The Trouble with Pilots

by Kristi Ahlers

  Sarah held out her hand to shake Damien’s but was surprised when he raised her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the backs of her fingers.

  “Nice to meet you too.” Sarah felt her skin flush. And why was she sounding all breathless? She laughed to herself. This was beyond sad. She really did need to find a guy to shower her with attention.

  “I hope you enjoyed your flight over,” Damien said.

  Sarah was about to respond when she heard a voice she thought she’d never hear again and she froze in place.

  “Hey, where’s the beer?”

  No! This can’t be happening. He can’t be here.

  “Is that all you think about, Trey? Sheesh. We have company,” Hannah teased as she walked over to the mini fridge that was disguised in a cabinet near the door.

  Slowly, Sarah turned, half afraid she was right and half afraid she was wrong. Not a good combo when she was with the one person she knew would take the slightest gesture and run with it. If Hannah had any inkling of what happened between her and Trey on that flight, her friend would try to set them up. If only Sarah had had time to bring up this little topic. Then again, who knew she was going to have to worry about it. That indiscretion was supposed to be her own ridiculous secret. Now she was simply going to have to role with it.

  “No, that’s not all I think about, beautiful. I may be a man but I’m able to think very deep thoughts.”

  Unable to help herself, Sarah snorted then realized what she’d done caught the man’s attention. He turned and faced her.

  “You!”

  “Oh, no,” Sarah groaned as she clapped a hand to her eyes to hide the fact it really was Trey standing before her. She offered a weak smile. “Hullo again.” After all, what more could she say?

  “You two know each other?” Hannah looked back and forth between Sarah and Trey.

  “You could say that.” Trey got in his reply before Sarah could draw a breath to answer. “We met on the flight over. We sat beside each other.” He offered a sly look from his narrowed eyes. “Isn’t that right, princess?”

  “Yes, he was…kind enough to keep me calm. It was my first flight and—”

  “She has attitude about pilots. Despite that, I think we got along fairly well until the end of the flight.”

  Damien’s curiosity peaked just then. Sarah saw his brow arch with curiosity. She glanced at Hannah whom she could also tell wanted the story.

  Sarah felt her skin burn. She was one part mortified and one part interested in seeing just how Trey would act if the tables were turned. Since she’d only decided a few hours ago to be more daring and live life instead of hiding from it, she smiled and said, “Until you kissed me.”

  All gazes shot in her direction and she couldn’t help but taunt him just a little bit.

  He narrowed his eyes and held her gaze. She could easily become lost in his green eyes. The intimacy of their kiss replayed in her mind. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to feel his mouth against hers again.

  Silence hung heavily in the room. Sarah felt herself moving toward Trey as if an invisible thread pulled her in his direction.

  “You might find you kissed me.”

  His reply stopped her in her tracks just before she could embarrass herself with this man a second time. It took a moment for Sarah to get her act together and remember there were other people in the room.

  “You wish,” she said then turned and smiled at Hannah. “Would you like to see the designs I’ve come up with for your dress? I brought my notebook to show you.”

  “Yes, I would.” She looped her arm through Sarah’s and led her away. Just when she thought her actions toward Trey went unobserved, Hannah added, “And I want all the details on that kiss.”

  Sarah groaned to herself. She had a feeling the evening was going to be a long one.

  CHAPTER 5

  Once the door closed Hannah spun around with her hands on her hips. “Okay, spill.”

  “Spill what? We shared a…a kiss. That’s it.” Sarah fiddled around with her bag, looking for the sketchbook and willing Hannah to not dig any further.

  “Yeah, see that is not just anything. That’s a huge something.”

  Sarah flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. “Really, it was just a kiss.” Liar, her conscious whispered.

  “Liar.”

  Well, leave it to Hannah to call it like it was. Sarah dropped down on the floral sofa and heaved a deep sigh. “What do you want me to say? We kissed and it was amazing. He left me with my toes curling and an overwhelming desire to straddle his lap and do unspeakable things to him. And what’s worse…I was willing to do that in public.” Sarah looked over at her friend. “It was insane and I blame the altitude. And the valium my doctor gave me.”

