“Much better now that I’m looking at you,” I purred.
Without skipping a beat, he leaned forward and gently pressed his mouth to mine. The force of his kiss brought me closer to his face, and I swirled my arms around his neck as my kiss trailed up his cheek and met his ear.
“Sorry if I scared you,” I whispered.
“Not your fault,” he said as he pushed back and cradled my chin in his hands. I watched as his eyes searched my face, and his touch was light on the space of my father’s blow. “I spoke to Brett earlier and he thinks your father got into the house while a decoy attracted his attention. A small child asked him if he could reach his football that was stuck in a tree. He was only out of sight of the house for two minutes but it was long enough for your father to get in.”
“And I made it easy for him by asking Brett to leave the door open for you,” I said shaking my head.
“Has he ever hit you before?” Peter asked.
“No,” I started slowly. “I mean… I mean he’s always been kind of possessive. After my mom died. And… and Adam. But this… this was different.”
“Different how?” Peter asked as he folded me into his arms. With a heavy sigh, I rested against his chest, my palm to his heart as I spoke softly.
“Like he… like he wasn’t just trying to protect me or something.”
“And he doesn’t have to,” Peter assured me. “Not from me.”
“I know that now,” I admitted. “But it was… it was like he was jealous. Like I was betraying him. He said that I was making him look foolish.”
“How? By being with me?”
I nodded without words, and Peter held me closer. There was no sound but his steady breathing and the gentle hum of the plane’s engine as we moved through the clouds. I felt his hands stroking my hair, and when I cast my eyes upward to meet his face, Peter appeared lost in deep thought. Waiting for him to give voice to whatever was flooding his mind, I wrapped my arms around his waist and stared at him hard.
“Maybe he just doesn’t want to lose his little girl,” Peter started.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I haven’t been anyone’s little girl for quite some time,” I said with a chuckle.
“I got that much,” he teased. “And I know what it is to worry about you.”
His face suddenly turned dark, and I tensed as he took my hands, his eyes intensifying as they seemed to burrow into my soul.
“But father or not,” Peter continued. “I’ll be damned if I ever let any man put his hands on you again.”
Shuddering at the memory of the scuffle with Swanson, I started to sink deeper into his embrace when I fixed a shaky smile on my face as I stroked his hair.
“Just you, right?” I teased.
“Exactly,” he said. “I’m kind of non-negotiable on that point.”
“I wasn’t about to argue with you.”
Kissing me lightly, his lips burned hotter against mine, and I offered no resistance as he pulled me onto his lap.
“I am very glad to hear that,” he said. “Because it’s a fight you wouldn’t win.”
Laughing into his hair, I relished the sensation of his hands on my back as the plane soared through the air. Distance, that’s what we needed most. Miles and miles separating us from dark days and wasted time. Even when I was back at his side, I was still wondering, still looking over my shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe this was just a quick getaway that would only come and go in the blink of an eye, but maybe this would prove our fresh start, an opportunity to lay down new roots. Just the idea of it caused my smile to grow wider, and I started to offer a new kiss when a bell from the cockpit pushed us apart.
“You… do you need to…?” I began.
“Ignore it,” he whispered as he kissed my neck. “Pilot’s well-trained. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”
Wanting to do nothing but trust him, I let Peter lift me into his arms. Holding me against his chest, my toes barely touching the floor, I felt his touch start and stop around my wrist.
“Did you leave something behind?” he asked with a gentle tilt of his head.
“I… oh! Wait.”
Pressing my hand into my pocket, I pulled his bracelet from its hiding place and dangled it before his eyes.
“Just trying to keep it safe,” I assured him.
“Now why would you feel the need to…?”
“I’ll tell you later. For now, just help me put it back on?” I asked.
He obliged quickly, and as soon as he had the clasp in place, he lifted my hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed my fingers.
“I’ll put it back on each and every day,” he promised.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I warned.
“And you won’t be disappointed. Ever again.”
Pulling me back into his arms, his hands started to slip under my blouse, and I sighed at the feel of his hands meeting my flesh. There was a slight shift in the plane, but I chalked it up to the power of his embrace. Together, we started to sink to the rumbling ground. Peter laid me out gently, his hands nearing my breasts when the plane grumbled again.
“What was that?” I gasped, shooting up as I clung to him and searched his face for an answer.
But Peter wasn’t looking at me; his stare moved over my shoulder. I saw him start to speak when the bell dinged again and a voice poured forth from the intercom.
“Mr. Barton? Sir?” the pilot said, the man’s tone struggling to stay steady even as there was no ignoring the fear in the man’s voice.
“Hold up,” Peter said, standing up.
Peter eased my body back to my feet and settled me back in my seat. Kissing me quickly, he started to move to the cockpit when I ignored his want and seized his arm.
“What’s happening?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to find out,” he said stiffly. “Stay here. And put your seat belt on!”
A part of me wanted to obey him, to just clutch the arms of the seat and wait, hope for his return. He would come back and assure me that there was nothing to fear. That there was never anything to fear as long as I was with him. But as I started to watch him go, I had to follow even as he turned back and tried to hold me in place.
