In Flight (34 page)

I was laughing too hard to give him one.
 
I’d seen that performance before.
 
It was as funny as it sounded.
 
I’d even heard tales that it had gone viral.
 

Damien showed up again.
 
“Okay, picture this.
 
Murphy is Chris Farley and I will play the Patrick Swayze part, and in a thong.
 
And we’ll make it a duo.
 
Final offer, Bianca.”

I still just shook my head, laughing as he ducked back into the flight deck.
 

“Would it be possible to get a drink of water when you’re done flirting with those pilots?” a frosty voice asked from behind me.
 

I turned, my laughter dying, as I took in a furious James.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Mr. Personality

I reached into one of my carts, handing James a cold bottle without speaking.
 

He took it, watching me with narrowed eyes.
 
Cold Mr. Cavendish was back in full force.
 

What had I done now?
 
I wanted to touch him.
 
I wanted to ask him why he was angry, but I didn’t.
 
I just watched him without speaking until he turned and strode to his seat.
 

I hadn’t even known we were boarding.
 
Normally Stephan both made an announcement, for those of us in the galleys, and then came and told me personally.
 

Of course, with Damien and Murphy in the cockpit, things ran a little bit differently.
 
He didn’t have to pull pilot duty for me, so he hadn’t had to come up to the flight deck.

Damien poked his smiling head out again, then came out completely, standing a little too close to me, his voice pitched low.
 
“Who was that asshole?” he asked.
 

I just grimaced.
 
I wasn’t about to talk about it.
 
I was already distracted enough.
 

“Could we get a couple of waters, as well?
 
I’ll try not to be a dick about it, though, like Mr. Personality there,” he said with a smile.
 

I gave him a slight smile back, though I had to stifle the urge to tell him that it was Mr. Beautiful, thank you very much.
 
I handed him two bottles.
 

“You guys need anything else?” I asked politely.
 

He dipped his head.
 
“Thank you, beautiful.
 
We’re good to go.”
 
He disappeared back into the cockpit.
 

I shook my head.
 
He’s in an odd mood today.
 
It was poor timing, to say the least.
 
James would take exception to even harmless flirting, I was quickly learning.
   

I headed into the cabin briskly, to tend to my three passengers.
 

I stopped at James first.
 
He was in his usual seat, looking tense, his features hard as he sat and twisted his unopened bottle of water.
 

“Can I get you anything, Mr. Cavendish?
 
May I take your jacket?”

He stood, crowding me back a step when he moved into the aisle.
 
He moved closer, and I stood my ground that time.
 
His chest brushed mine as he shrugged out of his pin-striped suit jacket.
 

I saw the Burberry label clearly as I folded the garment carefully against me.
 

“He calls you beautiful.
 
How much of your beauty has he seen, Bianca?” he asked, his quiet voice intense.

I gave him a perplexed, unhappy look.
 
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but now is not the time to do so.
 
I’m working, Mr. Cavendish.”

His jaw clenched.
 
“Whatever you were doing up there with those pilots looked more like play than work to me.”
 

His anger didn’t make me want to cower, as I might have expected.
 
It made me want to fight.
 

“Don’t be ridiculous.
 
I was working, and they were being friendly.
 
You don’t get to control me outside of what we do in the bedroom, James.”
 
My voice was quiet, but furious.
 
“And you especially don’t have any control over anything to do with my work.”
 

He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again, looking a little more controlled than he had just an instant before.
 

“I hate that.
 
You can’t have any idea how much I hate that,” he said quietly, moving back into his seat.
 
He leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

I let him be, hanging up his coat.
 
I checked on my other two passengers, who sat in the last row of first class.
 
I sent an unmoved James a glance as I walked back into the galley to prepare two Jack and cokes.
   

He kept his eyes tightly shut even on takeoff.
 
I watched him, my brow furrowed.
 
Stephan glanced between the two of us.
 

“Everything okay?” he asked.
 

I gave my little shrug.
 
“I don’t know.
 
He doesn’t like me being friendly with Damien and Murphy.
 
But I am, and I’ve only known James for a week.
 
I don’t understand him at all.”
 

Stephan sighed.
 
“I told Damien that you were involved with someone.
 
He took it well, but he was obviously bummed about it.
 
You know he’s always liked you.”

My eyes widened.
 
“He always likes every woman he meets.
 
What does that have to do with anything?”
 

Stephan gave me a meaningful look, then shook his head.
 
“Never mind.
 
Once James realizes just how unreceptive you are to any interest on Damien’s part, I’m sure he’ll be more reasonable.”

I rolled my eyes.
 
Reasonable did not seem to be part of James’s repertoire, so far as I had seen.
 

At ten thousand feet I rose and began my service promptly, in spite of the fact that it would only take minutes, and then I would have hours to kill.
 

I stopped by a still unmoving James, debating whether to ask him if he needed anything, or just to pass him by, pretending he was sleeping.
 
I knew he wasn’t by his hard mouth and clenched fists.
 

I decided to tend to the other passengers first, easily putting off the decision on how to deal with him.
 

I served the couple two more cocktails, and two waters, heading back to James.
 