  Hanna laughed. “Nice try. You can’t blame the altitude or the prescription, or anything else for that matter.”

  “Yes, I can.”

  “It’s okay, Sarah. Trey is awesome. And if I wasn’t totally in love with Damien, I’d want to kiss him too.”

  “That’s not the point.” Sarah rolled her head over to the side and looked at her best friend. “I’m not the type of person to just up and maul a man I barely know with my mouth.”

  “Nice way to describe it,” Hannah laughed as she dropped down beside her friend. “Fine, you’re not that kind of person, but you can’t change what happened, so I figure now would be a good time to take advantage of the situation. Get to know Trey.”

  “He’s a pilot, Hannah. You know how I feel about them.”

  “Not every pilot is going to be an ass like Alex.”

  “I’m afraid.”

  Hannah frowned. “Of what?”

  “I don’t want to be hurt again.” Sarah stared up at the ceiling. “And yet I’m so tired of being a freaking coward. I want what you have.”

  “Well, in order to find love like I have, Sarah, you need to take a chance. Don’t assume all pilots are going to be like Alex.” She nudged her friend with her elbow. “Remember, I didn’t like Alex. But I do like Trey.”

  “There is that. You’ve always had good taste in men.”

  “Thanks.” Hannah squeezed Sarah’s hand in hers. “You deserve a happy ending too, Sarah. Take a chance. I promise you, it will be worth it.

  “Fine, but if I end up with a broken heart, it’s going to be up to you to cheer me up.” Sarah teased.

  “Deal.” Hannah reached over for the sketch pad. “Now, talk to me about designs.”

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Trey waited until the limo lights disappeared before turning and facing his friends. So far they’d behaved and hadn’t grilled him in front of Sarah. For that he was thankful.

  “Do you want to explain things, Casanova?” Damien teased.

  “What’s there to tell? She was scared about flying and wasn’t thrilled to learn I was a pilot. I believe she may have called me an adrenaline junky, then she fell into a medicated sleep and at some point crawled into my lap and kissed me.” He looked at his two friends. “So, can I get a cup of coffee?”

  “Whoa!” Damien laughed. “That’s it?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think so, Trey.” Hannah grabbed his hand and led him back to the library and pushed him onto a sofa. “I want details.”

  “Those are the details, Hannah. I swear.”

  “Hmm.”

  Trey narrowed his eyes. “What’s hmm?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?” He turned to Damien. “What did that hmm mean?”

  “I believe my darling, soon-to-be wife thinks you’re holding out on her.”

  Trey laughed. “I swear that’s it. I got the impression she didn’t like me. I didn’t pursue this. No one is more surprised than me to see her here.”

  “So?” Hannah asked as she handed Trey his coffee.

  “So?” Trey countered back.

  “You like her.” Hannah sat beside Damien and rested her hand on his thigh. “What are you going to do about it? A
nd I must warn you. She’s my best friend, so if you break her heart, I’ll break you.” She turned to Damien. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way it will have to be.”

  Damien kissed Hannah on the forehead. “I totally understand.”

  “Hello, sitting here.” Trey looked between his two friends. It was true. He did like her. More than he wanted to admit. In truth, he hadn’t been able to forget Sarah since he watched her walk away from him earlier in the day. His heart actually ached. It was a feeling so new to him he didn’t know what to do with it. And seeing her here tonight was like a punch to the gut. He’d wanted nothing more than to pull her into a dark room and pick up where they’d left off on the plane.

  “Do you like the designs she came up with?” Trey didn’t really want to talk about Sarah or his attraction to her, at least not until he could put it in perspective and get control over this bizarre reaction he had to the petite woman.

