by Mika Lane
“They do. But this one I kind of like. There’s something about him.”
What was it, though?
“Wheee! Tell me.”
Gaia provided a rundown of her session with Mr. H, strategically omitting certain details.
“Are you going?” Tabitha asked.
“He gave me his number. I like that he didn’t push when he saw I was hesitant. I appreciate that.” She looked up at her sister. “Tab, he was just magical. I thought I was going to pass out a couple times, the way he looked at me.”
“Call the guy! What do you have to lose?”
Gaia finished the last of her prosecco. “It’s just that I feel somehow compelled to reserve my heart for Dan. Like if I let someone else in, I’m letting him down. It’s weird, I know. But it feels disloyal.”
“Look,” Tabitha said, “I get that. Those thoughts keep you closer to Dan and all that you two had together. But getting involved with someone else does not need to take that away.”
Gaia took a deep, tormented breath. No one had ever told her life could be so shitty.
But no one had ever told her it could be perfect, either.
Chapter 5
Glasses or contacts?
Shit, was that that the worst thing she had to worry about right now?
Gaia dashed around her bedroom, making last minute adjustments to her “casual” look, which actually took a hell of a lot more work than anyone would ever know—jeans tucked into high-heeled boots, a tank, and a cashmere sweater. Flipping back her thick mane of hair, she opted for her groovy new Warby Parker specs over contacts. Mr. H—or Luke Hall—would be arriving any moment.
Gaia rushed around the hillside house where she lived with her sister, straightening already-straight throw pillows, and tidying already-tidy magazines. Taking a deep breath, she looked out the bay windows across the San Francisco Bay to the city.
Her first date since…just say it. Dan.
Stepping closer to the window, she watched for Luke’s arrival on the narrow winding street below her house.
Her pulse raced, and she went for a big glass of water to try to cool down. She’d let a couple weeks pass since Mr. H—oops, Luke—had given her his business card. Try as she did, she just could not get him out of her thoughts. It wasn’t until her sister had pointed out the obvious that she’d finally taken action.
“Would Dan want you living like this?” Tabitha had asked.
That was all she had needed to hear. No, Dan would not want her living like this.
As Gaia leaned her forehead against the cool glass, she spotted a silver-grey Tesla climbing to her house.
Okay. Here we go…
Minutes later, the doorbell rang. Too bad Tabitha had left for Kiki’s fifteen minutes earlier. She wouldn’t have minded getting her take on the guy. But that could wait until later.
She pulled the front door open, and her heart stopped. Shit. She’d forgotten how freaking beautiful he was, with the coal-black eyes and that damn chin dimple. There he stood in a simple, white, V-neck T-shirt, perfectly-faded blue jeans, and red, Converse hi-tops that said I don’t take life too seriously. Unassuming. Yet powerful.
“May I come in?” he asked after a minute of her staring.
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. I’ve forgotten my manners.” She jumped aside to let him in, her eyes following his fluid movements—and magnificent ass—as he headed straight for the windows and the outline of the city in the distance.
She joined him in his view. His T-shirt smelled of fresh laundry detergent.
“Check this out,” he said, scanning the horizon.
“Isn’t it amazing? We love it here.”
He turned to face her. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“My sister and I. She moved in with me after—” She bit her lip.
Oh shit. Too soon for that.
“After what?”
“After…she opened her shop in San Francisco. She wanted to lower her living expenses.”
“Smart.” He turned back to the window. “Quite a view.”
“I know, isn’t San Francisco amazing from here?”
“I didn’t mean that view. Well, not entirely.”
“Sorry?”
He reached out to touch her hair. “I mean you, Gaia.”
“O—oh,” she stammered. “Thank you.”
She darted to the kitchen before he could witness the heat blazing across her face. Pulling down two wine glasses, she asked, “Care for a glass of red? I just received a shipment from my favorite winery.”
Without waiting for an answer, she fished in a drawer for a wine opener. She only turned back to him when she was confident her blush had subsided.
“That sounds great, thanks. Can I help?” he asked from the living room.
“No, I got it,” she said, bending to set the bottle and glasses on the coffee table. She motioned him to join her.
He plopped down on the cushy white sofa facing the window. “Wow, the view is great even from here.”
She steadied her shaking hands, but the wine opener slipped from her fingers, anyway.
Shit, did he see that?
“Here, let me do it,” he said, taking them from her. “My father always told me this was the job of the gentleman.”
“But what if there’s no guy around to open our wine for us?” Gaia asked with incredulity.
He laughed. “Then I guess you are shit out of luck.” She took a glass from him and he filled his own.“But lucky for you, that’s not a problem today.” He clinked his glass against hers.
“Oh, man, this is nice,” he said, after a sip. “Hey, I like your eyeglasses.” He reached to push a strand of hair off her face, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Thank you. They’re new.”
“They give you a sort of sexy librarian vibe.”
Gaia threw her head back and laughed. His chill demeanor, not to mention the few sips of wine, had calmed her nerves. Well, except for the ones around her sex. Those were firing like they were on a battlefield, and leaving her more than a little blazing down below.
