Authors: Nichelle Gregory
Hell, she was ready to seduce
him.
You don’t date models, Terrah.
A self-imposed rule, but she’d been in the biz long enough to appreciate the old adage, ‘You don’t mix business with pleasure.’ In truth, she’d never been tempted by any of the handsome men she’d worked with before, but Nick… Nick was tempting as hell.
“You look amazing.”
“Thank you.”
A flash of heat coursed through her as his gaze drifted over her lime-green, short-sleeved sweater top and her white pencil skirt. She’d chosen to wear the light sweater knowing it might be chilly on the plane. The scooped neckline showcased her favourite silver necklace and dangling lipstick pendant.
“Suddenly”—Nick leaned closer to her—“the ten-hour flight doesn’t seem long enough.”
Ten hours of sexual tension was going to drive her crazier than her fear of flying.
“Mmm…what perfume are you wearing?”
“Jasmine- and vanilla-scented body oil.”
“I love it. You were wearing it the other night, weren’t you?”
“Yes. It’s my favourite.”
“It’s very sexy.”
He had to know what he was doing to her.
“Thank you.”
Her voice sounded breathy in her own ears, evidence of how fast her heart was pounding in her chest.
The light sweater had been the wrong choice.
She was
way
too hot.
There wasn’t a chill in the world that could dampen the effect of Nick’s smouldering charm coupled with the heat of his gaze.
“Excuse me.”
They both directed their attention to the stewardess, breaking the erotically charged moment between them.
“Would either of you care for a warm towel?”
“Thank you,” Terrah said, accepting the towel to wipe her hands.
She would’ve preferred a
cold
towel to cool off her heated face.
“Can we get two glasses of champagne?”
“Of course, Mr Tasso.”
The stewardess smiled at him as she took their towels and went off to fulfil his request.
“Champagne?”
“We’re celebrating.”
“Celebrating what?”
“Us.” Nick paused to thank the stewardess. “The two of us…here, right now.” He took the two glasses offered and passed one to Terrah before lifting his glass. “Let’s share a toast.”
“A toast…” Terrah lifted her own glass, mesmerised by the mischievous gleam in Nick’s eyes.
“To the unexpected.”
* * * *
Nick watched Terrah as she clinked her glass against his. He sipped his champagne, thinking it didn’t taste half as good as her lips.
God…he wanted to kiss her.
He almost
had
kissed her when she’d looked at him with those beautiful, big brown eyes filled with surprise.
It had taken quite a bit of self-control to watch her get in the cab the other night, when he’d wanted to ask her to stay. He’d been certain she wouldn’t have turned him down, but he hadn’t wanted her to have any regrets or to question his motives later. He’d known he’d see her again one way or another. As far as he was concerned, fate had intervened when he’d discovered they were both going to be doing the shoot in Hawaii.
Nick glanced over at Terrah, wondering how he was going to survive a ten-hour exercise in self-control. Her perfume alone was turning him on, and when he looked at her…
Holy hell.
She looked every bit as sexy as he remembered, and then some, in her white skirt that had outlined the delicious curve of her ass before she’d sat down. Her green sweater complemented her complexion while showing off her small waist and the more than generous swell of her breasts.
Nick shifted in his seat, remembering the kiss they’d shared by the aquarium, which made the blood race straight down to his cock.
Damn… Don’t think about it. Don’t even think about it.
The mental nudge wasn’t enough to stop him from recalling how good Terrah had felt in his arms, but at least his semi hard-on was temporarily on standby.
“Like the champagne?”
Terrah nodded as she finished a sip. “It’s delicious. I’m hoping it’ll take the edge off before we take off.”
“Don’t like flying?”
His gaze drifted down to her manicured fingertips as she tapped them on her skirt.
“Let’s just say I prefer to keep both feet on the ground.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve flown to Hawaii several times. It’s a long flight, but we will arrive safely.”
