by Chloe Blake
He’d gotten a fresh haircut. She longed to smooth her hand against his close-cropped hair. Then down his neck, around to his chest and lower to—She cleared her throat before delivering the now ineffective line, “I wouldn’t mind.”
Dammit. She’d intended to sound mean.
“I’m fine where I am. Besides, now that you’re talking to me again, the chill in the air has lifted.”
Kamilla patted her head to maintain the slick style she’d had her hair dresser style the short strands into instead of curling them. She figured a hat would be in order at some point during the trip, so it would be fruitless to waste time doing it.
Flipping through a magazine didn’t distract her from the creeping fear settling into her stomach when the plane rolled along the tarmac. Having flown a few times for business trips to meet clients, she should’ve been more comfortable with the flight process.
She wiped sweat from her brow. Had they turned up the heat?
Leonardo leaned toward her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She wished she could slam down the window shade. Once they got into the sky, this phase of her fear would pass. She wouldn’t think of the possibility of turbulence.
Just as she’d done during her work-study jobs in the biology lab during her sophomore year of college, she breathed deeply to maintain her calm. Unlike the poor defenseless mice she’d been tasked to feed to the snakes, she’d get through this flight. One moment at a time.
“Are you sure? You look a little green.” Then in an unexpected manner, he reached for his barf bag and handed it to her. “Just in case, okay?”
Touched by his kindness, she nodded as she accepted the bag.
“Just remember to do it in the opposite direction from me.”
She should’ve expected it. “I’m not going to throw up. I get a little nervous during takeoff.” Turbulence, landing and anytime the captain puts on the fasten seat belt sign.
His stare unsettled her even more. “What are you looking at?” she asked with annoyance she didn’t try to hide.
“You’re afraid.” He shook his head as if disappointed. “I never would’ve thought it possible.”
She thrust her shoulders back. “What do you mean?” She had many fears. Returning to a state of poverty and government dependence completely overshadowed her discomfort of flying.
Leonardo shrugged. Would he be able to fit in coach with those massive shoulders? With his wealth, he never had to find out. “Nothing.”
“Don’t you dare let it go, Astacio.”
He darted his eyes to the opposite aisle before whispering. “Keep your voice down.”
“What? You don’t want people snapping pictures of you and posting them all over social media?”
“You sure are a smart woman,” he drawled out and then paused. “On rare occasions.”
Gritting her teeth, Kamilla knew better than to respond, but she was wound so tightly, she couldn’t help it. Before she could speak, she noticed two things. The glint in his eyes and the fact that they were ascending. They’d survived the takeoff. Had he distracted her on purpose?
He rested his head against the backrest and proceeded to ignore her.
Nope. He didn’t have it in him to do such a nice thing. Those pro bono cases came to mind once again. Rather than relinquish the idea of him being nothing but a bully, she put on her earphones. Then she turned to the window and smiled.
Leonardo clenched and then extended his fingers several times to recover the circulation. If he could drag Kamilla into his lap and comfort her, he wouldn’t be suffering. He couldn’t act on his instincts. Due to the turbulence two hours into the flight, they had to stay belted in. The official reason for keeping her in her own seat was minor compared to the fact that she’d probably claw his eyes out if he tried to hold her.
He’d never seen this vulnerable side of her. Always on top of her game, no matter what went down, she never let her weaknesses show. Not even when he harassed her. Sure she’d get angry and retaliate with her sharp tongue, but she handled her business.
This sweaty, shaky, gripping-his-hand-during-the-major-dips female intrigued him. How much about her didn’t he know? His family tended to be in the newspapers for the world to witness. Leonardo had done more than his fair share of magazine interviews to keep from appearing too mysterious to the press.
He’d never once asked her a personal question. Before he’d slept with her, he hadn’t really wanted to. Getting to know her would’ve been an impediment toward his objective of making partner, so he’d wanted to keep everything professional. And now things had changed, at least for him.
Something in his heart tugged at her defenselessness. Distracting her had worked during takeoff, so maybe it would for this obnoxious turbulence. Although he might regret it once she returned to her normal vivacious, challenging determined self. “Where do you come from?”
The brown of her eye obscured the white part in an officially freaky side-eyed look. “What the hell kind of question is that?”
Or he could regret it right then and there. “I take it you want me to guess.”
“I’d rather you stop being weird and bring back the man I’ve had difficulty with for the past few—” Kamilla snatched the hand that hadn’t had the chance to recover when a deep dip had his own stomach lurching. Scrunching her eyes, she mumbled words he couldn’t understand.
“What are you saying?”
“Shhh. I’m praying.”
“What are you praying for?” As if he didn’t know, but he hated seeing her so afraid. He preferred her feisty and argumentative. He’d do anything to get that aspect of her personality back.
When the turbulence eased, she released his hand and he shook it. “If you won’t tell me where you come from, then I’ll guess,” he taunted.
