Too many thoughts were crashing through her mind at once and she instantly recalled Laura saying, You always overthink everything. Well, maybe her friend was right. Maybe it was time to stop thinking and just see what would happen.
A moment later, Luke walked toward her in long, almost lazy strides and Fiona’s breath caught in her lungs. Honestly, the man was dangerous. Her heartbeat kept jumping into a fast gallop and that couldn’t be healthy.
“We’ll be cleared to take off in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” If she hadn’t accepted his offer of a ride back to Southern California, right about now Fiona would have been sitting in the crowded airport waiting to be shuffled onto a jam-packed, uncomfortable plane. Not to mention, she wouldn’t be with Luke. This was so much better. And so far out of her ‘normal’ world, she was a little off-balance. Of course, just being with Luke made her feel unsteady, so...
He helped her up, then drew her to one of the matching chairs. “We’ll sit here for takeoff.”
“A lot better than what I’m used to,” she said, snapping her seat belt as she turned to watch him sit beside her.
He gave her a half smile that tugged at something inside her. “You can fly with me whenever you like.”
“Well, that’s a tempting offer,” she mused, wondering if he meant it or if he was just being charming. Either way, it worked.
So strange, she thought, watching him. A few days ago, she didn’t know him. Had never heard of him, really. And today, she was sitting beside him, feeling a tangle of emotions she’d never experienced before.
“I’m hoping so,” he admitted, then turned to look at the woman approaching.
She was tall, wearing black slacks, a white long-sleeved blouse and a bright red scarf knotted at her neck. She was carrying two glasses of champagne and when she delivered them, she smiled. “Enjoy your flight. If you need me, Mr. Barrett, I’ll be with the pilot as you requested.”
“Thanks, Janice. We’ll be fine.”
So, he’d arranged for them to be alone. Oddly enough, that didn’t make Fiona nervous at all. She took a sip of the bubbling wine and let the froth of it settle on her tongue for a moment before swallowing. Nope, not nervous. Eager, maybe.
The last few days had been so much more than she’d thought they would be. She’d gone there to do her job, but she’d never expected to be so drawn to Luke. So tempted by him. She’d never known a man who could turn her inside out so easily. Why did it have to be this man? They were separated not just by the lie that was hanging between them, but by the fact that she was in no way a part of his world. A world of private jets, for heaven’s sake. No, sleeping with him would be a huge mistake.
Was it hot in the airplane, she wondered. Or was it just her?
Fiona took another sip of the cold champagne. “Oh yes. Definitely better than coach.”
He grinned. “I told Janice we wouldn’t be needing her after takeoff. It’s only a ninety-minute flight, after all.”
“Sure.” Her mind was working, dancing, jumping from one thought to another. Ninety minutes could be a long time if you spent it wisely. Fly with him anytime? She doubted that would happen in the future. So why not take Laura’s advice, stop thinking for a while, and just enjoy where she was and who she was with?
It wasn’t like her at all to simply give in to her own wants and needs. She was more the type to think things through from every angle. Being impulsive was just counter to her nature. So why was she considering being just that?
Nerves rattled her, but Fiona tamped them down. If there were...consequences to pay, then she would pay them. Later. But if this weekend was all she would have of Luke Barrett, Fiona didn’t want to waste it. For once in her life, she was going to leap without worrying about the fall. Just this once, she would take a chance. Risk it.
She felt the hum of the jet’s engines as they revved, and the plane started taxiing to the runway. It felt as if she were doing the same thing. Moving inexorably forward.
“Once we’re in the air,” Luke said, leaning in closer to her, “I’ll show you around.”
She blinked at him. “There’s more?”
He only smiled and then their plane was racing down the runway. Her heartbeat kept pace, thundering in her chest. Looking into his blue eyes was almost hypnotic. He could capture her with a glance. Her blood heated in her veins and she took another sip of the champagne to ease the fire. But nothing could do that.
The jet raced faster, then lifted into the air. As always, Fiona’s stomach did a quick jitter, but this time, she had the feeling it was more being with Luke rather than her fear of flying.
A few minutes later, they were high above the banks of clouds she could see outside the windows. The jet’s engines settled into a throaty purr that hummed in the background. Luke unhooked his seat belt, then held out a hand to her. She set her champagne aside and slipped her hand into his. He curled his fingers around hers and held on, and Fiona didn’t mind in the slightest.
His skin next to hers made heat swarm through her and Fiona started a silent mantra, demanding that her hormones take a nap. They weren’t listening to her, but she kept trying. Laura’s advice aside, she couldn’t help thinking that this connection she felt to Luke was not a good thing.
He was a job. He wasn’t hers to care for or to dream about. If not for his grandfather, none of this would be happening. She still had to complete the job she’d been hired to do. What was she thinking even considering going to bed with him?
For heaven’s sake, she’d known him about three days. Fiona couldn’t remember a time when she’d been so willing to go with her instincts rather than planning something out. Still, it wasn’t as if he was a complete stranger, was it?
