Lone Star Heartbreaker (11 page)

Should she offer comfort? Or should she egg him on? Push a few buttons?
Challenge
Mr. Do or Die McCade?

Best just to play it by ear. Go with the flow.

Caitlyn walked to one of the huge sliding doors of the hangar and pushed it al the way open. Tyler turned at the sound of the grating noise. "Just don't stand there," she told him. "Open the other door. The sooner we get this baby out of the hangar, the sooner we can take to the skies. It's a gorgeous day to fly."

Of course, she could be imagining al of this about him being afraid; she
hoped
she was imagining al of this . . . Tyler not wanting to fly was too scary to contemplate. The man was a legend, for crying out loud.

Several weeks ago, she had Googled
fear of flying in pilots
, and it wasn't that uncommon for some to develop a phobia of either crashing or fal ing or both. Tyler hadn't actual y said anything about being afraid. Perhaps she was just transferring what she might feel if she were in his shoes . . . or cowboy boots in his case. Manifesting her imagined fears if their situations were reversed.

Early on, she'd learned to trust her gut feelings or pay the consequences. She wasn't going to let him fly alone this first time. No matter what.

Tyler turned on his heel and slowly walked toward the other sliding door. Gripping the metal handle, he pushed it open al the way and locked it in position. He looked at the windsock in the middle of the airfield, noting it wasn't flying straight out, but hanging almost paral el to the pole. The sky was clear with no clouds as far as the eye could see. Caitlyn had said it was a perfect day for flying, and it was.

So why was he stal ing? He knew it was best to gird his loins and just do it. That old adage about fal ing off a horse applied to flying as wel . If you get thrown off, climb back on. He'd done it before; he could do it again.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?" Caitlyn's voice was low and soft.

Tyler looked down at her. "As ready as I'l ever be. Let's go."

They did a thorough pre-flight inspection with Tyler double-checking everything. After his last circuit around the aircraft, he stopped on the pilot's side and stood before the door.

Just open the damned thing, McCade. Should be easy enough.

Should be, but wasn't.
Just do it!

He jerked open the door and climbed into the cockpit. Caitlyn was waiting in the passenger seat, buckled in and ready.

Tyler looked at her. "You're going to have to get out."

She turned those eyes on him and they narrowed. "Excuse me? I don't think so. I'm not letting you do this alone."

Tyler gritted his teeth. "I have to do this my way. I have to do it alone."

She crossed her arms across her chest, the movement making her breasts rise against the soft fabric of her tank top. She stared straight ahead.

"No. I'm not leaving."

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Listen to me. You're a distraction. I want you so bad, I hurt. There. Are you satisfied? I've tried to ignore this chemistry between us, but it's not working. Right now, I have a plane to fly. I won't risk your life or mine, okay? I need al my concentration focused on flying. I can't afford any distractions. Besides, you owe me."

"Owe you? I don't understand."

"You're the one who planted that seed of doubt in my mind. So you owe me, big time."

Her eyes widened and her lips formed an
O.
"Me? I did no such thing."

Tyler wanted to kiss those pouty lips. He needed to get his mind off Caitlyn and onto flying. He'd never make it if he didn't. "Yes, you did. Before this morning, the only thing I was afraid of was not being
physically
able to fly again. I never thought I'd actual y be
afraid
to fly. And I'm not. But I don't need you in here distracting me."

She wrenched her chin away from his clasp and took a deep breath. "I want to lend my support. Moral support. I just want you to fly again."

Tyler let his hand fal . The warmth of her skin lingered on his sensitive fingertips. The woman was a distraction al right. "Yeah wel , that makes both of us. Now get out."

"But I care about you. I don't want you to go through this alone."

"If you care about me, then you'l do as I wish."

Caitlyn searched his face. Tyler felt his groin quicken under her intense scrutiny. He wanted to grab her again and kiss her until they were both panting for breath.

Final y, her shoulders slumped in capitulation. "Okay, I'm leaving. But no aerial hijinks. Promise?"

