B00BR2BOUU EBOK (7 page)

“Why?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I have been in relationships before, if
you can call them that...”

“Hang on, hang on, ‘if you can call them that,’ really
Bryce? Do you not know the definition of a relationship?”

He moved me away from his chest. “Ms. Summers, what one person
perceives as a ‘relationship’ may not be what another does. This was the case
with me and Chelsea. A relationship to me is one where two people connect on a
level that could lead to forever. Yes, Chelsea and I connected, but it was
never going to be ‘forever’, I couldn’t see a future with her, I tried, but it
just wasn’t there.”

Thank fuck for that.
“Was there anyone else that
could’ve been a ‘forever’?”  Answering my questions hadn’t seemed to faze to
him so far, and the fact he could be so open with me about his past was quite
endearing.

“When I was 23, I met Sarah. We both went to a ‘group’; I
suppose you could call it that, it was a group Jessica had arranged. Sarah,
too, had lost her parents suddenly, and we could relate to each other. At first
I thought maybe she could be a ‘forever’ because we shared something so
personal, but after a couple of months together I realised that was all it was;
a mutual connection of loss. We are still friends and catch up every so often
for a coffee.”
Hmmm, not sure I like Sarah.
His answers so far were open
and honest, but they left me feeling as confused as ever. “What is it Alexis?
You look worried.”

I was biting my thumbnail. “I’m not worried, I’m just a little
confused.”

“What about?” He smirked at me.
Oh, stop that.

“You shared connections with Chelsea and Sarah, you had
something in common with them both. With Chelsea, you are both pilots and with
Sarah, you shared a deep understanding of loss and grief.”

“Yes, and how is that confusing?”

“Well, we don’t share anything like that. We have nothing in
common. What’s so special about me, then? I’m just Alexis, a 30-something year
old mother of two. I don’t get it.” I honestly didn’t. I couldn’t fly a paper
plane, let alone a helicopter, and the greatest loss I had suffered was my pet
dog of 13 years, which was horrible mind you, but it was nothing compared to
the loss of both your parents and brother.

“Just Alexis, ay?” He shook his head at me. “What is so special
about you? Oh, Hunny, you have no fucking idea what you do to me. I can’t get
you out of my head. I think about you 24/7. The way you look, the way you
smell, your confidence in everything that you do. I love how you read between
the lines and the way you challenge me. I love your innocence, your kindness, your
nurturing ways and your jealousy. When I’m with you I feel alive, like you are
the missing part of me. And when I’m not with you I can’t stand it, I literally
feel lost. It is fucking unbearable.”
Oh shit, is that all?
I sat there,
speechless, taking in what he had just declared. It brought tears to my eyes.
The honesty behind his admission of his true feelings for me penetrated my
chest and completely ensnared my heart. I had never been spoken to like that
before, and it blew me away. I repositioned myself astride him and pressed my
forehead to his. I couldn’t possibly top his extremely heartfelt confession,
but I opened my mouth to offer my feelings for him anyway. I owed him that at
least.

“I have never felt like this either Bryce. Don’t get me
wrong, I loved Rick—and I still do to an extent—but what I feel deep in here...”
I pressed his hand to my chest. “What I feel deep in here when I am with you is
like nothing I have ever experienced before. You control the tempo of my heart.
You make it beat like crazy when you read me with your eyes. You make it beat
like crazy with your selfless gestures. You make it beat like crazy when you make
love to me...” His hand twitched ever so lightly on my chest. “You make it beat
like crazy every time you smirk at me, Mr. Clark. You make it beat like crazy
every time your lips touch mine. You just make it beat like fucking crazy, full
stop.” I pressed my lips to his and some of my salty menaces escaped my eyes, running
down my cheeks and into our mouths. He held me tightly and deepened our kiss,
our tongues tangoing like never before. I knew now this was another form of
communication we shared with each other, a communication without saying words,
just like our silent exchanges of eye contact. This kiss said everything: it
said, I love you ‘absolutely and undoubtedly’, it said ‘it’s not going to be
easy, but we will sort it out,’ and it said we were ‘one’.

We continued our oral message, and it started to convey we
were heading towards the mile-high club. I pulled his t-shirt up and ran my
hands down his back making him groan. He placed his hands on my arse, pulling
me into him, making me moan. I thought we were about to change gears from
kissing to let’s get naked, when we simultaneously slowed ourselves down,
taking a deep breath, jumping back into neutral and resuming our silent
discussion. It was the most overwhelming and romantic kiss I had ever had.

