Love on Landing

by Heather Thurmeier

  She squirmed as he kissed the inside of her knee. She never knew she was ticklish there but his prickly five o'clock stubble tickled her delicate skin. His kisses fluttered across her skin, awakening nerve endings as he went. "I thought what you did best was fly."

  He bit her inner thigh. "Shush, woman. How hard is it to be quiet and enjoy the moment without a running commentary?"

  His mouth travelled further along her thigh until he reached the edge of her pink lacy thong. She tried to stay still, but she couldn't help squirming as he slid the smooth material over her hips, pausing only long enough to brush his lips against her skin.

  "Didn't I ever mention I'm exceptionally skilled at this?" He dipped his head, finding her eager flesh waiting for him.

  Tali groaned loudly, arching her back while his mouth did things she'd only previously imagined possible. "You totally didn't mention this. I would have remembered." She groaned again from deep inside her chest, giving in completely to the sensations as her muscles clenched with the flood of pleasure taking over her body.

  "You should teach a class or something." She gulped in the air as she tried to catch her breath. Hot damn. Did sex get any better than this? How could he possibly top that?

  He laughed. "I'll take your suggestion into consideration."

  Gavin settled himself between her legs, wrapping them around his waist. He reached for the condom he'd set on the night table and sheathed his length. Gripping her hips with both hands, he lifted her slightly and slowly inched into her heat.

  As he moved, she tilted her hips to meet his, deepening every thrust. Her head spun and her dizziness wasn't from the alcohol. She'd been wrong to think the night couldn't get any better. So, so wrong.

  Gavin sat back on his heels, dragging her with him so she straddled his lap. She was more than happy to accommodate him. At this point she was game for whatever he wanted. He was so talented—he was probably semi-pro. If there were such a thing.

  Tali draped her arms across his shoulders, gripping his back and kissed his neck as he moved inside her. Her body grew tighter with every passing second as he sped up his pace. She threw her head back, giving in to the moment of pure ecstasy as he shuddered inside her then stilled, holding her close.

  His breathing was as ragged as hers as they collapsed back onto the bed. She settled into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his chest. Gavin reached for a blanket and pulled it across them as the excitement of the day—and night—finally caught up with her. Her breathing slowed and she tried not to focus on the room spinning around her as she listened to Gavin's pounding heartbeat.

  Tali squinted as the bright morning light invaded her senses. They hadn't slept much the night before with all the sexy time happening. At one point they stopped long enough to order burgers from room service to refuel, but then they were back at it. She was exhausted and sated and so unbelievably happy.

  Gavin was just about the last person she would have imagined getting together with since she'd never met anyone with a mouth like his. But here she was in bed with him.

  Huh. Didn't see that coming.

  Since this whole nonsense had happened with Roger, she really hadn't seen herself hooking up with anyone for a while. But she guessed there's no telling what can happen in life or when you'll meet someone who will make you act spontaneously.

  Spontaneous had worked out pretty well this time.

  She rolled over to find Gavin mysteriously missing from her bed. He'd been here a few hours ago, but then she must have really crashed for the night from complete and utter exhaustion. She glanced toward the bathroom, listening for the shower running, but she was met with silence.

  "Gavin?" She called out even though it was obvious he wasn't there to answer her. Where had he gone? And why had he left without so much as a kiss goodbye?

  Chapter Seven

  Gavin rolled his neck as he waited at the end of the counter for his coffees. The night with Tali had been better than he'd imagined it could be. He hadn't planned on pulling an all-nighter, but being with her was too great to only be a one-time thing. Multiple times had been much more satisfying.

  Tali had really surprised him yesterday. He'd gone into shopping thinking it would be terrible, and part of it definitely hadn't been great. But he'd also seen another side of her. She wasn't like the usual rich girls he'd been around who simply looked at a designer label and assumed the name made it good. No.

