“Right now? How in the world would they already know about my allergies or favorite foods,” she teased, but her smile fell away with the intense look in his eyes.
“I had Chris send over a list.”
“Oh.” She smiled at him. “Thank you, Connor. For everything.”
He gave her a tight smile in return. “That’s my job as your husband.”
19
CONNOR
CONNOR SHOULD HAVE suggested a shorter movie. One that wouldn’t have put him in the position of either leaving Faith curled up in the oversized recliner beside him, or waking her up so she could sleep in a real bed.
Not with him though. Not yet. Maybe not at all, but that couldn’t possibly be true. She was attracted to him, but beyond that....
Yes, they were legally married.
Yes, it had been his idea.
And yes, he hadn’t thought it through, but none of that mattered.
What did matter to him was Faith’s comfort and safety—mentally and physically. She’d been put through the wringer since she graduated from high school, and recently it seemed as though things were getting worse for her.
Hell, it felt like things were getting worse for him too, partly because she wasn’t sharing all those bad things that were happening to her, and also because his family wasn’t exactly a functioning, cohesive unit either. His sister was the only bright spot. His father lived in a fantasy world and Drew... he really had a low opinion of him now and most likely he would send Blake to intercept him in London.
But Connor didn’t give a damn.
The credits began to roll, and he turned to Faith to wake her up.
Somehow, she had managed to fall sleep with her head at an odd angle on his shoulder. He should have prepared himself for it because God only knew why his brother had installed chairs that were paired together.
Oh wait, he did know why. Drew most likely made good use of the wide cushions with his wife.
Thank God for the cleaning crew.
She flopped over, hitching a leg over the armrest and snuggling closer to him. He held his arms up, his hands cupped like he was ready to catch a ball or gently roll her back on her side.
His eyes zeroed in on her ass. While he preferred the skirts she wore to work, he for damn sure appreciated the way her pants hugged her ass and thighs. All of her looked and felt amazing. She was soft in all the right places and smelled delicious. His cock grew hard as she wriggled around again.
To stop both of them from leaving the friend zone, he finally put his hands around her, in what he assumed was a safe area and attempted to push her back in place. Only she woke up and began to flail.
“I’m falling,” Faith said on a squeal as she tumbled into his lap, dark hair falling over her face.
“I’ve got you.” He couldn’t stop himself from pushing it away or staring into her pretty blue eyes once his view was no longer obscured... nor could he help his body’s reaction to her on top of him. Her body fit into his like a missing puzzle piece he’d been searching for over the years and never found, until now.
“Connor? Why am I laying on you?” she asked, but she didn’t move. At all.
Fuck. He had to distract himself. Had to do something before he sought to relieve the pressure of his hard cock by grinding it against her.
“Do you know that cornflowers were found in King Tut’s tomb?”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“I read about it once and I’ve been meaning to share with you,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Cornflowers are so strong and pure that even while buried with a king of Egypt, their color didn’t dim, and the archaeologists couldn’t ignore them.”
Her plump lips parted. “What made you think to tell me now?”
He could be truthful, or he could lie and never know what she really thought of him. “Your eyes.”
Under the hazy lights of the theater, he watched her cheeks turn pink. “I think I like that comparison better than the glaciers.”
“I see your eyes everywhere,” he admitted.
“You do?” She lifted up on her elbows, driving them into his abs and causing him to grunt. “Did I hurt you?”
He was in pain all right, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t felt before when he was with her. “I can take it, but we both might be more comfortable in our own beds. We still have four hours until we land, and London is five hours ahead of us.”
She licked her lips, then carefully climbed into her seat. “What time will it be when we land? I’m too tired to do the math myself.”
“We took off around eight in the evening, so around five thirty in the morning our time, but the crew will wake us up about twenty minutes before we land so we can get buckled in properly. “
“It seems wasteful to mess up two beds for only a few hours’ sleep,” she said slowly. “I know it’s the crew’s job to clean after us, but still...” She bit the side of her bottom lip.
His pulse jumped. Was she suggesting...?
“Would it be weird if we got some blankets and slept in here? I was sleeping so good until I decided to jump on you,” she said with a laugh.
He exhaled. She wasn’t suggesting anything of the sort, and she didn’t want to trouble the crew. “I don’t see why not. I’ll have Jennifer bring us pillows and blankets. Care for anything else?”
“No. Tell me where they are and I’ll get them.”
He stood, stretching and working out the kinks in his neck that had formed while he remained perfectly still in order not to wake Faith. “If I told you, I might as well do it myself while you stay here.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not helpless.”
“No, you’re one of the most organized and helpful people I know. By definition, your job title requires you to be.” He almost winked at her until he noticed the way she stared at him. Correction, stared at his body, as if it were something to be admired.
He might have stretched again, and he might have made a great show flexing as he did it, too. Sneaking another peek, he saw that Faith stared harder.
“Like what you see?”
