by Jill Shalvis
But today he looked at her differently. With a good amount of hunger still, yes, but she had a feeling that look just might match her own. There was more though, there was—
“Mmm-mmm good,” Holly said over Katie’s shoulder, staring at Bryan and licking her chops.
Katie’s mood shattered. “What are you doing out here?”
“Tracking down a stubborn vice president who forgot to pick up his messages.” She smiled at Matt who was a plane length away. He had a stack of files in his hand, his glasses on his nose and his deep-in-work expression on his face, until he caught Holly’s smile.
Flustered, he smiled back and…dropped his files.
Katie stared at him. Why was it whenever she saw Holly, Matt wasn’t far behind? Or was it whenever she saw Matt, Holly wasn’t far behind?
Before she could digest this, a beefy trucker lumbered into the hangar.
“Delivery,” the man said gruffly, consulting his clipboard which had seen better days and had a sticker across the top of it that said Bite Me.
Holly gave the man the once-over as she walked toward him. “Sugar, don’t you guys usually deliver parts to the back of the hangar?”
“Um…yeah.” He swallowed hard, clearly rendered an idiot by Holly’s wide, welcoming smile. “I don’t have parts today, it’s a truckload of office supplies. Ordered by—” he referred to his clipboard “—Katie Wilkins.”
“A truckload?” Katie frowned. “But I only ordered the usual. Pencils, paper, stuff like that.” She’d been distracted lately, sure, but could she have been that distracted? She glanced at Bryan, felt her pulse race, and admitted the truth. “It couldn’t be more than a box or so,” she said with one last hopeful protest.
“Not according to the order slip, lady. You’ve got an entire truckload of paper here.”
Everyone looked out the front window, where the delivery truck had been parked. The back door opened with a loud clang and two more beefy men prepared to unload.
“I don’t need that much computer paper,” Katie protested.
“You ordered it, lady, not me. And it’s not computer paper, it’s toilet paper. A truckload of toilet paper.”
BY THE END of the day Katie had heard every single toilet paper joke she could take.
Needing…something, she waited until everyone had gone, then made her way to hangar two where the overnight clients had tied down their planes.
The hangar was huge, and since the walls were metal, every little sound echoed. Dark had long ago fallen so she should have been nervous, would have been nervous in the past, but for some reason tonight, she wasn’t.
She flipped on one low light and stepped inside to be immediately swamped by her senses. The hazy perceptions from the low light, the scent of aviation fuel, the chilly breeze that always raced through because of the high ceilings, she experienced them all.
If anyone could see her right now they’d wonder at her strange urge to come stare into the darkness at airplanes. But she didn’t care what anyone thought—a first for her. She simply wanted to please herself, and the heck with all the others.
Another first.
At least five silent planes greeted her, maybe more. She couldn’t see into the far stretches of the yawning hangar. They drew her, these sleek, fast aircraft. Strange, given it had been a plane that once upon a time had destroyed her entire life.
But irrational and terrifying as it was, she did indeed harbor a secret passion for airplanes. Bryan had seen that passion in her and that had terrified her too. He’d seen past her guard, had been able to read her so well when no one else ever had.
Scary stuff, indeed.
She realized she stood in front of Bryan’s plane, her hand on the metal like a lover’s touch as she was gazing up, wondering what it felt like to sit inside, what it felt like to be high in the sky, soaring wild and free without a thought or care.
“It takes both,” came a deep, familiar voice behind her, assuring her that she’d spoken out loud. “Thought and care.”
8
“SORRY,” Bryan murmured, looking anything but.
Katie had been so wrapped up in her thoughts she hadn’t heard him come up behind her.
His dark gaze settled on hers, full of a whole host of things that made her heart race. “I’d pay big bucks for whatever you’re thinking right now,” he said.
“Me? I’m just thinking…” What? That he was the most startlingly beautiful man she’d ever seen? Most definitely. That she was beginning to be sorry he wasn’t the type to settle down? Yep, that too. That she wished with a sudden shocking urge she could kiss him again, without the white beard and fake belly? Oh, yeah. “I’m just thinking it’s probably past time I get on home. I—”
Bryan laughed and moved even closer, his broad shoulders blocking out the one low light. “Just thinking about home, huh?”
Yeah. Home. Which had a bed. Which she could imagine Bryan in, the sheets twisted around his naked body. He would have a beautiful physique to match that beautiful face, she thought, and given his personality, and how he attacked life with full gusto, she could only imagine what a fabulous, giving, earthy, uninhibited lover he’d be.
He let out another low, sexy laugh. “You sure that’s all?”
“Yes.”
“The way you’re stroking my plane, Katie, makes me think you’re not telling the truth.”
With horror, she glanced down at her hand, which was indeed still moving over the side of the plane with slow, methodical, loving strokes. With a small, choked sound, she jerked her hand back, but Bryan took it in his and brought it up to his mouth.
“Tell me,” he whispered against her skin.
“M-my thoughts?”
He nodded, and nibbled at her knuckles, then soothed the spot with a soft, surprisingly tender, openmouthed kiss.
