“Like I said before. I like your attitude.” He leaned over her and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He smiled against her at the quick catch of her breath. His tongue and teeth worked that dark pink bud until she was writhing beneath him and all Luke could think was how glad he was he’d bought the large box of condoms.
Then he lost himself in her again and stopped thinking entirely.
An hour later, Luke hooked one arm behind his head and said, “We’ll be landing soon.”
“Back to the real world.”
“This isn’t real?” he asked, turning his head to look at her. She was beautiful. Her eyes alone were enough to spellbind a man. And the minute that thought hit, he scowled to himself. Luke wouldn’t allow that. In his world, the plan ruled all. And Fiona was definitely not a part of the plan. He wasn’t spellbound and wasn’t about to be, either. But he could appreciate a beautiful woman he’d just had the most incredible sex of his life with.
She grinned and he worried again. “This isn’t my reality,” she said. “It’s a great place to visit, don’t get me wrong. But when I get home, I’ve got to pay bills, answer emails and do some laundry. That is reality.”
“I pay bills and do emails,” he pointed out.
“And the laundry?”
He shrugged. “The housekeeper does it.”
She laughed, and he liked the sound of it in spite of the fact that she was laughing at him.
“Of course she does.”
Still frowning, he changed the subject, since he was suddenly embarrassed about having a housekeeper. If she found out he had a cook, too, she might laugh herself sick.
“Why don’t you let me take you to dinner tomorrow night?”
“Really?” she seemed surprised, and frankly, so was he.
When they’d first boarded this plane, Luke hadn’t planned on seeing her again once they got home. He wasn’t interested in a relationship—he had way too much going on at the moment. But he didn’t care for the thought of letting her go, either. Now, after that bout of incredible sex, he was even more interested in sticking around for a while. He didn’t want to consider why. Refused to think of what that might mean. He wouldn’t be distracted by emotional entanglements. This wasn’t about emotion anyway. This was simple, beautiful lust, and he would stay with her until the desire for her had ebbed.
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, I’ve got a job tomorrow evening.”
“Doing what?”
She studied him for a long second or two, then said, “Why don’t you come over and you can go with me to my appointment? Then we can have dinner after.”
Go with her. On what? A treasure hunt like she’d had the day before when she dug through wet towels to find a stuffed alligator? But even as he thought it, he realized he didn’t care. “All right. It’s a date.”
“Great.” She leaned over to kiss him, then smiled. “I’m just going to put my clothes on. Your flight attendant might guess what we were up to, but I’d rather she didn’t see me naked.”
He watched her snatch up her clothes and step into the attached bathroom. Luke wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to go along on her job. He’d thought a nice dinner and then another great bout of lovemaking.
What had he gotten himself into here? And why didn’t he care?
* * *
Late the next afternoon, Fiona and Laura sat in matching lawn chairs watching Travis chase a bright red ball across the lawn. The little boy’s laughter spilled from him and floated behind him like soap bubbles on the air.
“So, he’s coming over,” Laura said.
“Yep.”
“To go on your job with you.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, my question is, why?”
Fiona had wondered that, too. She’d thought it was going to be hard to stay close enough to him to complete her job for his grandfather. Instead, Luke himself had suggested meeting again. Was it the sex? Because it had been really great, but sex wasn’t everything. “Because I’m irresistible?”
Laura laughed. “That must be it.”
Fiona grinned. She looked at Travis, a two-year-old whose only problem at the moment was catching up to his favorite ball. Maybe Laura was right. Maybe she did overthink everything. Maybe she should take a clue from Travis and just focus on what was in front of her in the moment.
A soft wind swept over them and nodded the heads of the gem-colored pansies in Laura’s flower bed. At the duplex next door, the Gonzalez girls sat on the porch, each of them playing on her own tablet. They, too, were focused on the moment. So the trick was to focus on what was important right now.
“I don’t know why he wanted to see me again, but I couldn’t say no. Not only is he gorgeous and funny and smart and way talented in bed, he’s my job, too.” She winced. “I can’t believe I had sex with him.”
“On a plane.” Laura sighed and looked wistful. “I’m so jealous.”
Fiona looked back at the Gonzalez kids again. They didn’t talk to each other or laugh together or anything. They could have been twin statues for all the interaction happening between them. She sighed and shook her head.
Funny that she’d never noticed how many kids were glued to tablets before working for Jamison Barrett. The girls on that porch were ten and eight. Too young to be that wrapped up in a computer.
Frowning, Fiona made a mental note to point the girls out to Luke and to remember that he wasn’t her “date.” He was her job.
“This is crazy,” she muttered. “I’m crazy.”
“Yeah, probably,” Laura mused. “But, Fiona, you never do anything wild or outrageous. Honey, you never take something for yourself. So maybe you were due.”
She had a point, as much as Fiona hated to admit it. But that didn’t let her off the hook, did it? Was doing something for herself enough of a reason to be with Luke? Was that fair to him? And what happened when he inevitably discovered the truth about their first meeting? She was lying to Luke about who she was and how she’d met him. He thought it was all an accident of fate. What would he say if he found out his grandfather had paid her to be there? Had arranged for her plane ticket and hotel room just so that she could convince him to come back to the company?
