“This is nicer than my apartment,” I said.
A woman in her thirties wearing a short black sleeveless dress emerged from the back. Her blonde hair was neatly fastened behind her neck, and when she saw me with Alec, her smile faltered, just for a second.
“Good morning, Alec. I didn’t realize you’d have company today.” Her gaze lingered on his mouth, and her tongue wet her lips.
A sudden urge to claim him reared up inside of me. I didn’t know how well they knew each other, but I didn’t like the way she was looking at him. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and slid it down the smooth material of his suit coat and the muscles beneath.
Alec never faltered. “Jennifer, this is my girlfriend, Anna.”
Her mouth pinched at the corners. I hesitated before shaking her outstretched hand; it was the first time he’d made a public declaration about our relationship status. It surprised me how much I liked it.
“Can I get you a bourbon?” Jennifer asked him.
I laughed. “It’s seven o’clock in the morning.”
Her chin tilted in my direction.
“Nothing for me right now, thanks,” Alec told her.
She looked surprised. “Anything for you, Anna?”
“Coffee,” I said. “Alec practically had to drag me out of bed this morning.”
“I can think of worse things,” she said smoothly. “Espresso all right? I can have it ready by the time we’re airborne.”
“Sure. That’ll be fine.” Espresso on a private jet? Amy was going to flip out. I made a mental note to call her. When Derrick told her why I wasn’t at work, she was going to worry.
Jim’s voice came over the intercom: “Once we’re all settled in, we’re good to go. Should have smooth sailing today. Estimated flight time is just under two hours.”
As Jennifer latched the heavy metal door, Alec led me to a seat, one of the two that faced each other. He reached between the cushions for his seat belt and closed the open curtains.
“Did you sleep with her?” I whispered.
His brows lifted. “Not that I can remember.”
I kicked him.
“No,” he said, rubbing his knee. “Why?”
I gave my best pouty look. “I didn’t realize you’d have company today,” I mimicked.
His eyes took on a wicked gleam. “Keep it up and I’ll spank you again.”
The memory of his hand stroking my blushing skin jolted through me like lightning, but a scowl tightened Alec’s features as the engine began to rumble. Jim eased out of the garage, taking us into the early morning light.
“Flight attendant, please take your seat,” Jim said over the speaker. “Please turn off all electronic devices until we’re up in the air.”
I snagged my phone from my purse and, before I turned it off, sent a quick text to Amy: Going on a business trip to NY with Alec. Call u when we land. I clicked the phone off.
Reluctantly, Jennifer departed to the front of the plane, closing the door to the pilot’s cabin behind her, and leaving us completely alone.
“It really isn’t fair what you do to women,” I told him, watching her go. “She’s all tied up in knots over you.”
The crease between his brows deepened. “You should put on your seat belt.”
I leaned forward across the space between us.
“Air travel is safer than driving a car,” I told him.
“I’m driving the car,” he muttered. “I’m not flying the plane.”
I put my hands on his knees, stilling his right heel from tapping a hole through the floorboards. “So it’s about control.”
“It’s about 75,000 pounds of metal floating 45,000 feet above the ground.”
The poor guy took off his jacket and tossed it haphazardly on the couch across the aisle. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt.
“What happens when you fly with other people?” I inquired.
He glanced out the window quickly, as if to check the status of the wing, and then reclosed the curtain.
“I drink. Heavily.”
That explained the bourbon offer. “But not today?”
“This meeting’s important,” he said.
I felt terrible for him. I wished there was something I could do to take away some of his anxiety.
There was something I could do.
I slid out of the chair and kneeled on the floor.
“What are you doing?” he asked sharply. “Get back in your seat.”
The intercom clicked on. “We’ve been cleared for takeoff. Please make sure your seat belts are fastened until we reach our cruising altitude.”
“Did you hear that?” Alec asked. I almost giggled. The guy who played by no one’s rules was suddenly very concerned about my seat belt.
“Is Jim a good pilot?” I asked.
“The best.”
“Good,” I said. “Then I have nothing to worry about.”
He started to object, but I reached for his belt. I didn’t get far; he stopped my hands with his hard grip. His heel resumed its tapping as the plane turned down one of the runways.
“The key is focusing on something else.” I rotated my wrists and his hold loosened slightly. “Let me distract you.”
“Anna . . .”
I worked myself free and unbuckled his belt. I knew Jennifer was just behind a door, ten feet away, and would come out as soon as the plane leveled in the sky. I also knew it wasn’t safe to mess around in the middle of takeoff, but it only added to the thrill. I could feel the recklessness beginning to pump through my veins as I unbuttoned the top of his pants and lowered the zipper one click at a time.
The engine roared as the plane picked up speed. Since I was facing the back of the cabin, the pressure pushed me forward into his lap. I braced my knees against the seat, leaning my elbows on his thighs. As I skimmed my knuckles over his erection, still tucked within his navy boxer briefs, his hands gripped the armrests, flexing then fisting.
His breath came out in a stutter.
“Have you ever tried this before? On a plane, I mean.” I slipped my hand up his shirt, spreading my fingers over his rigid abs. I loved his body. I worshipped it.
