Why? She’d attended medical school, her family one of the most affluent and best known in Dallas. He had nothing to offer her—then why did he insist on taking the flight the minute he’d seen her name as a potential client? Why had a ripple of excitement expanded in his chest the second he decided to take her to Houston?
Because you want to prove something, the voice inside him alerted before he shushed the fucker. After all, a lot had happened since the days he used to be Mr. Dalton Sadler’s employee—and since the day he’d promised Mr. Sadler he wouldn’t get involved with his precious little daughter.
Now Mack owned the helicopter taxi company, and his business had grown and continued to do so. He didn’t need to prove shit to anyone.
“There’s a little bit of a headwind. Weather looks good. We should be there in about ninety minutes,” he said after takeoff.
“Cool,” Jenny replied. “The view from the top is breathtaking, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re probably used to it. To all this…perfection.”
Was there a trace of bitterness in her voice when she’d enunciated perfection? Maybe not. Though when she’d walked earlier, he couldn’t help but notice a shift in her left leg—it limped a bit. Had she been in some sort of accident recently? His gut clenched. Asking her personal questions while he was in charge of her safety wasn’t an option.
For the next thirty minutes, he kept telling himself the best way forward would be not to ask about her leg. Sweat slicked on his forehead, and he swallowed the lump of frustration. He used to be good about compartmentalizing. It had been hard to see Jenny and not touch her, not get to know her the way he wanted to in the past—and now, it seemed almost impossible.
He kept on flying one hundred and forty knots, telling himself to focus on his task. Suddenly, though, a blend of white and gray crashed into the windshield, and a violent sound shook the entire helicopter. His gut clenched, pulse skipping as he glanced at the seagull that had come out of nowhere and penetrated the windshield. If he didn’t find a place to land, he’d never even have the chance to ask Jenny about her leg.
She shouted. He lowered the collective and pulled on the cyclic in an emergency effort to slow down the aircraft. His heart rate jumped. He’d find a place to land and get her out safely. Even if his life depended on it.
Chapter Two
Jenny opened her eyes. Her head hurt, and she blinked several times even though she couldn’t see anything but the blurry mixture of green and blue in front of her. She stretched out her hand and touched a hard surface. Pain shot down her leg, and she hissed.
Another ache pulsed in her temples, and she cradled her head, willing it away. What the hell?
“Jenny,” a male voice called her. “Jenny,” he repeated, with a trace of urgency.
She followed the sound of his voice and focused on the image taking shape in her field of vision. The contours of Mack’s face appeared. Mack. Mack…Hunter.
“What?” She shifted, then realized she was leaning against a chunky piece of metal. The helicopter!
Mack checked her pulse, and the moment he touched her wrist, her blood pounded in her veins. Her temples throbbed harder, and she shivered. Now was certainly not a good time to discover what a migraine and arousal felt like together.
“How are you?”
She touched her head with her free hand. “I feel strange. Achy. Hangover without a drop of alcohol in my system.” She looked around them, registering the bushes and the clear blue sky. She touched her leg, willing the crampy sensation away. Ever since the ski accident, whenever she tensed up, she stiffened her leg, and sometimes the pain lingered. “What happened?”
“Penetrating bird strike is the technical term. A seagull hit the windshield, and because of the speed and winds, she came through. The helicopter was vibrating too much, so to keep us safe I made an emergency landing in the closest field. Wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped. Hence your headache.”
What were the odds? Apprehension raced down her spine. “Wow. Where are we?”
“The GPS got damaged, so it’s not one hundred percent accurate. But we should be in a rural area in between Dallas and Houston. I was following the flight plan until the bird strike.”
She propped her hands on the ground, clenching the grass. Determined to stand, she attempted to boost herself upright, but even her good leg wobbled. Sighing, she remained sitting. She brought her clammy palms together in a soundless clap. “What do we do?”
She saw her bag and reached to it, retrieving her cell phone.