She let out a shaky breath, but it ended in an uncontainable moan when his tongue darted out and drew her finger into his mouth, which he slowly sucked while holding her gaze captive in his.
Her knees, which she’d firmly locked at his first touch, turned into jelly.
“Your thoughts,” he reminded her.
“Bryan, when you put your hands and mouth on me, I can’t think at all.”
She’d expected a flare of triumph at that, but he simply closed his eyes, slipped an arm around her waist and dropped his forehead to hers. “So honest,” he murmured. “So sweet. I want to taste you, Katie.”
Quickly losing touch with her rational side, she searched her brain for something to slow down the moment, to give her some breathing room. “You seem to feel that way right here a lot. I’ve seen you in action.”
“What?”
“Holly. Remember that? Her lips locked on yours? Not to mention her legs wrapped—”
“I remember.” He dropped his hand from her side. His eyes went curiously flat. “I didn’t kiss Holly.”
“No, she kissed you.”
“You trust me that much at least.”
“I understand there’s a difference between kissing and being kissed.”
“Do you?” he murmured. “I wonder.”
The sudden flicker of amusement in his gaze confused her.
“Come here,” he said abruptly, and shouldered open the plane. He tugged her along behind him, until they stood inside.
“I’m going to tell you something I wouldn’t admit to anyone else.” He lowered his voice as if he were parting with a state secret, his voice husky with mirth. “I’ve never kissed a woman here.” He still held her hand tightly, as if he thought she’d bolt at the first opportunity. “Never.”
“But you’ve been kissed by a woman here. Is that it?”
“As you said, there’s a big difference between the two.” He leaned back against the wall, put his hands down at his sides, open-palmed against the wall. He should have looked helpless and vulnerable in that position, but he looked about as helpless as a lion out for a hunt. He spread his legs a bit so he and she were the
same height, but other than that, he remained perfectly still, not making a move to touch her. “Come here,” he said again.
As odd as it seemed, it excited her, seeing all his strength so carefully restrained. “You…want to kiss me?”
“No, I want you to kiss me.”
Her heart nearly parted company with her chest. She managed a laugh, but he didn’t so much as crack a smile. His dark eyes were filled with the challenge.
Could she kiss him?
Oh, yes, she could, she most definitely could. Slowly she leaned closer, careful not to touch him with any part of her body, though she had no trouble detecting the sudden tension that seized him when she came within a breath of him.
Heat shimmered through her again at the sense of all his leashed power and passion.
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
She did, once, lightly brushing her lips over his. The jolt she felt at the connection shook her to her toes, but she wiped her face clean of expression and leaned back. “There.”
“Hmm,” he said with a lift of one shoulder.
“Hmm, what?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s something!” she insisted. “I kissed you, just like you asked.” Defiant, her body humming, she did it again, leaned forward and touched their mouths together, only this time she lingered for one second longer, unable to control herself. “See?” she asked a little breathlessly, noticing that his hands were now fisted tightly as if he’d had to hold back from reaching for her.
“What I see is that you’re holding back big time.” He pushed away from the wall, setting his hands on her shoulders and putting her in the same position he’d just vacated. “Now.”
Her stomach clenched. “Now what?”
“Now I’m going to kiss you.”
Panic skittered up Katie’s spine because she knew perfectly well she could resist one little kiss, even if her knees were still quaking from the last one, but resisting a big kiss, when she knew exactly how thrilling, how hot, how everything, one of Bryan’s kisses could be…well, he might as well ask her to jump into Niagara Falls without a life preserver. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” she said faintly.
His hands had rested on her shoulders. Slowly they slid down her arms to the very tips of her fingers, then back up again, up, up, up, until he cupped her face in his big, warm hands. “It’s just the difference between giving the kiss and getting it, remember?”
“Look, I realize you want to show me that Holly kissing you isn’t the same thing as you kissing her, but—”
“No. I want to show you that Holly kissing me isn’t the same thing as what we shared the night of the Christmas party, when we were kissing each other.”
“Oh,” she breathed, and though she held herself very still against the wall, just as he’d done, she could feel her entire body pulsating with anticipation.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered, his hands on her waist now as he gently drew her up against him. “Am I scaring you?”
“No! No, I’m just…” How to put words to what she was feeling inside when she didn’t even know herself? “I’m nervous,” she admitted.
“Don’t be.”
“Right.” But her voice still wavered with that shimmering, uncontrollable anticipation. “We’re just proving a point anyway.”
“Uh-huh. A point.” His voice was deep, husky, barely audible. Thrilling. His mouth hovered near hers, his breath soft and warm on her face.
She wanted to be kissed so badly she nearly met him halfway. Now, she thought, please, now, but still he just hovered, his gaze steady and intense on hers.
“Bryan…”
“Hmm?”
Do it! Kiss me!
“Yes, Katie?”
“Aren’t you going to…?”
“Don’t want to rush you,” he murmured.
“You’re not!”
“Because you’re still shaking,” he pointed out.
“I’m just ready,” she said. “Really ready.”
“Sure?”
“Yes!”
He came a fraction closer, so close she could feel the heat of his firm yet so soft lips, and she let out a little helpless sound of desire before she could stop herself.