Wincing, she silently admitted she knew just what he’d say. Goodbye. So she had to remember that whatever was between them, it was temporary. An anomaly to her daily life. No more permanent than a sunset...beautiful, but quickly gone.
“Oh my... You know I love my honey,” Laura whispered beside her. “But damn, Fiona...”
She didn’t have to look to know that Luke had arrived. Laura’s glassy-eyed stare was enough to alert her to his presence. Fiona was pretty sure she’d had the same expression on her face the first time she saw him. Still, she turned her head to watch the man approach.
He was wearing a suit again. Of course. She idly wondered if he even owned a pair of jeans. The suit was black with faint gray pinstripes. He wore a white dress shirt with a dark gray tie, and his too-long hair was ruffling in the sea breeze.
It was late afternoon, so the neighborhood kids were home from school. Somewhere down the street, a basketball thumped like the heartbeat of the neighborhood. Skateboard wheels growled across the sidewalks, and the sounds made her smile. At least some kids were outside and not staring at a screen.
“Hi!” Fiona stood up and walked to him, suddenly feeling very underdressed. Her beige ankle pants, yellow long-sleeved shirt and taupe Skechers really didn’t hold up against that suit.
He slipped one hand to the back of her neck and leaned in to claim a quick, hard kiss. A zip of something amazing shot through Fiona like a whipcrack. A job, she thought frantically. He was a job. But even reminding herself of that fact didn’t change what she was willing to risk just to be with him.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all da
y,” he admitted.
A job and so much more.
“Well, don’t be shy,” she said. “Do it again.”
He grinned and took advantage of the invitation.
Her head was spinning even as she gave herself a mental talking-to. Hadn’t she just decided that she had to remain professional? Why was it that her best intentions flew out the window the minute she was close to him?
When she came up for air, Laura was standing right beside her. Her best friend was five inches shorter than Fiona’s five nine, and her body was substantially curvier. Her wide smile was friendly, and her blue eyes were sparkling with interest and curiosity.
“Hi, I’m Laura. Best friend. Neighbor. Landlord.” She held out one hand and Luke shook it.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Luke Barrett.”
“Fee!” Travis came racing up, grabbed hold of Fiona’s legs and turned his face to her. “Up, Fee!”
“Right.” She lifted him, sat him on her hip and said, “Luke, this is my boyfriend, Travis. He’s the jealous type, so watch your step.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. He looks pretty tough.”
“Oh, he is. Able to destroy a living room in less than ten minutes,” Laura put in and scooped her son from Fiona.
“Maybe he could use something to keep him so busy learning he wouldn’t have time for destruction,” Luke said.
Now it was Fiona’s turn to frown. Just the thought of this active little boy sitting in front of a computer tablet when he could be running in circles refocused her on the job at hand.
Fiona tugged at Luke’s arm and pointed him at the house next door. The two girls were still there. Still staring at their screens. Still so absorbed with their tablets it was as if they’d forgotten they weren’t alone.
“Busy like them, you mean?” Fiona asked. “That’s Elena and Teresa Gonzalez. I’d introduce you, but they’re zoned out. Being busy.”
Luke looked at the girls and frowned thoughtfully. Fiona thought that maybe she’d scored a point. But whatever he was thinking, he didn’t say. He simply shifted his gaze to her. “You ready to leave?”
Fiona let it go. For now. But she’d be talking to him about the girls and their technology again later. “Sure. Let me get my purse. I’ll see you tomorrow, Laura.”
“Have fun,” her friend said, and headed off to get Travis’s ball.
Luke followed her inside and stood practically at attention in her small living room. He looked around and she wished she knew what he was thinking. Fiona had no idea where he lived, but she knew that wherever it was, his place was nothing like hers.
Fiona’s living room was painted a deep maroon and she’d installed the white crown molding herself. Her windows didn’t have curtains because Fiona hated them, but she had installed window shades that she pulled down at night for a little privacy. There was a green love seat and two club chairs covered in a fabric that boasted wild sprays of flowers, and a coffee table she’d found in a thrift shop. She’d sanded and painted the table a pale yellow, adding to the garden feel of the room.
“It’s a nice place.”
“Thanks.” Her entire apartment was probably the size of his closet, but she loved the home she’d built for herself. Every room was a different color, and she’d filled the apartment with furniture she loved. So every time she walked into her apartment, Fiona felt satisfaction and a sense of...rightness she’d never known as a kid.
She reached over and turned on one of a pair of dented brass lamps she’d found at an auction, and soft light spilled into the room. “I just need to get my purse.” She stopped and looked at him. “You don’t have to wear a tie, you know. You could...loosen up a little.”
He smoothed one hand down the gray tie and said, “I came straight from work. And my gray tie is my loose tie.”
She grinned at the spark of humor in his eyes. He really was the whole package. Smart. Funny. And so sexy it took her breath away. “Is that right?”
“Oh yeah.” He nodded solemnly. “Red ties? Power. Navy? All business. Gray? Casual and loose.”
“Wow, I didn’t know they made a tie for ‘casual.’”
