Standby (Open Skies Book 4)

by Becca Jameson

  He gave her a squeeze and then reached for her chin and tipped her head back. “I’m going to kiss you until you know how much I want you and then you won’t forget anytime soon.”

  Before she could respond, his lips descended and he scrambled her brain with a mind-altering kiss she felt all the way to her toes. He kept one hand on her back and the other on her chin. Her body melted through and through. She willed him to let his hands roam her body, but since he didn’t, she kept her palm on his chest.

  When he finally broke the kiss, she was dizzy from the contact. He hadn’t been kidding. She wasn’t going to forget that kiss ever, and the low groan coming from his chest solidified how badly he wanted her.

  How chivalrous.

  She wasn’t sure this chivalry was necessary, but she had to agree that there was a connection between them. A comfort level. Like coming home. She didn’t want to fuck that up any more than he did. So, if waiting a while before they took things further helped ensure they didn’t ruin a good thing, she reluctantly had to agree.

  He held her for a while and then eased her back and stood, tugging her to her feet. “I’m going to walk away now before I change my mind.”

  She couldn’t help but smirk. “That tempting?”

  He gripped her chin and kissed her quickly. “Tease.”

  She shrugged, uncertain why she felt so mischievous, but she couldn’t help it. “I get what you’re saying, and it even kind of makes sense, but if you don’t mind, I don’t think I’m going to go to any great effort to make it easy for you.” Oh, yeah. She was going full-out here with the flirting.

  He groaned again and took a step back, holding her at arm’s length. “I’m no saint, sweetheart. I’ll give in if you tempt me. Make me a deal.”

  She cocked her head to one side and scrunched up her brows. “What’s this deal?”

  “Give me one week. One week to help you figure out how to get out from under the threats from Hawke Richman. One week to show you I’m a good guy who cares about you. One week to wine and dine you.”

  She scrunched her brow farther and gave him a half-smile. “Are you pulling this one-week business arbitrarily out of your ass?”

  “Yep. I want you to stay here in my house. Eat with me. Talk to me. Watch crappy movies with me. Essentially get to know each other before we tear each other’s clothes off.”

  “And what will this prove?” She couldn’t keep from continuing to poke him. She had no doubt she could go a week without climbing into his bed. She didn’t really want to, but she could do it. Could he though? If she tempted him? A devious plan developed in her head.

  “It will prove that we have something between us that’s much deeper than sex before we climb between the sheets. If we follow our base instincts and start fucking right now, we’ll never come up for air. Instead, I say we take the time to get to know each other on a deeper level. By next Saturday, we will either have decided we can’t stand living together and should go our separate ways, or we’ll be ten times hornier than we are now and unable to keep our hands to ourselves.”

  She giggled. “Okay…” She wasn’t sure quite what to make of his chivalry. Surely, he wasn’t thinking of anything permanent. He was a dude. And they just went on their first date.

  “But?” he lifted a brow.

  She grinned wide. “But, I’m not going to make it easy on you.”

  He groaned and rolled his head back. “That’s not playing fair.”

  She shrugged. “Life’s not always fair.” She leaned into him.

  He took a step back, holding her shoulders again. “Okay, fine. But I have one rule.”

  “Mmm. What’s that?”

  “No touching.”

  “No touching!” That rule sucked.

  His turn to shrug. “Yep. Keep your hands off me for seven days.” He narrowed his gaze. “No physical contact.”

  She could manage that. “Okay. Deal.”

  He released her and rubbed his chin. “We need some kind of stakes I think.” His grin was infectious.

  “Absolutely,” she agreed. “What do you have in mind?”

  “If you keep your hands off me for an entire week and I make it without giving in to the preference of my cock, I get complete control of everything we do next Saturday night.”

  She chuckled. “How is that a loss for me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You are far naughtier than I suspected.”

  “Probably. This was your idea. You asked to play with fire, I’m just giving you fire.” She cocked out a hip. “So…if I manage to get you to give in to the preferences of your cock, as you say, before this time next week, the entire show is mine to control.”

  He smirked. “That’ll never happen, sweetheart.”

  She lifted her brows. “You saying you’d never let me control what we do in the bedroom, Mr. Cocky? Or are you saying you’re confident you will win?”

  He laughed. She loved his laugh. “Both.”

  Her turn to laugh. “Huh. We’ll see. Do we have a deal?”

  He nodded and held out a hand. “Deal.”

  She pulled her hands behind her back and stepped out of his reach. “It hasn’t even been a full minute and you’re trying to trick me into touching you.”

  He was still laughing as he turned and left the room.

  Shayla was smiling as she watched his fantastic ass disappear down the hallway. What the fuck had she agreed to?

  Chapter 7

  Shayla should have been tired when she dropped into Jake’s guest bed. She’d taken her time in the bathroom and then crossed the hallway, glancing at his closed door. There was no light coming from underneath. It took her forever to relax, knowing Jake was down the hall, temptingly close.

  At first, she flopped around trying to get comfortable, unsuccessfully. There was nothing wrong with his mattress. It was that she couldn’t get out of her head.