He shook his head.
I looked up at him through my lashes, and then peeled his palm from his knee and placed it on my cheek. Slowly, I drew one of his fingers into my mouth, sucking it, feeling it with my tongue, scraping it lightly with my teeth.
His lips parted as his chest began to rise and fall. His eyes grew dark and hungry. Outside the wind began to rush by as the nose of the plane lifted off the ground. His gaze shot to the window, then back to me.
Focus on me.
“I’m going to put your cock in my mouth, Alec.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Do you want that?” I asked, slipping my fingertips into the waistband of his briefs and inching them down slowly. He lifted his hips to help.
The wheels rose off the ground. We were airborne.
“Look at me,” I snapped, jerking the fabric the rest of the way down and setting his cock free. It stood from his body, thick and glorious, skin stretched taut. The head was swollen and deep red, and moisture dewed from the tip. Just looking at it made my body clench in need. What I would have given to crawl into his lap, straddle his hips, and ride him straight into the mile-high club.
But first, I wanted this.
“So hard,” I murmured, running my fingertips down his length. “I want to taste it. I’ve fantasized about you like this.”
I licked him from stem to tip, one long pull with the back of my tongue.
He stared down at me, lust in his eyes, and I knew I had him.
I wrapped my fingers around the base of his shaft, giving him a hard squeeze before massaging his balls in my other hand. There wasn’t enough time to make this last like I wanted, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t give him every ounce of pleasure I could.
With the tip of my tongue, I swirled around the head, ta
sting the slippery, musky liquid. The response it evoked was instantaneous. My eyes drifted closed. My stomach tightened. The plane hit a bump, and for a split second it felt as if we were cresting the top of a roller coaster. His breath caught, and I pulled him into my mouth, nestled the smooth head of his penis over the back of my tongue, and sucked.
“Jesus fuck,” he muttered. His hands fisted in my hair.
I went wild, forgetting everything but the feel and taste of him. I pulled him deeper inside my mouth, sliding my hand over his length while I pressed my thumb behind his scrotum. My cheeks drew in while I licked him, drawing more of his salty flavor into my mouth. He was so big I couldn’t take all of him, but I took as much as I could.
I rose on my knees, aware of his rasping breath and the groan that vibrated through his stomach. Both my hands became dedicated to jacking him off, squeezing as I rose up and down his cock, now slick with my saliva. I twisted my grip, spread my fingers, then closed them. All the while I rubbed the smooth spot of flesh beneath his head with my tongue.
His thighs quivered, hard as a rock. His grip fisted in my hair, forcing my chin to tilt up. I stared into his eyes, defiant and shameless, while his lips drew back in a tight grimace.
“Anna.”
I sucked him deeper, wanting him to fill me here as he’d filled my cunt. Wanting to erase any other thought from his brain, to scar him with a pleasure he would never forget.
“Anna.”
His cock hit the back of my throat. I swallowed. I gripped him tighter, moved faster.
“I’m going to come.”
I would take everything he offered. It was as necessary in that moment as breathing.
He came in hot, salty spurts that filled my throat and made me press my thighs together to contain the heat pooling there. I held him as he grabbed the back of my head, seeking control as he fucked my mouth, and when he was done, I rocked back on my heels, and licked my lips.
He stared at me for one awed moment, then fixed his pants and pulled me into his lap. He held my face in his hands as he kissed me passionately, his tongue beckoning mine into his mouth.
“I can taste us,” he murmured.
I thought that might have bothered him, but his cock stirred beneath my hip.
We stayed that way—in an in-between place, burning like embers without an open flame—until Jim signaled it was time for our descent. It wasn’t until then that I turned around and saw that my coffee sat on one of the side tables, cold.
*
A private car met us at the airport and took us to a swanky hotel a few blocks away from Times Square. Seeing images of New York City in pictures and movies did not do the city justice. The lights were dazzling; bright billboards with advertisements for Broadway shows stretched overhead, and news tickers gave the latest reports while huge televisions played commercials. Steam puffed from the subways where people swarmed in and out. The streets were crowded with men and women in black suits, families taking pictures, and vendors selling hot dogs and souvenirs. It was both awesome and overwhelming at the same time.
The hotel had a bellman in a long red jacket who took our bags and ushered us out of the chilled air into the lobby. Five minutes later we were standing in our room, a suite, with heavy antique furniture and a view of Central Park.
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be,” Alec called from the bathroom, where he was fixing his tie. “Why don’t you order room service? Get something I can lick off you when I get back.”
I grinned, making my way to the briefcase he’d set on the king-size bed. I ran my hand up the smooth wood of one of the four posts that made up the frame.
“Maybe you should pick up some rope while you’re out,” I said. “I always wondered what it would be like blindfolded and tied to a bed like this.”
He went quiet, and my smile widened when I heard him mutter a series of swear words and something about not being able to concentrate through his meeting.
His briefcase was open, and out of curiosity I lifted the edge of the slim gray folder within. Immediately I recognized the logo—a slim emerald leaf. Beneath, in small block print were the words GREEN FUSION.