“Caroline, stay here!” he commanded.
“I’m in this with you,” I said. “I’m not leaving you behind a second time.”
His jaw clenched, and I saw the frustration in his face as I held my ground. Peter started to protest when he groaned into the air and just took my hand in his.
“Fine,” he said, almost reluctantly. “But stay close.”
“I promise.”
Entering the cockpit, I saw the pilot scanning several screens as dials spun frantically. Clutching the yoke, his feet working around the rudder pedals, the man appeared flummoxed by the sky bobbing through the glass.
“What’s the problem?” Peter demanded.
The pilot struggled to speak, and Peter grabbed him by his shoulder. To his credit, he kept his hands on the wheel, his knuckles flashing white as he tried to keep the plane under control. But from my vantage point, it looked like a losing battle.
“What’s happening?” Peter bellowed.
I moved closer to his side and held his arm fast as the pilot shot us a quick glance and swallowed hard.
“Engines are failing, sir,” the pilot said.
“But they can’t be…” Pete exclaimed.
“I know!” the man cried as his hands started to shake, his brow beaded with sweat. “But something’s gone wrong. And I don’t know what…”
The nose of the plane moved into a downward motion.
“Peter?” I asked, my eyes filled with dread.
Meeting my eyes for all of a second, he kissed me fast and pressed me close as his lips hit my hair.
“I’ve got you,” he said. “Stay close.”
Pushing the pilot from his seat, Peter took the yoke in his hands and started to push his feet into the rudder pedals.
My heart was pounding in my ears. I could think of nothing but crashing in a fiery heap. But I took a deep breath and held his shoulders under my hands, just praying that he could save me one more time.
***
Caroline and Peter are lucky to be alive and are marooned in a small town. They take the chance of getting to know one another better but it’s not long before Peter’s sordid past starts to catch up with him, putting both him and Caroline’s lives at risk.
Caroline flees from Peter’s side, with help from Morgan, the pilot who was involved in the crash. But can he help her to make sense of what she has learned about Peter? And how long can she keep hiding from those who want to harm her?
The Corrupt Billionaire Romance
Part Three: Hunted
Camilla Hope
Chapter One
As the jet continued to nose dive I could only hope to God that Peter knew what he was doing.
“Peter?” I asked in a small voice as my fingers pressed into his shoulders. “Have you done this before?”
“Fly?” he asked as his back hunched over the console, the slope in his shoulders mirroring the movement of the plane. “I’m a man of many talents.
A wave of turbulence wracked the cockpit, and without wanting to, I fell away from him and into the pilot’s waiting, trembling arms. Looking up into the man’s wide eyes, I saw that his face dripped with sweat as his teeth chattered.
If nothing else, at least Peter was now in the air jockey’s seat.
“I meant crash land,” I said as I fell back to Peter’s side and tried to smooth the tension from his tight flesh.
“What makes you think we’re going to crash?” he asked.
I looked at him incredulously. The rapid approach of the earth and the dials flipping wildly in every direction might have been a clue but I said nothing.
The plane suddenly seemed to plunge fifty feet in a few seconds, and I hit the ground with a heavy groan, my head banging against the wall.
“Caroline? You alright?” he said as he struggled with the controls.
Dazed, I blinked hard and brushed the hair from my eyes. When I was able to focus again, I saw him staring down at me, his gaze full of concern. He was so sweet. So sweet that he would take the time to worry about…
“Peter! Eyes front!” I yelled.
My tone appeared to shake him from his point of burden, and as the plane continued to careen towards some unknown fate, he still managed to shoot me a gentle smirk. He even winked.
“Stay brave, my Gypsy.”
With a sharp whistle, he signaled the pilot back to his side.
“Sir?” the man asked in a quavering voice.
“Take her back to the cabin,” Peter ordered.
“Sir, are you sure that you can handle the plane?”
“Just do as you’re told!” Peter snapped.
Without wasting another second, the pilot sprang into action and eased me to my feet. For all of a second, I was limp and pliable in his arms as he started to lead me away from Peter’s side. But when I glanced back and saw him wrestling with the yoke, I pushed away from the pilot and tried to touch him again.
“I said that I wasn’t leaving you!” I affirmed.
“Same goes for me,” Peter said in a slow, smooth voice. “Now buckle up. No way in hell I’m letting you fall. But it’s bound to be a bumpy landing.”
“And I need to focus,” he said. “Can’t worry about you getting knocked around anymore.”
His eyes drifted from mine to the mark of my father’s bruise. As he pulled on the controls I could see that I was distracting him.
“Buckle up!” he said, turning his full attention back to the controls. “Both of you!”
I could see the determined look on his face as he tried to pull the jet out of the dive.
“I can do this,” he assured me. “Just trust me. Please.”
I could still do that; for the moment, it was the only thing that I could do without going crazy.
“Don’t you dare let this be the last time that I see you,” I murmured, turning to leave the cockpit.
“Not a chance in hell of that.”
