Page 36 of Angel In Armani

“Helo trumps one-night stand that was a bad idea.”

“A bad idea? It felt pretty good to me.” There was that low hot tone in his voice again.

There were so many reasons. “You were a customer. I don’t get involved with customers.” There, that was the simplest explanation.

“I don’t usually sleep with my chopper pilots, so we’re even on that score.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re the one who can afford to charter helicopters and I’m not.”

“I’m a bad idea because I have money?”

“No. You’re a bad idea because—” She waved a hand in the air, frustrated, trying to work out the diplomatic way to get him to end this conversation. “Because we’re different.” She looked down at her instruments, calculating the flight time left. Too long to just stay silent the whole time.

And then there was the flight to Florida and another helicopter flight before she’d be able to get away from him. Maybe she wouldn’t be sitting with him on the plane, though. That would be something. But it didn’t really matter. She was going to be spending enough time with Lucas over the next few months that they might as well get this sorted out now.

He needed to understand that there would be no more sex. No matter how much heat might spark between them.

“Different seemed to work okay in that motel room,” Lucas said, breaking the silence.

“That motel room wasn’t reality.”

“It felt real to me.”

Her stomach twisted, warming as she remembered just how it had felt. And tasted and sounded. God. Was she ever going to be able to forget? “It was just for one night. That’s all it was ever going to be. So please, can’t you just let it go?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t been able to forget what it felt like when I was inside you,” he growled.

Her hand jerked on the controls and the helo tilted. Much like her world just had. She righted the helo easily enough but she couldn’t do the same to her pulse.

“Well, try harder.” She was amazed she could still speak with an ocean of lust flooding through her.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t sleep with clients and I definitely don’t sleep with men who are, for all practical purposes, my boss.”

“Why?”

“Do I really need to explain that to you? Workplace relationships are bad news. I prefer nonfraternization.” And not just with employers. Lucas Angelo was out of her league. All the great sex in the world wasn’t enough to bridge the gap between them. And she’d learned the hard way what happened when people from her world tangled with the very rich when Jamie had died.

“Nonfraternization?” He sounded amused.

“That’s what we called it in the army. Keeps things simple.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

“You hired me as a pilot. That’s all your money buys.”

He coughed. “If you think that I expect you to sleep with me because I’m paying you then you really don’t know me.” Now he sounded indignant. Which was better than sexy.

She resisted turning around to see if she was reading him right. “Exactly. We don’t know each other. And that’s best for both of us. You need a pilot, I need a job. Which means our relationship is business. This money is important to me, Lucas.”

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