Page 34 of Flyboy

“Yes, Fatima told me it was. If you show up at the kitchen early, you can eat some of the clear flesh of the coconut right after they cut it open.”

“Oh, this secret you have kept all this time!” She swatted him.

“Maybe we could sneak in there and cut one for ourselves.”

“Oh, no. Let’s wait for morning. I don’t want to upset what Fatima has already planned for tomorrow.”

“If we find one ourselves in the grove . . . then it won’t be upsetting anything.”

“True.” She smiled, and with the moonlight shining down into her eyes, and her face lit with the silver glow, he wished to see her just that way forever.

Chapter 14

The lateness of the hour descended on Ivy like a warm blanket. And she felt . . . at ease. Colton walked beside her. “You know. I’ve not seen such excellent flying as you showed that one time we were up together,” he said.

“Oh?” Pleasure rippled through her. “Thank you.”

“I’d like to do it again.”

Technically they didn’t have any need to go back up together. But she couldn’t deny how tempting the offer was. “Maybe we can go up again in a month or so? We could do the first day of dogfight training together,” he continued.

She smiled, enjoying the thought. “Do you think anyone could possibly catch us yet?”

“There are a few. Honestly. We’re gonna have to be on our toes if we want to make sure they don’t win a fight too early.”

“Got some arrogance going on up there? I could think of a few that might need to be taken down a peg.”

“Especially by you. I’d like you to make it as quick a shut down as possible.”

She laughed. “And destroy their fragile egos?”

“I don’t think there’s any danger in that. No. But I want them to see how quickly things can get hairy in a life or death situation.”

She nodded, knowing she was only hesitating for show. She would jump on this chance. “Awesome. When do we go up?”

His grin spread across his face. “You know, we could just take the plane up for a follow-up look at your flying . . .” The hopeful fun in his face, the moonlight, the lateness of the hour, all of it combined to make her feel like stepping closer was the most natural thing in the world.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Lieutenant.”

He moved around to her front. “And why’s that? The plane is available. I’m here. You’re here.”

She looked up into his face, his jawline sharp against the moonlit shadows. His eyes warm, his mouth . . . She swallowed. She wanted this. He was nothing like her old co-pilot Guido, or her brother. He was strong, brave, expert. His moves were more advanced. Reckless? Possibly.

His hands reached out to pull her closer. He stepped into her intimate space, running his hands down her back, sending shivers of expectation through her. She couldn’t look up, not yet. But he pulled her close, hugging her like she was precious to him, with gentle pressure. Then a kiss at the top of her head and she was done waiting around, done second-guessing, finished pausing in the shadows of her desire. She liked this guy. And who cared if he was reckless? Maybe that’s what she liked about him. What had changed besides a sudden and insane desire to kiss him?

His eyes sparkled at her as he moved ever closer, his mouth leaning closer to hers.

Her trust. She trusted him. Her feet went up on tiptoes. She stretched her arms up to his shoulders, her hands went to the back of his neck, her fingers rising up into his hair. It felt soft; the short, military cut on the back tickling her skin.

As his arms circled around her more completely, and the bubble of safe trust turned to a delicious, tickling sort of hum, his mouth found hers. The hunger that surged surprised her, but she embraced it. She responded with the power of her desire, wiping away his hesitance. His grip on her tightened, and his kisses became more urgent.

She bit into his upper lip, trying to get more from him than a kiss would allow. The slight scruff on his chin and mouth felt delicious. She arced against him, and his fingers spread against her waist, spanning the small of her back. He dipped her, capturing her better at this angle. Her fingers went up into his hair, grabbing fistfuls and everywhere, coursing up and down her core, paths of energy surged, hot and intense.

Then his kiss softened and slowed, and tenderly, he pressed his mouth against hers, again and again, enveloping her in a tenderness that took over the urgency and turned it into an overwhelming fire. And then he stopped, kissing her nose, her cheek, her chin, until she opened her eyes. “I could do this all night, except that unless you want to lay down in the dirt, we’ve got to take this inside.”

She laughed, leaning her forehead against his chest. She shook her head. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Hey, now, I wasn’t saying we should end this night.”

---