This time she didn’t demur. “I’d be a liar to say that I didn’t, but friends don’t look at each other like that.”
“Married couples do.” Or they should. She should, since he promised to be faithful to her.
She nodded. “Right.”
He stopped showing off for her. “I’ll be back.” Pivoting, he made his way to the door.
“Connor,” Faith called out and he turned to her.
“Yes?”
“Our marriage, um...” She closed her eyes, then opened them again and tipped up her chin. “When you swore to be faithful to me, was it because you want more, or were you just caught up in the moment?”
“Define more.” It took every ounce of restraint to stay where he was, to keep from crossing the room, and having her under him, or if she preferred on top of him, within the next five seconds. “I’m in a precarious position.”
She looked away, her cheeks no longer pink but bright red. “I’m not used to talking about this with you. Our conversations always steered clear of intimate dealings with other people, much less each other.”
“That won’t be a problem once you explain what more means to you.” He’d gladly take charge and would have done so already if he hadn’t had so many attacks of not only conscience but of the fear of losing her.
The fear was disconcerting given all the chances he took when he traveled. All the dangerous situations he’d put himself in, his adrenaline junkie phase, and the time he decided to go off the grid by sailing around the world, only to get hit by a storm and wash up on an island inhabited by tribesmen who had no use for outsiders.
Then again, he’d survived it all and many times, he’d survived things because Faith had been sent by his family to rescue him.
But this... Faith mattered to him.
“I don’t want to complicate things.”
&n
bsp; “What exactly would complicate things,” he countered, earning a glare and another flush of red on her cheeks. “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us that could ruin our friendship—marriage or not.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes, then she turned in her seat. “I’m so dumb. Obviously, we’re still best friends. I mean... nothing more than that. So dumb. We got married because... I don’t know why anymore. You’ve always done crazy things and I... oh God.”
Stunned, he watched as she dropped her head into her hands, muttering to herself. What the hell just happened?
He marched to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her to him. “If I thought I wouldn’t sound psycho, I’d ban you from reading books or watching anything because the things your mind comes up with are so far from reality that it’s not remotely funny.”
“I don’t feel like laughing.” Her blues eyes widened, filling with tears he knew she wanted to hide from him.
“Forgive me, lass.”
“For what?” she whispered.
“For not being perfectly clear about what I feel for you. For making you question your worth to me. For making you think that our marriage was a moment instead of something that has meaning. Most importantly, forgive me for letting you forget that night in your apartment.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” she admitted.
With a growl, he crushed his mouth against hers, his body humming with the contact.
For a nanosecond, she didn’t respond, then her arms were around him and she was kissing him back. Nibbling on his bottom lip and sliding her tongue against his like he’d done to her the first time they’d kissed.
He lifted her higher, her legs wrapping around his waist. He slid his hands to her ass, cupping the firm cheeks as he grinded against her.
“Do you feel how my cock is hard for you?”
“Yes.”
“I want you, Faith. I want you in the way a husband, a lover would want his wife... his soul mate. Make no mistake about it.”
“I want you, too.” She dove in for another kiss, and he carried her with him to the floor, where they kissed and caressed and touched one another until he thought he was going to go out of his mind, if he didn’t get inside of her.
Her full breasts were pressed against him and his hand had worked its way almost to the back of her bra.
He had to get his mouth on her tits. He’d always dreamed of seeing them. Always wondered if her nipples would be large or small? If he’d be able to suck on them until she orgasmed, or did she need his cock and fingers to help her?
Only, he stopped himself from going further and it was all because he didn’t feel like the man she deserved in the moment. Faith needed to be wooed. She needed a gentleman. A gentleman didn’t fuck without care or with an animalistic need that centered on his pleasure first and foremost. They made love with the one they cared about most in the world.
He certainly would put Faith in that category. She was his best friend and he didn’t have to give that up in order to sleep with her.
Suddenly, Faith bit down on his ear and he saw stars. “Why did you stop?”
He had to gain control before what little he had left fled. “That’s enough.” He rose on his elbows so that only the lower half of him was cradled by her pelvis and thighs. Fucking torture. “We’re done for the night.”
She blinked up at him slowly, cheeks pink and lips swollen. “Did I bite you too hard?”
“No.”
Her hips moved slightly, and he couldn’t help but press down harder. She moaned. “If we’re done for the night, can you please move because this is... not helping.”
“Since you asked so sweetly.” He kissed her one last time and helped her up. His cock pressed against the zipper of his pants. He rubbed his hand against it and for a millisecond, he considered asking her to help him out. “Do you have any more questions?”
She shook her head. “Not right now.”
“Go have a seat, and I’ll order more food... and drinks, too.” He needed an entire bottle to get through the night with her. “Virgins for you, Ms. Still Can’t Hold Her Liquor.”
“I will neither confirm nor deny that true statement,” she said, laughing.
