Flight of Her Life

by Diane Saxon

  “I had to work an extra two days to make sure everything was in order before I left for the week.” She begrudged the fact she actually felt obliged to explain anything to him and annoyance had her giving a sharp flick of her foot as she uncrossed her leg once more. The pointed toe of her smart patent heels jabbed neatly into his shin, and for once she felt totally unrepentant about her lack of spatial awareness as he yelped and drew his legs back rapidly.

  Rolling his eyes, he moved to his knees.

  “He’s the goddamned boss, Bailey. He left you to clear up while he went on ahead and started his vacation early.”

  “His parents needed him to attend a function.”

  “His fiancée probably needed him to help carry her luggage.”

  “It’s okay, don’t fuss. The luggage is already booked on. I only have my purse with me.”

  He glanced around, sighed heavily before waving his hand at the empty seating next to her.

  “Where’s your coat?”

  “Well, I put it in the top of my suitcase when I arrived, save carrying it.”

  He rolled back to sit on his heels while he studied her. Bailey felt a warm heat spread up her neck into her face. He was the only person she knew who could make her blush just by meeting her eyes.

  As she tried to distract herself, she dug into her purse and pulled out a small, black rubber band. She scraped her unruly hair back from her face and held the rubber band in one hand while she pulled her hair through with the other. Wrapped around once, it was too loose, so she yanked it tight and pulled her hair through a second time. Too tight, her two middle fingers trapped between the elastic and her hair.

  He continued to stare.

  She glowered back, gave her fingers a desperate wriggle and wondered if he’d noticed. She saw the annoying twitch of amusement on his lips again.

  “Your arms are going to start to ache if you don’t put them down.”

  She wrenched at her hand, felt the tear of her acrylic nail as it parted company with her middle finger, just as the rubber band snapped, pinged off and her hair tumbled wildly around her face again. Red hot poker heat surged though her finger making her want to whimper and slide it into her mouth to ease the pain.

  She stared down at her perfect French manicure, ruined by a missing acrylic on one hand and a broken one on the other. She raised her eyes to his slightly blurred face as he chuckled and rubbed his forehead.

  Utter disbelief ran rampant.

  “You did not get hit by my rubber band. Do not try to tell me you did.”

  Sebastian simply removed his hand and let her see the little white wheal mark surrounded by red. She squinted and leaned forward to take a closer look as he picked the broken rubber band up from his lap and wiggled it at her. His warm, spicy scent sneaked under her radar.

  Blowing out a disgusted breath, she flung herself back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. It was probably the safest thing she could do today. She was having one of her minor destroy-the-world days. It would blow over, and tomorrow she would be back to normal. Almost. As normal as her life ever got.

  She pursed her lips and squinted at him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to make sure you got on the plane without annihilating it before it took off.” His crooked smile made her want to poke him in the eye, but she kept her fingers to herself. She dreaded to think what damage her one action would result in.

  “Yeah? How did you get through to Departure?”

  “I bought a ticket.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I had to buy a ticket. They wouldn’t let me through otherwise.”

  She raised a doubtful eyebrow until he rolled his eyes and fished in his rucksack, drew out a ticket and waggled it at her. She leaned forward, squinted to read the print, could have sworn it said Maui, her dream destination, so she reached out to draw it nearer.

  “Ah, ah, ah. You don’t get to touch this. This is mine.” With a wolfish grin, he flapped the ticket at her one more time before he slid it back into his rucksack. “If you touch it, it’ll probably go up in flames.”

  Deadpan, Bailey returned his look. It wasn’t funny and she felt no desire whatsoever to laugh.

  He took his time studying her serious face.

  “When’s your flight?”

  She looked out the window at the strange glow of late evening lights reflecting off the dense carpet of snow. There didn’t seem to be a lot of activity going on across the runway, and she couldn’t recall the last time a flight took off.

