Airman to the Rescue

by Heatherly Bell

  More deep pockets. They seemed to be all over Silicon Valley.

  “So what do you think of Hunter so far?” Emily asked.

  “He looks just like Matt. It’s uncanny. But Hunter has a limited vocabulary.”

  “Funny, so does my grandson,” Cassie said.

  “I’m sure he’s pretty angry at his mom, not that he didn’t deserve to be punished,” Emily said.

  Cassie cleared her throat and raised a brow. “You think?”

  A small plane took off on the tarmac and Sarah listened to the chatter of the pilot communicating, announcing his position and plan. On a clear day like today there weren’t just chartered flights and flight lessons but private pilots who flew their own planes for fun. The airport didn’t have a traffic control tower, but they had the CPAF, a Common Party Advisory Frequency to communicate position and intention between all pilots taking off and landing. It wasn’t unusual to hear one pilot telling another one a smart-ass joke interspersed with their information, presumably after all passengers had been delivered. Sarah loved listening to them. Particularly Matt’s voice, which sounded smooth and sexy over the system.

  “I just wonder if Hunter is trying to get his parents back together by being so difficult.” Sarah threw this out, an idea which had continued to brew on its own all night long. Maybe all she wanted was for someone to tell her she was dead wrong. She waited.

  Emily frowned. “Yeah?”

  “Entirely possible,” Cassie said as she stuck a file in the cabinet.

  Not what Sarah wanted to hear. “He’s certainly got them working together for a common goal now.”

  “Only it sounds like it’s not so much together. It’s more like ‘your turn now.’ Not quite fair if you ask me. Not that anyone did.” This was from Cassie, who, if at all possible, was even more over the moon for Matt than Sarah.

  Of course, Sarah was not over the moon. She had a wild crush on the man. Nothing more.

  Matt’s voice came over the intercom.

  “Oh my goodness.” Cassie fanned herself, then threw a significant look in Sarah’s direction. “That man. I swear if I were only thirty—I mean twenty years younger... Well, I certainly wouldn’t waste any time.”

  Sarah let that comment slide off her back. He’d made it clear he didn’t want to hop into bed with her. And she wasn’t going to beg the man. Not yet, anyway.

  A few minutes later Matt and Jedd walked into the office laughing.

  “Hey, Sarah,” Jedd said. “Sorry about your contractor. You should have told me that was him on the TV.”

  “No worries.”

  She glanced at Matt, to find him looking in her direction, smiling. He still had his aviator shades on, so she couldn’t see what his eyes were telling her. Thank you? How are you? Did you have lunch yet? Let’s get naked? All right, that last one was wishful thinking.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute, Matt?” Sarah asked.

  “Sure.” He whipped off his shades and led her to an office suite. This one was his office. It was a little smaller than Stone’s and farther down the hall, but Matt was the only other pilot on staff with an office of his own.

  Matt shut the door. “I’m glad you wanted to talk. I wanted to thank you for putting up with Hunter.”

  “Matt, it’s been two days.” True, Hunter had been sarcastic in his comments and limited in his word choices, but so far she couldn’t say she disliked Hunter Conner. Not even a little bit.

  “Again. Thank you.”

  “I’ve been thinking. Maybe Hunter is misbehaving to...to try to get his parents’ attention.”

  “It’s working. I’ve never seen his mother so upset.”

  “Right. And now you’re both working together toward a common goal. Fixing Hunter. Keeping him out of trouble.”

  Matt nodded. “I can see that.”

  He wasn’t going to make this easy, was he? “I guess what I’m trying to say, Matt, is that I took some psychology courses after I started freelancing for the police department. And every child of divorce secretly wants their parents back together.”

  His eyes narrowed. “But Hunter isn’t exactly a child—”

  “Even so.”

  “Damn. I feel even worse for Hunter now. Because that’s never going to happen.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Joanne doesn’t love me and hey, I don’t love her. It’s not going to happen. But I think Hunter knows that. And would it really be such a great thing for him to see his parents together, barely tolerating each other? What do your psychology books have to say about that?”

  She didn’t remember. Probably wasn’t even covered in class. “I’d have to look that up.”

  “Look it up. I think Hunter would like it if his parents were happy. Or eventually he will, when he becomes human again, which I have it on good authority will happen in the next couple of years.”

  Sarah took a step toward Matt. She wanted to get a better look in his eyes. There was no other reason. Was he lying to protect her feelings? Telling her what she wanted to hear? What he thought she wanted to hear? His pupils were definitely dilated, not always easy to appreciate in a dark-eyed gaze, but Sarah reminded herself that dilated pupils were not always an indication of sexual desire. Pupils would also dilate in a somewhat dark room. She reached behind her and flipped the light switch on. His office had only one window and she couldn’t have his big pupils lying to her.

  He reached behind her and shut the light off again. Then he leaned in close. Much better indicator of sexual desire. Mystery solved. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t swallow.

  “What are you doing?” He had better not almost kiss her again because she couldn’t take that.

  His hand palmed the nape of her neck. “Getting ready to kiss you.”