  Tali looked at the material, the craftsmanship and the care going into each of the pieces she'd purchased. He still didn't understand why she did it, but he liked that she seemed to have a little more depth to her spending than he'd expected. And when they'd been in bed together, she'd been unexpectedly sensual and loving. The change from the personality he'd expected of her surprised and thrilled him.

  Hell, Tali was fantastic in bed and to spend time with.

  "Gavin? Gavin Taylor?"

  He turned at the sound of his name and found a tall blonde waving at him from across the small restaurant. Kerry?

  Oh no. Not good.

  He waved back without much enthusiasm. "Hey, how's it going?"

  "It's going great, darlin'. How've you been?"

  Her voice sounded as sugary sweet as honey, just like he remembered. She was a southern girl all the way. She would smile in your face and talk sweet to you, but he knew better. He knew the real Kerry would not take kindly to anyone who didn't treat her the way she demanded.

  "I've been fine. What are you doing in Paris?"

  "Well, this is my new route, darlin'. Who are you with these days? I haven't seen you around as much as I used to. I miss that."

  She came to stand in front of him and walked her fingers up his chest, stroking her hand along the length of his shoulder as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

  Really not good.

  "I'm not flying commercial anymore. I've gone private now." He took an instinctual step back, distancing himself from her as much as he could with the counter behind him.

  "Private. Wow, aren't you moving up in the world. I'm impressed."

  She batted her eyelashes at him again, the fake wisps of black hair reminding him vaguely of spider legs. He shivered. "Thanks."

  "So how long are you in town for? I'm here for a few days still, so if you're up to spending a day in bed, I'm game."

  He shook his head, shuddering a little. He'd slept with Kerry a few times in the past, but that was a long time ago. Back when he was still young—and stupid. "You always were so straightforward. I can't."

  Kerry stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout. She reached into her bag and pulled out a crumpled receipt and a pen. "Here's my hotel number. You call me anytime if you have a change of heart, okay?"

  Reluctantly he took the piece of paper, vowing to ditch it in the trash on his way out of the store. He had no intentions of ever sleeping with her again, but there was no real reason to be rude and say that to her face. Besides, the chances of running into her again were unlikely at best. "Thanks. I don't think I'll be able to take you up on your offer though."

  She grinned. "We'll see. You never know when you'll get some unexpected free time." Kerry stepped closer to him and went up on her toes. She kissed both of his cheeks, lingering a little longer than was European custom then whispered in his ear. "I'll see you around… hopefully."

  "So this is where you got to," Tali said, appearing behind Kerry with a not-too happy expression on her face.

  Kerry and Tali smiled politely at each other, but Gavin—and most likely everyone else in a one-mile radius—could feel the tension crackling in the air between them. Not good.

  "I was grabbing us some coffees. The hotel makes the worst coffee in Paris." Gavin laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "I guess you had the same idea, huh?" He directed his question to Tali, hoping Kerry would take the hint and leave.

  Kerry looked back and forth between the two of them, taking a moment to obviously eye Tali, evaluating every characteristic about her. "Now I u
nderstand," she said to Gavin. "But just so we're clear, my offer still stands. I'll see you around, darlin'."

  Gavin sighed as Kerry walked out of the coffee shop. Thank God she hadn't stuck around any longer. He wasn't sure how Tali would react to Kerry and her offer, but he guessed there might be yelling involved and perhaps even more tears.

  "So that's nice. You have a friend in the city." She smiled sweetly up at him, taking one of the coffees from the counter.

  Oh, good. She's not upset.

  "Yep, we used to be on the same route together when I was still flying commercial. She's a flight attendant."

  "And she kissed you."

  Uh-oh.

  "On the cheek, as is the custom in Europe. That's all."

  Tali narrowed her eyes at him. And took a sip of her coffee while he waited, holding his breath. He didn't want to go into details about his previous relationship with Kerri. That part of his life was in the past and he wanted to keep it there, but he also wouldn't lie to Tali if she asked him about his relationship with Kerry or any others. Of course if she didn't ask…

  "Is whispering in someone's ear and passing little notes also part of the custom here?"

