The Billionaire's Second Chance (39 page)

Shannon smiled, giggled and then laughed out loud at his evocative words before giving his hard body a feeble and girly shove. “Don’t you dare!” she chirped with glee. “People will think I’m only in this for the sex if you
insist on keeping
me
buck naked and ever ready for your wicked ways.”

“Mmmm, I like that. Wicked ways.” he purred. Licking the delicate shell of her ear he whispered, “Let’s be wicked together
,
little one. First you and then me and then …..”

The flagrantly erotic kiss that followed pushed the envelope of control each tried to maintain. Sounds outside the cabin began to make their way into his lust-filled thoughts making Nick end their kiss rather hastily
. He’d forgotten completely where they were and had almost
succeeded
in his earlier taunt of ‘on your back with legs over my shoulders’ before he came to his senses. She did that to him. Made him
forget everything else but a bewitching
feeling of bottomless desire.

My god, Shannon thought. She loved this man from a depth in her soul that somehow made all the painful regrets of yesterday fade into insignificance. Knowing
that
meant she had to admit that she would have willingly gone to him this time around even if he had been the heartless bastard she’d made him out to be. The thought was sobering and scary, too.
No matter what had gone on before, she had been less than whole the entire time they’d been apart. It wasn’t until she was face to face with him again that she felt any sense of completeness about her life.

When he ended their kiss she swiped her lips with a shaking hand in a lame attempt to pull herself together. What had they come back to the bedroom for? She couldn’t remember. Couldn’t focus on anything except his damn, sexy mouth and those irresistible dimples.
Damn.

Catching sight of her bag
flung beside an arm chair Shannon went to retrieve it before he distracted her with mo
re sultry kisses. The way he wat
ched her move about the cabin almost made her laugh. A week ago she had been sad, lonely and nursing a still broken heart. Today, a very hot and ever-aroused male was all but panting after her and making her feel like the most desired woman on the planet. My, my how things have changed.

“All set now?” Nick asked as he offered her his arm. Gracing her with a very satisfied
King of the World
expression when she placed her hand in the crook of his arm, they moved as one, drowning in each other’s eyes, as they returned to the main cabin.

The co-pilot had left the flight deck and come looking for Nick just as they made their way through the cabin. “Ah Nick, there you are.” he said, rushing forward to offer his hand.
“Was everything alright for you and your guests? Tom and I had our hands full with that new on-board GPS system so we were unable to make the rounds during the flight.”

“No problem, Gary.” Nick replied. “Everything seemed smooth as can be from our vantage point. I’ve authorized Claire to handle whatever you need done from a maintenance standpoint since we won’t
need
the jet in the next week or so.”

Remembering how pleased he was with everyone from Nadia to Tom to Gar
y he felt overly generous, due in no small measure to having been subjected to some immensely satisfying transcontinental love-making. Seizing on one of those pieces of information that his ever alert mind
had
stored away for reference he made a snap decision and slapping Gary fondly on the back told him, “I’m going to have
Claire get you
,
Tom and your kids into that new Broadway show nobody can get tickets for! That spot-on landing didn’t go unnoticed.” he added with a big smile. “And don’t worry about Nadia. The theater isn’t her thing but I’m willing to guess a day at
the Peninsula Spa will crack a smile.”

Gary offered a
grin
which matched Nick’s, thanking his employer profusely for the opportunity to enjoy a special occasion with family. Nodding solicitously in Shannon’s direction he closed by saying, “It was a pleasure having you on board Ms. Reynolds. We hope the experience didn’t disappoint.”

Nick was sure his co-pilot thought them both a bit addled when for no apparent reason they both choked back a laugh, which in Shannon’s case was an embarrassed giggle, and quickly made their good-byes before
heading to the rear of the plane
. Out of ear shot Shannon tugged on his arm and coyly teased, “I hope the experience didn’t disappoint Mr. Barrett.”
He let go of her hand then so she could
precede
him through the doorway, making sure to grab her butt in playful response growling low next to her ear, “We aim to please, Ms. Reynolds. However
,
if there was anything that fell short of your expectations, just let me know. After all, practice makes perfect.”

Shannon turned happy eyes to his while wiggling her backside against his marauding grip, recovering her dignity a spli
t
second before
finding herself in the rear cabin which at the moment was bustling with activity and noise as the Reyes’ made to depart the plane.

A woman, someone she hadn’t seen before
,
was deep in conversation with Alejandro
. H
er back
was
turned toward them, making this stranger unaware of their approach. A sudden and wholly unexpected surge of possessive jealousy coursed through Shannon as she took in the stylish female standing just feet away.

Busily keying information into a small tablet the woman
,
who looked to be about Shannon’s age and height
,
was perfectly coifed in that urbane New York City way that made her feel twitchy about the simple, relaxed
California
style outfit and dainty heels she had chosen for the plane trip.

Dressed in a deep, dark green
pencil skirt topped by a fitted white blouse, the slim brunette with the layered bob hair cut seemed engrossed in whatever she and Mr. Reyes were discussing. It was uncharacteristic of Shannon to react so sensitively when she had nothing to be defensive about.
Nadia hadn’t bothered her in the least but there was something about this woman that turned up the dial on her senses. Glancing at Nick’s face, he looked exactly as he had for the past week, completely focused on and engrossed in Shannon alone. Relief flooded her system sending the butterflies that had erupted in her tummy back to calm.