Moving back to the cabin under the pilot’s arm, I felt the plane rock again, and I fell into the man in search of some support. His sharp breath ran over my face, and I watched his lips quiver as tears started to fill his light brown eyes.
“It’ll be okay,” I promised him. “Peter says that he’s getting us out of this and he’s a man of his word.”
“Glad you’re so sure,” the pilot said, his voice unconvinced and a fresh lurch from the plane nearly making a liar out of me as my words barely hit the air.
“I have to be,” I said. “We should… we should probably…”
As the plane kept falling, my body crashed into one of the abandoned seats. Seeing the pilot’s crumpled, shaking form at my feet, I lifted him to my side.
“What’s your name?” I asked over roar of the roar of the failing engines.
“My… you’re asking me for my name?”
As much as I wanted to believe in Peter, as much as I really did, a dark thought kept tugging at the back of my brain. Peter’s many talents aside, even he wasn’t superhuman. And if this was the end, it was only fitting that the pilot had a friend at his side.
“I’m Caroline,” I said. “And you are?”
“Morgan,” he said. “I… I wasn’t even supposed to be on this run. Like a last minute thing. I never should have answered the fucking call!”
“Don’t think about that now,” I said, doing my best to calm him even as my own nerves were frayed to the point of shattering. “Sit down.”
Morgan obeyed my order and assumed his seat.
“He… Peter wants us buckled in,” I said. “So let’s…”
Suddenly, I could feel the earth starting to bump against the plane’s belly, and Morgan cursed under his breath as I brought the strap around my waist. But the pilot was almost on his feet again, looking like he was ready to leap from the wreckage before the crash or the landing truly came to pass.
“Not so fast!” I cried. “Get back down here!”
He hesitated for a moment and then decided I was right as he lowered himself into the seat next to mine.
“He… he can get us out of this,” I said, my faith in Peter growing even as the plane stopped soaring and began a quick surf across the solid ground.
The windows started to smash into a million tiny shards, every jagged edge flying into the cabin and I covered my head with my hands.
“Get down!” I screamed.
I held on to Morgan and half expected the plane’s floor to give out as the plane bucked and slid across the ground. I could imagine my body hitting the cold, dark earth, my hands reaching wildly in a desperate bid to grab onto something, a branch, a rock, anything to pull me away the plane’s impending carcass. I closed my mind to the thought as glass caught in my hair, and the force of the impact tore my chair way from Morgan’s.
“Hang on!” I screamed as his body was tossed to the other side of the cabin.
The pilot reached for me with a desperate hand, and as I tried to reach across to him, the plane finally grinded to a harsh stop.
All I could think about was the smell of gasoline and it occurred to me that the plane might explode. I’d seen those war films where the plane crashed and always burst into flames. Peter had tried so hard, and I pictured him desperate to keep the plane from crashing. But at the last moment, he couldn’t fight gravity, and I pressed my hand to my lips, trying to hang onto the feel of a kiss that I would never know again.
I struggled against the seat which was now my captor. I was trapped where I sat by the jagged pieces of metal which had been torn from the body of the plane as it impacted with the ground.
Suddenly I was aware of a strange kind of silence accompanied with puffs of smoke and the creaking of t
he husk. These would be the last sounds that I would ever hear as I moved towards some unknown realm. What had my mother heard before she died? My insistence that she was better off letting go? Had that brought her some peace, or did she curse me in heaven for giving up before she had the chance to…?
“Hey, Caroline. Are you okay over there?” the pilot’s voice cut through my reverie.
Morgan fumbled with his seatbelt, and I couldn’t move as he managed to disentangle the belt from his waist. He fell to the gnarled floor with a great groan, and as I watched him crawling towards me, I wondered if we were about to stroll through the pearly gates together. Was he five steps ahead and ready to meet his maker, destined to show me the way because I took the time to learn his name?
“Peter…” I groaned.
I should have stuck by him. Should have held him no matter how loudly he screamed. If this was the border between now and the beyond, I wanted no hand in mine but his.
“Caroline?”
My heart was beating wildly in my chest as I struggled to breathe. Something heavy was pressing down on me and the smell of gasoline was getting stronger.
“Are you okay?” Morgan asked again.
My eyelids fluttered, and I finally focused on his face. A thin stream of blood fell from his lip, and I had to wonder why that was there. If we had crossed over to whatever the other side might be, then he should look like an angel, unblemished and serene. But as I narrowed my eyes, I saw Morgan’s face still wracked with terror and pain.
He managed to lift the heavy weight from my chest and I could breathe again. And as I brushed a piece of glass from my hair and managed to catch some semblance of my visage in the dim light, a fresh bruise at my temple had come to join the mark left by my father’s hand.
“Are we… are we alive?” I asked as I saw him throw the heavy seat which had trapped me where I sat to one side.
“Looks like,” Morgan said as he helped me to my feet.
My heart swelled at the thought that I might have another day to live, and I flung my arms around Morgan’s neck with a great cry.
“I told you!” I said. “I told you that he would get us out of this.”
The Corrupt Billionaire COMPLETE Box Set Page 16