Sinead’s phone buzzed in her pocket as she gulped down the last of her latte. She guessed it was the pre-flight clearance alert. Her stomach contracted when she read the name on her phone’s screen. Gabriel. He had her phone number. Sure, she had it written on her luggage tag and it was on the hotel register. Maybe this meant he wanted to keep in touch? Her heart fluttered a little at the idea.
Irish, come to the frequent flyer lounge. Need to see you before we fly out. G
She’d already been second-guessing herself all over the place and she didn’t need him to ask twice. Stilling her shaking hands with an effort, she managed to text back a quick, OK. The fluttery wings in her chest took flight again. Why did she think she’d be able to leave without saying goodbye to him? She owed him that much.
Standing, then tripping over her own high heels as she lurched forward, she gathered up her makeup and her wheelie bag. Forget cool, calm and collected. She rushed to meet him. She only needed to hold it together long enough to properly kiss him goodbye. She’d hold on to their kiss when he was gone and she was drowning in the chocolate abyss.
She ran down the concourse pulling her bag behind her, nearly colliding with passengers staring at the departures boards.
Move it, get out of my way. Emergency goodbye kiss pending!
Skidding in her heels, she rounded the corner of the lounge.
There he was, his back to her as he stood by the windows watching the dismal weather. The outline of his broad shoulders in his business suit, slim hips, strong thighs and long legs, slightly parted, made her want to whimper and wrap herself around him. But she was strong. She stopped a few paces away.
She panted his name. “Gabriel.”
He faced her, blue eyes sparkling and crinkling up at the corners. So ridiculously handsome.
“Irish, what were you were doing running off?” His sly smile was everything cheeky and delicious.
“I had to get going. No need to hang around for soppy goodbyes, right?” She could have smacked herself in the head for the sarcasm in her voice.
His expression turned serious, his trademark frown was back. “Don’t. We had a good time, didn’t we?”
“A good time. Sure. But you don’t want to see me anymore. You made it crystal clear last night. So what’s to talk about?”
“I think … I spoke too soon. I like you, more than any woman I’ve ever known. We could meet up again in London, if you like?”
A thud in her chest meant her heart liked the idea. Only, her head was shaking. “That’s it? A maybe? Sorry, but a half-arsed hook-up isn’t enough for me.”
His face crumpled.
Oh, God. It hurt her insides.
She hesitated, then inched towards him, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other. She needed a goodbye kiss. For closure.
“Goodbye, Gabriel.” She leaned in and placed a feather-light kiss on his surprisingly soft lips. She wanted more. But it couldn’t happen.
He grabbed her waist and hauled her into his body. She gasped, but then his lips crashed down onto hers, shocking her into kiss-powered submission.
Delicious. Devastating. Minty fresh.
She opened her mouth to speak, to protest or ask for more, she wasn’t sure. Only a squeak escaped when Gabriel circled his tongue around hers. He pressed himself into her, chest to hips, his hardness obvious beneath his clothes. The tips of her breasts peaked and the burn of arousal fired in her belly again. It would be so easy to let it get out of control.
Then he pulled back and broke his hold on her.
“Remember that kiss. You have my number if you change your mind.”
His lips were parted, his angel’s face marred by an angry scowl. She didn’t want it to be her last memory of him, but he brushed against her, then stormed away. Gone.
Sinead stood with her mouth hanging open. Reeling from his kiss. She should call him, make him talk to her, but she was frozen in place. Her legs were made of stone and wouldn’t shift. The tears she’d pushed back earlier rolled freely down her cheeks now.
Makeup ruined.
It was the least of her worries but the stupid thought was apparently rising to the top of her mind. Rushing off to the ladies bathroom, she concentrated on repairing the damage, at least on the outside.
Gabriel clenched his jaw so hard he’d probably break a molar. His feet echoed on the tiled floor of the lounge as he stomped away from Sinead. He couldn’t get into it with her now, not in public.