She opened her eyes. “We’re about to plummet to the ground in a fiery death and you want to harass me with a guessing game?”
“We’re not going to die.” Adding unless we do wouldn’t have been reassuring to either of them, so he kept it contained. “The plane’s just going through a few air pockets. How come you didn’t take anything for the flight?”
“You mean like a sedative?”
“Yes. It would’ve relaxed you.”
Kamilla rotated her fingers in a circle at the sides of her temples. “I tried it once and it made me loopy. By the time I got to my destination, I was dancing at the baggage claim.” Then she giggled. “With no music to be heard by anyone but me.”
Picturing the situation, Leonardo laughed.
He braced himself at her inhaled gasp, but the plane remained steady.
“How come you don’t smile more often?” she asked. “It completely changes your face. Makes you seem more human.”
That’s why. By appearing friendly, people tried to get close in order to manipulate. Leonardo had learned the painful lesson in his younger years. He’d found the combination of scowling, sarcastic comments and being brutally honest to be the best deterrent for people trying to enter his world uninvited.
The only people he could trust were his family and a few guys he’d bonded with over the years. Everyone else could stay the hell out of his circle.
Women came and went. None had held his interest for as long as Kamilla. Although he behaved as if he couldn’t stand her, he’d go out of his way to make sure he saw her at least once a day. And if he was lucky, he’d spark her temper and they’d get into some kind of debate.
He continued with the game. “Since you don’t have a Southern drawl, I’ll rule out those states.”
Kamilla rubbed her hands down her lap, smoothing the material of her pants. “Are you back on this?”
“I’ll officially stake you as from New York, but I won’t name a city.”
She scoffed. “Of all the states, why New York?”
> A wave of turbulence overtook them. The only hint that Kamilla had felt it was the scrunch of her nose, but otherwise she remained calm. Leonard held his pride of her in check. “You seem like a New Yorker. Tough.”
“Are they the only people who have grit in the country?”
He shook his head. “You have a street-smart edge to you.”
She didn’t blink as she stared at him. “I’m from Cleveland, born and bred.”
“Hmm. I’m never wrong.”
She waggled a sexy French-manicured finger at him. “You stand corrected, counsellor. You’re wrong more than you like to admit.”
“I will neither deny nor confirm your claim. Do you have any siblings? I can’t see you being an only child. Your confrontational personality came from somewhere.” They hit another air pocket and this time she looped her arm through his and hung on tight.
He disengaged her, raised the armrest and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her as close as the seat belts would allow. Her lavender scent teased his nostrils as she held herself board-straight. “It’s okay,” he crooned as his other hand smoothed her short hair, encouraging her to rest against him.
After a moment she relaxed. Not wanting to disturb this tenuous balance of pleasure and peace, he kept his mouth shut. She felt so good. No need to remind her how annoying she tended to find him and have her scoot away.
Once the turbulence passed and Kamilla still sat in the same position, he increased the depth of his breathing to normal, or as close as possible with the beauty listening to how rapidly his heart was beating.
“I’m an only child. At least as far as I know,” she mumbled without moving.
Where had that come from? Oh yes, his question. He’d rather give up his Audi A5 than have this moment ruined. “How was the experience?”
Feeling her stiffened shoulders, he knew he’d lose contact with her in a few seconds, but then she calmed. “I grew up in foster homes.”
Not the answer he’d expected.
“My mother died when I was young and my father couldn’t take care of me, so he left me at a church and took off.”
His nostrils flared at the emotion raging through him on behalf of this woman. Grief for her loss rivaled anger over her father’s inability or unwillingness to take care of his own.
Her hand rested on his chest and his heart stopped for a moment.
“It’s okay. I made my peace with it a long time ago.” She cleared her throat. “I more than survived.”
At what cost? He’d never taken for granted the closeness of his family, even though his parents had traveled for most of his life and his younger sister and brother had attended different boarding schools. No matter what happened, he knew they’d support him.
Who had been there for her?
Chapter 10
Kamilla would rather have all her immunization shots redone than tell people her story. Just because she’d grown up in the system didn’t mean her life had been bad. Granted, she’d had her share of struggles, but she’d be a completely different person if she hadn’t gone through those hard times. She liked the strength her experiences had infused into her.
Of course if she’d been offered the opportunity to grow up in a loving, supportive family, she wouldn’t have turned it down. It had been what she’d prayed for as a child. A chance to be adopted like Cass had been, but no one had chosen her. By the time she’d reached twelve, she’d made her peace with growing up in the foster care system.
As she rested with her head on her nemesis’s strong and wonderfully supportive chest, listening to the reassuring beat of his heart, she waited for the barrage of questions that tended to come when people learned how she’d grown up.
Blessed silence met her. “It wasn’t horrible,” she volunteered. “I only had a couple of foster parents who were in it for the money rather than the care.”
His arm stiffened around her.
