Page 10 of Irresistible Temptation

“I’m sure I will.” We leave it at that. I finish washing and rinsing before I go about towel drying the dishes. There’s a rack where it seems semi-secure, but I’m not taking any chances on my watch. It doesn’t take long before I’m moving to my next task, wiping down the counters and taking inventory of what we went through. The tablet Vaughn Air Elite has us use to input what we need is top notch. The senator and his assistant seem to have been a lush with the brandy, and I’m not quite sure we’ll have enough to make it back to New York at the rate they’ve been drinking.

“All done?” Samuel asks.

“Yep. We may have to rush to the liquor store or see if we can order it as soon as we land.” I place the tablet back in the holder. We move out of the kitchen, head to the small area where no one can see us, and take our seats. Plus, we can talk a bit more freely and out of earshot.

“We won’t have to do either. As soon as you input it into the system, it sends a message to the employees on the ground. They fill the order and will cart it to us once the plane is empty of passengers.” Samuel and I buckle ourselves in, a task I’m certain he made sure our guests did as well.

“Wow, Vaughn Air Elite really pulls out all the stops.” This airline is pure opulence and class.

“Tysen and his friends are the masterminds behind everything. They’ve thought of every detail and had this done in a moment’s notice. You’ll get to meet him once we land.” That name slices through me once again at the exact time I feel the wheels come down and a dip in the air jolts my system. I work on my breathing, refusing to think that I could be getting nauseous from landing.

“Well, it’s unbelievably amazing.” My voice catches as the gears hit the pavement and there’s a slight jarring that only makes the bubble in my stomach start to turn. Jesus, this is ridiculous. I’ve never had this issue before, and now that I’m in the air as a career, it seems I’ll have to learn to deal with it.

Nothing is making sense right now.

“You don’t look so good, honey,” Samuel states the obvious. I give him a tight smile and keep a hand over my mouth on the off-chance I can’t make it to the restroom in time. “Go, go, go. I’ll take care of the guests, but use the cabin bathroom just in case.” He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I rip my seatbelt off and try to be as light on my feet as possible, crossing my fingers that I’m not making any noises, and dart into the bathroom, managing to close the door behind me. I’m barely through the next door before I’m dropping to my knees and expelling everything I’ve got, which isn’t much as it is.

I’m doomed. There’s no other word for it. I’ll be given my marching orders, never to work for Vaughn Air Elite again, and if this keeps happening at the corporate airline, I’ll be out of a job, too. Which luckily, yesterday I was fine. Today, not so much. Another wave of nausea hits me, and I’m lurching upward, holding my hair back while dealing with the same thing all over again.

8

TYSEN

“Maci, are you sure you’re feeling better?” I hear her name, and I know I’m not losing it now. We’ve landed, been taxied to the hanger, the passengers were escorted off the plane and in their respective vehicles they asked for us to have waiting for them, and now this. Her name isn’t popular. The spelling may have fucked me up, but never in my life have I even met someone with her name before. With all the traveling I’ve done, the people I’ve been around, none of them were ever named Maci.

I should have known it was her all along, especially with the way she was bent over at the waist, her ass tipped up, exactly like she did when I bent her over the bed the one and only night we spent together. That thought has me racing through the jet. It doesn’t take me long since we were in the middle of the plane, saying our farewells to McCarthy, his wife, and his assistant. I can’t get a beat off them, yet there’s a lingering doubt in the back of my mind that they’re into something, but what that is, I have no idea. If I had to garner a guess, it’d be that they enjoy the variety of Night Moves, a sex club Johnny owns attached to Undercover Lovers. Whereas I and all of the guys in our group are possessive of our women, I don’t see that being a problem for the people who just left the plane.

I continue moving with a swiftness through the galley kitchen. Thankfully, Liam isn’t standing in my way or asking a million and one question while I’m on the way, barreling my big-ass body through the narrow space. All this searching, the need to see her with my own eyes is fucking consuming any realistic thoughts sliding through my head. All this time, I’ve been sitting on my ass thinking that there’s no way she’d be right under my nose, not to mention that the past two days, Jude has been searching with no luck, and I know down to the marrow of my bones that Maci is on my plane. I walk through the bedroom door, where Samuel is hanging off to the side, and that’s when he notices me.

“Oh shit,” he says. Maci takes that time to lift her head where she had it propped on her arm along the length of the toilet seat, and she looks like death warmed over.

“What the fuck,” tumbles from my lips, my anger lighting me up from the inside out at realizing she’s sick, and working.

“Tysen?” she says with a question. “Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick again.” I move in closer, more than ready to comfort Maci and wishing like fuck we were in Florida and not in California. I’d have Luke here in five minutes flat or have her at his office, whichever is fastest.

“I’m going to get her some ginger ale, maybe give you two a few minutes.” I look over my shoulder toward him, nodding in appreciation. “Maci, when you told me about Tysen, I was not imagining it beingthisTysen. Sheww, girl, no wonder you can’t stop talking about him.”

“Samuel,” Maci says with an undertone of annoyance.

“Thanks. Let Liam know he’s good to head out until the McCarthys are back, would you?” Liam and I usually grab something to eat together, but it seems that won’t be happening today. She’s going straight to a doctor’s office as soon as she’s cleaned up and not losing her food long enough to stand.

“Please go away, Tysen. This is mortifying.” Maci attempts to stand up, but when she starts to lose her balance, I wade in. No fucking way is she going to be sick, faint, and then further hurt herself. My hands wrap around her waist, and I’m being careful not hold her too tightly as I help guide her toward the sink. She bends over, and I have to move backwards a bit. A hell of a time for my dick to get hard, except it doesn’t realize Maci’s sick; my dick just knows he’s in her presence.

“Not leaving you alone, especially not now.” She goes about rinsing her mouth with water, and I reach for the drawer where we keep spare toothbrushes and toothpaste, pulling out what she needs, then placing it on the counter. My other hand never leaves her hip, my thumb sliding along her back, applying light pressure to try and ease some of the tension that’s building inside of her body.

“Ugh, thanks.” Her head lifts up, and when our gazes lock using the mirror, it’s like all of these weeks have disappeared. I’m left with more questions than answers. Seeing as she’s here in my presence, I’ve got nothing but time, especially since we’re grounded until the McCarthys are back.

“Here ya go, sweets.” Samuel may as well be on another fucking planet. I’ve got my eyes set on Maci, and they aren’t leaving hers any time soon. It appears hers aren’t, either. A quick squeeze of her hip, and she comes out of her trance.

Time suspends. Every thought I had causes me to stand still when life as I know it changes. The apparition of what I was starting to think of as a ghost is here in the flesh.

“Thanks.” Maci takes slow sips of the carbonated drink.

“Not a problem. I think maybe you should rest, and we’ll do lunch together next time.” Samuel catches the slight nod I send his way. He’s worked for us before. He’s one of the best, and if I have my choice, he’ll be the first one we bring on permanently.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Maci agrees, throwing me for a loop. The way she left like a thief in the night without so much as waking me up to say goodbye, I’d have assumed she’d try to get away from me as fast as possible.

“Liam says he’ll see you when he comes back. He took the company car, and to text him if anything happens. Do you want me to grab anything while I’m out?” he asks.

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