  She glanced at the flight board, squinted, but couldn’t see the writing clearly enough. She met his eyes.

  “Could you have a look for me?” As she said it, the board changed rapidly, the same fuzzy word appeared against each flight.

  “Canceled.”

  The dull roar of complaining passengers filled her head as every single outbound flight was canceled and the announcer’s voice came over the loudspeaker system, barely discernible over the hubbub of complaints and whining voices. Until further notice was not exactly what she wanted to hear. Worse still, a blizzard had been predicted and was likely to close the airport for the next twelve to twenty-four hours.

  With a flight of almost three and a half hours, it would leave her approximately zilch time to get her nails fixed, bathe, wash and tether down her wild hair, apply make-up and get to her own engagement party. Let alone iron out the creases in the pretty little black designer suit she had splurged on especially for the occasion. She hadn’t realized it was going to be squished in her suitcase for that long. All providing she could even get onto the next flight and assuming the airport would re-open the following day.

  Sebastian unfolded his long, lean legs from underneath him and rolled to his feet, firmly grasping her elbow and lifting her to her feet.

  “We need a hotel.”

  “I do not need a hotel.”

  “Bailey, we need a hotel. If we don’t get one now, they’re all going to be fully booked and you and I are going to have to sleep on these chairs tonight. I promise you, they are not going to open the gate any time soon.”

  She closed her eyes and grit her teeth; she was going to be in such shit with Phillip and the senators when they heard about this.

  “Okay. I need to go to the bathroom. Then we’ll arrange a hotel.”

  “Nope. We need one now. Have you seen how deep the snow is? We have to get a cab, before the road’s totally impassable, and you can’t go far in those…” He nodded at her high heels. “…and without a coat.”

  “You hold a cab. I’ll go to the bathroom. I’ll be really quick.”

  “I don’t trust you.” He was already pulling her along after him, his long legs far outstretching her ability to walk sedately. Trotting as fast as she could, she skidded a couple of times on the smooth tiled surface of the airport thoroughfare until he turned and wrapped his arm around her waist and virtually carried her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m being practical. I can’t wait all day for your little legs to catch up.”

  Bailey gasped at the insult, but as she opened her mouth to blast him, he pushed her through a doorway into a restroom.

  Virtually running, she charged into a cubicle. She wouldn’t put it past him to give her two minutes and storm in there after her. Ripping her damaged tights off, she balled them up and threw them into the bin. She whipped her panties down, and perched with relief, but as she moved her left hand, her giant diamond swung to the underside of her finger and snagged on the elastic at the side of her panties. She wrenched her hand away.

  “Whoa” She heaved in a surprised breath as the elastic pinged back on her leg. She leaped up and her panty elastic parted company with itself and her panties slid down her right leg.

  “Oh, God. No. No, no, no, no, no, no.”

  Her fingers shook, and she glanced anxiously at the cubicle door, almost expecting Sebastian to burst through an
d ask what the hell she had wrecked now. He’d be right of course, but it was beside the point. She shook her panties off her legs, deftly flicked them off the end of her feet and caught them efficiently in her hand. She smoothed her skirt, and perched on the edge of the toilet seat so her ass didn’t fall down it like it had before. She had past experience with public toilets. She studied the thin elastic, and rubbed at the sharp sting on her leg. She tried to focus her blurred vision as she tied the elastic in a neat little knot and gave it a firm tug to make sure it didn’t come undone.

  Satisfied, she slipped them back on. She gave herself a quick check over in the bathroom mirror, and apart from her wild hair, she noted as she gave a quick sigh of relief, nothing else appeared out of place.

  Sebastian leaned against the opposite wall as she walked out of the restroom. His arms were crossed over his chest, his attention firmly focused on her. She felt a warm rush while his eyes scanned the length and breadth of her body as though checking her out for damage. She pursed her lips and raised a superior eyebrow, so when his eyes tracked up to her face, he could see she was not impressed with his assumption that something had gone awry. He merely gave her a broad grin and pushed away from the wall, offering her his arm.