“Phones aren’t working.” Mack knelt next to her. “I grabbed a map from the helicopter. There should be a little town called Aurora, some miles from here. We can hike there and I’ll call for help.”
Hike? She shivered at the thought. “How far is it?”
He shrugged. “I’ll take you.” He opened a black backpack. “Put whatever you need right away in here. I’ll send for the rest later.”
She clutched her own purse. “No. I can’t let you carry me for miles on end.” The image of his big strong hands on her popped up in her mind, but she willed it away. When she’d been a teenager and had dirty dreams about the ranch hand from her family’s vacation ranch, she’d wanted him to carry her to a barn and make love to her. Now she had to settle for pity.
He inched closer, his scent of pine and wood blending with body sweat. “I don’t want you to get injured.”
“Just because I limp doesn’t mean I can’t walk,” she said. To make a point, she tried to stand again, but the cramp in her leg caused her to jerk. Crap. She stomped her foot on the ground to do away with the invisible ants crawling under her skin.
Mack stood, and in seconds he towered over her. “C’mon, Jenny. You can’t walk seven miles.”
Seven miles? Shit. “My leg is cramping. When I freak out, it does that sometimes. Also, I was in the same position for a while.” She stomped again, to prove her point. “You’re a big man, I’ll agree. But even you can’t take me for so long without collapsing.”
He gave her the slightest wink, enough to weaken her knees for a completely different reason. “If I collapse, shake me.”
Damn Mack Hunter. Rolling her eyes, she fished for her wallet, makeup case, and phone out of her purse and slid them into the backpack. Maybe they’d run into hikers before reaching the little town or find some better cell phone coverage.
He closed the crooked door of his helicopter and slid his backpack on. When he turned to her, her stomach sank. She’d been so worried about flying with Mack, and now she’d be in his presence, in his arms, for God knew how long. Excitement flooded her veins, and a part of her came alive, the cramp in her leg slowly waning.
She wasn’t that insecure little girl anymore. I’m now an insecure adult woman. She chuckled at her stupidity, to think a former Air Force pilot, über Adonis like Mack would give her, a medical school dropout and decent-looking girl with broken parts, a second look. Why would he? He probably fought women off with a stick.
“What’s funny?” he asked in that sexy drawl, as deep as the Grand Canyon.
“A hell of a lot, Mack. A hell of a lot.”
He lifted her up swiftly, and she gasped but didn’t fight him. If he wanted to haul her ass across the woods, she’d let him and see how long he’d play the gentleman. When she’d been in the ski accident with Colt, he’d seemed concerned about her at first, too. He’d visited her at the hospital often, then called, then—
“Quit fidgeting,” Mack said, pulling her from the bitter memories.
“I’m not.”
He squeezed her against him, and an invisible coat of warmth covered her. With precision and economical movements, he walked in a brisk fashion through the woods. She caught a whiff of clean, crisp outdoor air. She placed one hand on her lap and the other against his pecs for support. Whenever he went down a hill, she moved and her breast rubbed into his sweaty shirt.
When he’d removed the top part of h
is uniform and kept only his white undershirt on, she’d sucked in a breath. Nestled close to those strong, muscly biceps, she couldn’t think of a place she’d rather be.
Except…in Houston. Possibly getting engaged to her best friend.
“Oh no. My family and friends will worry if I disappear from the map.”
“You won’t. We’ll get in touch with them as soon as we can.”
He kept going for another half an hour, until he put her down next to a creek. The sound from water streaming soothed her, and she stretched her legs and arms, taking in the beautiful scenery. A couple of wild bunnies hopped away from them without a care in the world.
