stunned at the expression on her face. It was a mix of rage and shame. “What is it?”

  She spit out the words. “It’s not enough that I’ve been arrested, treated like dirt and have to ask permission to relieve myself of bodily fluids, now I’ve started my period. I have no sanitary items. There are no napkins in here and even if there were, I have no panties to attach them to.” Her voice rose, shrill in the back of the plane. “So, are you happy now? You know all my secrets. Have I been abased enough for you? Is this the payback for what you perceive as the wrong I did to you two years ago? Or is this not enough? Is there more humiliation in store for me?”

  Finn reached toward her. “Quincy, Quincy, I’m not here to abase you. Not at all.”

  She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, he said, “Let me go find you a tampon.” He turned to walk away and heard her wail again.

  She slammed the door to the lavatory.

  Finn walked to the front of the plane. He hated that he was going to have to ask the vulture flight attendant for a favor. When he got to her, he said, “It seems my prisoner needs a tampon. Are there any on board?”

  “Now that you want something, you’re gonna be nice?” She crossed her arms and pouted.

  “Look, I like you. You seem nice. It just wasn’t in the cards for us. I’m on duty, and I take that very seriously. But now my prisoner needs something, and I’m asking you to help her. I’m sure if you were the prisoner, she’d help you.”

  “You know her that well, huh? I’ve seen you looking at her. You’ve looked at her like a sad Basset Hound since you got on this plane. It’s kind of pitiful the way you moon over her. What’s the real story here, Special Agent?”

  Finn forced himself to speak rationally to the woman, “Do you have a tampon or not?”

  The male steward came forward. “I’ve gotten one from a female passenger. Actually two.” He handed them to Finn and then turned and looked at the female flight attendant. “Be sure I’ll be reporting her lack of cooperation with a federal agent to headquarters.”

  Finn turned and made his way back down the aisle. When he got to the door of the lavatory, he tapped on it. “Q? I have what you need.”

  She opened the door and held her hand out. He put the tampon in it, and the door shut again.

  In just a couple of minutes, the door opened and she came out. She held her hands in front of her to have him cuff her. He turned her around, his back to the aisle so no one could see them and took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed them lightly and murmured, “Gonna pass this time. Just walk back to your seat. I’m right behind you.” He let go of her hands.

  She walked ahead of him to her seat. Once they were both seated, she turned to him. “Thanks. Sorry for being a bitch. But this was the last thing I needed.”

  “Can’t blame you for being upset. It’s been a rough week for you. I won’t insult you again and say I understand.”

  “Thanks for that, too.” She gave him a small smile.

  They each sat lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes. Finn broke the silence when the pilot announced they would be landing in fifteen minutes. “The protocol is to let all the other passengers debark. I’m supposed to take you off in the chains, but I’m not going to. Once the back of the plane is clear, I’m going to let you put on the clothes I have in the bag in the overhead—”

  “You have clothes for me and left me in this jumpsuit all this time?”

  He patted her leg. “Don’t get all defensive again. I couldn’t. Until we touch down, we’re still technically not free from the Balinese government. Once we’re on American soil, I can set you free to wear regular clothes and enter the airport as a regular traveler.”

  “Okay. I think I get that. I don’t know anything about international law, but I’ll trust you on this. And I guess I also need to thank you for bringing me some clothes to wear. Thank you, too for allowing me to fight the media gauntlet with some dignity.” The tears flowed again. Gentle tears fell this time around. “I need some dignity, Fennimore. I need it desperately.” She rubbed her cheeks again.

  He nodded. “Agreed, and from here on out, I’m going to make sure you get it.”

  “Don’t make me any promises you can’t keep, Finn. I know you have a job to do. I’ll try to cooperate.”

  “That’s all I ask, Q. All I ask.”

  The plane hit the tarmac, and they looked at each other. It was showtime.

  Chapter Nine

  “Confessed faults are half-mended”

  Scottish Proverb

  True to his w
ord, once the plane was cleared of passengers, Finn opened the bin door and handed her the bag from the overhead. “Here are some clothes I brought for you to wear. I hope I remembered your size.” He moved away from where he blocked the aisle and gestured toward the back of the plane. “Go ahead and change.”

  Quincy went to the lavatory and shut the door again. She opened the bag, looked inside and pulled out the items, one by one. Pants, a shirt, a bra her size. Of course, he’d remembered her bra size. He’d always loved her boobs. She smiled a little at the memory. There were no panties in the bag. Still no underwear. Typical male. The one thing a woman wanted, especially this time of the month. The one thing he’d forgotten. Of course.

  She found a toothbrush and tooth paste as well as a comb but no makeup. Once the bag was empty, she turned it upside down and shook it. Maybe a pair of panties was hidden inside. Nope. No luck.

  She tried to drag the comb through her hair but was unsuccessful. The mess had gone on too long. One of the downfalls of having long, naturally curly hair was that she had to keep it nice. Every day. There was no staying ahead of it if she neglected it. She shrugged. Oh well, it’s only hair. She plucked at her cheeks to give them some color. There was nothing to be done about the lack of makeup either. Television cameras be damned.

  She shoved the hated jumpsuit into the bag. She didn’t fold it. She crammed it and then poked it with her fist. The action gave her some satisfaction. It wasn’t much, but it was something. She grimaced at herself in the mirror. Funny how the little things can make me feel better.

  Feeling refreshed with clean teeth, she walked out of the lavatory with the ghost of a smile on her face. Since she had on real clothes, a pair of khakis and polo shirt, she felt energized. She was a little sad to have to keep wearing the prison sandals, but she could handle that. She pulled her shoulders back and stood tall. Quincy was ready to leave the plane and face the city of Los Angeles.

  Finn stashed the handcuffs and chains in the carry-on bag with the jumpsuit. He led of Quincy down the aisle to exit the plane. When they arrived at the flight deck, he moved aside to let Quincy in front of him. The female flight attendant tried one more time. She rubbed her hand down Finn’s arm. “I’m spending my layover at the Marquis just outside the airport. Once you get rid of that one,” she pointed at Quincy, “come see me.”