“In all, I lived in seven foster homes.”
“Why so many?” Asked by a man who knew nothing about the system.
Now that the turbulence had stopped and the captain had turned off the seat belt sign, she should at least think about peeling herself off him. He was better than any pillow she’d ever rested on, so she snuggled closer and held back a sigh of bliss as he glided his hand down her arm and back to her shoulder, tucking her in.
“It’s the foster care system,” she answered. “Very few people get adopted, and that’s how people tend to stay permanent in a house. I realized it early. As a ward of the state, belonging to no one, I made sure I was always packed and ready to go.”
Her breath caught in her throat and her stomach did something weird as his lips brushed her hair. Had he, Leonardo Astacio, bane of her existence, just kissed her in comfort? Looking up at him would only break whatever alternate universe bubble they’d found themselves in, so she stayed still, inhaling what had to be the most intoxicating cologne to ever pass into her nose. She let the scent transport her to what she could only imagine to be the forest after a cleansing rain. Fresh and calming.
The next thing she knew, her upper body was being jiggled.
“Wake up.”
She snuggled into the comfy embrace. “Just five more minutes.” The noise of people chattering hit her at the same time she realized she wasn’t in bed. Sitting straight up, Leonardo didn’t relinquish his touch as her vision cleared and she stared at him. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“And snored like a boxer who’s had his nose broken a few times.”
She slapped his chest and, for a second, thought of leaving her hand on the hard pecs. Then her common sense returned and she raised it to slick back her hair. “I don’t snore.”
“If you say so.”
Had she really told this difficult man about her past? Had he actually listened? “Thanks for distracting me from the turbulence.”
He looked into her eyes for the longest moment, nodded and then stood without replying. What was going on in his mind? Removing his carry-on, he left hers in the overhead compartment. No surprise there. She’d formulated no delusions that a few moments of compassion would change anything between them, but it would’ve been nice.
The business class remained with only them as a few stragglers from coach filed past. Getting to her feet, she reached up for her bag. She paused when he trapped her with his body. The rumble of his voice erupted goose bumps on her skin under her turtleneck and thick sweater. “Will you let me get it down for you without a feminist fight?”
Unlike the first time they’d been in this position, for the slightest moment, she leaned back against him, savoring the hardness of his body. What would it be like to have the freedom to turn around and press her chest to his? Stand on her toes and slide her lips against the firm warmth of his. Would he kiss her back or push her to the side? She didn’t have the courage to try.
With his offer, she knew something monumental had shifted between them during the flight. If she told him no, he’d return to his brash ways. A yes could open a door she wasn’t ready to walk through. “Okay. But if you ask to carry it, I’ll give you all of my luggage.”
His chuckle once again unsettled her peace of mind with its richness. “You’re safe.”
When he’d brought down her bag, she turned and held out her arms. Raising her eyes to his, she remembered their main reason for being on this trip. She had a job to secure. No one would stop her. Not even her unwarranted attraction to Leonardo the Great.
“Um...” She cleared her throat. “Thanks again for helping me out during the flight.”
For the tiniest moment, sympathy and something unfamiliar flashed in his dark eyes. Then the familiar scowl made its appearance. “Next time don’t be such a baby about flying.”
Out of a debt owed, she held back her retort.
* * *
Waiting fo
r their car to take them from the airport to the hotel, Leonardo pondered the fact that Kamilla still hadn’t accepted his scheme of pretending to be a couple. The idea was sound, but he couldn’t blame her for rejecting it. He’d planned to convince her on the plane, but that idea fell to the wayside when he’d found he preferred being the one to bring her comfort in her time of distress.
He couldn’t imagine how someone who’d had such a difficult life could end up as amazing and ambitious as she’d turned out. He hadn’t made life any easier by pestering her over the years. The more he thought about it, the more he reminded himself of a kid who pulled on a girl’s pigtails to get her attention. Only this time he utilized the art of sarcasm and subtle digs.
Would he stop? Not a chance. He enjoyed the mental sparring too much. What he wished would go away was the deeper awareness of her as a woman. How her firm breast had pressed into his side as she rested against him. His desire for her had jacked up even more. The plan for them to act as a couple wasn’t only for the Singletons’ benefit. He wanted her. To hear her moans of ecstasy as they made love again. The next encounter would be nice and slow. He’d take his time getting to know every curve of her body by sight, taste and touch.
When their Uber pulled up to the curb, he assisted in placing her massive suitcase in the trunk, along with his more moderate one. Once they’d settled in the back seat, he turned to her. She had her profile to him and sat as if she were a stately Nubian queen. Stunning. Yet he knew how dangerous she could be when it came to anyone trying to get in the way of what she wanted.
“Have you come up with a different strategy to make our being here appear accidental?”
She tucked a corner of her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought. “I was thinking we could be here for a meeting with another client and happen to be staying at their resort.”