He took off his shirt and rolled it up, then used it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Her jaw dropped. Sure, she dated fit guys who enjoyed hitting the gym now and then. But nothing had prepared her for the abundance of hard ridges and edges of Mack’s body. Super broad shoulders narrowed proportionally into a wide chest, and shit, his abs had abs. Lusty strands of hair dusted his skin, arrowing down and disappearing into his pants. The quintessential body of the so-called real man. Her heart skipped a beat for a second, then rebooted again, a dozen times faster. Her throat felt dry and thick, and she tried to swallow, but her tongue almost stuck to the roof of her mouth.
A zing of awareness shot through her, settling between her legs.
When his gaze found hers, she sucked in a breath, as if she were a teenager sneaking out of the house past her curfew. A glint of challenge flickered in his eyes, darkening them to a matte gray.
No. No, no, no. A reignited attraction to him would take her nowhere. She’d spent her whole life acting on impulses, and where did that get her? She had to follow through her pact with Lewis. A good, sensible guy who’d make a great husband and father. For all she knew, Mack didn’t want any commitment. Or want her, for that matter.
Why would he? Besides his genetic-lottery-winner looks, he’d built an impressive company and more. Best to stick to the plan. Leash your hormones and get to Lewis. For once in her romantic life, she’d like to know where doing the right thing took her. No more dating musicians or men with commitment problems.
She disengaged from the virtual mating game and walked down to the edge of the stream. Some cooling off would be best right about now.
…
Mack glanced at the map. Shouldn’t they be farther along by now? Since they’d stopped for a break an hour ago, she’d insisted on walking. Something had shifted, the air around them thickening.
“Which way?” she asked as their dirt road shifted into a fork with two options. Another look at the map told him where to go.
“Left,” he said, then folded the map and placed it in his backpack.
The buzzing of bugs followed them, and sweat slicked his forehead and limbs. He’d even removed his shirt again because the heat had become unbearable. Then he’d caught her gawking at him.
Desire surged through his body, and he stretched to his full height. Keeping a clear head was critical. After all, not much had changed between the two of them. Maybe now he was moneyed and older—supposedly wiser—but she was probably a doctor. A good one, too.
Her family had been good to him. Her father, Dalton Sadler, had encouraged him to join the Air Force more than his own old man. Mr. Sadler had also noticed him gawking at Jenny once and made him promise not to pursue her. There’s nothing wrong with you, Mack, but she’s my daughter. I want a little more for her. The man’s strong drawl echoed in his ears as if he’d just heard him speak. Besides, she’d been fifteen and he, eighteen.
Frustration clogged his throat, and he curled his fingers into a fist. Worse of all, he’d agreed. He’d given Dalton one of the few things he’d always had and honored even in poverty—his word.
Mack followed her into an emptier area of the woods, without as many bushes, a sign they approached a populated area. He shouldn’t stare at her curvy hips, her nice ass, and her shapely legs.
A shot of adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he found himself striding quicker. The image of her lovely naked body filled his mind, stirring his groin. He’d seen her wearing a bikini in the past, and that’d been enough to spike his heart rate. But having her at his command, in his bed?
His cock hardened, and he marched quicker. Enough with the dirty scenarios. If she caught up to him while he still had the hard-on, things would become even more awkward. He evoked images of politicians, sure those would help him lose his woody.
“Mack,” she called behind him. “Mack!” she repeated when he didn’t reply.
“Yeah?”
“Why the hell are you running?”
He parked his hands at his waist and tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Figured we could make it there quicker.”
“Can we also make it there in one piece? I’m happy to walk, but I’m not training for a marathon.”
Oh, fuck. A pang of regret stabbed at him, and he ran his fingers down his face. What kind of ass did she take him for? She couldn’t run, and there he was, making her keep up with his long legs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“What’s that?” she asked, erasing the distance between them, breathing out every word.
Don’t look at how her top clings to her skin and the soft rise and fall of her breasts whenever she picks up the pace. His rod hardened, defying the constraints of his pants. His gut clenched like something had punched him. Of course it had—lust, pure and simple.
“Oh.”
