Page 22 of Sinful Desires

“It had better be good, is all. I could be warm in bed right now.”

“There’s one thing you need to learn about me. I amalwaysgood.” Turning toward her, I had a chance to notice her scowl or disapproval. “Lighten up,” I advised, opening her door before rounding the vehicle to open my own.

She seemed to have taken a vow of silence along the drive down to the airstrip. Her fists were clenched in her lap, her right knee jiggling. That was what I did to her.

At this time of night, there was very little traffic, only a pair of vehicles passing in the other direction. Otherwise, the road was ours, illuminated by the moon and the SUV’s lights. More than once, I caught a glimpse of eyes glowing in the darkness on either side, observing our progress. Wolves? Bears?

Aria noticed, too, shivering and rubbing her arms. “I’m pretty sure I saw a wolf.”

She was sitting next to one, and I bit my tongue to keep a straight face. “I hope we don’t break down on the side of the road.”

“Don’t even joke about that.”

I was content to sink into silence over the last few minutes of our journey. “Why are we here?” she asked when our destination was clear.

My plane waited, fully fueled as I’d requested. Once I had noticed her scowling reaction to my arrival, there was no question of bringing her out with me if only to show off. However, after our time on the slopes, it was obvious she needed to be put in her place. We’d see how brave she was when it came to true speed.

And altitude.

“You want to go flying? At this time of night?” So itwaspossible to impress her or to at least elicit a reaction other than contempt. She was slow and hesitant climbing down from the SUV, but she followed me to the single-engine Cessna before looking my way with a mixture of intrigue and concern radiating from her eyes.

“Why not? This is as good a time as any. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen the mountains from above, in the moonlight. It’s breathtaking.” Frowning, I added, “Unless you’re afraid. We can go back now if it would make you feel better.”

“Shut up. I’m not a child.” Rolling her shoulders back, she tightened her jaw before taking a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go. This could be fun.”

“It will be.” I opened the door and held out a hand to help her inside, pretending to ignore the shiver that ran through her at my touch. It led me to assist in buckling her in, knowing the way her body betrayed her. She sucked in a breath while I took my time sliding the straps across her chest, one she didn’t release until the buckle clicked, and I withdrew my hands.

Stand down, I warned myself as I rounded the plane’s nose, then climbed in. We would never get off the ground if I didn’t keep my dick in check. Somehow, I doubted attacking her in the cockpit would be anything but awkward.

“How long have you been flying?” Her voice was soft now, awestruck as she looked over the instruments. It must have been entirely foreign.

“I got my license two years ago.”

“What made you decide to do that?” she asked.

“The same thing that led me to motorcycling, skiing and sports cars. We haven’t discussed my admiration for them yet, have we?” She shook her head as I finished running down the items on my checklist. “I like to go fast. And I like the option of going wherever I want to go, whenever I wish. It’s freedom.”

“I can understand that.”

“But you’ve always had that ability, haven’t you?” Fuck. I shouldn’t have said that. It wouldn’t do for her to know I’d been thinking as much as I had about the differences in our upbringing.

Instead of firing back some smart-ass comment, she seemed to take my statement seriously. “You’re right. I’ve had the privilege all my life. I’m glad you have that freedom now.”

My chest warmed at the sincerity pouring from her voice, reminding me of what I’d gone without for most of my life—being understood andseen. I had no idea how much I’d missed it until now.

Good sense pulled me up short before I could forget what this was all about. Why did she have to be so fucking empathetic? Was it sincere or merely lip service?

It was best to let it go. “All right. Prepare yourself.”

Her laughter was tight, half-hearted. “You’re the one who needs to be prepared, pilot.” She wasn’t wrong. I was prepared, so it took very little time for us to taxi down the runway and lift off the tarmac.

Her strangled squeal took me by surprise. “With that private jet sitting there, you’re not used to taking off?” I asked with a laugh.

“This is different!” she shouted over the engine and propeller. “This is… this is amazing!” The sheer joy in her voice brought an unexpected smile to my face as we climbed closer to the moon.

“Wow.” When I looked her way, I found her touching the backs of her fingers to the corners of her eyes. She was crying. I didn’t need to ask why. I’d felt the same rush of almost crushing emotion the first time I took off in a small plane like this one. Feeling so close to the world outside and the wind currents passing around the plane’s body, I wanted to reach out and graba handful of stars. The illusion was there, brought on by an enormous moon that looked close enough to touch.

“What do you think?” I asked as we rounded the resort we’d skied earlier. “Can you see the cabin from here?”

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