  Visions of Jake’s smile and the way he’d held her. The scent of him as she’d buried her face in his chest. The sound of his voice. Ugh. Everything about him had kept her in the same horny state he’d left her after that mind-blowing kiss.

  She finally gave up trying to chase thoughts of Jake from her mind, climbed out of bed, and rummaged in her suitcase until she had her hand on her favorite vibrator. It wasn’t necessarily the quietest one she owned, but she also didn’t care if he heard her. Served him right. She’d meant it when she told him she would not fight fair. This was too much fun.

  Before sliding back under the covers, she removed her panties. When she lowered onto her back, she shoved her tank top up over her breasts and proceeded to play with her nipples. In moments, she was wet and needy. Legs spread, she turned on the vibrator at the lowest setting and directed it to her clit.

  Forget the sounds of the vibrator. He probably couldn’t hear it through the closed doors and down the hallway. That wasn’t going to be her main source of noise. When she came, she was going to have trouble keeping her voice down.

  Sure enough, it didn’t take long to reach orgasm, and she moaned around the release, her heels digging into the mattress, her free hand fisted at her side.

  Finally exhausted, she put the vibrator away, slid back into her panties, and dropped into sleep.

  It seemed like no time had passed at all when she woke up Sunday morning. She could smell bacon and coffee, making her stomach grumble.

  Shoving out of bed, she considered her options and decided wandering around in just her panties was a bit overkill, so she put on a pair of cotton shorts. This was about how he’d seen her yesterday morning, except the tank top was tighter than the T-shirt he’d seen.

  She opened the door and padded across the hall to use the bathroom and brush her teeth before wandering into the kitchen.

  “Morning.”

  He spun around from the stove, spatula in hand, and smiled. “Morning. Did you sleep well?” His gaze roamed down her body and back up.

  It was hard to keep from smirking. “Yep. Perfectly. You
?”

  “Eventually, after you stopped moaning.”

  She flushed a bit. She’d kind of forgotten that part. Pulling herself back together, she shrugged. “Told you I wasn’t going to play fair. This no-sex rule was your idea.”

  He shook his head and turned back to face the bacon, but he was grinning. “While you slept the day away, I went to the store and picked up a few things. I got you some of that froufrou creamer you had at your condo.” He pointed at the Keurig. “Help yourself.”

  She stared at him for a moment, surprised. “You’ve already been to the store and you got me creamer?” How fucking thoughtful.

  “Sweetheart, I also went for a run and showered.” He winked.

  Damn morning people. She shuffled toward the counter, aiming for coffee as she considered what to say next. “Well, shit.”

  “What?”

  “You’re already proving we aren’t compatible, and I haven’t been here a day yet. I was so hoping to get an opportunity to get naked with you. Six days from now we’ll probably have realized we can’t possibly live together in the long run.” She was teasing, of course.

  And he laughed. “How do you like your eggs, imp?”

  “Scrambled.” She leaned against the counter with her doctored coffee and took her first sip, moaning as the caffeine did its job.

  Jake glanced at her. “You moan the same way over your coffee as you do in bed.” His eyes were dancing.

  She giggled. “Do I?”

  “So far. But hey, that was from a simple vibrator. I can’t know for sure what kind of sound you might make after I tie you to my headboard and suck your pussy until you scream. Could be a different tone.” He shrugged.

  Oh, this man was going to fight dirty right back. She nearly choked on her coffee. And damn, but she didn’t have a good comeback.

  “Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?”

  She took another fortifying sip and moved over to the island. She needed to sit before her knees gave out. Thoughts of Jake restraining her had her beyond hot and bothered. Could she make it an entire week without touching him?

  She might have bitten off more than she could chew with this bet. Even if she stripped naked and strode around his house flaunting her assets, she would never be able to compete if he was going to start describing the ways he intended to fuck her.

  Plus, she had a disadvantage. He seemed to be keeping his gaze off her. After his initial perusal, his only glances so far had focused on her face and no lower. Shoot.

  By the time Jake turned around and set a plate of food in front of her, she was beyond aroused from watching his back as he worked. He was wearing nothing but flannel pants, and she was fairly certain he didn’t even have on underwear. Yeah, she was going to have to get more creative.

  “When do you work next?” he asked as he sat next to her, his knees inches away.

  She shifted to the other side of her stool to avoid the possibility of contact. “Tomorrow. Long day. Out and back. Sometimes this one gets delayed though, in which case, I get stuck overnight.”

  “That sucks. Please tell me Richman isn’t the pilot.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not scheduled to fly with him this entire month. When I put in my requests, I intentionally picked times and locations I knew were not any of his routes.”

  “Good. I don’t like the idea of you flying with that asshole. Can you get out of it if you show up and he’s there?”

  She drew in a breath. “Probably not, but it’s unlikely. His schedule for the month is set also. I’ve managed this for three months so far without ending up on the same plane as him.”

  Jake nodded. “Okay. That makes me feel better. I guess it’s a large airline. Surely some employees never encounter each other.”

  “Exactly.”

  Jake finished eating and leaned back. “Now, tell me more. I’m going to spend some time on my computer today digging into Richman’s life. What did you leave out yesterday?” His expression was intense. He was worried. That made her feel both nervous and relieved. At least she’d finally opened up and had someone in her court. She wasn’t alone anymore.