Terrah pinned him with a serious look he found utterly adorable.
“You
can’t
be certain of that. Anything can happen.”
“True. But we can’t live our lives in fear of what
might
happen.”
He took another sip from his glass as Terrah frowned at him.
She crossed her legs, drawing his attention away from her face to her shapely calf muscles and her wedge sandals. Her toenails sported the same pale lilac hue as her fingernails.
“I don’t live my life in fear. I just don’t like flying, especially when it’s stormy.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m on this flight with you, then. I’ll keep you distracted until we reach those beautiful, sandy shores.”
The sassy smile Terrah gave him brought to mind all kinds of naughty ways he could keep her distracted until they landed.
Keep up this train of thought and you’re in trouble.
Nick glanced at his watch.
Ten hours.
Ten hours of sitting next to Terrah and not touching her? Pure torture.
One thing was for sure—he hadn’t been this attracted to a woman in a long, long time.
“Hawaii is gorgeous. I hope we both get some time to enjoy the island.”
Together.
He didn’t say it, but he was going to make sure it happened. They were going to explore the sizzling chemistry between them.
“Can I take your glasses?”
Nick took Terrah’s empty glass and handed it to the stewardess, along with his own.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.” Terrah sighed. “Once we get off this plane, I can’t wait to see if it’s as gorgeous as everyone always says.”
“You’ll love it.”
They both looked up as another flight attendant started on the safety speech.
Nick admired the dark wild curls brushing against Terrah’s shoulders as she listened intently to the stewardess.
“You’re not paying attention,” she whispered, without looking at him.
“I already know the location of my flotation device.”
He winked at her, amused by her fierce glare before she returned her focus to the stewardess, who was finishing up. Shortly thereafter, the captain announced they were about to take off.
“So, how’s your phone?”
“My phone has been replaced.”
“So it
was
damaged by the fall.”
“No, I just decided to finally get a new one. I think I was the last person in New York with an older model.”
He watched Terrah dig inside her purse and pull out the new, sleek, rectangular device.
“Now, I just have to figure out how to use all the stuff on it.”
Nick was aware of the pressure in the cabin changing as the engines started kicking into high gear. He leaned over Terrah to look out of the window. “The lights over the city are going to look amazing as we take off.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
The building hum within the plane increased when it taxied down the runaway, and they both settled back in their seats.
Nick observed Terrah gripping the side of her chair with one hand. The whirr of the engines reached a fevered pitch and the stiffness of her posture spoke volumes as the plane jettisoned forward. She tensed beside him, and he knew exactly what to do to take her mind off their takeoff.
“Terrah?”
The moment she turned her face towards him, he claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. He cradled her chin with his hand, half expecting her to pull away, but she melted instead, parting her lips to let him in. The tension within her body lessened as he stroked the side of her face with his thumb. He loved the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingertips as her tongue caressed and teased, mimicking his movements. She tasted of champagne. His cock, which had been behaving, instantly hardened as he imagined tasting all of her.
When he finally broke the kiss, they were in the air.
Chapter Seven
Terrah slowly opened her eyes to stare at him.
His gaze fell from her luscious lips to her heaving breasts, his dick stiffening almost to the point of pain in his jeans when he saw the outline of her hard nipples protruding through her thin sweater.
She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He’d known that already, but confirmation was always good.
Very good.
He wanted to give her whatever she wanted.
“Refills?”
The interruption gave him a chance to shift in the chair, casually adjusting his shirt over his erection.
“Definitely.”
Nick took the glass as Terrah cleared her throat.
“I think I’ll have another glass, too.”
After Terrah took her drink, they both thanked the stewardess and she moved on.
Nick took a generous swallow, aware of Terrah’s eyes on him.
“You kissed me to distract me as the plane was taking off?”
“Yes. Did it help?”
Terrah seemed embarrassed as she took a sip from her glass. Nick could tell she was searching for the right thing to say when she looked at him.