  In the next moment, he did just that, pulling her toward him the rest of the way. His kiss was long, deep, with blazing heat that rocked her world. It felt as if his warmth would slice right through her. His kiss was rough and insistent, but also a little like taking a stroll on a summer day. As if he didn’t want to rush anything, but take his time and see the sights. Pick every flower and touch each soft petal. And funny, she began to feel the same way. Like maybe this was the place she’d like to stay, all day if she could, taking her time to taste and explore every inch of his beautiful mouth and tongue.

  She was breathless, but didn’t want the most incredible kiss of her life to stop anytime soon.

  When he finally broke off, it was to simply study her intently. His hand skimmed down her spine to rest on the small of her back. She watched him carefully, too, because something had changed. Whatever this thing was between them had shifted into something frighteningly...real.

  “Sorry,” Matt said, his thumb on her lower lip. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”

  “But—”

  She wanted to argue, but decided she wanted to kiss him again more than she wanted to debate with him, so she rose to her tiptoes and kissed him. Hard. He didn’t mind, clearly, and he tugged her even closer so that she could feel every inch of his big hard body. When his hand roamed under her blouse and pushed aside her bra to tweak her nipple, a soft moan tore from her lips.

  He became fascinated with the column of her neck, licking and teasing her with small and tender bites followed by open-mouth kisses. So she moved her neck to give him better access.

  Sarah thought she heard footsteps outside coming closer, but Matt had just sunk his teeth into her earlobe. The whole building could go up in flames all around her but she wouldn’t be the one to stop him. No. Not her. Not stopping.

  “Hey, Matt. You in there?” Stone’s voice called out. “McWilliams wants you.”

  Oh Lord. She pulled away. The last thing she wante
d was for Stone to walk in on them. Not like this. Matt didn’t answer, and he also didn’t stop touching and exploring. His talented hands were now squeezing her ass and his tongue was licking down the column of her neck.

  “Um...” Sarah’s voice trailed off. Some kind of word or thought came after that but damned if she could think of it right now.

  Stone knocked again and tried opening the door. Sarah startled, but the door was apparently locked.

  Matt had locked it.

  Oh boy.

  “Shhh,” Matt whispered near her ear. “Don’t worry, he’ll go away.”

  Sarah opened her mouth to disagree, but then Matt tugged on her earlobe and she forgot everything. Even words.

  “Ah, dammit,” Stone said. “Emily, you’re wrong. He’s not in his office. Someone find him.”

  Then there was precious silence. Ecstatic that Matt had the foresight to lock his door, and turned on beyond belief by that fact, Sarah pulled him toward his chair. He sank down in it and she straddled him, making fast work of untucking his white button-down. Her hands drifted up to roam the hard planes of his chest and down his back. Wasting no time, either, Matt pulled off her top. Sarah slapped a mental high-five with herself for having chosen the uncomfortable demi plunging bra this morning. It was red satin and possibly the sexiest thing she owned.

  Matt’s gaze said he agreed with the sexy part. “Damn, girl.”

  His teeth guided one bra strap down. When his mouth suckled one nipple, Sarah thought she would go out of her mind with lust. Her fingers dug into his back and she grinded into him.

  “Hey, Matt?” Came Emily’s soft voice. “I know you’re not in there, but when you get a chance we have a last-minute flight. Mr. McWilliams asked for you specifically. You know how he is.”

  Matt groaned and everything stopped. He cleared his throat. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Thanks, and also, I’m sorry,” Emily said, and then there was more silence.

  Sarah’s breathing pattern had been more or less shocked back into normalcy but she couldn’t say the same thing about Matt’s. Then again, her hand had somehow found its way just inside the waistband of his pants, which might have something to do with the problem. She slowly removed her hand and pressed her forehead to his.

  “Too bad you’re so popular.” Sarah climbed off his lap and put her top back on. “I should get back to work, too. This isn’t going to get me Employee of the Month status.”

  “Right.” Matt stood and started shoving his shirt back into his pants. Pants with an impressive bulge in them. “And you should probably stop staring. It’s only making it bigger.”

  “Sorry!” She forced her eyes away.

  “I’d like to say I’m sorry too, but I’d be lying.” Matt pulled her into his arms and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

  “Maybe I’ll stay in here for a few minutes after you leave and that way...” Her voice drifted off. What? Emily and Cassie would think Matt and Sarah had been in his office behind a locked door playing charades?

  His hand was on the doorknob. “Babe, we’re not fooling anyone. Least of all ourselves.” With that, he was out the door.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  MATT APPRECIATED A special request as much as any private pilot would, particularly since it meant more money for the chartered flight. Roger McWilliams was a regular flier with them, an altruistic and philanthropic businessman who actually did a lot of good for the community. It was a pleasure to fly him all over the country on most days.

  Except for today. Today he’d had Sarah half-naked and in his arms. He was done with shutting her down. Done with being sorry for feeling the way he did about her. All he had left to do was make one thing clear to her. Neither one of them were ever going to regret this thing between them.