“Are you hungry, my love?”

“Yes, for you.”
I want a bowl of Bryce soup, with a side
of Mr. Clark, please.
He stood up with me still attached to his waist, and
walked us over to the recliners and table.

“We can eat each other later, Ms. Summers.”
You devilish
man!

“Good.” I unwrapped my legs, slid off him, and we both sat
down. Bryce looked over his shoulder towards the galley.

“Amy, we are ready for lunch now.” Amy moved the curtain
aside.
Oh shit, I forgot she was there. She would’ve heard everything we
just said, including the notion of ourselves being on the menu later.
My
cheeks flushed red as she came in, (no, delete that) they flushed fire engine
red.

“Certainly Mr. Clark, Ms. Summers. What can I get you both
to drink?”
Fuck. Do you serve anything that makes you disappear into thin
air? If so, I’ll have that, thanks.
I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even
bring myself to look at her.
Bryce raised his eyebrows at me.
I don’t
know. You choose, you seem to do a good job of that.
I shrugged my
shoulders.

“Alexis will have a Gin and Squash, and I’ll have a Scotch.”
Amy nodded then turned back around.
Oh my god, thank goodness.
My phone
started to ring, surprising me a little. I fumbled as tried to get it out of my
bag.
Alexis, calm down, you moron. The plane is not about to take a nose
dive.

“Oh, crap. I forgot to turn it off.” I picked it up, it was
Tash.

“You can answer it. Paul is confident it won’t affect the
avionics.”

“Who is Paul?”

“The pilot.” He laughed.
Okay, good, a reputable source
for information!
I hit accept. Before I could even say ‘Hi’, Tash began singing
‘Lady In Red’ by Paul Simon. I quickly hit the speaker button and let her
continue. Bryce tilted his head to the side, so I mouthed the word ‘Tash’, he
smiled and nodded, then cringed when she hit the high note after ‘side’.

“You finished?” I asked.

“Yep.” She sounded pleased with herself.

“Say Hi to Bryce, Tash.”

“What?” Her confidence disappeared.

Bryce put on a stern voice “Hi, Natasha.” She went quiet for
a second, and I struggled to hold my pending laugh.

“Oh. Hi, Mr. Clark, Bryce.”

I lost it. “Hi, Mr. Clark, Bryce? Tash, you idiot.” Bryce
was laughing too.

“Alexis Summers, take me off speaker right now.” She was
clearly unimpressed, so I hit the ‘speaker off’ button and put the phone to my
ear, giving Bryce a cheeky self-satisfied smirk.

“How can I help you my lovely?” I was the one sounding cocky
now.

“You bitch! I’m going to kill you.”

“Serves you right!”

“Well you were wearing red last night, I thought it was
appropriate. So, how was the Tel V Awards? Can you talk right now?”

“No, Hun, I can’t. I’ll try calling you later though.”

“Fuck trying. You will call me later.”

“Okay, will do. Mwah, talk to you soon.” I made a kissing
noise at the phone, she reciprocated and hung up. Almost instantly, I received
a text message—it was one word.

Bitch - Tash

I knew operation ‘lets-hassle-Alexis’ would start soon. I
put the phone back into my bag as Amy walked in with a trolley containing our
lunch and drinks.

“Ms Summers, seafood dumplings in a lemongrass and coconut soup.”
Aw Yum!

“Mr Clark, red wine braised beef short ribs with polenta.”
She placed both dishes in front of us, together with our drinks. They looked
fabulous, better than any inflight meal I’d ever seen.

“Enjoy, please let me know if you would like anything
further.”

“Did you pick this?” I asked Bryce as I picked up my spoon.

“Of course!” He watched me dip it into my bowl.

“Eat your lunch and stop watching me.” I glared at him

“Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted. This time I tilted my head to the
side, he was so cute and cheeky. I sipped the soup.
Oh Holy Fuck, my tongue
just fainted out of sheer indulgence, if it could have screamed and climaxed it
would have.
I glanced at Bryce, my eyes nearly bulging out of my head.

“Oh, Mr. Clark, whoever made this has just given me my
fourth orgasm for the day! Wow.” A large smile spread across his face. “You
didn’t,” I gasped, “You did!” He put a fork full of beef into his mouth.