  Bailey rolled her eyes, stepped forward and gave a shocked squeak as the elastic on her hip pinged open and her panties dropped straight to her ankles, almost tripping her up in the process. She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widened in horror as she peered down at her feet, then back up at Sebastian.

  His warm, blue eyes crinkled at the edges as he leaned over, wrapped his arms over his stomach and laughed and laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks, and his skin flushed a deep red against his burnished tan.

  “Oh God, Bailey. Oh God.” Still laughing, he dropped to his knees and reached out to pick up her panties. The temptation to kick him while he was down was so strong she had to persuade herself to stand still, body completely frozen, face stoic. If she bent over to rip them out of his hands, the likelihood was, someone was going to get an eyeful of her naked butt.

  His warm palm encircled her chilled ankle, sending her nerve endings into a riotous tremor, before he lifted her foot and unhooked her panties from her shoe. To keep her balance, she was obliged to place a reluctant hand on his thick, muscular shoulder.

  He stood up and held the little scrap of material in front of her face.

  “I knew I should never have left you alone, I suspected you were going to destroy something.” His deep chuckle kept bursting out of him as his mouth spread into a wide grin at her. “These are no good to you now, honey.” He stretched them out and the elastic continued to unravel itself from the skimpy piece of material it had been attached to.

  She snatched them from his hand and stuffed them into her purse.

  “Jesus, Sebastian, do you have to show everyone?”

  He rubbed his mouth and squeezed the corners together, making his lips pout in his attempt to stop laughing. Her throat inexplicably went dry and she stared at him until he stood motionless, the smile suddenly wiped from his face as he gazed straight back at her.

  She drew in a breath and closed her eyes briefly, while she tried to ignore the pulsing warmth spreading through her stomach.

  “Right, let’s go.” She turned to march away and was brought up short as he restrained her with the grasp of his strong hand on her elbow.

  “It’s this way. You never could find your way anywhere worth a damn.” He turned her in the opposite direction, tucked her arm into his elbow. “And you should hold on to me so you don’t slip on your naked little tush. You don’t want everyone getting an eyeful, do you?”

  She cast him an irritated sideways glance, but he was intent on moving through the crowds, toward the exit.

  “I’ve booked a hotel. There’s a shuttle bus about to leave in five minutes. It’ll be the last one of the day. They can barely get through the roads now, so get a trot on.”

  “I hope you’ve booked separate rooms.” She made her voice as waspish as she could, but he ignored her completely.

  They stepped out into the minus fifteen blizzard. She sucked in a shocked breath and felt it turn to icicles in her lungs, making her want to cough it back out again.

  She ducked her head just as he wrapped his thick, sheepskin coat around her shoulders, engulfing her in his warmth, and she automatically slipped her arms into the sleeves, which dangled almost to her knees.

  “Thank you.” Not in the least inclined to refuse his offer, she pulled the coat snug around her and tucked her nose inside the collar to absorb the warm, spicy scent of him. It smelled of horses, and leather, and man. So different from the cool, aloof lemon and washing powder aroma Phillip emanated.

  She whipped her nose back out of Sebastian’s coat and snapped an accusing glare over her shoulder at him as his hands firmly gripped her backside and pushed her up the two steps into the shuttle bus.

  “Sebastian!”

  He held his hands up and gave her an innocent look.

  “Just giving a helping hand.”

  “Well, don’t. I can manage fine without…” Her heel slipped in the wet and as her legs shot from underneath her, Sebastian neatly snaked his arm around her waist and let her back hit his chest.

  “Ooommmff.”

  He steadied her. “You’re not as light as you used to be.” His cool lips touched her burning ear and his breath puffed gently across her cheek, sending delicious goose bumps chasing themselves down her spine. “Must be the boobs you’ve developed since I last had my hands on you when you were sixteen.”