The tightness eased from his chest. Things didn’t have to be weird between them just because he could be with her in ways he’d fantasized about for years. They could still be them. They could still be best friends.
Only now, he could share the one part of himself he’d kept hidden from her.
20
FAITH
A SOFT TAP ON HER ARM woke her up. She rubbed her sleep filled eyes and stretched in the recliner. Last night she’d fallen asleep while watching a movie about an alien invasion. The only thing she could remember about the movie was that Connor said he’d met the hero of it at a bar in Tokyo.
“Good morning, Mrs. Montgomery,” Jenner said, startling her.
Faith pulled the blanket covering her higher, as if she needed it for protection from the super cheerful flight attendant. “Morning.”
“I took the liberty to have your overnight bag placed in the master bathroom so you can freshen up.”
“Thank you.” She yawned, still slightly befuddled by the lack of sleep. “Do you mind showing me where it is again?”
“No problem at all.” Jennifer waited for Faith to follow her.
“Where’s Connor?” she asked as she stood, listing to one side until she got her balance. She was so not a morning person.
“Mr. Montgomery is waiting for you in the dining room. He said for you to take as long as you needed to get ready, but that he was eating all the bacon if you didn’t hurry.”
“That doesn’t sound like I have much time at all.”
Jennifer laughed. “I’ll keep some in the galley for you.”
“You’re the best.”
In no time at all, they were at the bathroom and Faith found her overnight bag exactly where the woman said it would be.
“Is there anything else you need?
“Nope.” She flashed Jennifer a sunny smile and shut the door, once again taking in the exquisite, Pinterest-worthy bathroom as she cut on the water.
“He better not eat all the bacon,” she muttered and hopped in the shower.
AFTER TAKING THE QUICKEST shower of her life and changing, Faith hurried to the dining room. Her stomach grumbled as the smell of food hit her, announcing her arrival.
“That was quick,” Connor said, lifting his gaze from the iPad in his hand and standing, setting the tablet down on the table. His sensual mouth curved into a smile that could make eighty-year-old grandmothers swoon. “You look pretty. Lovely, actually. The color of your shirt suits you.”
Her heart flipped at his compliment. Out of habit, she smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles out of her lavender shirt. “Thank you. So... do you.” Actually, he looked casually elegant. His large, lean frame filling the suit he wore to perfection. There were some men born to wear suits and she knew that Connor was a member of that exclusive club.
“I prefer hot as fuck, but I’ll settle for pretty.”
“So glad our marriage hasn’t hurt your self-image.” Studying the table, she frowned. “Did you already eat all the bacon?”
He raised a brow, leaning to kiss her cheek as soon as she was in reach. “Not a chance. Check the serving cart.”
She whirled around, lifting the nearest dome. “I love you, bacon.” She scarfed down a slice.
“I’d hate to see what you’d do if you hated it.”
“No one hates bacon. It’s so good to me.” She made herself a plate of food and sat with him at the table. “Also, pancakes are good.”
“You’re allowed to go back for seconds, you know.” A smile played on his lips. “Or in your case, thirds.”
“Do you know how many miles I’d have to walk to burn that off?”
He gave her an odd look. “When did you start walking?”
“As soon as I stopped bei
ng a teenager with the metabolism of a Porsche.”
“I like the way you look.” He let his gaze rest on her breasts, then move down her body. “You’ve always reminded me of a pin-up girl from the 1950s.”
“Thank all my walking.” She wriggled her brows. “When do we land?”
“Within the hour. Then your appointment with the director is forty minutes after that.”
She started to eat faster. “I’ll hurry.”
“You don’t have to hurry.”
“But people have to clean up after me and I don’t want them to hurry.”
“I think we can find a way to do both, without anyone unnecessarily hurrying.” He nodded to some spot behind her. “If you’ll make another plate for Mrs. Montgomery, you can start preparations for landing.”
Staff descended, working quietly to carry out Connor’s orders.
Faith took a sip of tea, perfectly mixed with her usual trio of yumminess and sighed. “Thank you for that, but I don’t know if I can actually eat another plate.”
“Then I’ll eat it.”
She glanced at him, aiming for what she hoped was a very flirtatious tone. “What do you do to work off all those extra calories?”
He leaned over, his hand coming to rest on her thigh. “If you’re very good, I’ll share my workout with you this evening.”
“Is it a partner workout?” she asked, breathless with anticipation.
He cocked a brow. “Keep that up, and I’ll be working out solo.”
“If that happens, then I will be too.” For once, Connor didn’t have a quick reply and she smiled triumphantly. “Cat got your tongue?”
“Something like that,” he said and squeezed her thigh. “Are you trying to tease me?”
“Only if you like it,” she said, now unsure of herself. “If you don’t, that’s okay. I’ll um, go back to being the Faith you’re used to hanging out with.”
“Why can’t I have both?” he asked, but before she could reply, he got a phone call. “It’s my brother. I’ll be back.”
Seducing the Billionaire's Brother Page 10