“I’ll take responsibility for all four, then, shall I?”
I’m
sure you’ll rack up about ten by the end of the day.

“You are a genius. This is the best thing I have ever
eaten.”

He raised one eyebrow, stirring my insides.
Oh, it’s goner
be like that, is it?
I picked up my spoon, keeping my eyes on his, and
sipped the soup again. This time though, putting the whole spoon into my mouth,
then slowly pulling it out again. I licked the tip of it and dragged it along
my tongue, which made him shift in his seat.

“Mr. Clark, can I taste your meat?” I smiled seductively at
him.

“Ms. Summers, you can taste my meat anytime.” He forked a
bit of beef and leaned over.

“Is it thick, rich, and full of flavour?” I asked
innocently.

“You won’t find one, thicker, richer, or tastier!” He
smirked, nearly making me giggle. I opened my mouth, and he gently placed the
fork inside. Immediately, I pressed my lips together, surrounding the fork
entirely as he slowly pulled it out. “Well? Was that the best meat you have
ever had in your mouth, Ms. Summers?”

I swallowed and licked my lips. “I’ve had better.” He glared
at me making my heart pound in my chest. I licked my lips again as he picked up
his Scotch. “So, Mr. Clark, would you like to taste my fish?” He scoffed and
nearly spat the Scotch out, then struggling to swallow his mouthful, grabbed a
napkin and wiped his mouth.

“Is it good fish?” He choked out, still trying to clear his
throat. I bit down on my lip. He was very good at this game, and I didn’t know
how much longer I could keep this performance up
. Alexis, stay strong you
have this one in the bag.

“You won’t taste better. My fish is like no other, Mr.
Clark.” I spooned a dumpling, stood up, and then leaned over. I put my hand
under his chin, fed him the contents, and waited for his response. “That’s good
fish, isn’t it?” I remained standing and pulled the spoon out of his mouth,
then sucked it and trailed it down into my breasts.

“Yes, you have delicious fish, Ms Summers.”

“Fuck yeah, I do.” He cracked up laughing, me along with
him. “I do believe that win belongs to me, Mr. Clark.” He continued chuckling
as he ate the rest of his lunch.

“Yes, Hunny, you can definitely have that one.”

***

I savoured my dumpling soup right down to the very last
drop, and we continued talking during the remainder of the flight. He shared
some more about himself, and I asked him if he was going to set Chelsea
straight once and for all. He assured me he would do it the next time he saw
her, and that I had absolutely nothing to worry about where she was concerned.
I also discovered he had no love-children floating around, no hidden gay or
threesome tendencies (which he found highly amusing), and he had a phobia of clowns.

“So, no romantic dates at Cirque du Soleil, then?” I
enquired teasingly.

His eyes widened. “No, definitely not.”

“No movie nights watching IT?” Now I was taunting him.

“Are you quite alright, Alexis?” I don’t think he enjoyed my
joking at his expense, but I continued anyway because it was fun. I cued my
baby voice and went and sat on his lap.

“Aaww, baby, I’ll protect you. I’ll yank on their big red
nose, pull their curly orange hair, and stand on their big floppy feet.” He
squinted at me and poked his fingers into my ribs, tickling me. “Stop it
Bryce.”

“Oh, you don’t like being tickled?”

“No, I hate it. Please stop, I’m sorry.” He kept tickling,
making me wriggle and squirm. I struggled to get free of his grip, and we fell
on the floor. “I’m sorry, no more clowns I promise.” He stopped momentarily,
lying on top of me.

“Alexis, tell me you love me.”

“I love you, Bryce.”

“Tell me you’ll never leave me.” His eyes were pleading for
the answer he so desperately wanted. Could I promise him this? I wanted to,
really I did, but I was not a single entity. I came as a package of three.

“I will try with everything I have in me to never leave
you.” I knew this was not what he wanted me to say.

“Tell me you will marry me one day.”
Oh shit!
Again I
wanted to, really wanted to, but talk of remarriage was not even in the picture
right now.

“Bryce, if we make it through the toughest times and you ask
me, then yes, I will one day marry you.” His face lit up, and he leaned in for
a kiss. I wasn’t lying, at this very point in time I meant the answer I just
gave him. If down the track we were in a position to, then yes, I would marry
this man. Of course I would.