The moment Nick felt Shannon stiffen when they entered the main cabin, his ever alert senses searched for a reason for the
hesitation
, slight as it was. Catching sight of his PA
Claire, doing what PA’s do best,
organizing the myriad details of his all-too-busy life, he knew instinctively what h
ad caused the reaction. Claire Dennison was easy on the eyes and
exuded a confident and
sophisticated New York Wall Street style down to perfection. Always impeccably dressed, she
had
a take charge attitude that made her invaluable in his non-stop world of business, business, and more business. Like him, Claire had a unique skill set in that she could put out a fire with the best of them and could find a solution for any problem or situation that needed one.

All that said he hadn’t looked upon the woman as any more than a highly valued employee but being the man he was, had to admit that her flawless style and über efficient work ethic had earned his respect.
Shannon’s reaction to the woman’s presence made him smile. She was clearly not happy to find a beautiful, young woman in their midst. The thought
,
which shouldn’t have been so satisfying was
,
and he was glad to discover that after his ridiculous reaction to every man who had so much as looked at his Shannon in the last week, including the faultless surfer dude doctor and his own best friend Ned, the playing field had pretty much leveled with her reaction which he guessed was liberally doused with a flood of jealousy.

He wasn’t a complete
idiot
though, and while he didn’t pretend to fully understand the female mind, Nick knew he had only seconds to
alleviate some of his woman’s anxiety if he hoped to avoid future problems.

“Shannon, darling. Come meet my PA.” He’d added the ‘darling’ as an offering to Shannon’s clearly fra
yed
nerves and also as a declaration that no one with a single working brain cell was going to miss. When Claire’s head snapped up at the sound of her employer’s voice, he had to hand it to her for being the best damn PA he could ever have hoped for when he saw the
light bulb
go on over her head at his use of the clearly intimate expression. She was nothing if not quick on the uptake.

“Welcome home, Mr. Barrett.
I trust your time in California was relaxing.” The woman’s face gave nothing away but Nick knew she was
quickly
assessing every nuance and action taking place aboard the company jet. The Reyes family she had expected. The pocket Venus by his side, most definitely not.

“Thank you Claire and yes, California was ….
wonderful
.” he countered with just the right emphasis on the ‘wonderful’ to make
his
point.

Turning toward Shannon with a body language message that spoke loud and clear, Nick placed a possessive arm around her waist saying, “Darling, I’d like you to meet my assistant, Claire Dennison. Claire, this is Shannon Reynolds.”

Squeezing her waist ever so slightly Nick fixed Claire with a
look, adding so there would be absolutely no question whatsoever about Shannon’s place in his life, “Ms. Reynolds will be staying with me.”

The ever-perceptive Claire got it in one and let a beaming smile spread across her face before she did something that surprised Nick. Until this moment she had never ventured so much as a raised eyebrow over his personal life and had actually been professionally protective of his privacy.

Stepping forward quickly she offered Shannon her hand, which she took, only
for
Claire
to
add both of hers to the warm greeting.
“Welcome to New York Ms. Reynolds. I couldn’t be happier to make your acquaintance!” she said while her face continued shining at Shannon.

Not knowing what to do, Nick just stood there with a bemused expression as his normally stoic assistant practically gushed over the woman at his side who, though still silent, was quickly thawing from the hard, stiff posture of seconds ago. Should he say something? He wasn’t sure. They were both assessing the other, he could see that, and
he
silently prayed his suddenly effervescent assistant wasn’t making things worse. What the hell was up with Claire?

When Shannon
began
speaking Nick finally started breathing again but stayed silent and ever-present as two women who were important in his life circled each other in curiosity.

Initially shocked by another young woman’s presence in Nick’s life, Shannon backed up and looked deeper when the PA’s reaction to her turning up out of thin air on the arm of the woman’s boss sent a message of its own. Claire Dennison was young and beautiful and clearly talen
ted if she had earned Nicholas B
arrett’s
employment, but she was also of no threat to Shannon whatsoever. Relived by this knowledge, Shannon tucked away her initial reaction and returned the woman’s gracious warmth with some of her own.

“Thank you for the kind welcome Ms. Dennison. May I call you Claire?” she asked. Allowing Claire to continue holding Shannon’s one hand in both of hers, she greeted the woman’s smile with one of her own and spoke as if greeting an old friend.
Ducking her head slightly to glance out the plane’s windows she happily babbled to Nick’s PA, calling her Claire before waiting for the woman’s consent.

“What’s the weather like, Claire? I’m afraid that living in sunny California for so long has determined my wardrobe and it occurs to me that I’m probably dressed wrong for an early autumn day!”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Ms. Reynolds.” Claire chuckled. “I love that dress. It’s an Ashlynn, isn’t it? You
look
fabulous in it, by the way!
And don’t worry about the change in
weather;
I have a light shawl in my bag you can use if you feel there’s a chill in the air.”

Nick watched this odd exchange while never letting go of Shannon’s waist.

“Please Claire, you must call me Shannon.” she implored the other woman. “Are you helping Alejandro and his family with their travel arrangements? I must go and speak with them before we all leave.” Turning into Nick’s side she smiled sweetly
at his bemused expression before laying her hand upon his chest, a clear declaration. “Why don’t you do whatever it is that tycoon’s do when they get off their private jet,” she teased, “and I’ll go check in with Alejandro and
Sophia.”

Shannon grinned when that got a laugh out of him before turning back to Claire as they glided away in search of Nick’s guests.