The image spurred a memory from my first night working for Mr. Stein. When I’d been hiding in his office, I’d seen a set of blueprints on his desk for a plane engine. I pulled the folder open the rest of the way, finding the same documents here.
Beneath the folder was a black handgun.
“What are you doing?” Alec stood in the doorway, the light behind him darkening his features. His tie was in a perfect Windsor knot, his suit jacket lapels smooth over his chest. He strode over to me and snapped the briefcase shut.
“Nothing,” I said, taken aback by his obvious irritation. “I’m sorry, I . . .”
“Why were you looking at that?”
“Why do you need a gun for your meeting?”
“I always have it,” he snapped. “Answer the question.”
“Take it easy,” I told him, flipping my hair over my shoulder. “I’ve seen the blueprints before.”
His eye twitched. “I asked you what you’d seen. You said nothing.”
The first night we’d went out for burgers he’d asked me this. It had pissed me off then, and it pissed me off now.
“I didn’t remember until I saw the logo.”
“That’s convenient.”
My eyes widened. “Is it?”
We faced each other, too stubborn to break until I finally threw my hands up.
“Not that I care, but is this what your meeting is about?” I asked. “Green Fusion? What is it, some clean green alternative to a gas engine?”
He flinched.
A lot of our biggest clients are oil manufacturers, he had said. As long as planes need gas to fly, we’re in good shape.
If Force’s biggest clients were in the oil business, why was Mr. Stein looking at a Green Fusion engine? If his planes didn’t need gas—or at least as much gas—to fly, that would put him in a position to upset his existing patrons.
“Did you tell anyone about this?” Alec grabbed the briefcase, gaze cold.
“No.”
“You’re sure, Anna?”
“Yes, okay? I’m sure. I haven’t said a word.”
He shook his head as if he was disappointed. “Good. Keep it that way.”
With that he headed toward the door.
“That’s it?” I followed after him. “You’re just going to leave like that?”
“Stay here.” He didn’t even turn around as he strode out, shutting the door behind him.
For a full minute I stared at the brass doorknob. What had just happened? One second we’d been flirting, the next he was as cold as ice, taking off without even saying good-bye. This was not the same protective, dedicated man who’d insisted I come to New York. This Alec clearly had issues.
Stay here, he’d told me. What was I, his lapdog?
“To hell with that,” I said aloud. I grabbed my coat off the back of the desk chair where I’d left it, snagged my purse, and made for the elevator.
I decided to walk through Central Park. I wasn’t in the mood for fighting the crowds of Times Square, and besides, I needed to walk off some anger. It was chilly enough that I could see the breath in front of my face as I chugged down the paths that cut through the yellowed grass. Winter had stripped the trees of their leaves and left skeleton branches that revealed the bridges and statues down the way. It was beautiful and would have been a whole lot more romantic if I’d been here with Alec.
I still didn’t understand why he’d been so defensive, or what the big deal was about Green Fusion. Surely he knew I didn’t care, I wasn’t going to tell anyone about his business, and I certainly wasn’t going to do anything to hurt the company.
“I’m just the masseuse for Christ’s sake,” I said, scaring away some watchful squirrels.
My cell phone vibrated, and I fished it out.
“Hey, Amy.”
“Are you okay? D
errick just told me you think Melvin Herman is stalking you!”
I found the nearest park bench and told her what had happened with the chocolate and the little changes around my apartment.
“I’m probably just being paranoid,” I said. “My locks weren’t broken. No one’s been in my apartment but Alec and me.” At least, I hoped.
“Well, if I see him, I’ll kick his skinny ass,” she said. “And Randall’s on my schedule for tomorrow, so I’ll see what I can find out from him, too.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Now, are you seriously in New York?”
I snorted. “I am seriously in Central Park, right now.”
“Holy cow.”
I wanted to tell her about the private jet and the cold espresso, but I didn’t have the heart.
“Can I call you when I get back?” I asked. “Kind of busy here.” I hated lying to her.
“Sure.” She hesitated. “Be careful, all right?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’m okay, Alec’s looking into the chocolate thing.”
“I mean with him. Be careful with Alec. I’m glad you’re into him, but honestly Anna, you haven’t known him all that long. Taking a trip to New York is a big deal.”
“What happened to taking chances and not pushing him away?”
“That was before you decided to elope in New York.”
“We’re not getting married.” I forced a laugh, but she’d hit closer to the mark than I cared to admit. Sometimes I felt as if I knew Alec better than anyone. Sometimes I felt as if I didn’t know him at all.
*
It was afternoon by the time I made my way back to the hotel. My mood was lighter, thanks to some delicious kettle corn and hot chocolate I’d picked up at a cart in the park. I thanked the bellman and headed upstairs, only to find the door propped open and Alec pacing within, talking on his cell phone.
When he saw me, he said a quick good-bye and hung up. The sleeves of his white dress shirt had been rolled up past his elbows, the jacket and tie discarded on the chaise longue. The apprehension that tightened his body socked me with guilt.
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