“Now you do.” He checked his watch. “What time is your appointment?”
“Twenty minutes or so. But he’s in Seal Beach. It won’t take long to get there.”
“He?” Luke lifted one eyebrow. “What’re you doing for ‘him’?”
“It’s a secret.” Fiona smiled, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”
Seven
Whatever Luke had been expecting, this wasn’t it. The “him” in question was seventeen, extremely tall and gangly, with a hank of hair that kept falling over his eyes, and he was going to his first prom in a few weeks. He needed to know how to dance.
“Ow!” Fiona hopped a little after the boy stepped on her foot for the third time.
Luke winced. This was painful to watch. How the hell did Fiona make a living doing all of these short-term jobs? Teaching a kid to dance. Finding an alligator. Now she’d probably be limping for a week.
“I’m never getting this.”
“You’re doing fine, Kenny,” she said to the boy, who towered over her. “You just have to relax.”
“How can I relax when I’m worried about stepping on you? I can’t do this. I’ll break Amber’s foot.” He shook his head and held both hands up. “I’ll just stick to the fast dances.”
Luke sighed and shook his head. He’d been watching this disaster for a half hour now, and he had to wonder how this kid was the star of the basketball team. He had zero rhythm. He was too tense, too. He held on to Fiona like she was a live grenade about to explode. He was probably more relaxed on the court, Luke thought. Hell, he’d have to be.
“Okay.” He stood up and walked to Fiona. “Let’s try something else.” Talking to Kenny, he said, “You just sit down and watch.” To Fiona, he added, “We’ll show him how to do it.”
How he’d gotten into this, he wasn’t sure. Luke had thought about Fiona all day. What he’d wanted was to get her alone on a flat surface somewhere. Instead, he was slow dancing for a teenager in his parents’ den.
“Oh, good idea,” she said, and gave Kenny an encouraging smile. “Watch us for a minute or two, then we’ll try again.”
“It’s useless.” He swung his dark brown hair out of his eyes and scowled.
“Only if you quit,” Luke said. Taking Fiona in his arms, he looked into her eyes, but his words were for Kenny. “Hold her closer.”
“I can’t hold on to Fiona like that. It’s too weird, man.”
“You’re practicing,” Luke reminded him. “You’ll want to hold Amber close, right?”
“Well, yeah...”
“Okay. Hold her close.” He pulled Fiona in tightly to him. “Put your feet in place before the music starts—on either side of one of her feet.”
Kenny studied him. “Okay...”
“You don’t have to be fancy about it. Going in circles will get the job done for you.” Luke started moving and paid no attention to Fiona’s bright smile. She was enjoying this. Well, surprisingly enough, so was he.
The music played and Luke moved with it. “Listen to the beat and keep up with it. Slow or fast, if you stay with the beat you won’t look uncoordinated.”
“Hey!” Kenny the basketball star was offended.
“And you’ll notice, I’m not stepping on her feet because I’m barely lifting mine.”
“Yeah. That works...” Kenny nodded and looked a little less defeated.
“Her steps will follow yours in the dance. It’s just instinct. You act like you know what you’re doing, and it’ll be fine.” Of course, teenage hormones would be soaring. And he knew that because holding on to Fiona like this with the slow music streaming from the speakers on the wall made him want to pick her up and
carry her out to the car.
Which meant, he told himself, lesson over. Luke stepped back and motioned to Kenny. “You try it now.”
Fiona grinned at him, then gave Kenny an encouraging smile. “You can do this. And you’ll be glad you did.”
Kenny shrugged. “It’s your feet.”
“I’ll risk it.”
Luke stood aside and watched as Kenny did just as he’d been told. Fiona smiled up at the boy and, as the music played and they began to dance, Kenny visibly relaxed. It wasn’t exactly an old Gene Kelly movie, but it was good enough for prom, and now the kid knew he could dance with his girlfriend without permanently maiming her.
The song ended and Kenny dropped Fiona like she was on fire. “That was awesome.” He grinned and flashed a look at Luke. “Thanks, man. That works.”
“You did fine.”
Fiona asked, “Do you want to try it again? Just to make sure you’ve got it?”
“Don’t have to. What he said made sense and now I know I can do it. Just plant my feet before the music.”
“Excellent,” Luke said.
“Okay, then.” Fiona reached up and gave the kid a hug. “Lesson over. Have a great time at the dance, Kenny.”
“I will now. Thanks.” He jerked his hair out of his eyes and looked at Luke again. “Thanks. Really.”
“You’re welcome.” He held out a hand and the kid shook it with a hard grip. “Have fun.”
After Fiona collected a check from Kenny’s grateful mother, they were outside on the front walk. Streetlights were on, casting pale white glows into the darkness. A crisp sea breeze kicked up and Fiona shivered. Automatically, he dropped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close.
“That was nice,” she said. “What you did for Kenny.”
“It was more for Amber. And you.” He snorted. “I couldn’t take it anymore. If I hadn’t stepped in, you would have ended the night in a cast.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” She laughed, though, and he liked the sound. “It’s hard to teach a guy the guy’s moves, so thanks for helping out.”
Jet Set Confessions Page 9