Mojo is back in the house!
Right? Please?
She took a deep breath. “So what is it you do, Luke?”
He leaned forward and whispered.“I’m kind of an inventor.”
“Really? Inventor of what?”
“I develop technologies for video games.”
“Oh. Cool.” But was that cool? She hadn’t played a video game since The Sims, when she was in elementary school.
He looked around the living room. “It doesn’t look like you’re a gamer.”
“Yeah. Busted. I never got into them.”
“What do you do in your free time?” he asked.
“I help my sister in her shop. I to cook. I jog for exercise.”
“You don’t run up this huge hill right there, do you?” He pointed out the window.
“God, no. I walk down, jog along the waterfront, and then walk back up. It’s a great workout.”
As the wine flowed, she was amazed at how comfortable he made her. He seemed so…normal. Good normal.
Taking a look at her watch, she asked, “What time do we need to leave?”
“Our flight’s in about an hour. We’d better get going.” He carried the wine glasses to the kitchen.
“Flight?”
“Yup.” He was beaming as he returned to the living room.
“What? Do I need to pack anything? Where are we going?”
He extended his hand to help her from the sofa and pulled her to him. Their lips met in a soft, exploring kiss, neither tentative, nor too aggressive, which she was grateful for. Even though the misfortune that had become her life was never far from her thoughts, the kiss felt good. It felt right.
He pulled back and took her hand. “You do not need to pack anything. We’ll be back late tonight.”
“Are you kidding?” Should she be scared? Or exhilarated?
“I’m not kidding. Grab your things.”
“Wait a minute. I don’t really even know you, and you think I’m flying somewhere with you?”
He ran his hand through his hair. Seems it hadn’t occurred to him that she might have an objection.
“All I can tell ya is that I’m a nice guy.” They stared at each other, like it was a showdown.
His face brightened. “Here…” he reached for his wallet and pulled out his license. “Take a picture of this with your phone and send it to your sister so she has my info.”
She studied him for a sec, taking his license and turning it over in her hand.
Then she smiled. “No, that’s okay. I was really just kidding.”
“No, you weren’t,” he said with a laugh, tucking it back in his wallet.
“Okay, you’re right. I was partially kidding.”
Leading her to the front door, he stopped long enough for her to gather her bag and keys, and to lock up.
“You’ll see. It will be a blast.”
Luke’s Tesla sped down Highway 101 toward San Francisco International Airport. Gaia leaned back in her leather seat and enjoyed the sunset to her left, rapidly sinking behind San Bruno Mountain. They exited at a sign that read “Executive Airport.”
“Why are we going to the Executive Airport?”
Luke steered the car into a garage. “That’s where our private plane is.”
Gaia’s eyes widened. “We’re flying private?”
“Yes, ma’am. We are.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“You excited?”
She hopped out of the car the moment it stopped and jumped up and down.
“Excited? Hell, yeah!” It was high time for an adventure—it’d been way too long.
They headed toward a hangar full of small planes. Well, they were small compared to the huge commercial jets Gaia had only ever been on.
“How do you know which is ours?” she asked. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, an official-looking woman emerged from a glassed-in office, waving at them with one hand, a clipboard in the other.
“Mr. Hall, welcome.” She hustled toward them in sensible flat shoes.
“Sally, this is my friend, Gaia.”
Sally smiled and extended her hand.
He knows the name of someone at SFO’s private airport? Who the hell is this guy?
“Right this way,” Sally said. “Your pilot is waiting.”
Gaia couldn’t stop smiling as Luke held out a hand to her.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
Once inside the little jet, they settled into comfy club chairs facing each other over a coffee table. The pilot came out to say hello and pointed them toward a refrigerator where they could grab beverages.
“What would you like?” Luke asked, rifling through the small fridge before takeoff. “Looks like they have sodas, water, beer. We could probably mix some drinks, too, if we wanted.”
“What are you having?”
“I think I will grab myself a beer.”
“Then I’ll have a beer, too. I haven’t had one in ages.”
Luke popped off the bottle caps and handed one to Gaia. “Cheers.”
They clinked their beer bottles together, buckled up, and leaned back in their chairs for takeoff. When they were in the air, the pressure of the ascent having eased, Gaia set to work wearing him down. “So now are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Why don’t you tell me your best guess.” Damn that devilish smile.
She took a swig of her cold brew just as the pilot announced the skies were clear and that they’d land in approximately one hour.
“Okay,” she crowed. “That was a big hint. I knew we couldn’t be going too far because you didn’t have me pack anything. So now I know it’s within an hour’s flight.”
“That should narrow it down for you.”
“Absolutely. So, we could be going to Reno.” She studied him, pre-evening jitters all but gone.
He shook his head, a huge grin plastered across his face. He was clearly enjoying himself.
“Santa Barbara?”
“Nope.”
“San Diego?”
“No, ma’am.”
“All right. My last guess is LA.”
“And your last guess is…correct.”
She slammed her fist on the armrest. “Ha! I love LA. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to the Lakers game. Courtside seats, baby.”