I sat in the empty seat beside him, but he still didn’t open his eyes.
 
I touched his hand lightly, then his arm.
 

“Mr. Cavendish?” I asked him quietly.
 

“Didn’t I warn you what would happen if you touched me in front of other people?” he asked without opening his eyes.
 

I looked around.
 
“No one can see us, so I don’t think this technically counts.”
 

He grabbed my hand, quick as a snake, placing it firmly against his rock hard cock.
 
He was so ready to go.
 
I was shocked.
 
Just sitting here on the plane, fully aroused…

“Are you always hard?” I asked him quietly, almost more curious than anything else, though I was far from unmoved by his ardor.
 

He smiled, a pained smile.
 
“Of course not.
 
Just most of the time, lately.”
 

He moved against me slightly as he spoke, and I gripped him without thinking.
 
He groaned.
 

I pulled back and stood, realizing what I’d been doing and where.
 
And how fast it would lead to something more.
 
I couldn’t believe my lack of control.
 

 
“I need to get back to work.
 
Can I get you anything?”
 

He just gave me an ironic, arched look, his arousal obvious where he lounged, hands on his armrests now.
 
“I don’t need a drink, if that’s what you’re asking.”
 

I left him hastily.
 
Things were quickly getting out of hand.
 

I hand served the snack since I only had three passengers.
 
James nodded that yes, he wanted the snack, then didn’t move.
 
I had to open his tray table for him, something I did often.
 
But folding it open on top of his impressive arousal was definitely a new experience for me.
 

He gave me a very heated, heavy-lidded gaze as I moved on.
 

Damned temperamental, arousing man
, I thought in agitation.
 

I served the pilots next, then served the couple several more rounds of cocktails.
 
They looked about ready to pass out, but still spoke quietly to each other and drank heavily.
 

As I re-entered my galley, I nearly jumped, my hand going to my heart.
 

“Damien, you startled me,” I told the pilot.
 
Stephan was helping in back, and I hadn’t expected to find anyone behind the curtain when I’d swung it open.
 

He just smiled.
 
“Sorry, beautiful.
 
How’s it goin’?
 
Are you bored out of your mind with an empty cabin?” he asked, knowing that I liked to keep busy.
 

I nodded, smiling.
 
“I may have to cut off the couple in first class.
 
They’re slurring their words, but show no signs of stopping.
 
That’ll add a bit of excitement, if they’re the usual disgruntled drunks I’m used to dealing with.”
 

He flexed an arm.
 
“Lemme know if you need a hand.
 
I’d be happy to throw my weight around for you,” he joked.

I just laughed.
 
“That won’t be necessary.
 
They’ll probably just send me nasty looks for the rest of the flight, if I’ve judged them correctly.”
 

“So Stephan tells me that you’re actually seeing someone now.
 
I thought you didn’t date…
 
And he told me it’s pretty serious.
 
Is that true?” he asked.
 
That line of questioning is inappropriately personal,
I thought.
 
And it came out of left field
.
 

My eyes widened in dismay at a number of his comments.
 
I thought it was possible James could hear us from his close seating.
 
I didn’t want him to think that I was telling people falsehoods about our purely sexual relationship, so I was quick to correct the Captain.
 

“Serious?
 
No, of course not.
 
I’ve only known him for a week.
 
We’re actually not even dating.
 
It’s…complicated.”

Damien looked way, way too happy with my explanation.
 
An explanation that I never would have given Damien if I didn’t want James to be sure that I would correct any false assumptions about what we had going.
 

Damien was the type of guy I could be friends with, but he wasn’t anyone I would have confided in about a rocky relationship.
 
I felt like I had revealed way too much, by his reaction.
 
He positively beamed at me.
 

“Ah, I see.
 
So you’re not gonna break my heart by going off the market, before I’ve even had a shot?” he teased, giving me a harmless smile.
 

I gave him a slightly stern look.
 

“You’re incorrigible, Damien,” I told him.

“It’s a fact,” he said, winking at me as he went back into the flight deck.
 

I moved into the bathroom almost the second he left.
 
I started to shut the door behind me, but a hard body got in the way, pushing me farther into the bathroom.
 

James shut and locked the door behind us, his eyes wild.
 
He grabbed my hands, placing them around the handle to the right of the mirror so that I was angled at the mirror with a clear view of myself with him behind me.
 

I gripped it automatically.
 

“Not serious?” he asked roughly, shoving my skirt up to my hips.
 

He pressed against me, hard arousal lined up against my cleft from behind through his slacks and my panties.
 
He rocked against me slightly as his hands moved to the buttons of my blouse.
 

I’d removed my vest, so it was just my shirt he had to contend with.
 
He tugged on my little neck tie, but left it intact.
 
He unbuttoned my shirt just enough to grip it open, exposing my bra.
 
He undid the front clasp, freeing the heavy globes of my breasts.
 
He fondled me roughly, pinching the peaks into hardness while those wild eyes watched every move.
 

“You have a strange interpretation of the word serious, Bianca,” he growled at me as his hands and cock worked me to a fever pitch.