  She slid off the stool and took her coffee with her to his living room. She wanted to get comfortable on his sectional if they were going to have another serious chat.

  Jake joined her, sitting a few feet away, gaze locked on hers. “What happened between you exactly, sweetheart?” His tone was so soft and kind.

  She drew in a breath. “I’m not excited to discuss my previous relationship with the man I’m currently interested in.”

  “I know, but it will be easier for me to help you if I know all the details, Shayla.”

  She nodded. “It started with innocent flirting after flights. He asked me out several times, but I turned him down. I was nervous about dating someone I work with. Rightfully so. But we saw each other often. Dinner with other members of the crew on layovers. Drinks. Regular stuff.”

  He was listening intently.

  She found the courage to continue. “One night, we were the only two left in the bar and he slid closer to me and set a hand on my thigh, meeting my gaze and then confessing how attracted he was.”

  Shayla set her empty mug down on the coffee table and drew into herself in the corner of the couch, feeling exposed—emotionally, not physically. “Anyway, he was very charming. In hindsight, I should have seen the signs, but hey, I’ve never been with an abuser before, so I didn’t notice he was grooming me.”

  “Have you had counseling?” Jake asked.

  She glanced at him. “Yes. After I left him three months ago, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to sleep if I didn’t get help. I was in over my damn head with no one to talk to.”

  “Why didn’t you feel like you could share with your friends?” He sighed. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m blaming you for anything. I’m just curious. You all seem so close. Like sisters.”

  “Because they all work for the same airline. It would have been uncomfortable for them to know that about a man they fly with sometimes. Besides, I was embarrassed for my stupidity. Still am.”

  “I hate that for you. I hate that you’re taking the blame.”

  She drew in a slow breath. “I’m not. Not as much as I was at first anyway. My counselor has helped me see the light and not give him my power, but it’s going to take time.”

  “I get that. Go on. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “I don’t drink much when I’m on an overnight. None of us do. We can’t get on the flight the next morning if we do. One glass of wine is about it. Sometimes two if it’s early. So, I can’t even blame alcohol for my choices. Hawke asked me to dance. I said yes. We were in a lounge of sorts. A few people were dancing. Slow jazz.”

  Shayla didn’t look at Jake while she continued, not wanting to see his reactions. She kept her gaze on her clasped hands in her lap. “It’s pretty simple. He was charming, I went to his room, we had sex. Something was not right though, not even that first night.”

  “How so?”

  “Let’s just say the man isn’t a giver.” Shayla shuddered, remembering how Jake had teased her with the visual of tying her up and going down on her. Polar opposites.

  “I see.”

  “I thought maybe he was just tired that first night, or it had been a while, or he was anxious to be with me. Whatever. I should have seen the warning signs and turned him down the next time. But a week later, we were at it again. Same thing. We ended up in his room earlier than the previous time. There wasn’t as much of a question as to if we would fuck, more like when.”

  “And he didn’t take care of you?” Jake asked gently.

  “Not at all. Weird as hell.”

  “Jesus,” Jake muttered. “Go on.”

  “You sure you want to hear all this?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I need to know, sweetheart.”

  “Okay… Well, we didn’t hook up again for a few weeks af
ter that because our schedules weren’t the same. But he started calling and texting. He was usually pretty friendly. We’d chat a few minutes. He usually joked about sex or getting off thinking about me or whatever. We never really discussed anything important or shared about our lives. It was mostly just flirting. On his part.”

  Shayla could feel the tension wafting off of Jake, but she ignored it. Any decent guy would hate listening to this. “The next time we were together, he drank too much.”

  “Between flights?”

  “God, I wish. If I could catch him doing that, I could turn him in. Not that lucky. He was staying over. He told me to meet him in his room as soon as we were at the hotel. Didn’t even pretend like it was a date. No mention of dinner. Just meet me in my room and let’s fuck. I was pissed by then. So, when I showed up, I told him so.”

  She drew in a breath and continued, not wanting to break her momentum. “He was already drinking when I arrived. I hadn’t even changed clothes. I wanted to tell him in private that it wasn’t going to work out and go back to my room. He had showered and was wearing nothing but a towel. As soon as the door shut, his hands went to my blouse. I batted them away and stepped out of his grasp. He groaned. ‘What’s the matter, baby? Time’s a-ticking. Get your clothes off.’” She said all this in a sing-songy drunk voice.

  Jake sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t say a word.

  Shayla tucked her feet under her and fisted her hands. “I batted at him every time he reached for me and told him I didn’t want to be in a relationship that was based on nothing but sex. He dropped onto the bed dramatically and leaned against the headboard, his towel barely covering his junk. He pouted and said he was sorry. That he hardly ever got to see me and didn’t want to waste time in the bar. Couldn’t I see his point of view? Didn’t I realize how much he liked me? How special I was?”

  Shayla flattened a palm to her forehead. “Ugh. It’s maddening to think about how fucking stupid I was.”

  “Stop saying that. You’re not stupid, sweetheart. He was playing you.”