She seemed determined to push him away and never see him again, making him so angry, red haze blurred his vision. He wasn’t angry at her though. It was all on him. A guy like him wasn’t made for these types of conversations. He had no idea how to tell her what he was feeling, so he’d show her. But it would only work if he could get her alone.
Sinead was a lingering dream he couldn’t shake from his head. Her taste was still on his lips, like wild honey. He’d never met a woman who’d shaken him up so much. Damn. He wanted her again. His body definitely hadn’t caught on to the fact she was out of his life.
He needed a plan. Plans and strategies were things he understood. Marching up to the first-class counter, he prepared for battle with the airline, or whoever tried to get in his way.
First: he’d get to London and deal with the new office set-up. Judging by emails from Ryan and Martha, everything was under control. He had to keep it that way. Next: he’d find Sinead, talk to her and show her he meant business. If necessary, he’d camp outside the Mermaid Airlines lounge at Heathrow until he found her.
As plans went, it was pretty basic. Actually, he realised his priorities were in the wrong order. Sinead came first. He’d get to London and then talk to her again. Really talk. Put himself on the line. Then he’d take her somewhere private and kiss her like crazy, get her motor running. Hopefully. He needed a slightly earlier flight, but he wouldn’t gatecrash the one Sinead was scheduled to work. He didn’t want to scare her off.
Clenching his fists by his sides, he looked up to find a startled-looking redhead at the first-class counter, staring at him. The same woman he’d told off a couple of days ago. He’d apologise and play nice. He needed practice in convincing a woman to like him, if not love him. There was a scary thought. He shook his head. Best not to think too far ahead, or shoot for the impossible.
He cleared his throat. “Hello again. I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you the other day. I was under a lot of stress, but it’s not an excuse. I want today to be a much better day. The best. And it all starts with you. If you’ll help me,” he said.
The woman’s expression softened and Gabriel knew. Sinead had already changed him for the better.
CHAPTER EIGHT
London, UK
Sinead was bone-tired, her feet aching with blisters and shooting pain in her Achilles. She slipped off her high heels while waiting for a taxi. The London night air was frosty seeing as it was past midnight. Her stocking-clad feet were like ice blocks on the concrete pavement, but her feet thanked her for the opportunity to stretch out flat.
Exactly what the rest of her would do at home. She’d stretch out, lie like the dead on her own bed. So tired.
After the thirteen-hour flight from Singapore she was back to being a flight attendant zombie, going through the motions to exist but unaware of her surroundings. Incapable of higher-order reasoning. She hadn’t eaten anyone’s brains yet, but if one more passenger had asked her an inane question about typhoons or travel insurance, she might have gnawed someone’s face off.
She was finally at the front of the queue at the taxi rank. A pudgy security man she vaguely knew chatted to her about the weather, of all things. She’d had enough weather to last quite some time.
The security man took her bag for her and wheeled it to the front of the line. She watched the black cabs align themselves like a row of shiny beetles. Then she pictured her flat in an old council house and the dreariness hit her full-force. Her sigh must have been world-weary.
&nbs
p; “Are you all right?” The security man watched her, concern etched on his forehead.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s been a rough couple of days.” Her lips twitched and she attempted a happy face. She’d been thinking of Gabriel all through her long flight. She missed him already.
She pulled her wheelie bag towards the black cab waiting at the front of the queue. Her name echoed in the distance. Was she hallucinating? She heard it again. The deep voice, so commanding and infuriatingly sexy, it could only be one man. The last man on earth she wanted to see. God, she was lying to herself. As much as she’d tried to push him away, she wanted to see him. She could stare at him for hours.
She closed her eyes and breathed, willing him to be a figment of her imagination. If he was really there, he was likely to do something mad like kiss her into blind, shaking submission. Then turn tail and leave again.
She might do something equally mad, which scared her. Like telling him that she loved him after two fecking days. That kind of mad.