"Cross my heart. I'm going to take this baby up, fly her around the airfield two or three times, then bring her in for a safe landing. I'l save the hijinks for the next flight."
Or bed
. With her. He would have her in his bed before this was al over. It had been too long; the chemistry was too strong to ignore any more.

She surprised him when she leaned forward and kissed him. "That's for good luck. I'l be waiting."

Tyler watched her unbuckle and climb out of the plane. She closed the door and moved out of his flight path. At last, he was alone. Just as he preferred. He ignored the little voice that whispered he was lying. That he missed Caitlyn's presence. Her warmth and encouragement. Her moral support. Her sexy body.

Shaking off those dangerous thoughts, he fastened his seat buckle and shoulder belts. Reaching for the yoke, he took a deep breath and blocked his mind of everything but the plane and himself. Just him and his plane going for a routine flight.

He started the engine and let the whirling of the propel er and the rumble of the motor vibrate through him, become a part of him until he was one with his plane.

Maneuvering the Piper out of the hangar, he taxied her over to runway three and revved the engine. He paused for a moment, checking his controls, examining his feelings.

Al systems seemed to be good to go.

Tyler started down the runway, but before he pushed to ful throttle his hands started trembling and he broke out in a cold sweat. What the
hell
?

He reversed the engines and shut them down. Sitting there in the middle of the runway, he desperately tried to catch his breath and steady his suddenly twitchy stomach.

He couldn't believe it.
Goddamn it! Son of a bitch!
He couldn't do it.

CHAPTER SIX

Caitlyn held her breath as she stood watching Tyler taxi the Piper toward the runway. How could she have left him to do this alone, after vowing so stridently she'd go with him? Unfortunately, she was afraid she knew the reason.

It was simple.

Her brain had short-circuited when he'd grabbed her chin in his strong hand. She'd felt the imprint of each finger branding her skin. At that moment, she couldn't have denied him anything he requested. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

He'd been so intense in the cockpit just now. Even though he'd said he wanted her to leave, his smoldering eyes told her otherwise. A thril ing chil had skittered over her skin. She hadn't been able to resist kissing him before climbing out of the plane. Her knees had wobbled when she'd hit the tarmac, but somehow she'd managed not to fal on her butt.

Caitlyn shaded her eyes and waited for Tyler to take the Piper up. For some reason, he'd stopped in the middle of the runway. It was hard for her to imagine what he must be going through. He'd said he hadn't been afraid to fly, only how could he have been total y immune to doubts after such a life-threatening crash?

So far, she'd never had a flying mishap. Please God, she never would.

Suddenly, the engine shut down and the door to the cockpit flew open. Tyler got out of the plane and strode purposely toward her.
Dear lord.
If she'd thought he'd been intense before, that was nothing compared to the thundering rage now marring the handsome features of his face.

He looked like he wanted to kil someone. He looked like he wanted to kil
her
.

Caitlyn stood her ground. She wasn't afraid. Not real y. She knew Tyler would never hurt her physical y. It was emotional y she had to guard against.

The man had suffered an internal upheaval when he'd revisited the wreckage this morning. Attempting the solo flight had probably been too much in one day. A person could only take so much conflict before floundering in sensory overload.

Tyler might be Mr. Do or Die McCade, but he was only human, after al . And at the moment, he was an
extremely furious
human male.

He stopped right in front of her, so close she could feel the heat and anger radiating off him.

She licked her suddenly dry lips and forced herself not to step back. "What's wrong? What happened?" To her consternation, her voice trembled slightly.

Tyler didn't speak for a moment; he
couldn't
speak. He'd never felt such a scalding rage before in his entire life. If that weren't enough, he'd never experienced such a potent desire for a woman, either. The combination was threatening the thin thread of control holding him together.

His world was crashing down around him and she wanted to know what was wrong? If not for her, he'd be flying the Piper high in the sky right now.

If not for her, he wouldn't be so goddamned horny.