A voice in the back of her mind said that the last three days, they’d been together almost nonstop. They’d talked more than most people did during weeks of getting to know each other. She liked him. A lot. And that worried her a little, because she had zero business building fantasies in her mind that centered on Luke Barrett. Just standing here, in his private jet, told her that much. They were from separate worlds. She had no place in the kind of universe he inhabited and no illusions about it, either.
Nothing in her life had prepared her for this man and she didn’t think anything could have. He gave her hand a squeeze and her insides leaped into life again.
Take a nap, hormones, she thought to herself. Take a nap.
“And this is the bedroom,” Luke said, opening a door to a room at the back of the plane.
“Handy,” she answered, looking around. The room was small, but plush. A queen-size bed covered in a dark red duvet, twin tables and a television on the wall.
She looked up at him and knew there wasn’t a chance in hell her hormones would be napping.
Six
His gaze was locked on her, and Fiona felt the heat of it bathing her. The power of his stare was like a touch. She could feel him looking at her.
“The bathroom’s right here,” he was saying. “Though there’s another up front by the cockpit.”
“Right.” She laughed a little, shaking her head. This was so far from her normal life it was as if she’d landed on a different planet. “Of course. A one-bedroom, two-bath plane. Sure.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” She glanced around the room, taking it all in before turning her gaze back on him. Was he really so used to living like this that he didn’t even see how weird it was?
“I’m fine. It’s just—usually when I fly, I call it luxury if the seat next to me is empty.”
He shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“But you’ve always lived like this.”
Nodding, he said only, “Pretty much.”
The plane’s engines hummed beneath their feet and
set up a vibration that echoed in her nervous system.
“My father was a pilot, so he liked having his own plane.”
“Does he still?”
Luke’s features tightened. “No. He and my mom died in a plane crash.”
“Oh God. I’m so sorry.” She didn’t know which was worse, the pain in his eyes or the matter-of-fact way he’d said it. Fiona hadn’t grown up with a family, and she knew how awful that had been. The emptiness, the wish for more, for love, to be wanted. Needed. But she couldn’t even imagine the pain of having a family and then losing them like that.
“I was a kid,” he said softly. “My cousin Cole’s parents were with them. They were headed to Florida on a vacation and went down halfway there. No one survived.”
Fiona didn’t question her instincts this time. She just went with them. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she laid her head on his chest and simply held on. There was nothing she could say. No way to help. But she could see old pain in his eyes and hear it in his voice, and it was in her nature to try to offer whatever comfort she could.
When his arms came around her and Fiona’s heartbeat jumped, she knew the decision she’d just made was going to lead to more than comfort.
Luke threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her head back. Looking down into her eyes, he shook his head as if in wonder. “You’re...unsettling.”
She stared up at him, gave him a small smile and said, “Thank you.”
He laughed shortly. “Figures you’d see that as a compliment.”
Her heart jumped into a fast rhythm. “You really do say the nicest things.”
He grinned, bent his head and kissed her. Fiona’s mind scrambled so fast, it was a wonder she remembered how to breathe. They were standing beside a bed. In a jet. Alone.
Sex was bound to happen. Right? She’d already decided to go for it...to surrender to whatever was happening between them. And she vowed to not regret it later.
He deepened the kiss, and Fiona eagerly matched him. Her breath was coming short and hard. Her heartbeat raced and the blood in her veins was like lava. Every square inch of her skin felt as if it were on fire.
When he lifted his head and looked down at her, Fiona could see the same reaction on his face that she felt sure was stamped on hers.
“Are we doing this?” he asked, voice deep, quiet.
“I think we really are.” Fiona shut down all her doubts.
Because none of that mattered right now. The only thing she could think was that she needed to touch him and be touched. She wanted to feel him deep inside her. She needed Luke Barrett in a way she’d never needed before.
And today, she was going to surrender to her own needs. This wasn’t about anything but the current sizzling between her and Luke and Fiona wanted more than anything to indulge herself in him. Whatever came next...she’d worry about that when she had to.
A half smile curved one side of his mouth. “Really glad to hear that.”
Then he kissed her again, and Fiona stopped thinking altogether. With his mouth on hers, his tongue stroking against hers, all she could do was feel. And there was so much, it was as if her brain were short-circuiting and she didn’t miss it at all.
He tore his mouth from hers, tugged the hem of her red-and-white-striped boatneck shirt up and over her head, then tossed it aside. The cool air touched her skin and only enflamed it further. He stared at her black lace bra and sighed before flipping open the catch in front. Then his hands cupped her breasts and Fiona groaned.
His thumbs and forefingers tugged and pulled at her nipples, and she felt it all the way to her core. She was hot, achy and filled with so many needs she couldn’t have named them all even if she could have spoken. Which she couldn’t.
“I’ve wanted to touch you since that first day,” he murmured, bending down to kiss her again. It was a hard, fast, desperate kiss that Fiona missed the moment it ended.
“Yes,” she finally said, when she could gather enough coherent thought to form a sentence. “I remember how ‘happy’ you were when we first met.”
