Page 84 of Protecting Hailey

I checked the time. We had about forty-five minutes to get to the airport. It was only twenty minutes away, but L.A. traffic was unpredictable.

I walked into Hailey’s bedroom. While I kept my clothes in the guest room, I slept in this one. Hailey’s head was buried underneath her bed with her butt sticking out. I wondered if she’d done that on purpose.

I smiled. “I was thinking we’d wait until we got to Puerto Rico, but if you insist.” I grabbed her waist, and she pulled her head out from under the bed and wiggled out of my grasp.

“I was trying to get a pair of socks that rolled underneath my bed.”

“How the hell do socks roll?”

She pushed back her hair, looking frustrated. “They do when you roll them into a ball.”

My lips twitched, but Hailey’s face was void of any amusement. I picked up a pair of white socks, pressed them together, and folded them flat. “There. Now you can pack them.”

She grabbed the socks from my hand. “Sometimes your neatness is irritating.” I bit back a chuckle at the genuine annoyance on her face.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, she checked her watch. “I need ten more minutes to pack one more bag.”

Staring at her three suitcases by the bed, I frowned. “We’re only going for the weekend. I think you’ll be fine.”

She put both hands on her hips. “You think so?”

I held back a grin. She looked quite serious about the question. “Yes. You’ll only need a couple of things.” I kissed her lips slowly. “I plan to keep you naked most of the time.”

She smiled, and my heart applauded my success in changing her mood. It always felt like such a win whenever I could make her happy.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and moaned into the kiss.

I wished I could stay here and kiss her until we were both moaning, but I knew we didn’t have time for that. There would be plenty of time, however, in Puerto Rico. With a groan, I pulled away. “As much as I’d love to finish what we’ve started here, we have to go.”

She pouted, but stepped out of my arms. “All right. I think I’m done then.” She zipped up the suitcase closest to her, and I closed the other two.

On the way to the airport, a sense of contentment and peace washed over me. I reached for Hailey’s hand and caressed her soft skin with my thumb while I maneuvered through traffic.

Hailey hummed a tune and closed her eyes. I knew she felt at peace, too, and that made my heart soar.

Arriving at the airport, I parked the car inside the hangar. “Don’t worry, it’ll be safe here for the weekend.”

She nodded, looking off to the side, distracted by the jet in front of her, looking not the least bit concerned about her car.

“I’ve never been inside a private plane before,” she said.

“I’m surprised, considering who you are.”

She turned back and smiled at me. “Who I am? I’m from a small town, that’s who I am. I just want to make music. I was never in it for the lifestyle.”

I kissed her cheek. “I know. It’s one of the reasons why I love you so much.”

One of the crew members opened the plane door and I helped Hailey up the steep steps.

Her hair blew every which way, hitting her sunglasses and getting stuck in her lip gloss.

She wore tan linen pants and a white shirt. She looked gorgeous, walking up that staircase. I’d never been struck by the glamor of it all until I saw her climbing into my private jet. She may not have wanted this lifestyle, but she was meant for it.

“Wow,” she said when she entered the cabin. Taking off her sunglasses, she looked around. Since my brothers and I used the plane for business, we had several tan leather seats facing each other with a table in between them. There was a small area in the back with a bed for trips overseas.

“Now this is first class,” she said, running her hand across the leather armrest.

I pulled her close to me and kissed her just below her jaw. “If you’ve never been on a private plane before, does that mean you’ve never…?”

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