His gaze lifted to her pretty face. A shade of red spread across her cheeks, and when he searched her eyes, it dawned on him. A flicker of surprise touched her eyes, and they focused on his hard-on.
He stepped back, wishing he could disappear and go masturbate far from Jenny.
She licked her lips, then darted her gaze at him. “Won’t it go away?”
Mack sighed. “Yes. Gimme a couple seconds. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, I swear.”
“Um, I’m okay. It’s just very—”
Big. He’d heard the word from most women he dated, and usually it’d flattered him. Well, not now, when he stood inches from his former boss’s daughter. His current client. Thanks to the bird strike, her flight had gotten screwed. Then they took a detour in Mother Nature. What next?
She folded her arms. “Noticeable.”
He locked his spine into place. “Like I said—”
“Are you married?” she asked.
“No. Why?”
She shrugged. “Because it would be bad if you were married and walked around with a woody around another woman.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and he wondered if it was because her leg bothered her or she was trying hard to dig their way from this fiasco of a conversation. “Are you seeing someone?”
He shook his head. Why lie? He’d been busy, and the last woman he’d dated had been a few months prior. “You?” He hated the trace of apprehension in his voice.
“Not exactly. I mean, I don’t have a current boyfriend, but—”
No current boyfriend. Maybe she ended a relationship recently, but the idea of an available Jenny seduced him. “So it’s a no. You’re either with someone or you’re not.”
She touched her necklace and played with it, her delicate fingers toying with the delicate white-gold chain. “True. I’d forgotten how black-and-white you are.”
Did she mean it as an insult or compliment? “I’m surprised you’d give any thought to me at all,” he said. Back when they were teens and he’d started working for her father, she had her own circle of friends she visited while on the ranch. Then her vacations became less frequent, and he’d assumed she was too busy in Dallas with high school stuff.
She smiled. “Your erection is gone.”
Instinctively, he glanced down.
She tipped up her chin. “Relationship talk. Works every time.”
Damn her. The woman had a body with killer curves, smarts to make anyone dizzy, and an irresistible wit. He
cleared his throat and resumed walking in a steady but calm pace not to overwhelm her. His heart beat in a crazy rhythm, and he clutched the straps of his backpack with intent.
The sooner they got out of the woods, the better.
Chapter Three
Being stranded with an aroused Mack was the equivalent of having tickets for a red carpet movie premiere and then catching a flu in the same day.
She’d attempted to dispel tension by asking him about his marriage status. Men usually hated the topic, and that got them running quickly. He’d seemed more…intrigued than disgusted. She slipped her phone from her pocket and lifted it up, praying it’d get some coverage. How nice would it be to call Miranda and let her know she was fine. God, she’d settle for a text.
“Isn’t there anything I can do for your leg? Some homemade type remedy?” Mack asked.
A strand of disappointment cooled her. Of course he’d noticed, and why wouldn’t he? She probably held him back and embarrassed him when she mentioned his delicious hard cock. Her belly clenched. Why had he been aroused anyway? Was it because of her or some kinky thought he had in the wild? Or both?
“I’m fine, Mack. I had a cramp earlier, but now I’m good, just getting a little bit tired. Trust me, I’ll make it.”
“All right. You’re the doc.”
She stuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “I’m not a doc. I dropped medical school after four years.”
He halted and turned around. She’d assumed he’d known, maybe because he ran into her parents once in a blue moon. Plus, she knew Dalton Sadler loved sharing how disappointed he was in her with any soul he encountered. “Really?”
“Yeah,” she said in a small voice. A part of her almost waited for the concealed discontent she perceived from people when she broke the news. After her accident, she could no longer live a lie and do what her family expected of her.
“Interesting. Why?”
“It wasn’t for me. Ever since I’d started, I knew it, but kept going to please my parents. I didn’t want to be the one to break the family tradition, and I wanted to like it,” she said, even though she sounded pathetic. Her heart squeezed.
Men In Uniform Anthology Page 28
