Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (11 page)

or fall out?” She pushed against his

chest, trying to wiggle her way out from

under him.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

Reluctantly, she met his gaze and

was surprised to see compassion

looking back.

“You won't fall out of the plane.”

His voice was soft and low as he spoke.

“If you don't calm down and shut up, I

may push you out, but you won't fall.”

She let out a deep breath, finding

his sarcasm oddly soothing. She closed

her eyes and concentrated on the

positives. The others wouldn't have

gotten on if they didn't feel it was safe.

Captain Burgandy had many,
many
years

of experience. And, if she was going to

plunge to her death, at least Garren was

going down, too.

Once she was sure she wasn't

going to panic again, she pushed Garren

off her. “I'm fine now.”

He backed away and sat next to

her, probably poised to take her down if

she tried to bolt again.

She nervously surveyed the

cramped space and noticed something,

or rather someone, missing. “Where's

Thane? I don't even remember him

getting on the plane
.
”
Good going, Ivy.

“He's in the cockpit playing co-

pilot.”

She nodded as she braced herself

for take-off. The plane started moving—

slowly at first, then gained speed. When

the wheels left the safety of the ground,

her stomach dropped.

“Breathe,” Garren said.

She

exhaled

slowly

and

concentrated on taking her next breath. It

gave her something else to think about

besides how high they were and how

long it would take to plummet to their

deaths.

“Open your eyes and look out the

window.” Then in a softer voice, most

likely to himself, he said, “It's really

beautiful.”

She pried one eye open and saw

the look of awe on his face as he gazed

out the side window next to him. He was

visably relaxed and even seemed to be

having some fun.

Poor deluded fool
. She ventured

to peek out the dirty portal to her left. At

first, all she saw was the wing, but then

she forgot herself for a moment at the

sight of the treetops below.
Wow.

Sunlight sparkled off the river gently

winding through the forest. A bald eagle

glided on the air currents, its wings

stretched out.

The plane jostled over and over

as the wind did its best to put them back

on the ground. “It's just a little

turbulence. Nothing serious,” he said.

Nothing serious, my...
The plane

jumped, tossing her up in the air high

enough to hurt her butt when she

slammed back down.
...ass.

“Why can't your precious magic

keep the plane steady?”

He shrugged. “Captain Burgandy

prefers it this way. He says the bumps

and rolls from the wind let him know

he's still in the air.”

“You do know he's crazy, right?”

“He may be a little eccentric, but

he knows what he's doing. So,” he said,

stretching his long legs out in front of

him as he leaned back against a box.

“Did you bring enough lip balm?”

“Lip balm for what?” She kept

her eyes glued to the intricate web of

ropes and wires the captain used to jury

rig the plane together. Every movement

created squeaks and knocks that sent the

little hairs on her arms on end.

“Can you imagine how chapped

Prince Sebastian's lips are going to be

after 200 years of being asleep? I

thought maybe you'd want to prep him

before the big smooch.”

She'd deliberately kept the idea

in the back of her mind, but his words

brought the image of kissing Prince

Sebastian back full force.

What if he's all decaying and

stuff? What if his lips aren't even

there?
Her stomach took a tumble, and it

wasn't from the turbulence.

“Breath mints,” he said. “You're

also going to need lots and lots of breath

mints.”

She smacked his arm with the

back of her hand as she fought to keep

her breakfast down. “Will you shut up?”

Garren chuckled. “Just trying to

help.”

“Well, you're not.”

They sat in silence for hours,

gently rocking with the plane. She tried

to sleep, but whenever she drifted off,

the plane would lurch, jerking her

awake. Her butt was numb from sitting

for so long, so she shifted around to get

comfortable when she bumped into

Garren.

He moaned. His breathing was

quick and shallow and his skin was pale.

A bead of sweat trickled down the side

of his face, soaking into the collar of his

shirt.

“Are you all right?” She placed

her hand over his as it rested on his

thigh.

He grunted his reply.

The plane jerked again and she

crushed his fingers in her grip.

“If you break my fingers,” he

uttered through clenched teeth, “I'll

throw up on you.”

“Sorry.” She released her death

grip and watched the blood return to his

fingertips. “I guess now wouldn't be a

good time to ask if you wanted to split

the tuna sandwich I stashed in my

pocket.”

The resulting gagging noise

brought a brief smile to her face, but as

his complexion grew greener, guilt got

the better of her. She reached for the

pack next to her and grabbed a bottle of

water and a cloth. She wet the cloth and

put it over his forehead. Lifting the bottle

to his mouth, she only allowed him small

sips.

“Didn't you take anything for

your motion sickness?”

He nodded his head with the

barest of movement. “Wore off.”

She hadn't taken the anti-nausea

potion Thane had given her. She could

read an epic novel on the Tilt-O-Whirl

and never get sick. Deciding to offer him

her potion, she checked around for her

pack. At first she worried that it was left

behind when she spotted it by the door,

on the other side of the plane.