  “Yes, and tomorrow we’re going to meet in the city so I can select the fabrics she’s going to use for my dress. I’ve already selected the blue and antique fabric she’s going to incorporate into the design.” She snuggled into Damien. “Maybe you’d like to make sure you’re here tomorrow, Trey.”

  “Why?” He was perplexed by the almost scheming look on Hannah’s face. Oh, it was not an ugly face. In fact, if one didn’t know what was going on, anyone would assume she was just in a good mood and smiling. But Trey felt he knew better.

  “Duh! So you can spend a little more time with Sarah.”

  Yup, he was doomed. Hannah was clearly in matchmaker mode and he had a feeling he was going to be saying sayonara to his bachelor days. As strange as it seemed, the thought didn’t send fear coursing through him. What was that all about?

  “Hannah, you don’t need to play matchmaker.” Trey laughed, feeling a little cornered and not used to the emotion. He certainly wasn’t going to admit to his best friend’s fiancée he liked her idea way more than he should. He hoped if he had a little time away from Sarah everything would settle down. He couldn’t already be falling for her, could he? The time they’d spent together was laughable. And one didn’t fall in love instantly, did they? “Maybe I shouldn’t.”

  “I want you here and so does Damien. Right, babe?”

  “Sure.”

  Trey looked at his friend. “Playing matchmaker now too?”

  “No. I just think it would be nice if my friend was around tomorrow to visit. I want to win back the two hundred euro you stole from me tonight during pool.”

  “Right.” Trey laughed. “Okay well, I’m bushed; I think I’m going to head to bed.” He looked at Hannah. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sweet dreams, Trey.”

  Trey turned and walked out of the room and headed to the bedroom he always stayed in when he visited Damien. His mind began wandering and he finally allowed himself time to focus on the strange emotions bombarding him since boarding the plane in New Orleans.

  Sarah intrigued him. She was a sassy little thing when she wasn’t scared to death, and this appealed to him. There was no escaping it. He was falling for the wedding dress designer and she hated the one thing he loved. Well, it wasn’t as if she had to fly with him or fly anymore once she got back to the states. He didn’t need to be in love with dress design in order for them to work. All he needed to do was show her that he wasn’t an adrenaline junky or an ass. Thankfully, Hannah was kind enough to give him time with Sarah. He could turn around her way of thinking in twelve hours, no problem.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Sarah tossed and turned, dreaming about a dark haired pilot who was beyond handsome, whose kiss could make her forget everything—her fear, her common sense—nothing had mattered when his lips touched hers.

  Seeing Trey last night had set her off balance. It was almost as if destiny had brought them together again. What were the odds that two perfect strangers sat beside each other on a plane, only to end up at the same destination?

  So it had to be destiny. Sarah didn’t know what to do, she hoped he’d be there when she arrived and another part of her wanted to just do the job she’d come to do and go back home to the safety of her rather boring and semi-successful life. At least that way she didn’t have to deal with anything that would upset her nice, orderly world.

  Hannah was on the steps when Sarah arrived. She gathered her bag and stepped out of the limo.

  “Are you ready to go shopping?” Sarah asked as she walked up the steps to her friend, casually looking around to see if Trey was there. A combination of disappointment and relief flooded her when she didn’t see him.

  “Yeah, about that. Damien and I have to tend to some business that just came up in the village, but once that’s done we can go into the city.” Then she added, “You look tired. How did you sleep?”

  “Pretty well, considering I wasn’t in my own bed. And I can find a way to occupy myself while you’re gone. I’ll make a list of things we need to shop for once you get back.” Slipping her purse strap over her shoulder, Sarah flipped her hair back and turned to enter the house. Then she saw him and came to a dead stop.

  Trey stood a few feet away, hands stuffed in the front pockets of his blue jeans. He wore a dark blue t-shirt and his hair was tousled. He looked boyishly handsome and she wanted to go over and wrap herself around him like an ivy vine and kiss him until neither of them could breathe.

  “Hey, Trey, do you mind keeping Sarah company for about an hour while Damien and I run to the church?”