  Crap.

  "No, but you should know I told her I wasn't interested." He wrapped her in his arms, careful not to spill her coffee and kissed the top of her head. "I have no intention of spending any time doing anything with Kerry. I swear."

  "You're sure? She was awfully pretty. And she seemed very into you. Were you guys members of the mile high club or something?"

  "Not quite and let's leave it at that, okay? There's really no sense in rehashing an old relationship that means nothing to me now."

  "A relationship?" Tali pushed out of his arms. "Wow. I had no idea your relationship was more than a fling. Should I be worried?"

  "Not at all. Kerry isn't my type anymore."

  "Oh? What is your type then?"

  Good question. He thought he knew, but as of last night, he wasn't so sure. Any day previous to this one, jealousy like Tali's right now would have been a real turn off to him. But now… now it gave him a little thrill that she would feel protective and territorial over him.

  He smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. The gesture wasn't enough to really stoke the fire, but it did spark the flame. "I have no idea, but I like what I see right now."

  She smiled back at him. "You know, I think sex turns you all soft and mushy. If this conversation had happened yesterday, you would have been full of smart-assed remarks."

  Gavin reached around Tali and slid his hand down the small of her back until he cupped one butt cheek in his hands, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Great, now I'm busy thinking about your smart ass."

  She giggled. "Lame, completely lame. Not at all your usually witty self. That settles it, sex makes you as tame as a little kitten."

  "Be nice. Come on. Let's get out of here. We're up early, the sun is shining, birds are chirping their little bird butts off and we're both free to do whatever we want until my bitchy—I mean beautiful—boss tells me it's time to fly her home. So what's on the agenda for today?"

  They wandered out onto the empty sidewalk together. The crowds from the night before were probably still sleeping away their shopping exhaustion. That's what they should've been doing too, but once Gavin was up and awake, he could never go back to sleep, no matter how tired he was. He was better off getting up and getting on with his day. Seemed Tali agreed.

  They strolled down the sidewalk in silence for a few blocks. Gavin enjoyed learning they could be in each other's company without having to constantly chatter about something. A shared comfortable silence could be really hard to find. Once again, he was surprised he'd found such unexpected qualities in Tali.

  Why wasn't she like all the other rich party girls he'd known before her? She wasn't the first girl he'd met from Meadow Ridge, but she certainly didn't act like the others. She seemed so much more thoughtful and inquisitive about things—about everything.

  They stopped at a corner, waiting for the light to change so they could cross the street. Down the block the banners for the Musée d'Orsay fluttered in the slight breeze. Gavin checked his watch. The time was shortly after ten, which meant the museum would be open to the public now.

  "Want to go in?" he asked, motioning toward the beautiful stone building.

  "Absolutely. This is one of my favorite places in Paris."

  Really?

  How was it that this girl could constantly surprise him? How was it this girl, who'd power-shopped the entire day before, was now content to wander through a museum? She was one big contradiction.

  As they meandered through the museum, Tali frequently stopped to closely examine some piece of art or another. One time she stopped at a sculpture of a woman lifting a veil away from her face. Tali looked at the sculpture with such careful consideration, he began to wonder if she could relate to it in some way. Did she feel like she was hiding behind something too? Did she long to be seen like this woman?

  Maybe she simply thought the sculpture was pretty.

  They stopped next in a room full of paintings of ballet dancers. Tali sighed quietly as she walked around the room examining the artwork. Gavin couldn't help but study her instead of the art hanging on the wall. Sure the paintings were beautiful, but this woman in front of him was the most interesting thing in the museum.

  She was so expressive as she gazed at a painting of a little girl in a fluffy tutu. Her eyes narrowed then widened as she scanned the entire painting up close before stepping back and tilting her head to the side. He watched as her fingers stroked her lips as she stood there, lost in her own world.