“Yes, it did.”
“Good. I’m glad my kiss could help.”
Help?
She was in serious trouble.
In danger of spontaneously combusting in mid-air!
His kiss alone makes me wet.
Her panties were drenched and her pulse was racing as her body tried to come down off the sexual high that was Nick Tasso.
God, the things he could do with his mouth.
She couldn’t imagine those lips anywhere else on her body.
Liar!
Okay, so she could imagine it.
Was
imagining it right now, as he calmly sipped his champagne as if he hadn’t just shown her, again, how an honest-to-goodness passion-filled kiss was done.
“Look, you can see the skyline.” Nick gestured towards the plane window.
Terrah turned her head to see the twinkling lights of the city below for a second, before clouds obscured their view. She pressed back into her seat with a shaky breath.
“Do you need another kiss?”
Yes!
“Ha ha! Very funny.”
“I’m very serious.”
Terrah smiled. “I’ll let you know.”
“Don’t be shy. I’m always ready to help.”
He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but laugh.
Nick was right… Ten hours suddenly didn’t seem that long.
She looked past him to their stewardess, who gave them both a warm smile.
“Dinner will be served shortly. Would you two prefer the roasted chicken with saffron rice or our red snapper with Caesar salad?”
“Chicken.”
“Salad,” Terrah said a nanosecond after Nick’s response.
The flight attendant chuckled. “Okay, will you be having more champagne with dinner?”
Terrah shook her head. “Just water for me.”
Nick smiled at the stewardess. “Same here.”
He turned to her when they were alone. “Are you hungry?”
“A little. How ‘bout you?”
She saw something flicker in his eyes—longing? Desire? She couldn’t be sure, but her body reacted instantly, heating up all over again.
“I could eat.”
You.
His gaze never left her face and his eyes spoke to her as clearly as if he’d whispered in her ear. For a brief moment, Terrah wondered if he’d actually spoken the word that popped into her head, except his lips hadn’t moved. He was a master at conveying his thoughts with his body language and those sexy eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she pictured him licking her nipples, which were brushing against the soft cotton of her bra, erect, ready for his tongue. She shivered, imagining him leaving a trail of kisses down the valley between her breasts to her pussy.
Water.
She needed water right now to put out the fire he was building within her with no real effort at all.
“Are you cold?” He knew damn well she wasn’t.
She was saved from answering as their food arrived.
They were served their dinners and her breathing slowly returned to normal. Nick kept her talking while they ate their meal, which turned out to be delicious. Who knew airline food could actually be tasty?
Terrah found herself laughing easily with Nick. They chatted about work stuff and mutual acquaintances, which helped her to stop obsessing over every dip of the plane. An unexpected thrill of delight zipped through her every time he chuckled at something she said.
She loved the sound of his deep voice, but his laugh was positively delicious!
It really wasn’t fair for him to be so damned sexy
and
easy-going. He was one of the top male models in the world, yet he was the most unpretentious man in the industry she knew.
Their plates were taken away and they both settled back in their seats.
“Well”—Nick glanced at his watch—“only seven hours and thirty-four minutes until we land.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth as he smiled.
She suddenly longed to taste his kiss again. Heat suffused her face as she averted her attention to her purse.
Distraction… You need a distraction.
She pulled out a fashion magazine she’d bought at the airport, flipped it open and casually turned the pages. Her eyes widened as she stopped and stared at the glossy page.
So much for distraction.
There was Nick in all his male beauty, lounging on a beautiful leather couch in only his designer underwear.
Terrah groaned softly as her eyes feasted on the lust-inducing ad.
The camera angle and expert lighting lovingly highlighted every sinewy line and hard muscle. Nick’s body was a work of art in itself. The noticeable bulge in the underwear held her attention for a moment, but it was the smouldering look in his eyes that tempted her. His electrifying gaze held a million promises and Terrah was willing to bet he could fulfil every one of them.