He grinned. “You’re about to find out that I’m a hell of a lot ‘happier’ right now.”
“Promises, promises,” she muttered as his hands dropped to the hem of her short black skirt. She’d always loved that skirt. Today, she thought it just might be her favorite piece of clothing.
Because it gave him quick, easy access to the one part of her body that was screaming for attention.
In seconds, his talented fingers had found the strip of elastic at her black panties and sent them sliding down her legs so she could kick them off. Then he cupped her with one hand and she instantly began rocking into his touch. She couldn’t stop herself. Didn’t want to stop. What she wanted was what he was giving her. A ride into oblivion. Release. And that thought alone kept her standing, moving into him.
One finger, then two, moved within her, stroking, caressing. His thumb found her center and rubbed that one, so sensitive bud until her eyes were wheeling in her head and breathing became an extreme sport.
If she had stood outside herself, she might have been embarrassed to be mostly naked, with a fully dressed man who was sliding his fingers inside her. But she wouldn’t have changed anything.
Fiona felt as if she’d been primed for an orgasm from the moment she’d landed on his lap. So, it was no surprise when her body was suddenly on the broken verge of shattering.
Until he stopped.
Fiona blinked and stared up at him. “What? Why?”
“Nope,” he said flatly. “You’re not going there without me.”
She watched him tear his clothes off, tossing his elegant suit to one side until he was naked and, she saw...impressive.
He unzipped her skirt and let it fall, then he tumbled her back onto the wide bed behind her and followed her down.
His hands claimed her body while his mouth took hers. Their tongues twisted and tangled together, breath sliding from one to the other of them. Fiona clutched at his shoulders and slid her fingertips down his muscular arms, loving the feel of him. The heat in his body that speared into hers.
She kissed him with everything she had and threw one leg over his hip, pulling that erection closer, closer. When the tip of him rubbed over her, she groaned and broke their kiss long enough to mutter, “For heaven’s sake, do it. Do it now.”
He reached to the closest table, opened the drawer and pulled out a condom.
“Handy,” she murmured.
“I try,” he countered.
In a blink, he had sheathed himself, and then he was kneeling between her thighs, holding her body open to his gaze. Fiona squirmed with impatience.
“I feel like we’ve been doing the whole foreplay thing for days,” she whispered, looking up, into his summer-blue eyes. “Can we go for the big show now?”
He grinned. “Have I mentioned I really like your attitude?”
“Nope, but you can. Later.”
“Right.” He pushed into her body with one long, hard stroke.
She groaned. Fiona’s head went back into the mattress and she stared blindly at the jet’s ceiling as she adjusted to his size. He filled her completely, and she didn’t know how she’d lived so long without having him inside her.
Then he rocked his hips against her, and everything got even better. A delicious friction built up between them as he moved inside her. He set a rhythm that she raced to keep up with. Her body was humming, her mind shutting down. She fought for breath, hoped her heart wouldn’t explode and rocked her hips with his every movement. “More,” she groaned. “More.”
“Yes,” he ground out. “Always more.”
She was so close. So near the teetering edge of oblivion Fiona could almost taste it. Then he changed things up and threw her for a loop.
He sat back on his heels, drawing her
up with him until she was straddling him. Eye to eye, they looked at each other, gazes locked as Fiona took charge of the rhythm. The pace. She moved on him, taking him deeper and deeper inside her and still it wasn’t enough. She swiveled her hips against him, creating a new kind of friction that drove them both to the brink.
“You’re amazing,” he muttered, leaning in to take her mouth with his.
She licked her lips when the kiss was over, as if she could draw the taste of him into her.
His hands locked on her hips, guiding her, pushing her, helping her keep that wild, frantic rhythm at a breathless pace, because they were now caught together in a net of desperation. When the first splintering sensation jolted her, Fiona grabbed hold of him and kept moving, kept pushing herself higher and faster, riding that incredible pulse of pleasure that rocked her right to the bone.
While she shattered in his arms, she felt his release shake through him. His grip on her tightened; he clenched his jaw and kept his gaze fixed on her as if seeing her fed what he was feeling.
And when the crash was over, they fell to the bed, still locked together.
* * *
“Nice to keep a supply of condoms in the drawer,” she murmured.
Luke grinned. “Yeah. I bought some this morning. Just in case.”
She turned her head to look at him and Luke thought her eyes looked darker, deeper, somehow. Almost as if they were pulling him in. “So you thought I was a sure thing?”
“I hoped,” he admitted, leaning in to get another kiss. God, the taste of her pumped through him with a life of its own. He’d just had her and he wanted her again. More than before because now he knew just how good it was.
“Good call,” she said, and gave a lovely, long sigh. “That was...”
“Yeah. If we’re this good in the air, imagine how good we’ll be on the ground.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “Will we?”
He smoothed her hair back, indulging himself by sliding his fingers through that soft, dark brown silk. “I’m not finished yet. You?”
She dragged her fingertips along his chest, and he sucked in a gulp of air. “No, I’m not finished, either.”
Jet Set Confessions (HQR Desire) Page 8