Tyler closed the distance and gripped Caitlyn's shoulders. Her tank top didn't cover much of her above the chest, so skin touched skin, scorching them both. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him out of wide green eyes.

"You want to know what's wrong?" he said through gritted teeth. "
This
is what's wrong."

Too many emotions raged through Tyler to al ow him to consider the consequences of his next move. He didn't want to think; he only wanted to feel.

He desperately wanted to lose himself in sensual sensations and the pleasures of the flesh. He wanted to go to that place where passion and desire reigned; where harsh reality receded to the background.

Bending his head, Tyler took Caitlyn's mouth in a savage kiss. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip, once, then twice. "Open your mouth."

She quickly complied and he slipped in to taste her honeyed sweetness. She moaned as she leaned into him, tangling her tongue with his.

His world righted itself and his equilibrium was partial y restored. For the moment, the disaster on the runway faded into a fog of passionate yearning and desire. His world may have turned on its axis, but one thing remained a constant. His body was on fire, burning out of control, and the beautiful woman in his embrace, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, promised to take him to paradise and back.

At least, he hoped she did.

He kissed the corners of her mouth, her nose, her cheeks. He nuzzled her neck and kissed the sensitive spot behind her earlobe. "I want you, Caitlyn. I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you. Tel me to stop, and we won't go any further."

She pul ed back and searched his face again, cupping his jaw with a gentle hand. "I don't want to stop. I want you, too."

Tyler let out a whoosh of exhaled breath. "
Thank God
."

Capturing her lips again, he kissed her hard and long. Then he took her arm and dragged her the short distance to the front door of his apartment at the side of the hangar.

He opened the door, pul ed her inside and into his arms again. Tyler took her mouth in another searing kiss. He'd never tasted such a delicious woman. He backed her against the table in the foyer, grinding his lower body against hers. She looped her arms around his neck and wiggled closer, sucking his tongue, deepening the kiss.

Behind the button-fly of his jeans, his arousal flexed painful y. If he wasn't careful, he'd be finished before they were good and started.

Tyler pul ed back and leaned his forehead against Caitlyn's. His breath shuddered in his lungs.
Too fast. Too hard.
He needed to slow down.

Caitlyn's emerald green eyes were fogged with desire. "Don't stop now," she whispered. She rose on tiptoe and tried to capture his lips in another scorching kiss.

He grabbed both of her hands and brought them to his mouth. "I'm not stopping, but we need to pace ourselves. It's been too long for me, and I want you too much."

He kissed the palm of one hand and licked the sensitive hol ow of the other. With his tongue, he traced the blue veins across her wrist, then tenderly kissed the soft skin. Her breath hissed on the intake and he felt her tremble.

Tyler couldn't believe how responsive Caitlyn was to his touch. He pushed away al the troubling thoughts threatening to crowd his brain and concentrated on the pleasure and passion of the here and now. There'd be plenty of time to deal with his problems later. His body had final y healed and he was dying a thousand deaths wanting to make love to the sexy woman who'd been haunting his dreams, both day and night, for the last couple of months.

He kissed her delicate wrist again. She tasted perfect and smel ed even better. He raised his head and locked his eyes on hers. One more searing kiss, then he took her hand, entwining their fingers and led her to the bedroom.

Caitlyn didn't know how Tyler's anger had transformed to sexual hunger, but she wasn't going to complain. Whatever had happened in the cockpit of the aborted solo flight seemed to be forgotten or put on hold. Tyler was refocusing his anger into passion, yet she felt perfectly safe with him. When he'd stalked across the tarmac toward her, fury burning in his cobalt-blue eyes, there'd been a second there when she'd thought he was angry with her.

Deep down, he probably was. Yet he also desired her and if he needed comforting and mindless sex to help him forget what had happened, then she was wil ing to offer her body to the cause.

No longer could she deny how much she liked the man. She admired and respected him and she trusted him implicitly.

This wasn't about love. It was just going to be clean, unadulterated sex between two consenting adults. They were taking their relationship to the next level.