I gaze down at her hand, still in mine, and give it a light squeeze. She turns to face me.
“Have you been on one of these flights before?”
She chuckles and she replies, “Yeah, but I never get tired of it.”
Fuck, I’m an idiot. Of course she’s been on one of these flights. What a stupid fucking question, you cock-head.
Her green eyes sink into me. “So how come you don’t fly planes yourself? You know, like all those men in the fairy-tale romance stories.”
“Who said I was a fairy-tale?” I laugh. “Not many rich guys really have time to learn how to fly planes, especially not ones like me. I’d rather just pay someone else to fly me around.”
She laughs with me. Thank fuck. The only way to battle this embarrassment is to humour her. Why does she think I’m like a fairy-tale? Is she really like every girl I’ve ever met, all wanting their Prince Charming to sweep them off their feet and have a fucking happy ever after? Doesn’t she realise that doesn’t always happen in my world? You have to fight for the happy, and as for the ever after? Well, that’s even harder to get when there’s always a target on you. That’s my reality.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“If you keep your eye out, you may just catch some whales. We saw a pod yesterday when we flew over here.” The pilot’s voice sounds through the headphones again.
It’s safe to say that this is the most romantic thing a guy has ever done for me, even if it’s just a plane flight to have lunch. I’ve gone out to dinner with guys—I even dated a guy for four months once. Nothing felt like it fit into my life. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realise nothing ever will fit into my life. None of them felt nice, except this. This feels nice.
The farther we get from Sydney, the farther we are from our troubles.
“There’s some.” The pilot points to the window next to him. “Let me bank down closer. They’re the Humpback whales, more than likely on their way up to Hervey Bay in Queensland with their babies. It’s their annual migration.”
The look on Pacer’s face is so sweet. He looks at me with a smile, and his eyes are soft and gentle. I’ve never really noticed the dark colour of them before. They’re a deep brown and appear almost bottomless. The smile that he’s trying to hide is as if he’s embarrassed about enjoying this moment. Does he think he’s too hard to be soft? Maybe he didn’t even realise how nice this was going to be.
He lifts his arm up, coaxing me to lean over him and get a better view of the whales. His body feels amazing against mine. I can feel his heart beat vibrate through his chest. I also feel the hardness of it under his clothes. The sound of my heartbeat thuds in my ears, and I put my palms against his thigh and use him as leverage to look out of his window better. I hope I get to touch his trouser python a bit better this time. From what I think I felt before, that thing is a monster. It makes my mouth salivate at the thought. The top of his thigh flex under my fingers. They’re strong, powerful legs.
He looks down at my hand on top of his leg before his eyes quickly meet with mine again. I can feel the heat from his body. He watches my face, taking all of me in. I like him watching me. The intensity of it is strange and alluring. It makes my nipples harden and my clit pulse. I squeeze my legs together and sit up straight. He glances down. Did he just notice that? Fuck, he’s intuitive if he did.
My breasts are forced outwards in this position, touching distance from Pacer’s hands. What I wouldn’t give for him to just rub a finger past my nipple. Just one would be enough.
Slowing my breathing as best as I can, I focus on the four long dark shapes in the ocean. They’re in the shape of whales, but they’re so tiny from up here. But I really don’t care about whales right now. I could practically mount Pacer from here.
As the plane dips to the left, I’m forced up against Pacer even more. He reaches for the side of my face and brings me to him. His eyes are still soft, but there’s also a yearning in them.
“Fuck rules.” I feel his breath against me when he speaks.
Our lips collide into each other’s, and I don’t even think about it any more. My body has taken over all my rational thoughts, and now it’s just running it’s own course, straight to Pacer. His tongue slips into my mouth and rubs against mine. It feels hot and tense. I tingle all over from the sensation of it. Our tongues dance in a beautiful harmony with each other, as if they’re having a conversation of their own. There’s a lot to be said about the power of a tongue. I squeeze my legs tight together and my clit pulses with excitement. I’m doing pelvic floor exercises without even meaning to.
Fuck, this is intense.
His lips.
Fuck me, his lips.
I let them slide all over my mouth. The kiss is deep. The kiss is two weeks of built-up tension and two days of absence from one another. I feel his hand slide under the headphone and around the back of my neck. His fingers weave through my hair, and he pulls me against him as his kiss intensifies even more. The pulse that was just in my pants is now all over my body. Pins and needles tickle the top of my head. Holy shit, I could rip my clothes off, right here, right now.
His tongue moves back from my mouth, and I lean in to pull him back. It can’t stop. Not now. I reach up to his face and slide my fingers through his stubble. My palm tingles.
He grabs my hand and gently pulls back again, much to my disappointment. Seriously, I am going to forget how to breathe soon.
I slowly open my eyes. Pacer’s dark eyes are on mine, and they crinkle in the corners as he smiles. All that remains of our intense kiss are soft pecks as my lips refuse to leave his.
Wow, he mouths, so that the pilot doesn’t hear. Although I’m sure he knows what’s going on in the back of his plane.
I chuckle. I feel like such a teenager. But I’m not. I’m a professional woman … who just kissed her client.
Shit!
Straightening up, I sit back in my seat. I don’t say anything. I don’t know what to say. I’ve wanted to kiss him for days, but now that it’s happened, I feel embarrassed about it and instead choose to look down at my hands in my lap to lessen the heat in my cheeks.
I wish that didn’t just happen. Or do I? God, I don’t know. Why does this have to be so damn confusing?
“Hey.” Pacer’s voice comes through my headphones.
He leans in to me and removes my headset. The noise of the plane is loud, but I feel Pacer’s breath against my ear as he speaks.
“I’ve wondered what that would feel like for days.”
I hear him clearly in my ear. I can’t help but smile.
I lean into him, and he removes his headset too. “Me too. But I have a rule about seeing clients. Don’t get me wrong—I really like you … a lot. But it’s really unprofessional of me.” I raise my voice so he can hear me.
“I like breaking the rules.” His hot breath is on my ear again.
For once in my life, I can’t argue that point.
I put my headset back on to muffle out the sound of the plane. We dip down and bank around a long sandy beach. We fly into the wide inlet of the Hawkesbury River and veer into the smaller creek. The waterway narrows and we fly over a small green ridge.
“We’re just coming in to land now.” I hear the pilot again.
We fly over the top of a white motorboat and gracefully come in to land on the water. I love the landing of a seaplane. No rough thud as you hit the ground, but instead a gentle slide followed by some swaying from the water. It’s always very relaxing.
We float over to the pontoon at the front of Cottage Point Inn restaurant. As we pull up alongside the wharf, a guy grabs the rope on the side of the wing and pulls us into the edge. The pilot gets out through his front door and opens the rear for us. Pacer, the persistent gentleman, exits and holds his hand out to help me down from the plane. He doesn’t let go of my hand as we walk up the wharf to the restaurant. The feel of his leather glove excites me. It feels really dominating, but in a protective way. I feel safe.