Page 45 of Love at First Flight

“You wanna take a stroll to work off dinner?” Selah asked him.

“Yes, you kids go for a walk. I’ll pack some food up for you to take home whenever you leave. Is that okay, Dexter?”

She wasn’t going to have to twist his arm over it, and he readily agreed as he stood up with Selah. Naomi also moved to get up, but suddenly stopped and slid back into her chair.

“Did you want to walk with us?” Dex asked because he didn’t want to be rude, even if he greedily wanted Selah all to himself.

“Oh no, that’s okay. I think Boone and I will just hang out here to... um, I don’t know, do something...” Naomi looked to Boone, as though he could help her finish the sentence.

“I’m sure we can think of something. Maybe you can show me your old bedroom. I bet that’d be interesting.” Boone pumped his eyebrows while giving her a sly smile.

With that, Dex was allowed to follow the woman he wanted most, and he did so right out of the house.

Chapter Twenty

Expecting Naomi tostay in the house with Boone was asking a lot. Selah definitely owed her. She’d been worried her sister’s general annoyance with Boone would have been enough to accept Dex’s invitation to join them. She was lucky Naomi could read facial expressions, especially the pointed one that said,Don’t you dare come with us.

Selah burst out of her mother’s front door, the September evening still warm from the day. She grabbed Dex’s arm, practically dragging him, as she power walked from the porch, past the edge of the house, and to the barn like a woman on a mission. It wasn’t the casual after-dinner stroll she’d promised him.

As soon as they rounded the corner on the far side of the barn, away from any curious eyes who may be peering through the kitchen window over the sink, Selah pulled him to her. Perhaps a warning would have been in order because he did a small stumble, putting his hand on the barn wall to steady himself. He didn’t fight her, though, as she clasped his neck and she brought her desperate lips to claim his.

After their sudden and explosive coming together the previous week, she wondered if some of the frenzied hunger would have subsided. She at least hoped she’d be able to manage all of this better and not attack the man as soon as they had a moment alone. Her current actions proved otherwise as her desire continued to be out of control, possibly worse than before.

She opened her mouth to him, sliding her tongue with his. Dex returned her actions with his own fervor, pushing her against the barn wall. One of his hands went to her thigh, encouraging her leg to drape over his hip so he could press himself into her. He moved his hand to her neck, tilting her jawline to a better position. Their kissing started heavy, but soon morphed into something less messy and more coordinated and satisfying. A sexy groan rumbled in his throat.

When he broke their kiss by resting his face on her neck, pressing his lips there, he said, “Looks like your sister provides some good intel. I guess you do like me. God, you always smell so good.”

She laughed, feeling calmer since she was able to freely touch and kiss him, without having to keep her hands to herself because her whole family was around. What she signed up for in a rebound relationship was more hot make-out sessions and a lot less normal-ish family dinners in her childhood home. Selah was clearly doing it wrong. Although she had to admit she liked having him at the table with her. He fit in well with her family. It had felt uncomplicated and natural, even though their situation was tricky.

Regardless, she was happy they got to the hot make-out part eventually. Some of the wild frenzy steadied, which was probably a good thing. Selah didn’t want to get caught having sex next to her family’s barn. Kissing him would have to do. She trailed a hand along his chest, gripping the button placket of his shirt, while also brushing through the shorts hairs on the nape of his neck. He returned to kissing her lips and it was heart-meltingly lovely, his hands stroking down the sides of her torso before landing on her hips.

“Did you miss me this week?” She shouldn’t have asked. It made her sound like a desperate girlfriend when she didn’t consider herself either one of these. Even when she’d been a girlfriend, at various points in her life, she’d never been this pitiful.

“Mm-hmm.” He kissed her slowly. “I hope I get to go home tonight with both your mom’s leftovers and you.”

“You’re nothopingvery well. You just put me second to leftovers.”

He stopped, his eyes growing wide at possibly getting caught. “I don’t even care about the leftovers. Let’s leave right now. Come home with me.”

She slipped from his arms, walking away because maybe things were getting a little out of hand. “Nope, sorry. I can’t.”

“Ah, shit. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean that. You’re much better than leftovers.” He sounded genuinely worried she was offended. She wanted to laugh until she turned her head and saw his expression.

“Dex, seriously? I’m just giving you a hard time. Why would I get mad over something so ridiculous? It’s okay for you to get excited about leftovers.”

“So you’ll come home with me tonight?”

“Um, no, that’s still a negative, but it has nothing to do with you liking leftovers more than me. I mean, it’s my mom’s cooking. Who’s not going to feel that way?” She gave him a flirty look before pushing the barn’s side door and slipping inside. The barn’s interior was dark, drafty, and musty with old hay and the remnant scent of livestock that used to occupy the space. It hadn’t been used for its real purpose for a while. Instead, there was old farm equipment, tools, but, most importantly, it housed the gondola of the hot-air balloon and the large wheeled cart holding the stored envelope. She approached the basket, sliding her hands along the brown fabric bumper wrapped along the top edge of the gondola’s wall, wishing she could go up with Dex at this moment. Then she’d have the two things she liked best with her at the same time.

Selah wasn’t sure when he’d become one of her favorites, only that he had. They hadn’t even known each other for long. This time last year, her outlook on life had been quite different, understandably. Things had been tough and darker for her and her family. It was strange to think about a period of time when she hadn’t known Dex. He’d probably been with his ex then, had been happy and kissing Ava. If Selah had any guts, she would have asked him if he missed his ex-girlfriend, but she didn’t want an honest answer, one she might not like.

He’d entered the barn, coming to stand behind her. “Selah.” Her name came out in a rough voice as he slid a hand around her hip to her stomach, pressing his face to the back of her neck, his breath hot on her skin. She didn’t stop herself from leaning against him. “Do you want me to beg or something?”

Imagining him begging was doing all kinds of things to her, mostly setting her insides on fire. As much as it would please her, it wouldn’t be fair to him. “I really want to go home with you, but I can’t. I have to get up early tomorrow—”

“That’s okay. I’ll get up early with you.”

She smiled at his willingness. “And I can’t stay up late. I have to get a decent amount of sleep since I have an early tour. I’m trying to be rational, as it’s a safety thing, and I have a responsibility to my passengers and to my family. No one wants a pilot working on three hours of sleep. And if I go home with you, it’s going to be really hard to just sleep and not do a bunch of other things.”

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