  “No, that’s okay, I can keep myself busy.” Sarah felt her heart kick up a beat. Yes, she wanted to spend time with Trey, but at the same time, she knew that was really not a good idea.

  “Sure, Hannah.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.” Trey walked over to where Sarah stood rooted in place. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid of me?”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Not hardly, big guy.” She practically tossed her large tote at him. “Thanks.”

  Hannah was smiling when Sarah turned back to her. “Well, we’ll be back as soon as we can. Again, I’m sorry about the last minute thing.”

  “It’s fine, Hannah. Really.”

  Sarah followed Hannah into the house and wondered what on earth she was going to do since she was going to be forced to spend time with Trey. She really needed to get these notes finished. She’d hoped to go over them with Hannah before they left for Paris. She could finish them on her own, but now that Trey would be underfoot she doubted she’d be able to concentrate.

  It wasn’t long before Damien and Hannah left. Trey stood beside Sarah on the steps watching the limo head up the driveway.

  Then the car was through the gates and silence surrounded them. Alone with Trey, her friend no longer a comfortable barrier between her and temptation, Sarah suddenly felt shy and unsure, her sassy bravado disappearing like mist under a summer sun.

  “I think there is only one way to get past this.”

  Sarah jumped, not realizing how close Trey stood until he spoke. She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes and became lost in their depths. His gaze showed an intensity that left her shaking.

  His spicy, masculine scent filled her scenes, leaving her intoxicated. “Wh-what do you mean?”

  “This.”

  Tenderly, Trey cupped her face and held her gaze. Sarah couldn’t believe how warm his hands felt. They seemed to brand her with their heat. Neither of them said a word. His touch was so gentle as he pressed his body to hers; his heat and unique, spicy muskiness wrapped around her and held her in place.

  Then slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers. The touch was a mere teasing and yet Sarah felt as if her soul was afire. He threaded his fingers through her hair. Lightly, he traced his tongue along the seam of her lips.

  Although still gentle, his kiss demanded a response from her, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and wove her fingers through the silky hair at his nape before she parted her lips. Trey rewarded her with a sweeping caress of his tong
ue. The velvet rub of it made her melt into his embrace. One of them groaned and she was sure it was her. She loved the way he felt, the way he tasted. Her passion ignited as their tongues tangled in a sensual duel. He ravaged her mouth and she reveled in the pleasures coursing through her, in the earth-shattering waves threatening to drown her.

  She felt Trey guiding her backwards into the house, never breaking the contact of their kiss as he steered them into Damien’s library. One of his hands moved down to cup her backside, pulling her close to his hard body. The contact made her muscles tingle.

  Slowly, he lowered her to the sofa, still refusing to break their kiss. His hands were all over her body then, never stopping in one place as they molded and cupped her curves. She burned for his touch and yet in the back of her mind she knew things were moving way to fast. She didn’t know this man, and before anything else happened, she at least wanted to know the basics.

  “Trey,” she whispered against his damp lips. “We need to stop.” Her protests did nothing to keep her from continuing to rub her sensitive lips against his and slipping her tongue back into the warm cavern of his mouth.

  Just one more kiss, she promised herself.

  The press of his hard body sent wave after wave of desire through her, making her arch into him. She wanted to clasp his backside and hold him tightly to her but a sliver of sanity remained and she forced herself to pull away from him.

  “Are you okay, darlin’?” When Trey brushed a stray curl from her face, she resisted the urge to nuzzle into his palm.

  “I’m good, I just need things to slow down a little bit. There is so much about you I don’t know, and I guess I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

  “I’m just as surprised by this attraction as you are.” Trey settled back against the sofa cushion and pulled her with him, slowly caressing her arm. “I can’t explain this but it is real, Sarah.”

  “How do you know that? Just because we can share a combustible kiss doesn’t mean we’re going to work beyond the chemistry. I want more, and if there isn’t more I don’t want to go any further.”