“Yes.”
Three helicopters were lined up side-by-side, each gleaming bright as new. Tess had flown in copters dozens of times and these were top of the line. But it was the shiny metal sitting just beyond that really caught her eye. Without asking for permission, she made a beeline to get a closer look.
She half skipped, half walked, as she called over her shoulder. “What’s this?” It looked like a toy plane with three feet, one long wing across its top and a propeller.
“That’s a Flight Design CT.”
She suspected Hugh wasn’t bothered at all by her detour because he sounded like a guy who’d just been asked to show off his prized baseball card collection. He stood beside her and ran a hand along the stripes of the small airplane. She did the same, the tips of her fingers lingering on the smooth surface. Flying gave the biggest rush, triggered the best endorphins.
“So this is what a light sport aircraft looks like.”
“This baby’s the best LSA out there,” he said, giving a solid slap to the plane.
“I bet it flies like a dream.” With her nose pressed against the glass, she hoped she didn’t look too in awe. “How far can you go on a tank?”
He moved behind her, and with arms on either side of her body, pressed his hands against the window. His chest grazed her back ever so slightly as he leaned closer to talk into her ear. “San Francisco and back. You want to go for a ride?”
Yes she wanted to go for a ride. But not in the CT. She closed her eyes, relaxed into him. With his warm breath in her ear and his body cradling her backside, she lost herself to the moment. He felt so good, so right, it took all her willpower not to melt in a puddle right there.
“I bet the scenery is amazing with the bubble-shaped cockpit.” She’d talk about visibility to get her mind off him and his abs, his chest, his tattoo.
He continued to talk into her ear, his chin almost on her shoulder. “It’s unbelievable. To see a hundred miles of mountains and valleys or ocean gives you a sense of solitude and freedom that’s unmatched by anything you can do on the ground. I’ve flown over snow capped mountains and the Pacific Ocean in the same day. It’s an incredible rush seeing things from a perspective that isn’t familiar.”
She heard most of what he said, but really his sexy voice, combined with his pure maleness, reminded her of what had almost happened between them earlier, and his words were sort of lost on her.
“How fast does it go?” she asked, ducking out from under him and strolling around the front of the CT in order to put much needed space between them.
Hugh followed at a safe distance. “With the right tailwind, I’ve exceeded one-fifty, but usually I cruise at around one-ten.”
“Sweet.”
“Sweet?” He repeated, sounding like he was trying to refrain from laughing.
“You got a problem with sweet?”
“No problem,” he shot back, the chortle gone from his tone. “Come on. Follow me.”
He took her to a reception area decorated with couches, a coffee table and a tall green plant in the corner. One wall, she couldn’t help but notice, held a collection of sketches similar to the ones in his house. Her heart pounded and she took a deep breath to slow it down. They captured the human condition better than anything she’d looked at before. The other wall was covered with photographs of aircraft and amazing aerial views of Mother Nature.
While Hugh went behind the reception desk, she took a closer peek at the photos. “Did you take these?”
“No—”
“I did,” came an unfamiliar voice from behind her.
She spun around to see an attractive guy about the same age as Hugh, dressed in khaki pants and a collared polo shirt. Neat. Clean. Tame.
“It’s about time you showed your face around here,” he said to Hugh. “I was starting to forget what your ugly mug looked like.”
Hugh came out from behind the desk and fist bumped him. “Thanks for holding down the fort. Gavin, this is Tess. Tess, this is Gavin Rhoades, my partner.”
A smile a mile wide played across Gavin’s face. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Tess.”
“You too,” she said, taking the time to register everything she could about Gavin Rhoades. His shake was firm, but his hands soft. His clean-shaven face was nice enough, but a little too pretty-boy. And his eyes were the dullest shade of brown she’d seen in awhile.
Not a Night Runner.
“Would you wipe that smirk off your face?” Hugh returned to the other side of the desk and rifled through some papers. “Any emergencies I should know about?”
“Sorry. It’s just when you called and said you’d be gone for a few days to take care of a problem, I didn’t imagine the problem would be blonde with blue eyes. I mean, as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never had trouble like this.”
Tess’s stomach lurched. She liked that last bit of information.
“You’ve got a problem, huh? Hmm. Here, I thought I’d been sweet as pie. But you know, I can be a major pain in the ass with the right provocation.”
One side of his kissable mouth lifted when he glanced up from the desk. “You mean you haven’t been already?”
“You sure weren’t complaining when I—”
“Stop right there,” Gavin said, holding up a hand. “That’s more information than I need to know. I didn’t even realize Hugh here had a sense of humor. I say keep doing what you’re doing, Tess.” He turned his attention back to Hugh. “You should take her on vacation with you.”
“Vacation?” she and Hugh said in unison.
She beat him to the follow-up. “You’re going on vacation?”
Hugh got sidetracked with a piece of paper he lifted off the desk, his eyes scanning the contents.
“He was supposed to leave days ago. The poor guy hasn’t had a vacation in, what, five years?”
Hugh answered the question with a shrug and kept reading.
Gavin returned the conversation to her direction and added, “No one works harder than my partner. He puts me to shame every day. He’s found more lost hikers, rescued more oil rig workers and probably saved more stupid teenagers than any other rescue operation in the state. Anyway, he’s long overdue for some R and R.”
Hugh put the paper down. “Shut up, Gavin.”
“That’s the Hugh I know and love,” he shot back.
“You’ve rescued that many people?” Her admiration for him grew, and she wished like hell he’d do something, anything, to prove it was all a façade and he really was a good for nothing wolfen. It would make her life so much easier. She didn’t want to think that beneath his tough exterior lived a man who put others—humans—before himself.
“Hugh, you keeping secrets from this lovely lady?”
No, not secrets, Tess thought. He just isn’t comfortable talking about himself.
“Some things are better left unsaid,” he answered, splitting his attention between them.
Like the fact you’re a wolfen. Tess sensed Gavin had no idea Hugh was a Night Runner. Gavin didn’t look at Hugh the same way Trey or Dane did. He seemed genuinely attached to Hugh in a business relationship sort of way that indicated there was familiarity, but also some reservation. Their professional lives were closely intertwined, personal not so much.
“I agree.” She plopped down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.
“What are the two of you doing here?” Gavin joined her on the couch.
“We’re taking one of the choppers to San Diego.” Hugh came around the desk. “Tess has got some business there.”
“Tonight? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a pretty thick cloud cover right now.”