“Sinead!”
His voice was hoarse from a combination of a lack of sleep and a worse type of exhaustion. He’d been run over by a spunky Irish steamroller named Sinead and crushed into the dust. But he was up and running again.
Tania from the airline had come through, organising for him to board a charter flight with some other first-class passengers. He’d made it to London only a few minutes behind Sinead. He’d send Tania some hotel vouchers or something as a thank you.
She was at the front of the taxi queue. He was sure it was her, although he could only see her from behind. Truth be told, he’d be able to identify her perfect arse in a line-up from farther away.
He ran to catch her, his feet pounded the footpath with thuds of an elephant. He huffed out a breath, a cloud of fog billowing. The scent of rain hung in the air, or was it snow? Freezing London weather, exactly what he needed.
Sinead was a mirage hovering out of reach on the edge of his vision. Hopefully she wouldn’t disappear like a puff of fog. Her spine straightened and she held herself perfectly still. She seemed to have heard him, but wouldn’t look at him. His feet kept up the pounding until he caught her with a touch on the shoulder. Her muscles tensed under his hand.
“I found you. Don’t run off again.” He didn’t like the pleading edge to his voice but his emotions were out of control around her.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “If I remember, you’re the one who kissed me and stormed off in a huff.”
The security guard snorted in amusement.
Gabriel ignored it, speaking close to her ear. “Only after you said goodbye. It’s not what I want.”
She shivered and took a step back. “What the hell do you want? Make up your bleeding mind.”
“Share a cab with me? Hear me out.”
Her piercing glare was sharp enough to cut glass.
“Please.”
Air leaked from Sinead as her whole body deflated. He’d begun stroking her back. Soon he could be massaging her, minus her uniform and short black overcoat. If he was lucky.
“All right. Get in the cab.” She spat out the words. He guessed asking nicely had softened her up, but she was still pissed-off.
Opening the door for her, he let her slide into the back of the cab, while the driver dealt with their bags. Gabriel slid in beside Sinead. A tantalising flash of the top of her stockings caught his eye as her skirt rode up. How was he supposed to concentrate on talking to her with that view?
She shuffled back into her seat and smoothed down her skirt, then hit him with a smouldering glare. Yeah, okay. He’d better behave himself or she’d send him packing again.
The cabbie got into the driver’s seat and looked at them through the glass partition, apparently picking Sinead as the person to ask for orders.
“Where to?” The cabbie tipped his chin at Sinead.
“Roehampton.” She gave a few directions.
“Right you are.” The cabbie switched his attention to the road, starting the engine with a grumble and pulling into the light traffic.
Gabriel at least knew vaguely where she lived now, on London’s fringe, out towards Wimbledon.
Sinead faced him and stared him down across the back seat, crossing her arms under those gorgeous breasts, doing interesting things to her cleavage. Mighty distracting. He choked on a dry mouth, unable to swallow.
“So, talk.” Her words were sharp and he shrank back like a small boy in trouble with his favourite teacher. Gabriel’s face heated like a naughty schoolboy. Oh man. He needed to stop where the fantasy scenario was headed, before he asked Sinead to spank him.
“Sinead, I’m sorry about how we left things this morning at the airport. But I’m especially sorry you felt like you needed to run away.”
He shot a glance through the barrier at the driver, who seemed engrossed in watching the road. Still, the guy was probably listening to everything they said.
“Gabriel, have you gone shy? This is new.” Her teasing expression and twinkling eyes became more serious, her eyes narrowing.
“You want me to talk, then you need to talk too,” he said.
She nodded. “Fair enough. I won’t lie to you Gabriel. You hurt me. I already feel more for you than I would for a casual fling. I wasn’t prepared for you to break my heart. So I left, before you had a chance to do it.”
Gabriel’s own heart jumped as he heard the truth behind her words. He reached out to her, wanting to hold her hand in his. Wanting any sort of contact.
