Page 7 of Flight Risk

It started with the conversation about pens. From there, it went nicely into other topics until, eventually, Kier was laughing and talking with me like we were old friends. It was perfect, exactly what I was hoping for when I finagled him onto this flight.

He let out a yawn. After several hours of discussion, the lights in the cabin had turned off, and many of the people around us were sleeping. His head fell back against the pillow.

“We should sleep,” I said. “When we wake up, it’ll be morning in New York.”

“Yes, and then we have another flight to catch.”

“That’s true.” Thankfully, that one was a private flight for the group of us to return to the clan headquarters. I’d be able to stick close to Kier and continue our chat.

I grabbed the pillow from the overhead area and handed it to him, then put the blanket over him.

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes fluttering closed. “Do you need the blanket, too? We can share.”

If only they gave us blankets big enough for that. What I really wanted was to climb over to his area, close the partition, and hold him in my arms like he deserved. However, there was no way that would be comfortable for either of us.

“I’m fine,” I said, showing him how to put his seat down so he could rest.

I was one step closer to asking him on a date. Armed with all this new knowledge about Kier, I would have an easier time finding something to suit his interest.

Perhaps a tour of all the stationery stores in town? Or a special trip somewhere we could get him a custom pen.

First things first, my mate needed to rest. When we woke, I’d try my luck at asking him on a date.

Chapter 5

Kier

My eyelids stuck together as I tried to pry them open. My limbs ached and weighed like I’d been tossed into a pool wearing a wool coat. Heat radiated down my arms and legs, sending hot pulses of electricity to my toes. I pushed myself up and tried to twist and stretch my back. I kept my movements small, trying not to disturb Tav next to me, but it didn’t work. Sure enough, he opened his eyes and smiled at me like it was perfectly normal to wake up beside me.

“We have begun our descent. If you will please re-fasten your seat belts,” the flight attendant’s voice rang over the speaker system in that crackly, barely audible manner.

“Arriving already? Wow! I rarely sleep that much on a flight,” Tav said. “How about you?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said. “I’ve never been on one that long. Except the one here, and I worked for most of the flight.”

“We’ll have to take you more places,” Tav said. Then he narrowed his eyes as he looked at me, his nostrils flaring. “Kier, are you okay?” His voice lowered, and he leaned closer. The smoky scent of him enveloped me like a caress, and my eyes fluttered closed. I caught myself before I instinctively moved closer to him.

It took me a moment to recall what he asked, and I had to blink a few times to clear my head. “Yeah, I think so. Is there any water? I’m parched.” My mouth had gone dry, and my thoughts ran wild, none of them appropriate.

Tav flagged down the flight attendant. Even though we were descending and supposed to remain seated, she brought me a bottle of water. I gulped it, resisting the urge to pour it over my head. I wiped the sweat from my brow. Why was it so hot on the flight? Was that normal? How was it possible that Tav was so close to me? His scent wrapped around me.

“Oh, man. I hope I’m not getting sick,” I said.

“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Tav said. His jaw tensed, and he kept a close eye on me. I sniffed the air, and the scent of his concern hit my nostrils.

“What do you mean?”

“I should have thought about this. I didn’t realize, but it makes sense—with being this close to one another in the closed cabin, the travel, the stress...”

“What stress? What are you talking about? Tav, you’re not making sense.”

“You can’t feel it?” Tav asked.

I took stock of my body. I felt flushed, almost flulike and hot. Sick wasn’t really how I would describe how I was feeling, though. Instead, it was... horny. And hot. I was needy. My hands itched to take hold of Tav and run my fingertips over his skin, squeeze his biceps, and feel his muscles.

Oh, shit. My dick was rock hard—not just because I had just woken up.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’m... are you’re saying I’m going into heat?” I whispered to him so that others wouldn’t overhear. Being that we were on a plane full of shifters, it was likely someone could still hear us. My scent was probably permeating through the cabin. Fuck. This was a mess.

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