She shrieked. “I love basketball. Oh my god, this is awesome!”
“I’m pretty excited. And the seats will be killer.”
“Thank you for inviting me. This is such a treat.”
“Thank you for joining me. It’s a treat for me, too.”
That throbbing between her thighs made itself known again.
Once they’d reached cruising altitude and the pilot announced they could get up and move around, Gaia shot for the window. The ground grew black as they left the Bay Area to fly over the sparsely populated Central Coast. It wouldn’t light up again, at least not substantially, until they neared Santa Barbara and then LA. Anything that had been on her mind, from Dan to Kiki’s was literally thousands of miles below her.
She grabbed a couple more beers. As she brought a fresh one to Luke, he took both from her and set them in the lounge chairs’ cup holders. Taking her by the hand, he led her toward a closed door at the back of the plane.
They entered what appeared to be a small meeting room with an oval conference table in the center and several leather chairs around it.
So private planes have conference rooms. Who knew?
At one end of the room was a white board and at the other a projection screen. A credenza held a glass-fronted fridge full of the same beverages as the one up front.
As soon as the door clicked behind them, Gaia turned to face Luke. In their close proximity, his breath was warm and peppermint-y. They drew nearer and their lips met, brushing, and retreating before they dove into more intensely experiencing each other. Gaia’s legs shook, so intense was her attraction to him.
“Are you trying to torture me?” he whispered, as she pulled away.
“Maybe,” she whispered back, removing her glasses. She wet her lips with a teasing swipe of her tongue.
His hand cupped the back of her head, gripping a fistful of her thick hair. They returned to their kiss.
He lifted his head and led her to the table. “Climb up.”
“On the table? Okay.” She started to lift her butt to the edge.
“No. Kneel. On all fours.” His voice had gotten lower, almost gravelly.
“Oh.” She turned and placed one knee on the table, followed by her hands, and then her other knee. Once on all fours, she twisted around to see Luke. His eyes were heavy-lidded and hot. “Like this?” she asked, wagging her backside and humming with pleasure.
“Yeah. Exactly like that. Now, legs closed.”
Her boot heels clicked as she drew her knees together. Her pulse raced at the inability to see what was going on behind her.
“Arch your back. Stick your ass up. Higher.”
His hands ran over her blue jean-covered bottom as she complied with his demands. He stroked at first, and then there was a loud whack. She heard the sound before the pain registered. The burn built to a crescendo, and she squeezed her eyes shut, cringing in anticipation of the next one. He caressed the other cheek. Then whack.
She gasped. “Oh, god,” she said, squirming to find relief for her burning flesh. “It hurts. But it feels good,” she added in a whisper.
“I know,” he said in a barely audible voice. “Now open your pants.”
She righted herself on her knees, ass still stinging, and unzipped her jeans. The urge to run her fingers over her pulsating sex was strong, but she resisted in order to see where he was going with their game.
“Now, lower your jeans to your thighs.”
Her jeans slid over her butt, leaving a lacy thong panty in place. Sti
ll upright, she parted her knees just enough to make room for the bulky fabric.
He shoved the denim down.“I told you to keep your legs closed.”
The plane made a gentle bank to the right. She swayed to keep her balance as she pulled her knees back together.
“Bend over again.”
At that moment, a dog in heat would not have been as turned on. A private plane, a gorgeous man taking control, her privates on display for his pleasure—what was not to like? Her hands fell back on the table, the dampness in her sex trickling onto her inner thighs. Could he smell her creamy scent?
His hands wandered over her bare ass, pink from the smacking. “So pretty,” he murmured. “So fucking pretty…”
Hips undulating, she waved her bottom in his face. “You like my ass?” she whispered.
“Yeah, baby. It’s sweet.” He moved his face to her heated flesh and brushed his lips across it, offering cooling relief. He put his hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her down until her cheek rested on the table. Aside from her thong covering but a thin sliver of her privates, she was completely and deliciously exposed.
His fingers ran from the top of her ass, along the thong that filled her cleft, until he landed on her wet mound. From outside the thin silk, he stroked and explored, brushing her clit and the lips that surrounded it. She whimpered and shook.
Arching her back, she pushed her ass even higher, pressing into his teasing fingers to increase the pressure on her aching, begging pussy. With her legs bound together by her jeans, his access was limited, but the sensation on her closed sex actually amplified the pleasure. In her state, she ground her face into the conference table, but didn’t dare lift off it.
His fingers ran under the thong’s thin edge. He eased the fabric down, sliding it over the cheeks of her ass, and with a tug, to her thighs. This left everything between her legs as naked and vulnerable as it had ever been. Her pussy dripped with the shame of her bare ass up in the air, mixed with the pure thrill of showing off her most private and intimate parts. There were sounds behind her, and if she hadn’t known they were Luke’s, she might have thought there was a growling madman on the plane.
“Fuck, baby. Look at your pussy. So nice and shaved.” His fingers probed her soaked lips, and he pulled them open like a budding flower. At the rate he was going, he wouldn’t need to do anything further, teetering as she was on the edge of an explosive orgasm.