She backed away and raised a hand in warning.
He sighed and shook his head. “I understand and I’m sorry. But you didn’t give me a chance to talk to you this morning. I want to keep seeing you, for real. I just realised … you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. Or you could be, if we give it a chance. It’s a big decision for me. I’ve only known you a couple of days and you’ve shaken me. You’re the only woman I’ve ever met who’s made me want more.”
He didn’t know if he’d said enough to convince her to give him a chance. Damn it. He wished he’d paid more attention to all the stories his Mum told him years ago about how his father had romanced her. Before she’d found out he was a two-timing bastard. The stories were too painful to listen to and he’d blocked them out.
Sinead glanced at him, then her eyes slipped down to her hands, now crossed in her lap. “I want to believe you. There was something in your eyes last night. But—”
He didn’t like the sound of the “but”. There was never good news to follow when a woman said it that way.
“But?”
“But I think I need to lay down a couple of ground rules.” She grinned. “Yes, some rules to keep you honest.” Sinead gazed at him and seemed to dare him to respond.
She made him nervous, but she was so gorgeous at the same time, he wanted to pin her down in the back of the cab and show her who was boss. If she’d let him. God, she had him confused.
He cleared his throat. “Rules?”
“Yes. Rule number one will be no touching. I think we got a bit ahead of ourselves in Singapore. We should take it slow for a while.”
“No touching? Not even …”
He didn’t finish the sentence but his gaze tracked to her mouth, then before he could stop himself, it dropped to her sensational breasts, straining against the white shirt she wore under her unbuttoned coat.
Sinead’s gasp woke him from his hazy fog of arousal. He looked up to find her shaking her head. But the glint of fire in her eyes said she enjoyed his attention.
“Are you sure, Irish? Because the things I want to do to you … Singapore was only a taste.” How the hell did she expect him to hit the brakes now, when he knew how amazing they were together?
Her slow exhalation of breath gave him confidence. She wanted him. He’d play along with her crazy rules and wait it out.
“I’m sure. Rule number two is, you will treat me with respect and like a lady at all times. Non-negotia
ble.”
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to negotiate on that one.” He studied her face, her lips set in a straight line. Had he not treated her with respect? His Mum had raised him to be a better man than that. He’d have to lift his game. “Can I ask, how long will these rules have to remain in place? Number one in particular. I can be patient when I’m going after something I want, but I won’t wait indefinitely.”
Her lips quirked up at the corners. “We’ll play it by ear, but I’d say at least a month.”
“A month? You really are trying to kill me.”
He gripped the edge of the cab’s back seat, forcing himself to do anything but reach over and grab her. And kiss the words right out of her smart, cherry red mouth.
Sinead pressed her lips together to keep from giggling. Any anger towards Gabriel had long since dissolved in the warmth spreading through her body. He was trying to offer her something, trying to make her happy. Her gaze raked over him. He was clenching his jaw so hard he looked like he might either pass out or hit something. She settled back against the back seat of the cab and squeezed her thighs together, enjoying the throb between her legs.
Seeing Gabriel so obviously struggling for control when he wanted to touch her did good things for her self-esteem. Yes, he wanted her all right. Only it wasn’t enough to pin her hopes for a relationship on physical attraction. She’d had it once before. A long time ago. She’d still never found a real connection with any man.
She wasn’t entirely sure she was doing the right thing though. A month? What had made her come out with such a thing? She wasn’t sure she could wait so long, he was so beautiful and manly with a thinly veiled temper.
But she had her reasons for slowing things down. She wanted to keep seeing him, to get to know him properly without clinging onto him for dear life. There was more to Gabriel Anderson and she wanted him to show her what he usually kept hidden from the world. And she wanted him to be invested in a relationship with her from the outset.
“Sinead? Are there any more rules you’re laying down?”
“That’s it, for now. But I reserve the right to invent new rules, if and when required.”
Girl on a Plane Page 12