  That same fickle spine jerked to attention. She pushed away from him and lifted her chin while she stepped cautiously along the aisle.

  The bus was full, except for one seat which she sat in, making sure his coat was securely wrapped around her and tucked under her knees, so she didn’t expose herself to any of the other passengers. She understood why crossing your legs at this stage could be considered vulgar.

  “You have to find a seat, son, or you’re walking. No standing when we have to travel the interstate.” The bus driver turned his head and pinned her with a look over the top of his glasses. “You could ask your girl to sit on your knee, but I can’t allow you to stand.”

  She didn’t even have time to shake her head in denial before Sebastian leaned down, scooped her up and plunked her on his lap. Her legs dangled between his wide spread ones, and his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. He burrowed his icy nose into the collar of his coat and buried it in her neck as she snaked her freezing legs against his warmer ones. She knew she should tell him not to get so close, she shouldn’t allow him to snuggle in, but she felt the shudder run through him and figured it wouldn’t harm under the circumstances if she relaxed against him and they shared their warmth. She was sure Phillip would understand.

  Chapter Three

  “Bailey. I do not understand.”

  She expelled a silent breath and waited for the rest of Phillip’s tirade.

  “How could you possibly allow this to happen?”

  “Well, Phillip, I have no control over the weather.”

  “Why didn’t you catch an earlier plane?”

  “The senator’s aide booked the flight. You left the ticket with me.”

  “Well, surely you saw the weather coming in? Why didn’t you change the flight?”

  She cleared her throat. “The ticket was non-transferrable.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You must have made a mistake.”

  She glanced down at the ticket in her hand. No mistake, but she knew it wasn’t worth arguing about, so she changed the subject.

  “I was also a little delayed with the Watson vs. Carlisle case.”

  A low growl came from the telephone. Surprised, she held it away from her ear as his voice blasted through it.

  “Didn’t you think to look out of the fucking window? Are you so incapable? I’m in Texas for fuck’s sake. Do you expect me to tell you if it’s going
to fucking snow in New York?”

  She was silent for a moment, absorbing the swift shaft of pain he sent shooting though her heart. Sometimes he was so bitter and angry, it hurt her. All she ever wanted was a smooth, uneventful life.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, well you’re going to be sorry if you embarrass the senators.”

  “Phillip, I think you need to calm down, you’ve got yourself overwrought and your skin is going to break out again.” She soothed. “We don’t want that for tomorrow night, do we?” She waited and listened to his deep breathing for a moment. “I will catch the plane tomorrow. I’ll be there with plenty of time to spare and we will attend our engagement party. The senators will not be embarrassed by me. I would not dream of it.”

  “You’d better not turn up looking like some messy-haired slut.”

  She sucked air in through her teeth, another slash whipped through her.

  She could hear his deep erratic breathing on the other end of the phone as though he was waiting for her reply before the line went dead.

  She pursed her lips and replaced the phone on the bedside table. She scanned the hotel bedroom. It was clean, elegant, and sparse.

  She’d thought to run a bath to defrost herself in, but the few rooms left only had showers, and the demand for water had made it run cool by the time she had tried hers.

  She tucked herself into Sebastian’s coat, curled her frozen feet under her naked ass, and leaned her back against the headboard of the bed. Reluctant to think how nasty Phillip had been, she released a long sigh. He could be so hurtful, but the poor man was obviously under pressure.

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against the rough texture of the sheepskin coat. It smelled so good, so familiar. Her muscles went lax and if it wasn’t for the fact she was so hungry, she would have drifted off to sleep.

  At least Sebastian had secured a room each for them; although, the lady on reception had tried to persuade them to share because of the high demand. But Sebastian had given her his wide, charming smile, and the woman had melted and handed over the room keys.

  And Bailey found herself sitting on her own in an empty room, wrapped in a warm coat, feeling sad, lonely, and very hungry.