  If he could have taken a picture of that moment, he could have hung the photo on the wall alongside the most famous pictures and it would have stood out as one of the most captivating. Watching her stole his breath.

  "You're not looking at the art," she said, finally coming out of her dreamlike state to take note of him.

  He smiled. "I am, just not the paintings."

  "You can be very charming when you want to be. You know that, right?"

  "Of course I do. And I use it to my advantage as often as possible." He took her hand, leading her out of the room and across the hall to a bench before pulling her down to sit with him. She sighed, leaning into his shoulder. His chest grew tight with affection. How was it possible to feel this after only knowing her a short amount of time? How was it possible his opinion of her could change so drastically between when she'd first yelled at him in the cockpit to now, sitting on a bench in the middle of a museum discussing art?

  "It feels good to rest. I can't believe we've been here a couple of hours already." She covered her mouth as she yawned her words. "I think the lack of sleep is starting to catch up to me."

  "We can go if you want. I've seen enough art for one day."

  "No," she answered quickly. "I want to see the rest."

  He nodded and laid his arm across her shoulders. If she wanted to stay, he'd stay too. But first he had a question. "So what's with you and your interest in art? It seems like this stuff all means a hell of a lot more to you than the average person."

  She shrugged. "I don't know. I love looking at the brushstrokes, and the colors and the composition. It's fascinating to see what choices the artist made and then try to figure out why. Don't you think?"

  He laughed. "I usually think 'huh, that's nice' and then move on. I guess I'm not very artistic."

  "Sorry, I know I stare at each of them too long." She ducked her head to look at her hands resting in her lap. "We can go whenever you're ready."

  What? Who is this shy girl?

  "No, we'll stay. I'm not criticizing you or anything. I'm only trying to understand. I didn't take you for the artistic type."

  She stiffened beside him. "Why not? Because I'm too spoiled and self-centered to care about art? Because the only thing someone like me could ever be passionate about is shopping?"

  Whoa.

&n
bsp; "Well, you have to admit the first impression you put out there in the world isn't as someone who cares deeply about art. Unless of course the art is draped over a model as they strut down the runway or splashed across the pages of your favorite tabloid magazine."

  "First impressions can be wrong you know."

  "True. And my first impression of you definitely was wrong. But you can't fault me for seeing what you put out there." He stroked his hand across her shoulder, trying to ease the tension causing her shoulders to rise up around her ears. "I'm trying so hard to figure out who you really are, Tali. That's all."

  "I'm just me—spoiled, shopaholic, and sometimes artistic with a hearty dose of bitchy when necessary. And just so you know, I do read more than just tabloid magazines. Got it?"

  "Got it." He laughed. "So tell me, since you love art so much, do you create any art yourself?"

  "Not really. I'm usually so busy I don't have any time to sit and sketch or paint… or even think about art." She got up from the bench and pulled Gavin up beside her. "Come on. I've had my fill of art for the day. Let's go."

  Gavin followed Tali out of the museum and out onto the street. "Where to now?"

  "The river. I never get tired of walking along the Seine."

  He walked with her in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. If she wanted to create art, why didn't she make time to do what she was most passionate about? Hell, she was so rich there was no way she actually needed to work. Didn't she have ample time to sit and draw or paint until her heart was content as could be? Surely, if anyone had the ability to make time for their passions in life, it was someone as wealthy as Tali.

  They stopped along the pathway and gazed out over the river, watching as one of the many tour boats floated by. He loved to look at the city. He felt so comfortable and familiar with the city after having been here a few times before. Paris was a place he could imagine calling home if the situation was right.

  The old stone buildings, the cobblestone roads, the smell of crepes and coffee in the air—all were things he could imagine immersing himself in if he decided to settle down somewhere. Of course, he didn't see that happening anytime soon if he were going to continue as an on-call private pilot for people like Tali and her family.