  Stone had already filed the flight plan to Las Vegas and all Matt had to do was fly McWilliams and wait for him at the airport until his business was concluded. The way these things went, it was usually a two-hour wait so Matt figured he’d be back to Fortune around three o’clock at the latest.

  But at two o’clock, Matt received a phone call from McWilliams saying that the McWilliams Legacy Center meeting had run late. No problem. Tired of the slot machines and people watching, Matt phoned his father to see how the day with Hunter had progressed.

  “Everything okay over there?” Matt asked his father.

  “Super,” his father said. “Hunter is a pretty smart kid, you know? Figure it runs in the family on the male side.”

  Matt let that one slide. An insult both to his mother and Joanne. “What are you two doing?”

  “Taking apart my old Apple. Hunter called it a dinosaur.”

  “Remember what I said about letting him online.”

  “Sure, sure. But I think you and Joanne are going overboard. You can trust this kid. Believe me.”

  What had happened to the man Matt had grown up with? He’d grown as soft as a peach in November. “I need to respect Joanne’s wishes.”

  Matt hung up and paced the length of the airport once. Twice. Looked at his phone. Considered calling Sarah, but what he wanted to tell her had to be said in person. He’d never been one to examine his thoughts about a woman and get all caught up in the feels. But Sarah reminded him that at one time in his life he’d longed to trust someone again. He believed in love, but trust was the real challenge. It was different with Sarah. After all, she’d been his good friend first, at a time when he’d decided she was “hands off” both for him and any other bozo. He’d witnessed firsthand the small changes in her and he’d been a witness to how hard she’d tried.

  He glanced up from his phone to spy a woman obviously traveling alone, struggling with an infant carrier seat and too many bags. Fresh guilt poured into him again, the knowledge that this might have once been his child and his child’s mother. He hadn’t been there for either one of them.

  When the woman struggled toward the escalator leading to check-in, Matt stood up and walked over to help.

  “I’ll carry this for you,” he said, grabbing all her bags.

  “Thank you!” She gave him a huge smile and stepped onto the escalator, carrying the baby seat with both hands. “You so rarely meet a real gentleman.”

  Yeah, that was him. An officer and a gentleman. He’d fooled most people, though he might have not fooled Hunter or Joanne. Maybe they could see the real him. The man who’d run from his child instead of toward him. He helped the woman get to baggage check-in and had to accept another big smile and thanks. Even a hug.

  What he’d done to help the woman was such a small part of a father’s role. The hard work day in and day out was what being a father was about. It was about much more than financial support and he realized it now. But he hadn’t been around for Hunter, except as a part-time father. Clearly, Hunter resented the hell out of him. Now they’d been thrown together and Matt had a chance to make things right.

  But to further complicate his life, a certain green-eyed brunette was slowly turning him inside out. Nothing about them was simple, not like he wanted it to be.

  She was still not a good idea for him, but one thing was abundantly clear to him now. Everything felt easy with her. Familiar. Comfortable. And this scared the crap out of him. Sarah had no room in her life for him or his teenage son.

  So much had changed since the night he’d first met her at the Airborne Bar & Grill. She’d worn a black all-business pantsuit to a bar in which mostly Air Force guys hung out. Her hair up in a tight bun and wearing black-rimmed glasses instead of the contacts she wore more often now, she’d looked like his hot librarian fantasies come to life. He’d taken one look at her and decided if she was game, then hell’s bells, he was game, too. Anywhere, anytime. Then she’d introduced herself as Stone’s sister.

  Game changer.

  That eveni
ng he’d crossed her off his one-night fantasies list. They’d become good friends as he tried to ignore the spark between them. Had tried to squelch it, beat it down and snuff it out. There was no more ignoring it now, not while she kept walking around, sharing oxygen with him and looking like the woman who would headline all his most erotic fantasies.

  Matt pulled out his phone and played solitaire. Just because he had a suspicious nature at heart, he signed on to Twitter and looked up Joanne’s boyfriend. Seemed that the photo had been taken down at least. Maybe the whole thing would calm down soon enough. Kids today had it rough, Matt had to admit. There was a camera or device everywhere at the ready to document their sheer teenage stupidity. He looked at his watch. Now he would be late to pick Hunter up, so he dialed him on the throwaway flip phone he’d bought him. “Hey, I’m running late. Wanted to let you know.”

  “Where are you?”

  Hunter sounded frustrated, and Matt got that. But seriously, the man Hunter was dealing with today was a damned pussycat compared to the man who had raised Matt.

  “Las Vegas, waiting for a client.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “Okay.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Sucks.”

  Would be nice if the kid had at least one other word in his arsenal. “Talk soon.”

  But it wasn’t until an hour later that McWilliams finally finished with his meeting. “Wish you guys took tips. You deserve it.”

  Matt wouldn’t argue. He understood most commercial pilots had to handle layovers, but the charter company didn’t usually do this kind of thing. It was far too expensive for most customers.

  “Don’t worry. The bill will reflect my time.”

  By the time they arrived at the airport back in Fortune, only Stone and Emily were left and the two of them were only waiting for him to close up shop.

  “Long delay, huh?” Stone asked. “I know you hate that.”