Of course it would be way over

there.
She cautiously stood and tottered

down the narrow aisle. She didn't get far

before Garren's moans grew louder and

more urgent.

“Is the wet cloth helping at all?”

she asked
. If he pukes in here, I'll kill

him.

He didn't speak, but lightly shook

his head while swallowing hard.

Time was running out. She had

two choices: Run to the bag and hope

she didn't jar the plane, resulting in it

rolling out of the sky and crashing to the

earth below, or use magic to summon the

bag to her. The plane jostled and she

stumbled to her knees.

Magic it is, then.
She crawled

back to Garren and resumed her seat.

Taking a couple deep breaths to center

herself, she tapped into the magic inside

her. Her gut felt like an active hive,

buzzing with life. She lifted her palm out

and sent the humming up through her arm

to her hand. Target in sight, she

commanded the bag to come to her, like

a vampire to an open vein. The bag

wiggled forward a few inches, but

stopped. Disappointment crept into her

heart.

“Man,” he whispered between

shallow breaths. “You really suck.”

Gritting

her

teeth,

she

concentrated harder, putting more intent

behind her magic and tried again. Sweat

beaded on her brow. The bag scooted

forward, a little at a time until finally it

was close enough for her to lean over

and grab.

“Yes!” she said as she ripped it

open. She rummaged through clothes and

toiletries until she found the bottle. It

was immediately shoved into his waiting

hand.

He gulped down a mouthful and

sighed. “Thanks.” Color returned to his

cheeks and his whole body sagged in

obvious relief. “Well, that was awful,”

he said.

“Tastes that bad, huh?”
Serves

him right.

“No, I'm talking about you and

your magic. I've seen toddlers with

stronger control. Good thing the potion

didn't expire before you managed to give

it to me.”

“You're welcome.”

He glared at her before tilting his

head back against the wall. “You don't

practice, do you?”

She groaned as she pressed the

heels of her hands to her eyes. A lecture

was looming in the air. “Spare me.

Considering I've only been a witch for

just over a year, I'm doing fine.”

“What are you talking about?

You were born a witch. It's not like it's a

lifestyle choice.”

I wish it were.
“Even so, I didn't

have any magical abilities until a year

ago. I don't know why or really care, so

back off.”

He sat up straight and pointed

right at her. She was tempted to break

his finger just to change the subject.

“You need to be able to protect

yourself out there, Ivy. I can't always be

around to save you. Since you're not

much of a physical threat against

Eradicators, or anyone else for that

matter, you need to be able to use your

magic

effectively.

You

need

to

practice.”

She bit her tongue to keep from

telling him where he could shove his

advice while incapacitating him with a

well-executed choke hold.

I'll show you a physical threat.

“Here,” he said as he searched

for something in his pack. He pulled out

a roll of socks and tossed it down the

aisle of the plane, next to the door. “Use

your magic to bring that back.”

Her anger spiked. “I don't fetch.”

Why did she think she could tolerate his

presence for more than one day? If he

didn't back off soon, she couldn't be

responsible for her actions.

“Don't be so touchy, just—”

She hopped to her feet, needing

to get away. Ignoring the puzzled

expression clouding his face, she

stumbled past him and through the door

she assumed led to the cockpit.

“I'm going to check on Thane.”

“We're not done talking about

this, Ivy,” he called out.

As far as she was concerned, the

topic was dead. She already knew she

needed to use her magic more, gain

better control. She didn't need to hear it

from him.

What she found when she entered

the cockpit knocked the wind right out of

her. Thane had the controls, struggling to

keep the plane level as it skipped along

the air like a rock on water. The captain

was asleep next to him.

“Captain Burgandy, wake up.

Please,” Thane pleaded.

How anyone could sleep through

this was beyond her. She stepped up and

punched the captain in his arm. “Wake

up, you old fool and fly the damn plane!”

He didn't move.

She gripped his shoulder and

shook. “Get.
Up
.”

The captain's head flopped over

to the side.

Uh oh.

“What's wrong? Why isn't he

waking up?” Thane's voice climbed an

octave as he spoke. He repeatedly

glanced between the sky in front of them

and the older man. His arms shook as he

worked to keep the plane level.

“I don't know. Is he diabetic or

something? Should we give him some

insulin?” She eyed his wrist for a

medical alert bracelet that might give

them a clue.

Nothing. The captain didn't even

have an emergency kit nearby.

“Is he even breathing?” Thane

asked.

She held her hand in front of his

face to feel his warm breath. Hesitantly,

she brought it closer until she was

almost touching his nose.

Nothing.

“Check his pulse,” he said after a

few moments.

“What?” She yanked her hand

away and wiped it on her hip. “
You

check.”

“How am I supposed to do that

and
fly the plane?”