“It’s just me,” he assured her, mistaking the sound for distress. “And you know me now, Katie, or you’re starting to. You know it’ll be good.”
Yes, she knew that. And yes, she knew she wanted this kiss.
But what she didn’t know was if she could trust him, really trust him, with her heart, with her needs, with her tender, new, burgeoning emotions.
His hands slid around her, then up and down her spine while, unable to keep herself entirely still as he’d done, her own hands moved over his shoulders to his neck,.
In the end, she lifted her mouth and met him halfway. The kiss started off slow and deep, and her toes curled as desire heated her from the inside out. She welcomed his tongue, and thrilled to his low moan when she opened to him. His grip on her tightened pleasurably, as if he couldn’t help himself, and the kiss exploded with sudden urgency.
Again her senses swamped her, this time with the heady scent of an aroused man, the almost overwhelming feel of being sandwiched between Bryan’s muscled weight and the even harder wall.
He lifted his head and stared down at her, his chest moving with each ragged breath, his eyes dark and so opaque she could see herself reflected there in the deep, heated depths. “There,” he said thickly.
“There…?”
A whisper of a smile crossed his face. “Yeah, there. I know I was trying to prove something, but damned if I can remember what it was. You’ve scrambled my brain.”
“I…really?”
“Most definitely.”
“Well then…maybe we could do it again. You know, just until we remember why we’re doing this.”
“Sounds good.” He bent his head.
She wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders, sank her fingers into his dark hair and hugged him even tighter to her, needing to be as close as she could possibly get. Incapable of holding still, she slid her hips to his. It embarrassed her how they undulated of their own free will, but she couldn’t seem to control herself.
At her movement, he made a low sound in the back of his throat and pressed her back against the wall, pinning her there with his body, freeing his hands so that he could slip open the buttons on her blouse. When the silky material parted, he looked down as he slowly slid his hands over her shoulders, taking the material with him. Her breasts were covered by a very plain white bra, but it was thin and her nipples had long ago hardened into tight, hard peaks, thrusting out, begging to be freed, to be touched, kissed.
At the sight of her he made that sound again, then again when he brought his face forward, nuzzling her bra aside. His mouth slid across the soft curve of her breast to a beaded nipple, and he sucked her hard into his mouth.
A buzzing sounded in her ears. Her head fell back against the wall with a loud thud and she gripped fistfuls of his hair to hold him to her. Pleasure was a hot wave that crashed over her from her still tingly lips to her curling toes to the aching spot between her legs.
Then he shifted to the other side and she nearly melted to the floor, would have if he hadn’t supported her with his arms. “Bryan,” she managed to gasp desperately. “I need…”
“I know.” He settled himself in the notch of her thighs, pressing a knee between them. The friction of his hard, powerful leg against the spot that was so hot and needy brought her one step closer to the edge, and she opened her eyes, shocked at how close to orgasm she was when he’d only kissed her, had barely yet touched her.
The buzzing she’d heard increased and from a haze of desire she saw Bryan jerk, then heard his soft, frustrated oath. “A plane. Katie, there’s a plane coming in.”
It wasn’t unheard of. Many mornings they’d open Wells Aviation to find one or more planes had landed after hours. Usually the pilots would call a taxi
from the payphone and find a hotel for the night.
But sometimes they would sleep in their aircraft.
An aircraft which would be landing right outside this hangar any second, if the sudden roar of the touchdown was any indication.
Bryan shoved his fingers into his hair, then let out a growl. “Look at you.” His thumb slid over her mouth, which was still wet. His gaze took in her rumpled state, her obvious confusion, and his frustration dimmed, to be replaced by a tenderness that had her blinking. “Come on, sweetheart.” And he reached out to fix her bra, which had the backs of his fingers brushing over her still aching nipples.
Another whimper escaped her before she could stop it and Bryan groaned. “Cover up,” he whispered, brushing a kiss over her damp temple.
Cover up? But her hips were still moving, her legs tight and shaking, and she needed—
“Katie,” he breathed softly, and he reached for her hands, putting them on her own opened blouse. “Why are you making me be the grown-up?” he asked with a sexy grimace. “Button up, I’ll go stall whoever it is.”
Button up. Yes, she could do that. But be grown up about it? She didn’t know. Fumbling with the chore, she drew a deep breath and wondered at the insanity of what had just happened.
It was supposed to have been just one kiss. Simple, right?
Only it’d been anything but, and she had no doubt, if that plane hadn’t just interrupted them, they might have made love.
What had come over her? Unable to believe it, she made her way out of the dim hangar. Actually, staggered was more like it, as if she’d just polished off a glass of wine. Drunk on lust, she thought, and let out a laugh that sounded hysterical to her sensitive ears.
At the door, she realized the night had grown cold, icy cold, which she hadn’t noticed since she’d been steaming up the air with that kiss.
Kisses, she corrected. Definitely plural kisses.
Bryan was talking to someone. She stepped closer, then was very sorry. Standing in front of her were two of their staff members, both part-time mechanics. With them was Holly, who grinned when Katie showed herself.